An online survey will be going out this week to current Sewanhaka students, families and staff to gauge their thoughts about the district’s new mascot, Superintendent Thomas Dolan said Tuesday night.
During the August Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education meeting, the board approved a resolution to spend $3,000 to Josten’s for consultation on rebranding the school’s mascot.
“The purpose of the survey is to learn what people are proud of about Sewanhaka High School and what their thoughts are about the mascot as we move forward,” Dolan said during his report during the board meeting Tuesday night.
Sewanhaka has until the end of the 2024-2025 school year to decide on a new mascot and Dolan said with Josten’s help it could be done earlier.
Josten’s, a firm usually known for making school rings and yearbooks, is working with the Sewanhaka mascot committee to collect, interpret and facilitate data associated with the new mascot search.
Sewanhaka High School needs to change its “Indian” nickname and mascot after New York’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to ban the use of Native American mascots, team names, logos and depictions on April 18.
In unrelated district news, Dolan said the district is meeting with the architect currently renovating Sewanhaka High School on Oct. 31 to get an accurate timeline on when work will be completed.
The board has been holding meetings at Floral Park Memorial High School since the summer as different parts of Sewanhaka get renovated.
The district also recognized its valedictorians and salutatorians for the school year. Yusef Lateef and Danielle Sattaur were named Elmont Memorial High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. Maya Barracecchio and Ayushi Das were named Floral Park’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
Michelle Zheng and Grace Leimgruber were named H. Frank Carey High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
Aparna Shibu and Nathaniel Park were named New Hyde Park Memorial High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian and Isabelle Protopapas and Maidson DeMaio were named Sewanhaka’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
The next public meeting for the Sewanhaka Board of Education will be Tuesday, Nov. 21.
