Education - National History Day

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY 2009
March 21, 2009

The Individual in History

WHAT IS NHD?
Working individually or in small groups of five or less, students in grades 6-8 and 9-12 research a historical topic, and then write a historical paper, create a documentary, design a web site, write and stage a performance, or produce an exhibit that explores the theme. The regional competition is held at the Senator John Heinz History Center. Regional winners move on to the state contest held at Penn State and potentially to the national contest held in College Park, Maryland.

NHD PITT COMPETITION DATE
March 21, 2009. Check back soon for times.

We received a special opportunity through PA NHD to use the national registration system. This system begins regionally and rolls up at each level of the competition and finally to the national competition. I'm sure you can understand that it will save us all a lot of time, reduce the chance of errors, and make scheduling much easier.

Registration begins by the teacher registering their school. If you have participated in NHD Pitt any time within the past 5 years, your school will appear in the drop-down menu. If your school is not listed, you may add it to the list. The system will allow the teacher to input themselves, co-teachers (if any), and the names of the participating students. The students will complete their registration by entering their contact information and their entry details. Teachers may edit students' information and even see the information still needed.

This Web based system allows the Registrar and Regional Coordinator at the History Center to view all data minute-by-minute as it is added to the database. There are even checkpoints to prevent teachers/students from making mistakes. For instance, the system won't allow you continue onto the next page until all required information is listed. Should you need to request or look up additional information, you can exit at anytime, knowing that your work will be saved.

Upon completion of the registration please print out and save your confirmation sheet. This will serve as your admittance to the competition on March 21st.

All students/all entries - including papers and web sites - will be assigned an interview time with the judges on March 21st. First-, second-, and third-place winners in NHD Pitt will advance to the state level, and, if successful, move on to the national competition.

We in PA are very fortunate to be offered the opportunity to utilize this system.

If you have questions or difficulties, or need more information, please contact Danni Hale, Regional Coordinator, at 412-454-6373 or ddhale@hswp.org.