Glacier High's mascot quest in Round Two

The bell has rung for Round One of the mascot-naming bout for the new Glacier High School.

Now it's on to the next round of community participation.

This is when you get to convince mascot-committee members one-on-one why your idea is best.

Nine committee members, led by District 5 Superintendent Darlene Schottle, held their inaugural meeting Monday night. They took a look at a condensed list, in which duplications were sorted out from more than 500 submissions by community members who want a hand in picking the mascot and school colors.

After discussion, they came up with a top 10, off-the-cuff working list.

They also set the criteria for choosing a mascot:

-The mascot needs to be related to the Flathead Valley/Glacier Park area, Schottle explained.

-It will not be something already in use. Specifically, the committee agreed the school should not have a mascot that is shared with another Class AA school, a state university or a nearby high school.

-It needs to be something unique, but not abstract.

-On the practical side, the mascot has to be something marketable so a visual image can be created.

-And it needs to be politically neutral, Schottle said, to avoid bickering by various groups who could take offense at insensitively chosen mascots.

The mascot-naming committee's next meeting is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Flathead High School conference room. The public is welcome.

Schottle said the committee expects to narrow the choices to the top two, maybe three, suggestions that night.

She said they don't want to go lower than that number at that point so that some options still will exist for school colors and mascot designs.

Round Three will be the colors, drawing from what is natural to the mascot and what works well with the school building's design scheme. The school designers, CTA Architects and Engineers, will be drawn in for that phase.

A final mascot-and-color decision will come from the District 5 trustees. They could decide at their Nov. 8 regular meeting or, if the committee needs a little extra time, at the Nov. 22 special board meeting.

In the meantime, committee members have their homework to do.

That means they will be putting their brain power to the list of potential names, and talking to you for your input. They are to bring back their favorite three or four on Oct. 17.

Want to bend an ear in the meantime?

Here are the committee members and the populations they represent:

Matt Russell, eighth-grader, and Carlie Andrews, ninth-grader - both at Kalispell Junior High - and Jordan Nieman, a sophomore at Flathead High; Mary Connolly, Evergreen schools parent; Cindra Barbee, Russell School parent; Andrea Call, Edgerton School parent; Quin Stevens, Linderman School parent; Dewey Michaels, Universal Athletic (to address the most cost-effective color schemes in jerseys and athletic wear) and Russell School parent; and Mark Dennehy, athletic director and Flathead High assistant principal.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.