After months of anticipation, discussion, essay submissions
and votes, John Paul the Great Catholic High School in
Dumfries announced its new mascot to a packed lunch room full
of cheering students.
The selection – the Wolves – was revealed to students and
faculty by Nashville Dominican Sister Mary Jordan Hoover,
principal, in the cafeteria during lunch. She asked for a
drum roll and then slowly unrolled the black banner with
white lettering. Shouts of approval erupted after the “wo” in
“Wolves” was exposed. At the same moment, some expressions of
disappointment were also heard from students and faculty who
had supported the other finalist, the Warriors.
How was the mascot for the new high school chosen? It was a
lengthy process that began before the school was open. Sister
Mary Jordan wanted the students and faculty to be involved in
selecting the mascot, and she wanted it to be selected after
the community knew more about itself.
“We’ll know who we are, when we know who we are,” she said in
the early weeks of the school.
With the fourth quarter just around the corner, it was
finally time to name a mascot. After receiving more than 38
essays from students, teachers and parents, the mascot
selection committee narrowed the choices to six.
Presented to the student body in the gym early last month
after the weekly school Mass, the six finalists were: Wolves,
Warriors, Eagles, Sentinels, Greyhounds and Guardians.
As each name was unveiled, administrators and teachers read
excerpts from the winning essays:
“The Christian symbol of the wolf is one of fearlessness, and
Pope John Paul II often encouraged us to ‘be not afraid!'”
said Shawn McNulty, assistant principal for student life.
Mark St. Germain, director of athletics, continued reading:
“Wolves are noble, fearless and courageous. They live in
packs – in families – and stick together. We all want to lead
our pack to victory – to the victory of being in eternity
with Christ. Let’s use the wolf as the example to be fearless
leaders, protectors of family – particularly the most
vulnerable, and noble defenders of what is good and true.”
An equally compelling case was made for each of the other
finalists. Having basically the same arguments, the Warriors
and Sentinels were promoted similarly: “we need to be
warriors for life and for what is right.”
Guardians: “Because John Paul II is the guardian of faith and
we need to be guardians of the truth.”
Eagles: “Eagles fly high in the sky, and while grounded in
reality, we should always be oriented toward the heavens.”
Finally, the last mascot presented was the Greyhounds, for
which the winning essays argued that, “greyhounds are full of
life and the greyhound is on our crest, and a symbol of the
Dominicans – the religious order that runs our school.”
Each argument for a mascot choice was well thought out and
presented with enthusiasm. After the assembly, students were
invited to write comments for and against each mascot on the
life-sized posters hung around the cafeteria.
The following week, a vote on the final six was held. The
Wolves and the Warriors received the highest number of votes.
After a few more days to think it over, a final vote was held
among the students and faculty, and the winner was announced
in late March.
For John Paul the Great students, teachers and families,
there has never been any doubt about who they are or what the
new school is supposed to be, but now when asked, “what’s
your mascot?” they can respond, “we finally know more about
who we are. We are the Wolves.”
