Wildomar Fourth-Grader To Compete In State-Level History Competition

A fourth-grader from Sycamore Academy of Science and Cultural Arts in Wildomar, along with a group of seventh-graders from Terra Cotta Middle School, were honored this weekend for their presentations that were selected for submission into the Riverside County Office of Education's 28th Annual History Day competition.

Sycamore Academy fourth-grader Rafael Ibarra took second place in the "Individual Poster" History Day competition for his study titled "Lewis & Clark ... Jefferson's Diplomats."

With his win, Rafael advances to state competition April 28 - May 1 in San Jose. If he wins there, he'll move on to the nationals scheduled for June 12-16, at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Terra Cotta Middle School seventh-graders Chelsea Gwaltney, Layne Sellers and Bailey Ward took third-place honors in the "Junior Group Exhibit" for their in-depth study "How the Nazi's stole the art of Europe: Diplomacy to get it back and the debates over ownership."

In total, 11 Lake Elsinore Unified School District students were selected to compete in History Day. Between them, they submitted seven entries as part of this year's History Day theme of "Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences."

The event took place March 19 at Ramona High School in Riverside.

According to Riverside County Office of Education Public Information Officer Rick Peoples, the entries were judged with three criteria: historical quality, quality of presentation, and adherence to the theme. 

Two-hundred and twenty-one students from 10 school districts and one charter school -- Sycamore Academy -- competed Saturday, representing 33 schools. There were 116 entries in the various categories.