Here's to the Merriest of Holidays and a Happy New Year!
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Director's Letter
Happiest of holidays to all of you, in all the ways we celebrate!
It is also the end of the calendar year and a time to reflect. I started seeing and hearing 2020 as a year that was being discussed as one to go down in history as among the worst. So, it piqued my interest, and I took a look at what have been considered the worst times in American and world history.
In The U.S., the Civil War Battle of Antietam is number one, followed by the Wall Street Crash, Trail of Tears, Spanish Flu, 1968 year of protests and assassinations, Cuban Missile Crisis, 9/11, and COVID 2020--in that order. This designation came from a panel of twenty-eight top historians. In the world, Black Death and the Holocaust topped the list, with COVID 2020 coming in sixth. Pondering these horrendous times in our history certainly puts a damper on one's holiday spirit. But it creates a bit of gratitude and hope when thinking about the discussions we have with our students and the projects we see being created. It is hard to imagine that anything could break the resilience we have seen demonstrated by the students with whom we work. We hope you will have conversations with your students, your children--anyone who might have an ability to sway our nation and our world toward hope, reconciliation, peace, and health. And just so you know, that's everyone. The power of one has been demonstrated repeatedly throughout history.
A little homework, do a quick search to see when the best times in history might be--American Revolutionary times pop up to be number one for the U.S. We have had great periods in our country, times for which we should be amazingly grateful. This end of year reflection period is a great time to consider that.
The last few weeks have been filled with new projects coming our way--by next school year we will have five new curriculums to share with you... and so much more. The new year is going to be a great year for NHDC. We are so grateful to our many supporters and to CU Denver, who ensure that NHDC is here to serve our kids and our community for years to come.
In that vein, a huge thank you to the Daniels Fund for their continued support--as you'll see in another area of our newsletter, we have been awarded a substantial grant--part of which will be used to explore those American Revolutionary and founding times. We look forward to sharing more.
Happy New Year!
Celeste
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Important Message Regarding NHDC
from Dean Pamela Jansma, Ph.D., College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Colorado Denver
We understand that many of you received information that as part of impending budget cuts at the University of Colorado Denver that the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences would end support for National History Day. This is not true. The commitment to National History Day and to the Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair will continue. The misunderstanding arose from the circulation of an internal list of possible actions that CLAS could take in response to cuts without the context in which the list was created. For transparency, the list included what CLAS funds in broad terms, including NHD and DMRSE, as well as ideas that faculty and staff presented about what should be considered. The list does and did not reflect any final decisions about cuts, but rather a starting point for brainstorming. It also was not in any prioritized order. We have supported National History Day for many, many years and are proud of what Celeste and Kayla have accomplished.
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NHDC & Friends of COSLI Chosen to Host Special Event
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We are honored to have been chosen to host the event ahead of the induction ceremony for this year's class of extraordinary women (see below)!
Stay tuned next month for the announcement of NHDC's nominees for next year's induction class.
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2023 Contest Dates
San Luis Valley--January 28
Charter--March 4
Western Slope--March 11
Boulder--March 11
Durango--March 17
Pikes Peak--March 18
Denver/Aurora--March 18
Central Plains--March 31
Greater Denver Metro--April 1
Pueblo/Southeast--April 1
Greeley/Northeast--April 1
Mountain April 1
Registration opens for all students on January 1!
Judging Registration for ALL Regional Contests Now Open! |
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Get Your Annual NHDC Calendar Today!
It's official! The 2023 NHDC Annual Calendar is available now! Designed and created by our Student Advisory Board, the calendar will provide both laughs and facts all year long.
Any donation of $20 or more will be sent a 2023 Calendar. Donate here.
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Register to Judge the State Contest Today!
It's never too early to register to judge the State Contest! It takes over 200 judges and volunteers to keep the day running smoothly, and to make the event a positive experience for our incredible students.
You do not have to be a historian or even a history expert to judge! We will train you, feed you, and we guarantee you will see some talented kids put together some amazing projects.
When: April 29, 2023
- 7:30-1:00 for preliminary rounds judges
- 7:30-4:00 for those who want to judge preliminary and final rounds
- Noon-4:00 for those who want to judge final rounds only
- Awards Ceremony is held at 5:00 pm and judges are encouraged to attend
Where: University of Colorado Denver on the Auraria Campus
*Professional development hours are available for educators.
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Student & Teacher Resources and Opportunities
Opportunities for Students
The Coolidge Scholarship
The Coolidge Scholarship is a full-ride, four-year, merit scholarship that may be used by recipients for undergraduate study at any accredited college or university in the United States. Any high school junior who plans to enroll in college in the fall of 2024 and is an American citizen or legal permanent resident is eligible to apply (current high school seniors are not eligible to apply). Winners may use the scholarship to pursue any academic major.
More information
Deadline: February 23, 2023 @ 5 pm eastern.
Colorado Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference
Revitalizing Social Studies: Work that Matters
March 6, 2023
History Colorado Center
Denver, CO
Registration coming soon!
Nation Council for History Education Annual Conference
March 23-25
Salt Lake City, UT
More Information
Resources for Students and Teachers
Finding, Analyzing, and Constructing History: A Research Guide for Students
from Library of Congress
Student Guide
Teacher Guide
Hispanic and Latino Heritage History Resources
from EDSITEment and National Endowment for the Humanities
Guides available here.
New Resource Collection from Mt. Vernon
Explore collection
Inside the Vault Online Programs
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Inside the Vault is a free monthly online program highlighting rare historical documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Historians, teachers, and other guests join our curators to discuss the historical significance of select documents.
When does Inside the Vault take place?
The live program takes place on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm ET via Zoom.
Who can watch Inside the Vault?
This program is open to the general public. Teachers, students, and history enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to participate.
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Save the Date
April 29, 2023
State Contest
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NHDC Receive Daniels Fund Grant
NHDC is proud to announce that it has been awarded a Daniels Fund Grant for the 2023-2025 cycle. We are honored to have been awarded our fourth Daniels Grant, and among other things, we plan to focus on American History and the founding of the United States.
Thank you, Daniels Fund!
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Announcements from the Gilder Lehrman Institute
High school students: Develop a comprehensive understanding of WWII in our new History U course
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The Gilder Lehrman Institute's History U lets high school students explore American history with top scholars—completely free of charge.
Current History U students use the program as
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A supplement to class discussions and resource for upcoming assignments and projects
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An extra credit opportunity in their AP History, AP US Government & Politics, and other social science and humanities courses
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A strong addition to college applications
Our new course is World War II, led by Michael Neiberg of the US Army War College. The course aims to add more context and nuance into the traditional views of the Second World War by providing a serious, scholarly, and objective analysis of the interplay between American, world, and military history during the most destructive war ever.
Watch the video below to learn more, and register for free here.
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Each History U course includes
In addition to World War II, we offer six other courses for high school students
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Four great ways to explore American history next summer
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The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is pleased to announce multiple in-person and online professional development programs for educators in Summer 2023!
Visit gilderlehrman.org/summer2023 to explore all of our summer PD opportunities for K–12 educators.
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Historical Tip of the Month
Good historical writers carefully evaluate and interpret their sources; they link causes and effects; they assign significance to actors, ideas, and events; and they weigh competing explanations for all of these. The analysis in your history essays can take a number of forms.
(Courtesy of Southwestern University)
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