FMS trio
Presents film at Smithsonian



GUILDERLAND — The Smithsonian Institute has chosen a documentary made by three Farnsworth Middle School students to be presented at the National Museum of American History on Wednesday, June 14.

Eighth-graders Casey Gerety, Sohee Rho, and Katie Wells focused on the civil rights struggle in 1963 in their 10-minute film, The March on Washington: Standing Up for Freedom. (See The Altamont Enterprise, May 25, 2006.)

Last year and this year, the trio produced documentaries that placed first in the New York State History Day competition. They are slated to compete this year in the national History Day competition, in College Park, Md. June 11 to 15.
"They were picked out of 2,000 finalists; they are three out of nine students to present at the Smithsonian," said their advisor, Farnsworth enrichment teacher Deb Escobar yesterday.
"It’s almost better than winning," she said of the History Day national competition. "You’re compared against all the other categories, except papers."

The other categories include exhibits and performances.
Escobar said the three students were "jumping up and down" with excitement over the news of their selection.
Their teacher had the last word: "I said, ‘I told you it was really, really good,’" said Escobar.