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Top Presenters Awarded at Regional Social Studies Fair

Emma Delk

From pepperoni rolls to the Boston Tea Party, the Regional Social Studies Fair recognized students for their ability to dig into a unique historical topic and present their information to a panel of judges.

The John Marshall Fieldhouse was filled with dioramas displaying students' research on Thursday, with some even dressing up to complement their presentation.

Projects went beyond their visual aspect, as students had to create an abstract with their research information and perform an oral presentation.

Students who competed at the fair on Thursday had to win at their school- and county-level competitions before going up against regional competitors from Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio and Brooke counties. Students from the Catholic schools of Ohio and Marshall counties also participated.

Division 1 of the competition was made up of third, fourth and fifth graders; Division 2 was sixth, seventh and eighth graders; and high schoolers made up the Division 3 category.

First, second and third-place ribbons were awarded to projects that received a minimum of 90, 80 and 70 points, respectively. The top two scorers in each project category will compete at the State Social Studies Fair in Charleston on April 10.

A perfect score of 100 points was awarded to 20 out of 70 projects. Regional Social Studies Fair Director Arica Holt noted the students who "really know their project" are the ones who receive a perfect score.

Holt outlined perfect scorers can answer questions from judges on their topic, do not use notecards and "show their personality a little bit" while presenting.

Glen Dale Elementary School fourth graders Colton Scherich and Camden Hill, who received a perfect score for their project "Dallas Cowboys: America's Team," said researching their project was not difficult as they were "huge Cowboys fans."

"We knew so much about the team that we just decided to do it," described Scherich.

The fourth graders said their favorite part of the project was collecting artifacts required for their display. Dallas Cowboys player and Wheeling native C.J. Goodwin's mother, Yvette Goodwin-Rowe, lent them authentic jerseys and helmets for their display.

"The championship rings are replicas, though," noted Hill.

Glen Dale Elementary School fourth grader Delaney Doty said she enjoyed being able to do more out-of-the-box research for her and her partner Arya Ripley's project, "Women During World War II."

Inspired by her viewing of "A League of Their Own" for the project, Doty was decked out in a Rockford Peaches uniform. Ripley sported a "Rosie the Riveter" costume to complete the pair.

"I play softball, and Arya wanted to talk about 'Rosie the Riveter' in her project, so I thought we should combine them for the project," said Doty.

To see the students go all-out for their presentations is exciting for Holt, who noted the projects get "bigger and better" every year.

"I'm so grateful the state has this for our students because it gives them an outlet to show their creativity," said Holt. "They start with some essential questions on a topic and then go from there, so it's neat to see what students come up with."

The students who earned a perfect score at the Regional Social Studies Fair are:

-- Teagan Pockl, Marshall County, "Cultural Music," category of Anthropology, Division 1;

-- Miles Baker and Gunner King, Marshall County, "Competition Fishing," category of Economics, Division 1;

-- Megan Marling and Jersey Schafer, Marshall County, "Niagra Falls," category of Geography, Division 1;

-- Addilyn Ellwood and Leanna Roberts, Marshall County, "The Greenbrier Hidden Bunkers," category of Political Science, Division 1;

-- Kyle Mason, Wetzel County, "Pepperoni Rolls," category of State and Local Studies, Division 1;

-- Jaxon Burge and Maddox Frye, Marshall County, "Logan Routt: Our Hometown Hero," category of State and Local Studies, Division 1;

-- Maya Loudermilk, Marshall County, "Living with an Iron Lung," category of U.S. History, Division 1;

-- Colton Scherich and Camden Hill, Marshall County, "Dallas Cowboys: America's Team," category of U.S. History, Division 1;

-- Dexter Choi, Marshall County, "Role of Dogs in WWI," category of World History, Division 1;

-- Gianna Posinelli, Marshall County, "Italian Food & Culture," category of Anthrolopology, Division 2;

-- Colson McCutcheon, Marshall County, "Wrigley's Wealth Underwrapped," category of Economics, Division 2;

-- Hunter Lemmon, Marshall County, "Seneca Rocks," category of Geography, Division 2;

-- Adah Aubrey and Emily Gatts, Marshall County, "Impact of Hurriances," category of Geography, Division 2;

-- Jessalyn Twarog, Marshall County, "Boston Tea Party," category of Political Science, Division 2;

-- Chloe Pickett, Marshall County, "Moral Affects on Non-Jewish Holocaust Rescuers," category of Psychology, Division 2;

-- Braxton Haught and Zane Gast, Marshall County, "Blue Dolphin Prison," category of Psychology, Division 2;

-- Ava Hill, Marshall County, "How Music Affected Civil War Soldiers," category of Sociology, Division 2;

-- Abby Allman, Marshall County, "Lewis Wetzel," category of State and Local Studies, Division 2;

-- Cecelia Robinson, Marshall County, "More than an Apron," category of U.S. History, Division 2; and

-- Gracelynn Welch, Marshall County, "Holocaust," cateogry of World History, Division 2.