Special to the Journal
Students from Belton ISD left the Heart of Texas Regional History Fair at Baylor University last week with an armful of awards for their history day projects.
Twenty-five of those students — representing 11 projects — now advance to the Texas History Day competition in Austin on April 15.
“We are unbelievably proud of the work these students and their sponsors have put forth,” Chris Lemley, Belton ISD’s social studies coordinator, said. “The National History Day competition is a truly transformative experience for our students and represents the type of exceptional learning that we strive to achieve every day. That these students are recognized for their efforts is just icing on the cake.”
The yearlong history fair program includes three levels of competition — regional, state and national — in which students showcase their rich knowledge and present their work to a panel of judges. This year’s theme is “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.”
“It’s a competition open to all students, no matter their abilities,” Lemley said. “Students use their inquiry to practice research skills and dig deeper. Their answers always create more questions. They learn how to cite and annotate evidence and how to put it all together for others to learn from. Overall, students learn to be confident in themselves, their learning and their ability to use their strengths to showcase the topic they chose.”
Belton ISD teachers who served as advisors/sponsors are Tabetha Fowler, Kyle Egan and Cathy Novosad from South Belton Middle School; Elizabeth Howson from North Belton Middle School; and Paige Hooten from Lake Belton Middle School.
Awards won by Belton ISD students include:
Anna Exaire from Lake Belton Middle School placed second in the “Junior Paper” category for her project “Susanna Dickinson.” This project also earned the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Sterling C. Robertson Chapter Award.
Creighton Carroll from South Belton Middle School placed third in the “Junior Paper” category for his project “Frontiers in Heat Based Kitchen Appliances.”
Barrett Brown from South Belton Middle School placed first in the “Junior Individual Documentary” category for his project “Higgs Boson.” This project also earned the Bell County Museum Award.
Lucas Trindade from Lake Belton Middle School placed second in the “Junior Individual Documentary” category for his project “Jack Kilby: The Invention of the Calculator and the Integrated Circuit.”
Levi Crotty, Colton Jeffreys, Joshua Lighthall, Michael Lockett and Quinn Partke from North Belton Middle School placed first in the “Junior Group Documentary” category for their project “Exploring the Final Frontier: A Race to Space.” This project also earned the Bell County Museum Award.
Aryanna Cruz and Kayden Hanlon from South Belton Middle School placed second in the “Junior Group Documentary” category for their project “Twilight Sleep.”
Alexandra Bui, Elysse Bui, Isabelle Howson and Emry Olivarez from North Belton Middle School placed third in the “Junior Group Documentary” category for their project “Perseverance, Bravery, and Breaking the Frontier.” This project also earned the Baylor Film and Digital Media Department Award and the Bell County Museum Award.
Megan Gallant from North Belton Middle School placed first in the “Junior Individual Exhibit” category for her project “From Frontier to the White House: The Story of Abraham Lincoln.”
Rowan Sebek from Lake Belton Middle School earned an honorable mention in the “Junior Individual Exhibit” for her project “Lake Belton Flood.”
McKenna Brindley, Kinleigh Fulton, Alexa Harbour, Swikriti Lamichhane and Brynlee Newberry from North Belton Middle School placed first in the “Junior Group Exhibit” for their project “Me for Ma: A Frontier for Women in Politics.” This project also earned the Waco Chapter of The Links, Inc. Award, the Baylor Law School Award and the Historic Waco Award.
Mehul Bansal, Phillip Eggleston and Benjamin Rydberg from Lake Belton Middle School placed third in the “Junior Group Exhibit” category for their project “The Battle of San Jacinto.”
Madison Estes from North Belton Middle School placed first in the “Junior Individual Performance” category for her project “Radical Radium: A Frontier for Science.”
Bianca Avila from South Belton Middle School placed second in the “Junior Individual Website” category for her project “Selena Quintanilla.”
Karolyna Martinez from South Belton Middle School placed third in the “Junior Individual Website” category for her project “Immigration Laws.”
Isabella Ake, Madison Aycock and Annabelle Morehouse from South Belton Middle School placed second in the “Junior Group Website” category for their project “Discovery of Penicillin: How it Changed the Course of Medical History.”
Sa’Cori Atkins, Sophia Cabrera Alvarez and D’Janina Solao-Cubero from South Belton Middle School placed third in the “Junior Group Website” category for their project “Penicillin.”
Madelyn Rodriguez and Anabel Wilmot from South Belton Middle School earned the National Society of the Colonial Dames-Waco Town Committee Award and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Elizabeth Gordon Bradley Chapter Award for their project “Revolutionary War.”
Alexis Speegle and Bridget Tosse from Lake Belton Middle School earned the Historic Waco Award for their project “The First Automobiles in Texas.”
North Belton Middle School teacher Elizabeth Howson was awarded the James M. SoRelle History Department Sweepstakes Award for her students accumulating the most points for the first, second and third place projects across all categories.
Courtesy Photo
North Belton Middle School students show off their awards earned at the Hot of Texas Regional History Fair held Feb. 16 at Baylor University. Twenty-five students from Belton ISD schools, representing 11 projects, advanced to the Texas History Day competition on April 15 in Austin.
