Middle Township Middle School’s Cohwen Mills Competes at National History Bee in Atlanta

COURT HOUSE — Cohwen Mills, a seventh-grade student at Middle Township Middle School, competed at the National History Bee in Atlanta last week. While he did not make it into the top 64, he represented Middle Township well in the initial round, which attracted about 1,000 students from across the country.
Cohwen earned a spot to compete on the national stage after logging a strong finish at the Regional History Bee, held in Philadelphia in April. At that event, he took an exam on his own and then competed against other qualifiers to answer questions presented by a moderator.
Cohwen began working toward competing in the History Bee back in the fall when the Middle Township Middle School social studies teachers collaborated on creating an exam to identify the school’s history buffs. The teachers identified 10 students from this exam to then take an online exam to qualify for the Regional Bee. Cohwen was one of nine Middle Township students to qualify for regionals. He was the only one to qualify for the highly competitive national competition.
Cohwen follows in the footsteps of Jon Mazzille, who qualified for the National History Bee last year as a Middle Township sixth grader.
According to Middle School Principal Toni Lehman, the content of the History Bee exams reflects the school’s social studies curriculum. To further prepare students for the History Bee, teachers Mr. Handley, Ms. Mills (Cohwen’s mom) and Mr. White sponsored a History Club for students who qualified for the Regional History Bee. Club members reviewed material together in the History Bee study guide and played history games using Kahoot and questions generated from previous History Bee exams.
“We are extremely proud to have Cohwen represent Middle Township at the national level, “ said Lehman. “His achievement is proof not only of his dedication, but the dedication of our social studies teachers who worked with our History Club students and are exceptional classroom instructors.”