Saint Joseph School student moves on to state social studies fair
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – More than 40 students participated in the social studies fair at Saint Joseph School in Martinsburg.
The overall winner was sixth-grader Jack Allen, who will move on to the state competition. His project, titled “I Approve this Message,” addressed how presidential ads have shaped and influenced politics. The overall runner-up was sixth-grader Lorna Cramaro-Foulkes, who explored how the economy in West Virginia is impacted by coal.
Jason Allen, coordinator of social studies education at Shepherd University, evaluated a few of the projects and recruited Shepherd students Leanna Bayse, James Rinker and Rebecca Strunk to help judge them. Bayse is a senior from Hardy County, W.Va.; Rinker is a sophomore from Berkeley County, W.Va.; and Strunk is a senior from Berkeley County. All are secondary social studies majors who are aiming to become middle or high school teachers.
Other judges were Peter Galvin, a Saint Joseph School alumnus and previous social studies fair winner; Jason Hills, a local software professional; Salvina Michel, a third-grade teacher at SJS; and Matthew Puzzini, a senior at Jefferson High School.
All of the Saint Joseph School sixth-graders and about half of the eighth-grade class participated in the virtual competition. The students created video presentations with PowerPoint or trifold boards, wrote two- to three-page research papers about their topics, and created abstracts to discuss how they conducted their research and analyzed the results.
Winners were:
U.S. history: Julia Carter, first place; Charles Bohrman, second; Adam Sharp, third; Rachael Dong, runner-up; and Donovan and Brady Smith, best group
World history: Andrew Galvin, first place; Freyja Dreflak, second; Molly Pentony, third; and Karissa Sood and Matthew Hayes, runners-up
Political science: Jack Allen, first place
Anthropology: Noah Galvin, first place
Sociology: Haley Lechliter, first place; and Brooke Yost and Havana Mancilla, best group
State and local studies: Cramaro-Foulkes, first place; and Greyson Swisher, second
Economics: Eliza McCarthy, first place; Chloe Fitzwater, second; Nathaniel Fusiarski, third; Rosie Hniang, runner-up; and Alexander Dreflak and Brandon Lu, best group
For more information about Saint Joseph School, call 304-267-6447 or email mpartington@sjswv.org.
Cutlines:
SJS Jack Allen, Lorna Cramaro-Foulkes: Saint Joseph School sixth-grader Jack Allen, left, was the overall winner of the school’s social studies fair. The overall runner-up was sixth-grader Lorna Cramaro-Foulkes, right.
SJS eighth-grade winners: Eighth-grade winners in the Saint Joseph School social studies fair are, from left: Greyson Swisher, Nathaniel Fusiarski, Noah Galvin, Rachael Dong and Julia Carter.
SJS group winners: These Saint Joseph School students won group awards in the school’s social studies fair. Kneeling, from left, are Alexander Dreflak and Brandon Lu. Back row, from left: Brooke Yost, Havana Mancilla, Donovan Smith and Brady Smith.
SJS sixth-grade first place: Sixth-grade students at Saint Joseph School who won first place in the school’s social studies fair are, from left, Haley Lechliter, Eliza McCarthy and Andrew Galvin.
SJS sixth-grade second place: Sixth-grade students at Saint Joseph School who won second place in the school’s social studies fair are, from left, Freyja Dreflak, Chloe Fitzwater and Charles Bohrman.
SJS sixth-grade third, runners-up: Sixth-grade students at Saint Joseph School who won third place or were runners-up in the school’s social studies fair are, kneeling from left, Adam Sharp and Matthew Hayes. Standing, from left: Molly Pentony, Rosie Hniang and Karissa Sood.