By MCKENZIE CASSIDY, “mailto:mcassidy@breezenewspapers.com”>mcassidy@breezenewspapers.com

On March 8, hundreds of students from 18 schools across the county gathered at Dunbar Middle School in Fort Myers for the annual Lee County History Fair.

Some 250 students submitted projects including individual exhibits, historical papers, documentaries or performances under the theme of “Conflict and Compromise in History.“

According to Kandyce Ericson, the district’s coordinator for social studies, students who earned first and second place at the county’s history fair will go on to the state competition in Tallahassee from May 2-3.

“This has been going on for a long time,” Ericson said. “We do this every year and some of the students go onto the state competition.“

Students researched a specific topic using primary and secondary sources on any topic related to the theme. They also chose to work individually or in groups with a maximum of five students.

Judges divide the student projects into two divisions. The junior division includes sixth grade to eighth grade, and the senior division include ninth grade to 12th grade.

For those students who earn first or second place at the state level in May, the next level is the national competition. The national competition will be held in June at College Park, Md.

According to the Office of Cultural and Historical Programs, more than 30,000 students in 24 of Florida’s 67 school districts participated in last year’s state competition.

Of the students who earned first and second place during the county fair this year, many were from Cape Coral schools such as Gulf Middle, Trafalgar Middle, Diplomat Middle and Caloosa Middle.

Cape students who earned first, second or third place include:

— Ieva Girdvainyte, Gulf Middle, earned second place for “Cracks in the Wall.“

— Darienne Boyden and Monica Amaya, from Trafalgar Middle, earned first place for “Ring Around the Rosie.“

— Katie Patrick and Justyne Peery, from Diplomat Middle, earned second place for “Yellow Fever — The American Plague.“

— Caleb Littlestone and Taylor Wagner, from Gulf Middle, earned third place for “The Battle of Thermopylae.“

— Raleigh Sharp, Diplomat Middle, earned third place for “Lords of Chaos.“

— Courtney Burkham, from Diplomat Middle, earned first place for “Cuban Missile Crisis.“

— Joseph Casey Wecher, from Gulf Middle, earned second place for “No Irish Need Apply.“

— Tiffany Saylor and Samantha Harrell, from Diplomat Middle, earned first place for “One Survivor’s Story: A Living Lesson.“

— Abby Gunderson and Jessica Spiro, from Diplomat Middle, earned second place for “Jonestown.“

— Stone Crockett, from Diplomat Middle, earned first place for “Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.“

— Taylor Nemetz, from Trafalgar Middle, earned third place for “Women Pharaohs Erased from History.“

— Sara Jackson and Carly Gunderson, from Diplomat Middle, earned first place for “Story of Two Sophies.“

— Jennifer Prichard, Rachel Ryder and Rebecca Shea, from Caloosa Middle, earned second place for “The Conflict of Rebellion, the Compromise of a Country.“

— Austin White, Owen Dexter, Melinda Krichbaum and MacKenzie Evans, from Diplomat Middle, earned third place for “Mel Fisher.“

— Isabella LeVan won third place in the individual documentary category for her excellent project entitled “The French Revolution.”