The team, led by Eighth-grade Social Studies Teacher Jennifer Evans, dedicated hours of preparation to the competition, which prompts students to research a historical topic related to an annual theme, then present their findings in one of five categories: Documentary, Exhibit, Performance, Website, and Paper.
This year’s theme was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History.” Students were asked to find a historical topic that interests them from any time or place in the world, but it must relate to the theme.
The school had 36 students participate in the regional competition, and eight have qualified for the state competition on May 2 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro campus.
“The fact that we made it to state, I'm so thrilled,” Evans said. “The dedication of the students was amazing.”
Evans said students had been working on their projects for six weeks and some asked if they could stay inside and work on their projects during recess.
“I said ‘I can't take your recess from you, it is a choice,’ so, some of them chose to come in during recess. They were in my room after school every day for a good three weeks until 5:15. I said, ‘I want you to see the sacrifice you made and see what you're capable of doing when you guys really put your minds to it.’”
The work was difficult, and some of the students showed moments of stress, so Evans talked them through that.
“They were proud of themselves and were able to see the investment they made in themselves. There were some tears and all the things, but they didn’t quit, they stuck with it and kept going.”
State qualifiers:
- Opal Giganti – First place, Individual Exhibit
- Pranav Pillai, Daniel Pitz, Haygen Hren, Sanidhya Jhunja, and Sathvik Korikana – First place, Group Performance
- Darren Tumenta – Second place, Essay
- Maya Enonjang – 3rd Place, Individual Exhibit
“I’m not allowed to say much of anything. To be able to watch them hold themselves accountable is so inspiring. They got so much out of it, and I told them ‘I want you guys to hold on to this when you are struggling with that one math problem you don’t feel you can do. Yes, you can do it, you spent six weeks editing one project! Just put that in perspective for yourselves.’”
Evans said several other teachers provided support for the students during their preparation, providing materials, areas to store projects, and offered encouragement along the way.
“We are incredibly proud of our students’ accomplishments and look forward to cheering them on at the state competition!”
Congratulations on your success, Wake Forest students, and good luck at the state competition!
About Wake Forest Charter Academy
Wake Forest Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Wake Forest, North Carolina, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through high school across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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