Welcome to the website for Gettysburg Area High School. Our school community aims to provide opportunities to all types of students that come to us with unique dreams and aspirations. It is our goal to support these students along their individual pathways to success. Our intentions to help create this success are summarized simply... #BeHere, #BeInvolved, #BeCommitted, and #BeKind. This is the #WarriorWay.

I have been part of leading this educational staff since the fall of 2014 when I was hired as an assistant principal. I became principal in the fall of 2017. It's difficult to pinpoint the best content for this "Principal Page." We want to create an exceptional experience for students that will help prepare them for life. 

The GAHS Mission -

Gettysburg Area High School will establish an environment of respect and integrity as our collaborative community creates opportunities to engage learners in experiences that provoke critical thought and challenge their creative intelligences.

The GAHS Vision -

Gettysburg Area High School ensures that all learners have access to a rigorous curriculum of experiences that will develop into a personally relevant pathway to future success and ultimately mold citizens who will make positive and meaningful contributions to the world around them.

To get a better sense of our relationship with our graduates in the making,  I thought it might be fitting to share my annual yearbook messages written for our graduating seniors...

To the Class of 2021,

Life is a journey. That’s so incredibly cliche, I know. Nonetheless, it’s true  Your experiences at Gettysburg Area High School were intentionally designed to prepare you for the later “legs” of your journey. It’s our job to create challenges and obstacles that become your opportunities for growth and development. School is a tool to help you prepare for whatever’s next…

Who could have foreseen the disruption… the obstacles... the challenges… the change? Your high school experience, hopefully just one “leg” of your life’s journey, was infected by a pandemic that altered the course that you had envisioned all along. Normal hadn’t been considered so closely until suddenly normal was gone. 

Many will note the expected experiences that were lost along the way. As your principal, these losses are not lost on me. Social events were traded for social distancing. Smiles were literally masked. And the structures of schooling shifted dramatically. 

Despite it all, we continued to learn, even when lessons were distant or slightly unclear. Even with covered faces, we played. We performed. And often we succeeded. We remained here, in the midst of a journey of knowns and unknowns. As lives were lost, we were reminded how incredibly blessed we are to simply #BeHere. Remember that your presence is a gift. Be grateful for the opportunity for your journey to continue…

With each new day, I urge you to #BeInvolved in making it better. The effort will sometimes come down to you, but often it will involve those around you. Work for solutions and improve the day. If you can #BeCommitted to the process of improvement throughout your journey, there will be no destination beyond your reach. 

#BeKind to others along the way, and you’ll often find that your journey becomes that much brighter. Allow the perspectives that you have gained to triumph over the losses that have caused such pain. Be a WARRIOR in every sense of the WAY… and make the most of the journey that remains. 

Know that we are ALL incredibly proud of you and wish you joy and success on the pathway ahead... 

Go Warriors!

Sincerely,

- Mr. Jeremy Lusk

To the Class of 2020,

Gettysburg Area High School will soon be parting ways with the Class of 2020. A new decade has begun, and it’s waiting for you to continue what you’ve started here. You have worked incredibly hard to build a foundation for future success. Four years of assignments and assessments… Four years of competitions and performances… Four years of friendships and experiences… Four years of memories…

High school is full of challenges in many forms. As educators, we are charged with pushing you to grow academically and otherwise. With pride, we have seen you answer the call with grit and perseverance. We have provided you with opportunities to challenge yourself as well, and you have responded with creativity, ingenuity, and innovation. You are to be commended for overcoming the obstacles on your path, pushing forward like Warriors. 

It is our hope that the #WarriorWay will live on in each graduate of the Class of 2020, as you head your separate ways and continue down your own path. I would encourage you to reflect on why we started with the simple advice to #BeHere. Wherever you go from here, be sure to live in the moment… appreciate the moment… and seize the moment. You will never get those moments back. #BeInvolved with those around you to create better moments… a better reality for the community you are part of. #BeCommitted to working for solutions. Ask thought-provoking questions, and solutions will come with your commitment to build that better reality. 

