Education

The SCHS is proud to help sponsor the History Day program in the schools of Sonoma County.
If you would like to help (judge, contribute, etc), contact Jeff Tobes.

Have you ever been to a History Day Fair?

It's like a science fair, except it is about history. Students from all over California and the United States compete at the School, County, State and National levels every year based on a common theme. Jeff Tobes, a teacher at Helen Lehman School, commonly takes several students that qualify to the California Finals.

"History Day carries on beyond just being an expert in history. It develops personality and character and gives kids experiences that they just would not get hopping on the school bus in the morning and off in the afternoon"

- Whitney Olson, Sonoma County History Day Coordinator


Watch the Sonoma County finalists compete at the 2005 California History day in San Diego (20min)
"Communication in History", Produced by Sean Bressie

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2 SR students tops at state History Day

May 17, 2004

By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

One elementary student tracked down a former astronaut and other NASA officials while another learned how to design an eye-catching Internet site after traveling to Mexico City in the footsteps of conquistador Hernan Cortez.

The two Santa Rosa sixth-graders each won top honors at a recent state History Day competition. And one of them is preparing to travel next month to the national competition.

Proctor Terrace's Annie Olson and Helen Lehman's Carlos Fernandez picked history topics four centuries apart. But their determination to understand their subjects paid off with first-place wins at the recent competition in Sacramento.

Olson will be the second student from Sonoma County to ever reach the National History Day competition, which this year will be June 13-17 at the University of Maryland. Her sister, Katie Olson, was a Santa Rosa High freshman when she won a silver medal in 2002.

Fernandez can't advance further because the national competition doesn't include Web sites.

Olson looked at the space race of the 1960s in the context of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Among the people she interviewed were Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell and Homer Hickam, author of "Rocket Boys," a book that led to the 1999 movie "October Sky."

"I think the interviews I got were definitely a great help toward making my exhibit go to nationals," she said.

Fernandez examined the impact, for good and ill, that Cortez had on Mexico. On a family visit to the country last winter, he took a side trip to Mexico City to see and record historical sites linked to Cortez.

Along with the research, Fernandez had to learn how to create Web sites. He said he received critical help from Lehman volunteer Karen Dickenson and Joe McCarty, from the Sonoma County Office of Education. Fernandez's father, José Carlos Fernandez, supported his son by regularly driving him to McCarty's home so the youth could learn HTML codes and Web design.

"He was tired after work but he always took me," Fernandez said.

The two students will be on hand today at a history day workshop for those interested in participating or helping students with the competition. Jeff Tobes, Fernandez's teacher, will lead the workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sonoma County Museum in Santa Rosa.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or rdigitale@pressdemocrat.com.

 

Learn more about History Day in California

 

 

 

History Day competitors and winners from Sonoma County