The school name came first. Then a team name was chosen last week. And now they seek an official logo and colours.
The new Penhold Crossing Secondary School, which will open in September adjacent to the Penhold Regional Multiplex, will call its sports teams the Skyhawks, which is a tribute to the area's aviation history.
“Hawks are known to be beautiful and majestic birds of prey that are intelligent, swift, keen eyed and loyal,” said Mark Crawford, vice principal of Penhold School who will become the principal of the new Grade 7 to Grade 12 school this fall. “The name Skyhawks is also related to the subdivision of Hawkridge in which the school is situated.”
But there is more work to be done, said Crawford.
“We are busy trying to get kids, community members and parents to send us some art work as to what the Skyhawks logo could look like, what will go on our jerseys and our letterheads,” he said. “I think it's just great that the kids are getting involved and taking part, the same as parents and community members of trying to put a stamp of identity on that new school.”
School officials are now accepting submissions for an official logo and colours until March 13. The contest is open to students, parents, community members and staff of Chinook's Edge schools.
Each submission must be original work and not related to any trademarked images, and they must all include the artist's name, the Chinook's Edge school they are served by and their contact information. All entries become the property of the judging committee.
The artist behind the winning design will receive an iPod. Judging will be by staff committee and the winner will be announced after March 20.
The winning design will be turned over to a professional design company for refining and digitizing so it can be used on the school's sports uniforms, letterhead, signage and other locations to represent Penhold's new learning institution.
Crawford said the new school, which is being built to accommodate a maximum of 500 students, will have about 200 kids attending its first year – enough to field a basketball team.
“Our numbers are pretty low initially to start. We are only looking at about 200 students in the school to begin with. We will get there (500 students) sooner than later because this community is really growing quickly,” said Crawford. “I don't think we will have any difficulty of fielding a basketball team right away but football is further down the road.”
