West Orange relief high school name, mascot, colors discussed at meeting

WINTER GARDEN  After a community meeting at West Orange High Thursday, June 23, the new relief high school is one step closer to having a name, mascot and colors.

At least 50 parents, students and community members showed up to give their input on potential names, mascots and colors for the new school. The room was divided into a handful of cluster groups, and each was given a list of everything that already had been suggested via social media. 

The resounding crowd favorite for a name was Windermere High School, with Lake Butler High School close behind. Many parents in attendance voiced their reasoning that the Windermere name represents the community, with one adding that even though the school is not located in the town of Windermere, it is still Windermere by address.

For mascots, the groups chose Hawks, Wolverines and Coyotes as the top three picks. Coming close behind as the fourth choice for mascots were the Gators.

Finally, for colors the top three sets were: navy and silver with a green accent (like the Seattle Seahawks); red and gold with black as an accent; and green, gray and white.

“Tonight was about representing the community and what the community wanted it to be,” said Julie Sadlier, SAC president-elect at West Orange High. “It gives us a starting point as a community and also gets everyone excited. The school’s walls are going up, the gymnasium will be up this week and the principal’s really excited to get everything rolling.”

From here, the West Orange relief high school’s PTSO will give these top picks to the Orange County School Board. The school board then will take them to ninth- and 10th-grade students — as well as middle-school students — who will get to suggest their ideas. This portion of the process likely will begin in September, Sadlier said.

The Orange County School Board will create a final SurveyMonkey survey on which parents, students and the community can vote. The board then will make a final decision on the name, with colors and mascot to follow. Sadlier said she is hoping for a decision before Christmastime.

“It should be a pretty quick turnaround by the time the forms are in and the survey link is online,” she said. “They’ll then have a school board meeting and announce it.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].