Sheedy Contest
Research & Education : William F. Sheedy Essay Contest
Contest Information:
EVERYONE COMES FROM SOMEWHERE
Did you ever wonder about your own family? Have you heard stories about your family from your parents or grandparents? The people in your family who came before you are called your ANCESTORS. When you hear stories about your ancestors you are learning about your own family history.
TELL US ABOUT ONE OF YOUR ANCESTORS
Start by asking your parents or other family members about your family’s history. After you hear some stories, pick ONE person you would like to learn more about. You may choose someone who is alive now, or someone who lived a long time ago.
YOU’LL PROBABLY WANT TO FIND OUT:
- Where and when your ancestor was born and lived
- What sort of work your ancestor did, and where he or she went to school
- What daily life was like for your ancestor
YOU MAY WANT TO TELL ABOUT SOMETHING THAT REALLY HAPPENED TO YOUR ANCESTOR
such as arriving in America for the first time, fighting in a war, getting through the Depression or surviving a hurricane or flood. There are interesting stories in every family.
BE CREATIVE WHEN YOU TELL YOUR ANCESTOR’S STORY
For instance, you can write a story, draw pictures, include other artwork or use real photographs. You decide the best way to introduce your ancestor.
HAVE FUN!
Since 1990, the Middlesex County Historical Society has sponsored a contest to honor its longtime treasurer, the late William E. Sheedy. The contest is intended to promote each student’s awareness of his or her family history. Third-grade students in Middletown public, private and parochial schools are eligible to enter the contest.
The Sheedy History Contest taps into students’ innate inquisitive spirits and hones their research skills as they use a variety of techniques as well as primary and secondary sources to create their depictions. They interview family members, dig up old newspaper clippings, and unearth photographs and documents to explore the connections between a loved one’s life and the era he or she lived in.
Entries are judged on their creativity, neatness and overall presentation. Winners receive a $20 cash award and all participants are presented with a certificate of participation and a special pencil. We will celebrate all those who enter the contest at a reception at General Mansfield House in June. Judging is conducted by an impartial panel of teachers, historians and officers of the Middlesex County Historical Society.
We hope you encourage your child to enter.
Each spring, the Middlesex County Historical Society holds its annual William E. Sheedy Memorial Contest. The contest is open to all third graders in Middletown public and private schools. We ask that you give each of the children in your class the packet of information about the contest and encourage your students to enter.
Our online exhibit, Their Own Stories, explores the lives of a number of families from many different backgrounds who made Middletown their home. Your students may find the exhibit instructive as they think about their own family stories.
The Sheedy History Contest taps into the students’ innate inquisitive spirits and hones their research skills as they use a variety of techniques as well as primary and secondary sources to create their depictions. They interview family members, dig up old newspaper clippings, and unearth photographs and documents to explore the connections between a loved one’s life and the era he or she lived in.
Please note that we ask all entries to be in essay or scrapbook form–posters, videos, audiotapes or other electronic formats will not be accepted.
Entries are due to to us in early April. In May, we contact each winner by mail and inform each school principal of winners from their school. We also provide you with certificates of participation and special pencils for each participant, and return the original entries. Teachers and winning students receive invitations to a reception to be held in June at the General Mansfield House at 151 Main Street, Middletown.
If you have any questions call the Historical Society at 346-0746 or email us.
The Middlesex County Historical Society has sponsored a contest to honor its longtime treasurer, the late William E. Sheedy since 1990. The contest is intended to promote each student’s awareness of his or her family history. Third-grade students in Middletown public and private schools are eligible to enter the contest.
CONTEST RULES:
- The contest runs from early February to early April. Each child should submit an entry to his or her teacher by the deadline, for delivery to the Middlesex County Historical Society. Please call to make any special arrangements.
- Entries must include student’s full name, address and telephone number, name of school, and teacher’s name.
