National History Day Preparations

Every year, Pleasant View students in middle and high school participate in the National History Day competition. Students must choose a topic applicable to the annual theme, conduct research, and create a project that fits it into one of the following categories: performance, paper, exhibit, documentary, and website. Students have the option to work in groups, unless they are writing a paper, or they may work individually. National History Day has four different stages; the school level, the regional division, the state level, and then finally, the national level. This year, the school level will be held on December 2nd, 2021. The December date is earlier than our previous school-level competitions, but it allows students more time to better incorporate the feedback they receive and improve their projects.

This year’s theme is “Debate & Diplomacy: Success, Failures, and Consequences.” This concept allowed for many of our students to find topics that related to the theme and their personal cultural heritage, as well. We definitely look forward to seeing the projects that our students come up with this year, especially since many can relate to their topics on a personal or family level.

Last year, the National History Day competition was virtual. This year, however, we are hoping to have a brand-new experience with our hopefully in-person competition. Due to this virtual venture, many people weren’t able to experience the competition to its fullest, but this year, people are getting more excited to be back in-person. Khadijah Abdeen, a new student at PVS who has never experienced the competition before, says, “Since I came, a lot of people have been telling me about it, and I can tell the work that many people are starting to put into their projects. I can’t wait to see how everything turns out!”

For many juniors this year, it will be their last year participating in the competition. Yasmeen AbuNasrah says, “Yes, I absolutely loved NHD, especially since most of my projects throughout the year had been exhibits so I could express my ideas through art. Sadly, I will miss part of it, but for sure won’t miss the heavy workload.” There is a level of inspiration that can be taken from her statement. Once someone grasps the flow of the competition, it’s sad to realize that your time with it is over, which is why every year counts and is memorable. All in all, it’s going to be exciting to see this year’s projects, as this year will definitely be one to remember.