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The Battle of Yorktown was one of the projects featured at Saturday’s Upshur County Social Studies Fair. Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School 6th grade students Kaitlin Davis, Isabella Bowers and Kaylee Fisher said they were inspired by the movie ‘Hamilton.’
The Battle of Yorktown was one of the projects featured at Saturday’s Upshur County Social Studies Fair. Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School 6th grade students Kaitlin Davis, Isabella Bowers and Kaylee Fisher said they were inspired by the movie ‘Hamilton.’

Upshur County holds school social studies fair

BUCKHANNON – When temperatures dip below zero, most people opt to curl up at home by the fire — but on Saturday, Upshur County families braved the freezing temperatures to bring their students to Buckhannon-Upshur High School so they could show off their knowledge as they competed in the Upshur County Social Studies Fair. Tristen Gray, principal at Tennerton Elementary School and organizer for the Upshur County Social Studies Fair, said this is the third year for the countywide event.

“We started out in October and sent information out to the different schools,” Gray said. “This is the third year we have done it. If kids want to participate, we send out information from the regional director, which she gets from the state director, and students start working on their projects.”

Students participating in the Upshur County Social Studies fair pick their own topics and then do their research. Gray said each project includes a display, an abstract (the written part), and an oral presentation.

“Students practice from October until now, and seeing their projects is evidence of their hard work,” Gray said. “First place winners from our Upshur County Social Studies Fair move on to the regional competition and then on to the state Social Studies Fair.”

Projects at Saturday’s event featured a wide variety of topics, from the History of War to the Coal and Coke Railway through West Virginia, and even projects on the Black Death, the Farmington Mine Disaster and the History of the English Language. The event included projects from students in elementary and middle school.

Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School sixth-grade students Aubry Shay and Alaina Tenney completed a project about 9/11. Their project featured models they made of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Aubry and Alaina said they selected the topic because they felt it was something they wanted to learn more about.

Aubry Shay and Alaina Tenney share their knowledge of 9/11 during the Upshur County Social Studies Fair held Saturday at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. Both Aubry and Alaina are in sixth grade at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School and they said they chose 9/11 because they thought it was an important topic to learn more about. Their project was judged by Megan Gray and Amanda Webb, Upshur County teachers.

Judges Amanda Webb and Megan Gray noted that the fair allows students to explore topics in which they are really interested.

“They are passionate about these subjects and they take their own time to investigate and research the history of these events in our country,” the judges said. “Knowing what happened during 9/11 helps students learn about it and hopefully helps them understand how to keep it from happening again.”

Aubry said that in putting the 9/11 project together, her favorite part was assembling 3-D models of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Carter Haney, who attends Union Elementary School and is in fifth grade, completed a project on the Evolution of Soccer, a sport he has playing for years. He said the information he learned that was the most astonishing was just how old the game of soccer really is and that the Mayans used to use severed human heads as soccer balls.

The Evolution of Soccer was a project completed by Carter Haney, a fifth-grader from Union Elementary School. He said he selected the topic because he enjoys soccer and has played it almost all of his life. His project was judged by Jeremiah McCourt and Wilson Harvey (pictured) who both teach in Upshur County Schools.

Judge Wilson Harvey remarked he would have thought players should receive a ‘red card’ for doing something like that.

Carter said he thought he did well on his project and hopes to move on to the regional competition — and from there, to states.

Harvey credited the students at the fair for their work.

“I am impressed with the overall content knowledge and the time and effort the kids have put into their projects,” Harvey said. “The beauty of students doing projects like this is that it allows the students to see how similar and how different things were very long ago, and I think we see how that history impacts students as they learn more about that. I am proud of these students for taking that step.”

Another project at Saturday’s Upshur County Social Studies Fair was completed by Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School sixth-grade students Kaitlin Davis, Isabella Bowers and Kaylee Fisher. The girls said they selected the topic to learn more about the Battle of Yorktown and said they were inspired by the movie ‘Hamilton.’

The trio learned how the British surrendered by waving a white flag, and they said another cool thing was learning about how America wanted to be free. This was one of the last battles of the American Revolution, and the students said they have never been to Yorktown but hope to go there someday.

