Five Towners head to state competition

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Students from Hewlett and Lawrence high schools and Woodmere Middle School competed in the annual Long Island History Day competition at Hofstra University on March 18.

Seven Hewlett-Woodmere students advanced to the New York State History Day competition in Cooperstown on April 23.

The brother and sister History Day dynasty duo of Jonny and Rachel Miller captured first place in the senior group for documentary with their “Conflict, Rescue and Ramifications: The Significance of Entebbe in Israeli Foreign Relations.” The Millers have dominated History Day contests since middle school.

Fellow Hewlett High student Gabrielle Nakkab placed second in the Senior Ind. Exhibit for “Peace by Peace: Resolving Conflict Through Compromise in Northern Ireland.”

Woodmere Middle School student Natalie Popilevsky too first in the junior paper category with her “The Constitution of 1889 Emperor Meij’s Aspiration to Governmental Reform When Feudalism Failed.”

Madeline Heyman, Madison Honig and Sydney Honig finished in the top spot for junior group performance with their “Tinker v. Des Moines: Black Armbands — A Symbol of Protected Free Speech For Students.”

Lawrence High senior Stacy Portillo won a CLIO award for creative writing in a historical paper. According to Simon Doubleday, chairman of Hofstra’s History Department, Portillo’s paper was the best-written among more than 200 historical papers submitted in the senior division.

Junior Heysil Baez finished in fourth place for individual documentary and came back with the American History Award. She was inspired by her fascination with “Hamilton: the Musical.”

Juniors Carl Roberts and David Monroy finished fourth in the group documentary category and took home the Latin American History Award.