MS Students are “We the People” Champions

NCS 8th-graders took first place in a city-wide U.S. history challenge.
On Feb. 22, students in the 8th-grade American Government class took first place in a “We the People” competition against other Washington, DC, schools held at the Georgetown University Law School. The competition, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, asked students to work in teams and respond to questions displaying their understanding of U.S. history and Constitutional concepts. 
 
The students worked for several weeks in their government class, as well as on their own. They were required to answer a complex question within a specified time, and then had to respond to spontaneous questions from a panel of judges. The judges came from a variety of backgrounds and included attorneys, educators, police officers, and government workers. The judges engaged the students and challenged them, and the students had to think on their feet about a range of constitutional ideas. Some of the questions the students responded to were:
  • What is the right to “due process of law?” Should young people, under the age of 18, have the same due process rights as adults? Why/why not?
  • How did the Supreme Court acquire the power of judicial review? How should justices determine the meaning of the words in the Constitution?
In the end, the students displayed a solid understanding of the ideas upon which the U.S. government is based. They not only referenced the thoughts of the framers of the government, but they also were able to relate those ideas to modern interpretation. We are very proud of our 8th-grade students for their efforts and we congratulate them and their teachers, Blair Parker and David Sahr!
 
Students participating included:
  • Charlotte Saul
  • Ly-Lan Schaszberger
  • Caroline Gibson
  • Sita Strother
  • Rosie Delk
  • Zoe Lindahl
  • Katya Amelung
  • Elizabeth Brogan
  • Arianna DiGreggorio
  • Alexandra Karppi
  • Julia Wang
  • Alison Cenname
  • Ellie Frank
  • Lia Kapani
  • Sabrina Sadeghian
  • Samara Watkins
  • Morgan Thompson
  • Danielle Horne
  • Emma Greenfield
  • Becky Maksimovic
  • Sophia Boyer
  • Claire Bowen
  • Lizzie Wiggins
  • Katerina Savopoulos
  • Siobhan Robinson-Marshall
  • Hadley Irwin
  • Zoe Gray
  • Erica Sanders
  • Hazel Horvath
  • Annabel Ricks
  • Carla Griffiths
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