The Winchendon Wapiti

What is a 'wapiti' you ask? 'Wapiti' is the run-away leading proposal for a mascot for The Winchendon School. Wapiti is a broadly used term for elk, and the students and faculty have strongly supported it as the new mascot.

Since students first welcomed me to Winchendon last year, they have been consistently talking about the need for a mascot. The “green wave” just hasn’t done it for them, and lots of ideas have emerged over the year. There were so many good ideas, it was clear that we needed a contest. And what contest is any good without prizes? After all, we wanted as many good entries that we could get.

In the end, there were eight who submitted not just designs but essays explaining their submissions. A panel of students and faculty members reduced this to three, and then most of the community voted last week. The final three included a mustang (with a link to our Toy Town heritage), a lynx and the wapiti (also known as elk). More than 240 people voted with over 60% choosing the wapiti and fewer than 4% saying that they didn’t like any of the three options.

A quick visit to Wikipedia suggests that the wapiti is one of the largest members of the deer family and one of the largest mammals found in North America and eastern Asia. Members of the species are also found in Europe and New Zealand, and wapiti are known for being very adaptable, just like students from Winchendon. The proposer of the wapiti, history teacher and hockey coach Sean Hayes wrote in his proposal:

"This animal draws similarities to the Winchendon community in various ways. The wapiti are found on three continents in particular, while we have students who come from all over the globe. The wapiti are often times seen living in large numbers in order to provide protection from predators. They work together for the greater good of the heard, providing protection for one another while they eat and sleep....some cultures even revere the elk or wapiti as a spiritual force."

Mr. Hayes had also thoughtfully researched the School's crest and history in an effort to develop a link to the antlered animal featured on the crest. The crest is thought to tie back to the town of Winchendon in Buckinghamshire, England. Mr. Hayes had initially focused on a buck, but that would have resulted by definition in a male mascot. The wapiti allows for a tie to the crest and can can be either male or female (although the females do not have antlers). Many also liked the ideas that the wapiti are strong and can be found on multiple continents, and no one had heard of other schools selecting it as a mascot. Some liked the possible mystery around wapiti and the fact that some people would ask "what is a wapiti?"

Mr. Hayes wins a new Ipod for his efforts. We will be working to refine the design for the wapiti logo and will discuss the Wapiti at the next Board of Trustees meeting at the end of the month. Thank you to Mr. Hayes, to the Student Council for stewarding the selection process and to all of the students and faculty who participated in the selection process.