Students bring history to life

W.T. Clarke and Woodland middle school represented the East Meadow School District by showcasing 21 projects at the Long Island History Day regional competition, held on March 31 at Hofstra University.

Faith Fuller and Shreejita Satpathy, of W.T. Clarke, earned fourth place out of 33 entries in the Junior Group Documentary category with their presentation of “Frances Oldham Kelsey: The Thalidomide Crisis, the Woman Who Saved America and Reformed the FDA.” Their placement qualifies the pair to participate in the New York History Day state level competition on April 29 at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown.

Three students and two projects were also recognized in the special award categories. Umme Bootwala and Mubaraka Ezzi of W.T. Clarke earned the Science History Award sponsored by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for their exhibit project “A Heavy Water Sabotage: Operation Gunnerside, A Daring Norwegian Mission that Transformed World War II.”

Maya Delrosario, of Woodland Middle School, was presented the Latin American History Award sponsored by the Long Island Council for the Social Studies with a project, “Diego’s Art Triumphs Over the Tragedy of the Great Depression.”

“Congratulations to all our students for their hard work and for bringing these historical events to life,” said Jim Mendonis, the director of social studies and 21st century learning.

—Brian Stieglitz