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Since October, Pacelli American History 1 students have been working on projects to present on History Day.

History Day is a nationwide contest in which students across the country create a history project by choosing a topic, researching that topic extensively, and presenting their work to their teacher and judges. Each year there is a new theme.

This year’s theme for History Day was “Breaking Barriers.” Students were required to select a topic about a person, event, place, etc. that broke through barriers in history and had great historical significance.

Once completed, the students first presented their projects to our local judges, which included Pacelli Principal Jean McDermott, and retired teacher Tim Brennan.

Based on feedback from the judges combined with grading of their projects, two groups of students were selected to move on to participate in the State Regional History Day contest for the Southeast region of Minnesota.

The two groups that proceeded to regionals were freshmen Kendahl Lewis and Neha Thawani Nanda, The Mayo Brothers; Founders of Mayo Clinic, and freshmen Ashley Mazariegos, Nathan Schmidt, and Lilly Paul, The Little Rock Nine;

School Integration during the Civil Rights Movement. These groups competed with student projects from high schools throughout the Southeast region of Minnesota.

Normally, the competition is held in March at Winona State University with students presenting their projects in front of judges. However, with the COVID-19 situation, this turned into a virtual contest.  Students digitally submitted their project exhibit boards along with other written materials.

Kendahl Lewis and Neha Thawni Nanda have been selected to present at the State History Day competition. They will now have the opportunity to compete with students from across the state in a similar virtual format, as well as being eligible for prizes that include money and scholarships. Ashley Mazriegos, Nathan Schmidt, and Lilly Paul received an Honorable Mention. Selected projects from the state contest will be eligible to move on to the national History Day contest.

If you are interested in learning more about Pacelli Catholic Schools, please visit our website at www.pacellischools.org or email admin@pacellischools.org or call 507-437-3278 anytime during regular school hours.