First-place winners at the Upshur County Social Studies Fair held Saturday at Buckhannon-Upshur High School include Marcus Reed of Hodgesville Elementary School, age 10, fifth grade, whose project was Sacrifice and Honor; Sawyer Phillips of Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School, age 11, sixth grade, whose project was the Coal and Coke Railway Through West Virginia; Ava Trent and Alexis Huffman, sixth grade at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School for their project Music Today and How it Affects Us; Leah Bryant, 11 years old and in sixth grade at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School for her project The Black Death; Emma Collett and Mackenzie Strickland, sixth-grade students who are 12 years old for their project The Great Depression; Lila Wright, age 13, eighth grade at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School for her project titled Who Wants to Be Average?; Joseph Nolte, age 13, eighth grade at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School for his project of the Evolution of the English Language; Aubry Shay and Alaina Tenney, sixth grade at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School for their project on 9/11; Brock Woodson, Owen Chidester and Tanner Chidester who are 11  and 12 years old and attend Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School for their project WV Coal Mines; fifth graders Autumn Crisp and Isabella Casey who attend Union Elementary for their project on Women’s Fashion 100 years; and Gareth Shay from Union Elementary School, who is 10 years old and in fifth grade, for the project Tornado Alley.

The Upshur County Social Studies Fair winners.

Although Superintendent of Upshur County Schools Dr. Sara Lewis Stankus could not attend the event in person, she sent the following comments:

“The Upshur County Social Studies Fair is an excellent opportunity to showcase our students’ efforts. The students select their topic, and teachers, staff and families support the student in exploring their topic. These students have gone ‘above and beyond’ to research and prepare for this day,” Stankus said. “This fair is an ideal way for students to learn about current events and history, but just as important is the oral and visual presentation of their information.”

Stankus wrote that it takes so much time to prepare and memorize information the students present to the Social Studies Fair judges.

“Students who compete in the county fair can move on to the Regional Social Studies Fair and the West Virginia State Social Studies Fair — our students deserve these opportunities. As a school system, we are dedicated to supporting their endeavors.”

Stankus offered a special thank you to Gray for organizing the county event.

“Thank you for organizing the Upshur County Social Studies Fair and thanks to all of the teachers and principals who have worked to assist in making this day possible,” Stankus wrote.

Melinda Stewart, Upshur County Schools director of secondary curriculum, said the social studies fair is important because it gives students hands-on experience in learning.

“This is project-based learning and it gives kids the opportunity to explore a subject in which they are interested,” Stewart said. “It makes is relevant to where we are now and how our past has shaped where our future is headed, and it gives our kids an opportunity to showcase their skills. We are so proud of each one of these students.”

Dr. Tammy Samples, president of the Upshur County Board of Education, said she was pleased to see the number of students involved in the fair.

“It is hard to get up in front of people and talk,” Samples said. “It says a lot about these students when they are willing to take the opportunity to do that. They are building skills for the future and working on their ability to communicate. We lose some of those skills in our world of technology.”

Dr. Debra Harrison, assistant superintendent of Upshur County Schools, congratulated every participant.

“I walked around and looked at these projects, and we were having side discussions about the projects,” Harrison said. “We said we did not think we could create projects that were this well developed and well thought through. The presentations were amazing and I agree that the quality of the projects and the work you put into the projects has been amazing. I want to thank your teachers and your families for supporting you, because without their support, you would not have had the drive to be able to do this.”

Judges for the Upshur County Social Studies Fair included Zack Davis, Lisa Bennett, Jeremiah McCourt, Wilson Harvey, Stephanie Johnson, Marisa Meadows, Dr. Greenbrier Almond, Judith Davis, Amanda Hepler, Dan Hepler, Amanda Webb, Megan Gray, Abby Poling and Jill Stemple.

Qualifiers from the Upshur County Social Studies Fair will advance to the Regional Social Studies Fair at Glenville State College on March 24, 2022. The West Virginia Social Studies Fair bill be held in Charleston.

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