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Greetings from the State Coordinator
Greetings!
It's Regional Contest season! Congratulations to students and teachers in the Genesee Valley, Central New York, Catskill, New York City and Western Southern Tier regions who presented their work at competitions over the past two weekends. And good luck to students and teachers in the Finger Lakes, North Country, Long Island, Southern Tier, Western New York, Lower Hudson, Capital and Mid Hudson regions who will be attending contests through the end of March.
Whew! That's a lot of contests, and I am pleased to say that participation is GROWING by leaps and bounds this year. As always, I attend as many contests as I can each year to help as a judge or contest volunteer. I will be at the North Country contest this weekend, Southern Tier next weekend, and at the Capital contest on the 27th. I hope to see you there!
Best wishes,
Tobi Voigt |
And the T-Shirt Design Contest Winner is. . .
 As you know from our last two monthly e-newsletters, we organized our first t-shirt design contest this year. We opened it up to current History Day students, alums, teachers and even parents.
The design criteria were simple, and included the following stipulations: The design had to be inspired by National History Day and/or New York State History Day and could not contain information on a specific annual theme. It had to include the words "New York State History Day," and be something that a boy, girl, man or woman would want to wear, even if they don't know much about History Day.
I am pleased to say that we received four entries by our contest deadline, which was Friday, February 26. All entries were from students with History Day experience, either as participants or siblings of a participant. The winner receives a $100 cash prize and will have his or her design printed on a t-shirt for sale at the state contest on Thursday, April 29th and Friday, April 30th.
Our four entries came from Mickey Quinn, a former NYSHD participant from Glenville, NY; Stephen Reisig, the brother of participant Lauren Reisig, from Massapequa Park, NY; Sophia Flanagan, a participating student from New York, NY; and Albert Tai, a participating student from New York, NY. You can see their designs on our blog: http://nyshd.blogspot.com/2010/03/and-t-shirt-contest-winner-is.html
The staff at the New York State Historical Association viewed all the entries this week and were forced to make some tough choices. In the end, we were able to decide on one winner.
And the winner is Stephen Reisig, whose design is pictured above.
Stephen had the following to say about his entry: "This design represents the many different aspects of the great state of New York. There is the Empire State Building in the city skyline, the 'Big Apple' in the center and the Adirondack Mountains. I went with a sort of Urban theme, because I thought that when a person thinks of New York, they obviously think of the city, but I also brought in the mountains to show the rural aspect of New York. The final part of my design is the book at the bottom, which ties this logo to history day itself."
Because every design for this year's contest was fantastic, we will be making all the designs available for purchase on coffee mugs, t-shirts and more at our online store: http://www.cafepress.com/nyshd | |
| New York State History Day Contest Information
 Have you qualified to advance to the New York State History Day contest? Confused as to what to do next?
You can find information on how to register using our online registration system and how to get to Cooperstown as well as listings of Frequently Asked Questions and this year's Special Awards.
Some key things to keep in mind if you will be participating in New York State History Day:
- The registration deadline is Thursday, April 1st.
- The entry fee is $15.00 per student. All students in a group entry must register separately.
- Paper and Web Site entries must be completed and submitted by Friday, April 1st. You must send 4 copies of your paper entry, postmarked by April 1st. After April 1st, students with web site entries will not be able to make changes to their project until after the contest
- Exhibit, Performance and Documentary entries do not need to send anything related to their project in before the contest.
If you have any other questions regarding the state contest and you can't find the answers online, please contact Tobi Voigt at t.voigt@nysha.org or 607-547-1534. We're looking forward to seeing you in April! |
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National History Day: Action Alert 2010
 National History Day is asking for your help to gain support from members of Congress for a $1 million National History Day appropriation that will help our state programs grow and improve.
Thanks to your efforts, NHD was included in the omnibus bill for FY 2009 & FY 2010 with an appropriation of $500,000! It's important to note that to be included in a congressional budget for the first time is a major accomplishment. National History Day clearly has the attention of members of Congress, so let's try and build on our success.
Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is circulating what is called a "Dear Colleague" letter. The letter is similar to a petition that members of Congress sign in support of funding a program. The Dear Colleague is addressed to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee and asks them to support funding NHD in the FY 2011 budget. It is important that we get as many signatures as we can - as soon as we can.
It is critical that you pick up the phone today to contact your members of Congress and ask them to sign the NHD Dear Colleague Letter. Our goal is get as many members of Congress to sign this letter in two weeks, which will demonstrate wide-spread support for funding for the NHD program.
When calling a Representative's office, tell them:
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Your name and the city and state you live in.
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You're calling today to urge the Representative to sign the Dear Colleague letter, in support of funding for National History Day in the FY 2010 budget. The letter is being circulated by Rep. Van Hollen.
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Why this money would be helpful to the NHD program in your state and district, how it would make an impact to increase the number of participants and improve overall programmatic efforts in the state.
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They can contact Sarah Schenning in Rep. Van Hollen's office at (202) 225-5341 with questions or to sign the letter.
How to Contact a Member of Congress
To find your Member's contact information, including phone and fax numbers, visit www.house.gov, www.senate.gov, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative.
If you have any questions contact Kim Fortney at National History Day at (301) 314-9542.
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Program Links
New York State
National History Day
Facebook Page 
Program Sponsor
New York State Historical Association
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