Most importantly, #BeKind. You are all unique. That should be valued and appreciated. Each of you has had a unique pathway through GAHS, and your pathway forward will continue to be your own. As you interact with others along your path, treat them with kindness and respect. You will find that this approach will brighten YOUR path and THEIRS as well. 

On behalf of every staff member at Gettysburg Area High School, I congratulate you on all of your achievements, and I wish you the very best as you strive for future happiness and success. 

Go Warriors!

Sincerely,

- Mr. Jeremy Lusk

To the Class of 2019, 

Your Gettysburg Area High School experience is nearly complete. With graduation day approaching, one of life’s major transitions is imminent. “Am I ready for what’s to come?” Most of you will ask yourself that question as commencement draws near.

Ironically, the term commencement possesses opposite meanings. While the word commencement is used for a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred on graduating students, the term is also used for the beginning or start of something. Your graduation will mark both an end and a beginning. You will soon break from a system of schooling that you have been part of for most of your life. As this stage of your journey comes to an end, the next chapter of your story will commence. 

Our mission has been to engage you with opportunities that provoke critical thought and creativity. These moments of opportunity have unfolded over the course of four years in the form of academic assignments, artistic and technical projects, musical performances, athletic competitions, and lessons in service and leadership. The educational process is essentially a series of obstacles. You have transformed these challenges into your opportunities, and watching you achieve and grow has been deeply rewarding. 

Ready or not, you will take the next step. There is no way to be completely prepared for what’s to come. For that reason, I offer you the following piece of advice. Approach your future like a Warrior.

Be Here… Be present in the moment. Focus on the obstacle directly in front of you. While being grateful for the experiences of the past, and with an eye on the future, be mindful of the here and now. 

Be Involved… Be giving of your time and energy to promote the general welfare of those who surround you. Serve your community with your unique talents and abilities.

Be Committed… Relentlessly pursue your goals. Enjoy the challenges along the path of your journey to success. Never quit.

Above all else, Be Kind. Make it a better world, one interaction at a time. Igniting a positive spirit in yourself and others is the Warrior Way. 

The staff of the Gettysburg Area High School wishes you the very best. Thank you for all the joy and inspiration that you have given us. We are proud of the Class of 2019. Go Warriors!

Sincerely, 

- Mr. Jeremy Lusk

To the Class of 2018,

Four years ago, we started our Gettysburg Area High School “experience” together. As we head down this final leg of our journey, it’s natural to reflect. From the first day I stepped into our high school as an assistant principal, I couldn’t help but notice the many opportunities available to students. Each day since, I have been energized and excited to watch all of you, the class or 2018, seize those opportunities.

I have witnessed your successes in countless ways. Academically, your growth and achievement deserve acknowledgment. Many of you will depart from GAHS with college credits and certifications in hand. You have gained knowledge and honed skills that should fill you with confidence as you move on to post-secondary institutions of learning or directly into the world of work. The intellectual capital that you have developed is the result of your effortful response to the challenges and offerings presented to you by our educational staff. 

Along the way, I have enjoyed your musical pieces and theatrical performances. Your artistic creations and expressions have filled me with awe. In the athletic arena, I have joined you in the thrill of victories, and I have observed your gracious sportsmanship in defeat. Most importantly, I have seen you organize collaboratively, and I have watched you emerge as our leaders of tomorrow. For so many reasons, you have made me proud. I am proud to be a Warrior. And I am proud to be the principal that will shake your hand on graduation day.

Never forget what you have been part of here. The class of 2018 is special. One day, we will all look back upon your impact on the culture and spirit of our school. I can picture an arrowhead in my mind. It is etched with a phrase that says it all, “The Warrior Way.”

On behalf of the faculty and staff of Gettysburg Area High School, I thank you for your many contributions and wish you the very best as you move on with your many talents to make a positive influence in the world. Go Warriors!

Sincerely,

Mr. Jeremy Lusk