Students in Grades 7-10 in the Bloomfield Hills Schools will have another week to decide the mascot for the new Bloomfield Hills High School, set to open in fall 2013.
Upon getting feedback from student leaders at Andover and Lahser high schools, district administrators decided more clarification was needed about the three finalists selected by the students: the Blackhawks, the Chargers and the Royals.
For roughly the past month, students have used the district's Internet-based internal communication system to narrow the top selections. Voting will be open to all students in those grades from Tuesday-Feb. 13.
"We only get to do this once, so we want to get it right," Andover Principal Rob Durecka wrote in a weekly update to parents Friday. "The students, teachers, and administration involved have decided to provide clarification of what each mascot represents as well as an opportunity to vote again."
To clarify, officials added the following descriptions to the voting system.
- Blackhawks — Bird of prey
- Chargers — Medieval war horse
- Royals — Related to royalty, i.e., kings, queens, etc.
Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Ed Bretzlaff said he has the results of the similar contest for the new color scheme, but he won't tell until all voting is over. In the running were combinations of: black and blue; blue and gold; and silver, purple and black.
"I know the results but don’t want to taint the voting process in relation to the mascot," he told board members at last Thursday's meeting.
Once final decisions are made, students will be invited to present graphic designs for the new school logo, Bretzlaff added.
The district and is later this year that could fund construction on the current Andover High School site.
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Sounds like it was two separate issues...and the adults like the color choice that "won" the contest, but not the mascot. Therefore, vote again on mascot? Kids, why would you want to vote AGAIN for the mascot without knowing the color choice decision that "won"? What if you choose Blackhawks and the color scheme that "won" the earlier contest is blue and gold? What will your team logo look like in the end? When "voting", it is always best to know the entire issue and what the end result will be.... information is key BEFORE going to the ballot to vote.
There were two votes one for the colors the other for the mascot. I gather there was confusion among the students as to what the mascots were. Chargers: Bolt of lightening; a car; medieval war horse; a plug for an I-pod ;-) Blackhawks: A bird of prey; a helicopter; Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk Tribe Royals: this one is easier...a crown, but there could be something else I suppose. Since there was confusion, I can see why they would opt to have a re-vote for that portion so the students all know what is envisioned. I don't see a problem separating the color choice from the mascot because that allows each student to select what they really want. What if you wanted to be a blue and gold Royal but the choice given was a black and blue Royal, that wouldn't be much of a choice. So, separating the two choices makes sense. The students are going to be given the opportunity to develop the graphic themselves, which I think is the right thing to do. Our schools have some very good and creative artists who deserve a chance to develop their ideas for the mascot that wins the contest. Last, the student leadership guided the process, so there has been a lot of student involvement from the beginning including the narrowing down of the choices to three for each category by all the students in grades 7th-10th. I don't think this has to do anything with what the adults like and don't like.
Planning for this eventuality has been under way for 1-1/2 years. Choosing colors and mascot is simply another step along the path. J. Wagner