And the winning school name is...

Talk about it

Hidden Ponds. Legacy. Pathways. Woodland.

Those were the final four names submitted for Alexandria’s new elementary school to board members at Monday night’s regular school board meeting.

The new school, which will replace Washington Elementary School, is set to open for the 2009-2010 school year. It’s name is Woodland Elementary School.

The district’s naming committee, which was formed and began meeting last November, designed and implemented a process that would be followed to gather name recommendations for the new elementary school.

Of the more than 130 names that were submitted by students, staff members and community members, four names and their supporting reasons were chosen, including:

•Hidden Ponds Elementary School. Hidden in the woods on the school property is a pond surrounded by trees. There is also a number of ponds and wetlands directly behind the school and adjacent to the school property.

•Legacy Elementary School. The name would serve as a celebration of the people in the community who believe in building a legacy through supporting education.

•Pathways Elementary School. Pathways would kind of tie into Discovery and Voyager without being space-like. Pathways was chosen because people have interconnecting pathways throughout their brain and body.

•Woodland Elementary School. The beautiful location on which the school is being built is abundant with trees. The name Woodland Elementary School seems appropriate. And the Cardinal mascot also works wells with this name, as in the Woodland Cardinals.

At the beginning of January, 10 potential names were chosen through individual feedback from committee members. The names reflected the highest interest from the committee as a whole.

On January 19, the naming committee reviewed the names and their supporting reasons to narrow the selection once again. Through discussion and then a ballot process, the four final names were chosen for school board consideration.

The policy states that through a balloting procedure, the name would be chosen.

At Monday night’s meeting, during the first round, board members received a ballot listing all four names. Board members voted for their three favorites and Hidden Ponds and Legacy were immediately thrown out. Each received four votes, while Pathways received six and Woodland received seven.

Board members were given another ballot and asked to choose between Pathways and Woodland. Pathways received three votes and Woodland received four votes.

Superintendent Terry Quist noted that Washington Elementary School was a name submitted, but that the naming committee didn’t choose it because they heard from many people that the new school should have a new beginning and therefore needed a new name.

After Woodland Elementary School was voted on, one board member noted that it at least has the same initials as Washington – WES.

Tags: new, elementary, school, name, woodland, elementary, school, washington, elementary, school, district, 206