Juanita High School Students Vote on New Mascot
Redmond, Wash. – Juanita High School students voted for their new high school mascot on December 1. Juanita High School will now be known as the Juanita High School “Ravens”. This change was announced to students late yesterday evening. Juanita becomes only the second public school in the state to have “Ravens” as its mascot.
The Ravens mascot was selected after a process where students, staff and community members identified the characteristics and values they would like to see reflected in the new mascot. Characteristics such as uniqueness, strength, pride, power, respectful, inclusiveness, and togetherness were identified to help students select a mascot befitting the culture of the school. Ravens are known for being strong, inquisitive, graceful and powerful; many of the characteristics that students, staff and community members identified for the new JHS mascot.
Following the removal of the JHS mascot in July 2020, JHS Principal Kelly Clapp has led a process to select a new mascot for the school. They used the “Naming Facilities and Mascots” procedure outlined on the LWSD website here: https://www.lwsd.org/about-us/policy-and-regulations/management-6000/procedure-naming-facilities-and-mascots-6970p.
The committee used the top values identified earlier in addition to District policies to narrow down the choices for the student vote. The school then held two votes: a semi-finalist vote with four options and a final vote between the top two mascots.
The steps in the mascot selection process are outlined below:
- Principal meets with prospective or current students of the school to explain criteria and procedure.
- Students nominate school names and mascots that meet specific guidelines.
- Committee of parents, staff, and students (if secondary) pare list down to 6-8 names that meet approved guidelines. If proposed name for school is that of a person, approval from the person's family/estate is sought.
- Names/mascots are presented to the Superintendent for evaluation and review.
- A ballot is developed based on the names/mascots approved by the Superintendent; each student shall receive one ballot. Ballots must be submitted by a specified due date in order to count.
- The naming committee counts ballots and determines winning name/mascot. If winning name is that of a person, the person's family/estate is contacted. The district must obtain written confirmation of permission to use a person's name.
- Name is presented to the Superintendent for approval.
The school will now work on a new logo and graphics to accompany their new mascot.
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About Lake Washington: Lake Washington School District is a high-performing, fast-growing public school district serving Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish, Washington. It is the second largest district in the state of Washington, with over 30,000 students in 56 schools.