Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) hosted the 10th annual History, Industry, Technology and Science (HITS) Expo March 21.
The event showcases CCPS students’ science fair and History Day Fair projects. Students in middle and high school submit projects such as papers, documentaries, performances and websites focused on historical figures and events.
The following students earned accolades for their History Day Fair projects.
Junior Historical Paper
- Carmen Terlecki, sixth grade, Piccowaxen Middle School — “General Smallwood’s Reaction to British Troops,” first place.
- Elsie Bowling, seventh grade, Piccowaxen — “The Clean Air Act,” second place.
Junior Group Performance
- Nova Olysse, sixth grade, and Maliha Randolph, sixth grade, John Hanson Middle School, “The Keating-Owens Child Labor Act,” first place.
Junior Individual Documentary
- Samantha Morrison, St. Mary’s School Bryantown— “Locked Down: Life During Covid 19,” first place.
- Isabelle Ridgeway, St. Mary’s School — “The Discovery Penicillin,” second place.
Junior Group Documentary
- Micah Johnson, sixth grade, and Michael Johnson, sixth grade, Milton M. Somers Middle School — “The French Revolution,” first place.
- Chrisostom Mendoza, seventh grade, and Ananeya Shewakena, seventh grade, Mattawoman Middle School — “The Meiji Restoration,” second place.
Junior Individual Website
- James Vergne, sixth grade, Mattawoman — “WWI Harlem Hellfighters,” first place.
- Luna Yimam, seventh grade, Mattawoman — “Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott,” second place.
Junior Group Website
- Aiden Williams, seventh grade, and Justin Henry, seventh grade, Matthew Henson Middle School — “Beyond the Law: Jim Crow Etiquette and Social Rules,” first place.
- Catherine Massaquoi, seventh grade, and Rayla Rhen Venadas, seventh grade, Mattawoman — “The Philippine Revolution,” second place.
Senior Group Website
- Almaz Mekias, sophomore, and Saka Rehman, sophomore, North Point High School — “Beauty or Brutality? The Movement to End Foot Binding,” first place.
- Yan Ko, junior, Aluko Koffi, senior, Alexis Malone, junior, and Steven Miranda, junior, North Point — “The Impact of Earth Day (1970),” second place.
Junior Individual Exhibit
· John Mateo, sixth grade, Mattawoman — “George Washington’s Ring of Spies,” first place.
· Tanner Green, St. Mary’s School — “The Atomic Age and How We Learned to Live with It,” second place.
Senior Individual Exhibit
· Zuri Matthews, sophomore, Henry E. Lackey High School — “Louis Armstrong,” first place.
Junior Group Exhibit
- Ashlynne Bench, seventh grade, and Madison Dunn, seventh grade, Somers — “Anne Frank,” first place.
- Kamila Benites, seventh grade, Kamille Bulls, seventh grade, Soriyah Valmond, seventh grade, Hannah Roberts, seventh grade, and Autumn Daniel, seventh grade, Theodore G. Davis Middle School — “The White Rose,” second place.
Special awards
- Fatima Khan, sixth grade, Davis, “Desegregation of Charles County Public Schools,” Accokeek Foundation.
- Christian Burrell-Bazil, sixth grade, Hanson, “Little Rock Nine: Standing Up Against School Segregation,” African American Heritage Society.
- Zhaleh Buster, sixth grade, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, “U.S. Mexican American War: Role of Slavery 1846-1848,” African American Heritage Society.
- Amina Ziden, sixth grade, Henson, “Maryland Women’s Suffrage Movement,” Charles County Archaeological Society of Maryland.
- Siena Kirby, sixth grade, Davis, “The Seneca Falls Convention,” Ella Virginia Houck Holloway Chapter, U.S. Daughters of 1812.
- Carmen Terlecki, sixth grade, Piccowaxen, “General Smallwood’s Reaction to British Troops,” Historical Society of Charles County.
- Michael Keener, sixth grade, Piccowaxen, “Battle of Gettysburg,” Historical Society of Charles County.
- Hadley Hammonds, sixth grade, Piccowaxen, “But Ameila Did,” Ivy & Pearls of Southern Maryland Community Charities.
- Almaz Mekias, sophomore, and Saka Rehman, sophomore, North Point, “Beauty or Brutality: The Movement to End Foot Binding,” Ivy & Pearls of Southern Maryland Community Charities.
- Kennedy Brooks, seventh grade, Mattawoman, “The Scientific Revolution: The Galileo Trial,” MD Alpha Beta Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa.
- Clara Downs, sixth grade, Hanson, “Five Shots, One Revolution: The Story Behind the Boston Massacre,” Port Tobacco Chapter National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
- Jonathan Brown, sixth grade, Stoddert, “Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad,” Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., Eta Omicron Sigman Chapter.
- Luna Yimam, seventh grade, Mattawoman, “Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott,” Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., Eta Omicron Sigman Chapter.
- Eliakim Louis Quirante, seventh grade, Davis, “Salutary Neglect,” Thomas Stone Chapter — Sons of the American Revolution.
- Isaac Vazquez, sixth grade, Somers, “The Public’s View of Military Before, During and After the Vietnam War,” Patuxent River Naval Museum.
- Parker Lockhert-Jilek, St. Mary’s School, “The Creation of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources,” Patuxent River Naval Museum.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,904 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).