DDD Knights to wear red, black and white - new school name yet to be decided
By MARK PETTUS The prinicipal's advisory council for the new northwest St. Johns County high school, currently called DDD, met for the second time Thursday night (Nov. 27) and chose the school's colors and mascot. The council also agreed on the top three names it would like the school board to consider for the new school. The council's top choice for a school name was St. Johns High School, followed by Northwest High School and Creekside High School. St. Johns County School Board Member Beverly Slough, who attended the meeting, cast doubts on the top adoption. "I hate St. Johns," Slough said. "There are just too many things out here called St. Johns now." In addition, naming the school St. Johns High School might cause confusion because the district already has St. Johns Technical High School, and will soon be adding St. Johns Virtual School. The three names the council agreed to put forward were culled from a much longer list that residents and students had created and voted for online. Principal Paul Abbatinozzi said that no matter what the council recommends, the School Board will see all of the names the community put forward and could decide to use another name from that list or a different name altogether, but stressed that the board would likely give weight to council's recommendation. Slough agreed, but said there was one member of the board who prefers naming schools after historical figures. No matter what name the school eventually ends up with, its mascot will be a knight, its teams will be called the knights, and the school's colors will be cardinal red, black and white. The top three choices for mascots were the knights, cougars and pirates. The name pirates was quickly dismissed, but the battle between knights and cougars was much closer. Cougars won the first ballot by one vote, but after reviewing artwork containing potential cougar logos many on the council decided the cougar mascot was too similar to the panther mascot at Nease High School. The School Board does not have a say in the decision on the school's mascot or colors, so Thursday night's decision is final. The council will deliver its recommendation for a school name on Monday, Dec. 3, and the School board is expected to choose a name at its regular meeting on Dec. 11. Some of the other school names the School Board will consider, and the reason they were rejected by the advisory council: Fruit Cove and Julington - rejected because they were already being used for other schools in the district. Creeks - too many schools have "creek" in their name. (The council modified the name to Creekside and it became one of the top 3 choices). Aberdeen - new to the area, no connection to St. Augustine, name of a development (DRI issues), students wouldn't take ownership Russell Sampson - named after a landowner (schools will not be named after living persons) Aberdeen was the top choice in the online survey. Related: MarkPettus's blog | login or register to post comments | printer friendly version | Tags: DDD | Gonzo | High School | Knights | new school
Submitted by MarkPettus on Sun, 12/02/2007 - 11:25am.
There are other examples in the area of schools sharing names. In Clay County, for instance, Lakeside Elementary sits next to Lakeside Jr. High, which feeds into Orange Park High School, as does Orange Park Junior High. I have to say, though, that I think the whole naming process seems to cause a lot of unnecessary stress. I attended Eugene Field Elementary school. I was in college before I figured out who Eugene Field was, but the education I received in grades 1-6 wasn't diminished a bit by me not knowing why my school was named after him. Submitted by GFT on Sat, 01/19/2008 - 1:48pm.
I am glad that the school board is considering renaming the Creekside High School to Bryan Tutten High School in honor of Sgt. Tutten who gave the supreme sacrifice to his nation when he was killed in Iraq on Christmas Day, 2007. This will certainly give meaning to the school name, honor and pride to the students and tribute to the many veterans of the county. |
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There are so many schools in St Johns County and so many names. And many more schools to come. Why can't we have Julington Creek Elementary, Julington Creek Middle School and Julington Creek High School. Why can't the same name be used for different levels of the schools? St Johns Elementary or St Johns High School? Bartram Middle School. What's wrong with Fruit Cove High School? Most of the students are from Fruit Cove Middle School.
The two new schools at WGV should have the same name, one is elementary and the other is the middle school. Keep it simple, easy and common sense. I realize we don't know what school our kids will go to for middle or high school, because of rezoning. This name game is getting old. I really do like St Johns High School. No matter what the school board has to say about that one. Go with the community vote and the principal approval, not the school board. If not, stop asking for community input and just let the school board pick the name, that's what they are doing anyway.