Lithia

Wolves territory

The county's 23rd high school, opening in August, tracks down a mascot name that hasn't been snared.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 21, 2003

One tough thing about being Hillsborough County's 23rd high school is that 22 other schools already have a mascot and school colors.

Cougars? Taken. Sharks? Also taken. Ditto for the Hawks, the Eagles, the Mighty Chiefs.

"So obviously we can't be the sharks, or the cougars, or the hawks," said Joe E. Newsome High principal Becky Anderson, whose school at 16550 FishHawk Blvd. is scheduled to open in August.

Instead, Newsome's incoming students have crowned themselves the Wolves.

For Anderson, deciding on a mascot is an important first step toward establishing an identity for Newsome, whose students will transfer from high schools with deep roots.

"There's a lot you can do with that mascot," she said. "There's the wolf den, the wolf pack where everyone watches out for each other. It gives the message that we're a family."

Shortly after the School Board decided which students would attend Newsome, Anderson and assistant principal Phil Carr met with their future students to talk about all the important things that make a high school tick: academic offerings, sports teams, teachers -- and of course, the mascot and school colors.

Anderson and Carr held assemblies with students from Durant and Riverview to take their vote on a mascot and colors. They also went to Randall and Rodgers middle schools, which will feed graduating eighth-graders into Newsome.

Students overwhelmingly chose the Wolves over the Marlins and the Buccaneers, which has somehow gone unclaimed.

"I think maybe the Buccaneers were too close to home," Anderson said. "The kids said they wanted their own thing."

Nearly 850 students are being transferred from Durant High, home of the Cougars. More than 150 students will move from Riverview High, home of the Fighting Sharks.

When it came to school colors, incoming students passed over the option of purple, black and Vegas gold -- even though black is part of Riverview High's color scheme, and the gold is part of Durant's.

Instead, Newsome students will deck their Wolves out in navy blue, light blue and white.

Now school administrators' thoughts are turning to possible school logos and wolf-inspired art for the hallways and auditorium.

Anderson hasn't picked a design yet, because she wants students' input.

Fortunately, she has time: Construction of Newsome High is on schedule, but not near completion. For now, Anderson's and Carr's offices are trailers just beyond the dusty construction zone. Every week, Anderson goes to the front of the school and takes pictures of the workers' progress for a scrapbook that students, coaches and teachers can enjoy.

Those teachers and coaches aren't all hired yet, but when they are, Anderson will dub them fellow Wolves.

"This will be one of the things that draws us together," she said. "So it has to be a reflection of all of us."

-- Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 661-2443 or svansickler@sptimes.com .