Two groups of Harker middle school students were named winners in the Hamilton Education Program’s online competition, in which middle and high school students wrote and performed songs based on their own historical research. Eighth graders Manalee Chowdhury, Rory Hu and Zahra Syed created a song and video that addresses many inaccuracies in the famous story of Paul Revere’s ride. Fellow eighth graders Riya Chatterjee, Sophie Yang and Ellen Zhang tackled the trial of Thomas Preston, a British military officer whose involvement in the Boston Massacre was a highly contentious issue. Both teams have been invited to New York City to see a performance of “Hamilton” and meet the cast of the popular musical. Both videos are available to view online.
