After a stellar showing in the National History Day citywide competition, Manhattan Day School eighth graders continued to exhibit their strengths and talents at the state level. MDS had the best showing and placement of all middle schools in New York State with seven finalists and two special awards, including one entry qualifying to compete in the National Competition.

The first place state winners were Leah Fishman and Hodaya Greenwald who won for their virtual exhibit board on Sesame Street. The project also won an award for Best First Time Exhibit Board. “We’re really excited that people appreciate the work we did,” said Greenwald. Added Fishman, “We learned a lot from our project and are excited to see it move forward in the competition.”

Zev Horwitz and Yoel Serraf placed fourth for their group documentary on The Navajo Code Talkers, and Reuben Frieber placed fourth for his individual website, The Pentagon Papers: The Key to Understanding the Importance of the First Amendment.

Emmeline Laifer and Sima Rosenthal won third place for their group exhibit board on the Propaganda of Terezin, and Ben Levy and Jonah Papernik placed third for their group website, The Ghost Army of WWll. Matea Frieber placed third for her individual performance, Hymn of the Partisans.

Sarah Berger placed sixth for her individual documentary, John Lennon and Yoko Ono—Communicating Peace One Bed at a Time.

Ronit Rechtschaffen won a special award for Best in Art and Culture for her individual performance on Popular Culture: Disney’s Communication of the Evolution of Women’s Roles in American Society in 1998 vs. 2021.

“To achieve this success, the students proved to be dedicated, cooperative and hard working, even at the end of their middle school journey,” said Allison Sobel, middle school social studies teacher and National History Day coordinator. “I am so proud of all of them and wish Hodaya and Sima the best of luck at Nationals.”