The excitement at Mosheim Middle School on Jan. 20 was palatable as the school conducted its fifth annual History Day.

All this success may have been difficult to envision five years ago when Mosheim teacher Lynn Hartman was inspired to take steps to involve Mosheim in National History Day after learning about it at a conference. As the school searched for community resources to support its new endeavor, Tusculum College's Department of Museum Program and Studies and the Andrew Johnson Memorial Association became involved.

The department has supported the History Day at Mosheim since the beginning, helping coordinate the event, supplying judges to evaluate student entries, and providing training and resources for teachers so they can better help students prepare their entries. The Andrew Johnson Memorial Association has provided financial support to the school to conduct the Day and have also made contributions to help with the expenses involved in sending students to the national competition.

The History Day event involves students in sixth through eighth grade preparing exhibits, documentaries, papers, or plays based on the theme selected each year by the National History Day organization. This year's theme is "Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events." Students research their topic and then illustrate what they have learned through the preparation of a visual exhibit, a written paper, a documentary with both text and visuals, or a play, written and performed by the students.

These efforts have not only brought the students and school success in district, state, and national History Day competitions, there have been other tangible academic benefits.

Mosheim students' scores in social studies on state tests have been among the top in Greene County for the past few years, says Mosheim Principal Yhona Jones, and writing scores have improved.

"National History Day has helped bring history alive for our students," she says. "Its importance here is tremendous, and strong relationships between students and teachers have been established." Citing an example, she tells of a student who earned a perfect score on his state writing assessment. The subject of his essay was "my greatest gift," and this student wrote about the love of history that he had learned from his teacher, Doug Lafollette.

Jones credits the continued success of the History Day to the efforts of the teachers involved, including Lafollette, Jada Jones, and Steven Tunnell. Hartman, who continues to be supportive of the event, teaches fifth grade. "They work countless hours for which they are not paid because of their dedication and love for the subject," the principal said.

Interest of students in history, which the History Day helped nurture, has resulted in the forming of the History Club at the school. Students in the club have the opportunity on a Saturday each month in the school year to travel to a historic site in the region.

Paul Fox, supervisor of fourth through eighth grades in the Greene County School System, also has praise for the History Day. "Due to the collaborative efforts of Tusculum College's museums and the staff of Mosheim School, the students of Mosheim are given an opportunity to explore the past. Through re-enactments, project boards, and video documentaries, students creatively interpret how and why historical events were and still are significant. From these experiences, students learn the impact historical events had on those living through them and how they contributed to making our society what it is today.

"We appreciate the time and effort expended by all who make the History Day possible," he continued. "Perhaps participation in the History Day will be remembered by students as an event in their Mosheim School experience that will positively influence their lives."

The anticipation Friday built through the morning as judges examined exhibits, watched documentaries and performances, and interviewed the participating students about their projects. The judges included members of the Andrew Johnson Memorial Association, representatives from area educational and historical organizations, and Tusculum College professors, staff, and a student majoring in Museum Studies.

The winners were announced during a program in the early afternoon which featured local storyteller Larry Kelley, who encouraged the students to build good character traits through a series of vignettes. Kelley, who teaches storytelling courses at East Tennessee State University, is on the staff of the Doak House Museum and works in its educational programs.

Tusculum College's Museum Studies program is the coordinator of National History Day in Northeast Tennessee, and is working to involve other schools in the National History Day. The program coordinates a regional competition, and this year's event has grown to include not only students in grades 6-8 from Greene County schools, but also high school students from Greene, Cocke, Hamblen, and Unicoi counties. The Regional History Day competition will be on Jan. 27 in the Chalmers Conference Center on the Tusculum College campus.

Winners from Mosheim and the regional competition will advance to the district competition in March in Knoxville. Winners from this competition advance to state competition, and those winners proceed to the national competition in May on the campus of the University of Maryland.