We the People Competition
Recently Johnstown High School students in Mr. Russo’s Advanced Placement Politics Leadership and Economics (A.P.P.L.E.) course competed in the “We the People” competition at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Manhattan. Schools from throughout NY State participated in the event. The competition required students demonstrate their knowledge of the United States Constitution, government, public policy, and current events by working in teams to prepare and give four minute speeches. The students then had to extemporaneously answer six minutes of follow up questions from the judges.
The team of Augustus D’Amore, Alexander Jennings, and Emily Wheelis won an award for best responses to the Unit 6 questions which were related to the topic of “What challenges might face American constitutional democracy in the 21st century?”
The students are very appreciative of the generous donations from the Johnstown Lions Club, the law firm of Russo, Walsh, and Viscosi, and the Justice Resource Center, which made it possible for the students to travel to New York City for the event. The students would also like to thank the following members of our community for volunteering their time to come to JHS as guest judges to help the A.P.P.L.E. class prepare for the competition: Johnstown City Judge Michael Viscosi, Gloversville City Judge Traci DiMezza, Fulton County District Attorney Chad Brown, Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Amanda Nellis, Johnstown Mayor Vern Jackson, and Leader-Herald news page editor Josh Bovee.
