WESTPORT — Local high and middle school students came away with honors for a total of 19 projects in the recent regional division of the “Connecticut History Day” contest.

Students from Staples High School and Coleytown and Bedford Middle schools entered projects on the theme, “Rights and Responsibilities in History,” in the March 1 event for the opportunity to advance to the statewide finals.

Sponsored by the Connecticut Democracy Center, the contest aims to engage students in “historical research, interpretation and creative expression through project-based learning,” according to the awards announcement.

The Westport students’ “success is a testament to their curiosity, dedication and the critical thinking skills they’ve developed in our social studies classrooms,” Lauren Francese, the school district’s social studies coordinator, said in the announcement.

Students whose projects placed first, second or third in their category at the regional contest move on to the state competition. Local students who placed in the Fairfield regional contest include:

Junior Papers
Third place: Zayd Hemdan, Bedford Middle School: ”Harvey Milk: A Voice for Equality, A Responsibility for Change.”

Junior Individual Exhibit
First place: Avery Hand, Bedford Middle School: “The Scopes Trial: Rights and Responsibilities in Education.”

Third place: Hanna Calandro, Bedford Middle School: ”Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal.”

Junior Group Exhibit
Second place: Hugh Devine and Arjun Aujla, Bedford Middle School: ”Clay v. USA.”

Third place: Serena Beitel and Charlotte Worraker, Bedford Middle School: “FDR and the Four Freedoms Speech.”

Honorable mention: Juliette Newshel, Katharina Boenicke and Lilly Bromberg, Bedford Middle School: ”Margaret Sanger and Birth Control.”

Junior Individual Documentary
First place: Zoe Abrams, Coleytown Middle School: “How Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Advanced Women’s Rights in the Workplace.”

Third place: Penelope Whitbourne, Bedford Middle School: ”Rebel, Rebel: David Bowie and the First Amendment.”

Junior Group Documentary
First place: Ashley Charise, Maia Steigler, and Janaki Velugula, Bedford Middle School: “1970 Kent State Shooting and the Effect on America.”

Second place: Paige Turnbull, Reiko Nagata and Charlotte Carkey, Bedford Middle School.

Junior Individual Website
First place: Evie Sloan, Bedford Middle School: ”Order 9066, Why it happened, Who it affected and What it impacted.”

Honorable mention: Alex Jiang, Bedford Middle School: ”Plessy v. Ferguson: Separate But Not Equal.”

Senior Group Exhibit
First place: Amelia Berkowitz and Jori Altman, Staples High School: ”The White Rose: How Student Activists Redefined Nonviolent Youth Resistance.”

Third place: Jessica Anderson, Siri Klassen and Maddie Sine, Staples High School: ”COINTELPRO: The FBI’s Hidden Agenda.”

Honorable mention: Alexa Beyda, Maddie Gray and Alexa Wolff, Staples High School: “From Mink to Millions: Bridging the Gender Divide Between Opposition and Opportunity.”

Senior Individual Documentary
Second place: Brendan Whitbourne, Staples High School: ”WWII and the Birth of Human Rights.”

Senior Group Documentary
Second place: Juliet Cutler and Gavin Jamali, Staples High School: ”Voices of Empowerment: Women’s Roles, Rights and Responsibilities in the Harlem Renaissance.”

Third place: Sam Viner, Emm Himes and Ethan Selva, Staples High School: ”Stepping Up to the Plate: Jackie Robinson’s Impact in the Fight for Civil Rights.”