Waccamaw Elementary changing mascot to the ‘Wildcats’

Waccamaw Elementary School will soon have a brand new mascot and colors to boot.

School officials wanted to change the longtime Dreamcatchers into something that matches other schools in the Carolina Forest cluster. The new mascot?

Wildcats.

“It was always really hard for the kids to get behind the Dreamcatchers,” said John Poston, district 8 representative. “This gives them something to rally toward.”

The school is also changing their school colors red, white and black. Waccamaw Elementary never really had “official” colors, Poston said, so nailing down specific shades was important.

The red connects elementary schoolers to Carolina Forest High, which has predominately red decorations. Black leads students to Black Water Middle, which is where most Waccamaw Elementary students attend middle school, Poston said.

“It’s just a great thing for the community, for the students and for the school,” he said.

Waccamaw Elementary’s mascot used to be the Indians, but that logo was changed several years ago, Poston said. He’s unsure exactly when the school switched over to Dreamcatchers, but said this new change eases Waccamaw away from any negative Native American stereotypes.

There is no cost to the district to change Waccamaw Elementary’s mascot, according to John Gardner, chief financial officer.

School officials asked the full board to consider approving any changes at their early March meeting, but the board wanted a mock up of the mascot’s new design before voting. The board agreed to the new design unanimously.

The change was designed and approved by Waccamaw Elementary’s School Improvement Council in November and unanimously approved by the Carolina Forest Advisory Board in January. Changes should take effect immediately, with the new mascot plastered on school materials and marketing by the Fall.

“It’ll be a slow turnaround, but we’ll get there,” Poston said.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Waccamaw Elementary changing mascot to the ‘Wildcats’."