Each year the state FFA officers visit chapters throughout Pennsylvania to interact with students and various Ag classes. This year four officers visited the GSHS chapter during the Horticulture, Vet Science, FFA 9, and FFA 12 classes. The officers led team building games and helped students understand all of the opportunities FFA has to offer. The activities taught FFA students about team work, following directions, creativity and problem solving skills.
Year: 2012
Job Shadow Helps Students Discover Future Career Options
Freddy Raupp, a current Business & You student, shadowed Captain Cuthie of the United States Reserves, as part of the job shadow requirement for Business & You. On this day in November, Captain Cutie and the men in his unit were running a weapons certification course. Freddy was afforded the opportunity to watch the test and observe the range course. Next, he and Cuthie went to the armory where Freddy got to see a number of weapons (50 cal machine gun, M4, M240 Bravo). He even got to watch the men pick up their Stryker’s for their upcoming deployment and take a tour.
“I was amazed by how much technology was crammed into the vehicle,” stated Freddy. Towards the end of his job shadow he was able to see the Shadows. The Shadow is a 17 foot wingspan unmanned plane.
“This experience allowed me to see what military training may be like. I had a really amazing time and I am now even more seriously thinking about the military.”
Hannah Williams Named to AAA All State Team
Senior Hannah Williams has been named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association AAA All State team! This follows Hannah’s awards as a 1st team section 2 LL League All Star, 1st team PVCA AAA All District All Star and Lancaster Intel All League selection!
Congratulations to Hannah as she joins former SPOTVB alums Kara Hildebrand (’05), Maria Horning (’08), Ashley Schnader (’09), Rachel Wenger (’09), Lauren Horst (’12) and Steph High (’12) as the school’s 7th PVCA All State Selection.
GS Grad Selected for Solo Performance at West Chester University
Rosemary Ebery, a Garden Spot graduate, was selected to sing “O Holy Night” at the 91st annual holiday program given by the West Chester University School of Music. To read more about Rosemary’s exciting accomplishment, visit My Elanco News.
Art Students Paint Windows for Christmas on Main
Garden Spot students kick off the fifth annual Christmas on Main event by painting holiday images on store windows in downtown New Holland.
On Saturday, November 10th, students, Ella Bergdoll-Oberhammer, Nga Do, Hannah Faber, Gina Heywood, and Shannon O’Malley met downtown to paint creative holiday scenes on two business windows.
The students began the day by painting a
warm fireplace scene on Dr. Georgelis’ Orthodontist office window.
Next, the girls painted a computer screen image complete with sleigh and reindeer on the window of Fix My Computer business located in the Kaufmann building.
This year Christmas on Main will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2012. The
event is sponsored by the New Holland Business Association.
Check out the highlights of the day 
by visiting their homepage
Spartan Footballers Claim Section 3 Title
The 2012 Spartans finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record for only the second time is school history. The Spartans managed to maintain the lead in every second of their 10 regular season games. The season showcased a stingy defense that was ranked second in the LL League, forcing 31 turnovers and scoring 7 TD’s from the defensive side of the ball. All 11 defenders played team defense in the truest sense of the word. Individual defensive leaders include Khalil Fox wit h7 sacks, Matt Martin with 6 interceptions, and Rylan Sweed with 72 tackles. The defense gave up a league low of 109 yards rushing per game.
The offense was led by a strong offensive line, sophomore QB Mitch Martin and
senior Adam Haas averaged 37 points per game. Mitch Martin had an incredible sophomore campaign throwing for over 1100 yards and 15 TD’s and rushing for over 600 yards and 10 TD’s. Adam Haas at running back, eclipsed the 1000 yards mark rushing and rushed for 18 TD’s. This is the first 1000 yard rusher for GS since Ross Shober in 2006. Austin Haas led receivers with 21 catches. The Spartans made hard work, commitment, and sacrifice their credo as led by team captains include Rylan Sweed, Ben Swarr, Adam Haas, and Ben Weaver.
The Spartans finished with a #5 District 3 AAA ranking and earned a home playoff game for the second time in school history facing the Manheim Central Barons. The Spartans suffered a disappoint loss as they were plagued turnovers and bad field position. Also, 2 TD’s were called back on penalties that 
did not influence the play. Despite the loss, the Spartans outgained the Barons in yards per carry and first downs.
With two strong seasons in a row including playoff appearances, the standard has been set for the 2013 Spartans to continue the relentless pursuit of a District Championship.
ELANCOnline Receives Public Recognition
ELANCOnline was recently featured in Lancaster Newspapers showing the benefits of the ELANCOnline program. Read the full article and watch a short video about our program by visiting LancasterOnline
A Real-Life History Lesson
Students in Mark Leaman’s 9th Grade History Class received a real-life history lesson recently. Several seniors from New Holland’s Garden Spot Village Retirement Community came to Garden Spot to meet with the students to share their experiences living through many of the historical events that the students are learning about in their American History course. The students found the experience to be much more meaningful than learning the same information from a textbook or video.
Watch the Blue Ridge Cable’s story about the event below.
Three from GS Named to LL League Golf All-Star List
Congratulations to the Senior Members of the Garden Spot Golf Team, Aaron Fricke, Zach Hildebrand and Tyler Clisham, for being named to the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2 Golf All-Star Team. Aaron and Zach were both selected as first team all-stars, while Tyler was selected as an honorable mention. This was Aaron’s third consecutive year as a member of the first team. Aaron and Zach both competed in the District III Championship at Briarwood Golf Course in York in October. Aaron finished in the top 5, qualifying for the state regional tournament. Junior Hailey Fricke also qualified for the Girl’s District Tournament after a top 10 finish at the LL League Championship.
The Garden Spot Golf Team finished in a second place tie in Section 2 with a 32-10 record. Congratulations on a successful individual and team season.
Link to LancasterOnline’s article about the 2012 All-Star selections.
LL Girls Volleyball Awards Banquet Winners
Congratulations to our SPOTVB captains: Senior, Hannah Williams and Juniors, Maddy George and Katelyn Snader. Hannah and Maddy were honored as 1st team LL League Section 2 all stars while Kate was honored as a 2nd team LL League Section 2 all star.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association selected Hannah and Maddy as District 3 AAA all stars. Hannah was named to the first team and Maddy to the second team.