On Sat., Feb. 25, 18 German students from Greenville High School competed in the 35^th Annual Texas State German Contest, held at Texas State University in San Marcos. This year 1,020 German students from 64 middle and high schools throughout Texas competed in 84 events representing a wide range of interests, including: competitions in music, academic knowledge, arts and crafts, extemporaneous and conversational speaking, skits, and declamation. Among the popular events are the “Pass auf!” (Pay attention! quiz bowl), folk dancing, polka band, and gingerbread house construction. Participants competed at their level of German, and were awarded ribbons and trophies in individual and group events.

Below are the awards received by GHS students at the Texas State German Competition:

2^nd place in German folk dance: team members were Kolton Evans (tanzmeister), Erik Cannon, Jessi Fawcett, David Foote, J.T. Foote, Laura Foote, Jordan Frimpter, Shea Garland, Anna Guiette, Nicolas Hazlett, Austin Johnson, Amanda Manning, Berkley Smith, Katie Tolly, and Nantzi Huffman.  This team is comprised of students from 1^st year level all the way up through German 4. The team must present 5 advanced level dances within a 15 minute time frame.

2^nd place in Vocal Chorus: team members were David Foote, J.T. Foote, Laura Foote, and Jessi Fawcett.

5^th place in Vocal Solo was Jessi Fawcett.

3^rd in Level 4 Skit: Aschenputtel (Cinderella) cast members were Cheyenne Eagle, David Foote, J.T. Foote, Shea Garland, Nicholas Ruprecht, and Katie Tolly.  All but one of these students are actually level 3 students competing above their actual level of study. David Foote was also awarded “Best Actor” in a Level 4 Skit.  He played the role of the prince in their German presentation of the Cinderella fairy tale.

6^th place in Polka Band: band members were David Foote, J.T. Foote, Laura Foote, Shea Garland, Amanda Manning, Michael Sisto, Berkley Smith, and Katie Tolly

To qualify for the state contest, students must have ranked in the top five in their events at Winterfest Regional Contest in Fort Worth. They then competed against the top five students from each of the other two Regions: Sprachfest held in the San Antonio area and Houstonfest held in the Houston area.

“GHS students like to participate in group events. They work very hard to perfect their performances and in so doing, they build a great camaraderie,” said GHS German Instructor, Sheila Easley. “Many of these students have been working to prepare for this contest since school began in August. For some of the Folk Dance Team, this was their 4^th year to compete at the state level having never placed lower than 2^nd place at the state level,” said Easley.