- Entries should be submitted in essay or scrapbook format. Entries may include photographs and copies of documents and artifacts. Regretfully we cannot accept entries in the form of posters, videos, audiotapes, CDs, or online files.
- Your last paragraph in your essay or scrapbook should be a summary. Please write about 5 sentences to tell the most important things you learned while doing your research. If you are a winner, you will be reading your summary paragraph at the reception.
- Entries will be judged on creativity, neatness and overall presentation.
- Entries will be considered on an individual basis. Authors of the top-winning entries will be contacted by mail by the Middlesex County Historical Society and each will receive a $20 award. All participants will receive a special certificate and a pencil and be invited to a special reception in their honor to be held in early June at General Mansfield House at 151 Main Street in Middletown.
QUESTIONS? Contact the Middlesex County Historical Society at 860-346-0746 or mchs@wesleyan.edu
EVERYONE COMES FROM SOMEWHERE
Did you ever wonder about your own family? Have you heard stories about your family from your parents or grandparents? The people in your family who came before you are called your ANCESTORS. When you hear stories about your ancestors you are learning about your own family history.
TELL US ABOUT ONE OF YOUR ANCESTORS
Start by asking your parents or other family members about your family’s history. After you hear some stories, pick ONE person you would like to learn more about. You may choose someone who is alive now, or someone who lived a long time ago.
YOU’LL PROBABLY WANT TO FIND OUT:
- Where and when your ancestor was born and lived
- What sort of work your ancestor did, and where he or she went to school
- What daily life was like for your ancestor
In addition to listening to family stories, you may want to research your ancestor’s life and times by reading old letters, diaries and newspaper articles; digging out old family photographs or official documents, like birth certificates, military discharge papers or report cards; or examining heirlooms that once belonged to your ancestor. Think about how life for your ancestor was different from or similar to your life today.
YOU MAY WANT TO TELL ABOUT SOMETHING THAT REALLY HAPPENED TO YOUR ANCESTOR, such as arriving in America for the first time, fighting in a war, getting through the Depression or surviving a hurricane or flood. There are interesting stories in every family.
BE CREATIVE WHEN YOU TELL YOUR ANCESTOR’S STORY.
For instance, you can write a story, draw pictures or include photographs and copies of documents. You decide the best way to introduce your ancestor.
HAVE FUN!
Since 1990, the William E. Sheedy Memorial History Contest has honed the research skills of Middletown’s eight-year-olds, who study town history as part of their third-grade curriculum. Each spring the Middlesex County Historical Society competition invites students to research the life of an ancestor and report their findings in an essay format.
The result is an annual outpouring over 100 wonderful portraits of beloved grandparents, quirky aunts and uncles, and accomplished forebears from a more distant past.
The finished reports reveal an inquisitive spirit worthy of any historian. The students use primary and secondary sources and a variety of research techniques to create their depictions. They interview family members, dig up old newspaper clippings, and unearth photographs and documents to explore the connections between a loved one’s life and the era he or she lived in.
Each year the entries represent an impressive variety of cultures and experiences, from immigration in the early 20th century to American life during the depression to Colonial-era values. Many, too, reveal with humor and poignancy the significance of good deeds and the importance of family. While many students benefit from the contest through their discovery of remarkable accomplishments, unusual talents or acts of courage, it is often the values and words of wisdom quietly passed on that make the biggest impression.
As one third-grader winner wrote in her winning report about her grandfather, a musician and candy-maker, he “taught me that you have to work hard in your life and that your family is the most important accomplishment you can have — but a little music and candy in your day can help.”
Each year, the winning historians are presented with a $20 award, and all entrants receive a certificate of participation and a special pencil. In early June, the Historical Society hosts a reception at General Mansfield House to honor all the participants in the contest and their families. The Historical Society’s exhibits and (weather permitting) the gardens are open for viewing.
The William E. Sheedy Memorial History Contest was established by friends of the late William Sheedy, who served for many years as the Historical Society’s treasurer.
The contest is open to all Middletown public and private school third graders.
