On October 8th at 5 pm, the district superintendent, Dr. Jared Smith, gave the Waterloo Community Schools’ first-ever State of the District address. He addressed many of the highlights as well as a few areas of growth for the district. In this address, he closed with all the long-awaited details of the new high school including the name, mascot, and colors.
Leading up to the big reveal of the details surrounding the new high school, Wahawk Insider surveyed West High students asking for their predictions. Out of the 42 responses on the Google form 50% were freshman, 21.4% were sophomores, 14.3% were juniors, and 14.3% were seniors. However, despite the variety in grades, many minds thought alike. When asked their thoughts on the new name, almost every response was “Waterloo High School” except for a select few. To many of the voters, Waterloo High School felt natural and like an easy guess. However, when asked about the new mascots, answers varied heavily. A few people predicted that the mascot would involve a bird such as a hawk or eagle. Several people said either a wildcat or a panther. Or even a water animal like an orca or whale. Answers were all over the board, and all responses included different ideas, with a connection only based on the type of animal.
The students were also surveyed on what they thought the school colors would be. Answers varied here and there, but many responses included the color blue. There were also the more basic colors of silver, black, and white, as more of a traditional tie when it comes to school colors. Some that stood out were pink, yellow, purple, or red. These are bolder colors that could likely make the school stand out amongst its rivals. Additionally, several people thought that the new colors would be a mix of East and West’s colors, Old Rose/Maroon and Orange, to honor the past colors and create a symbol of unity.
Freshmen, who will be a part of the first graduating class of the new school, were asked how they felt about graduating from the new school instead of West. Many freshmen said they felt nervous about going to the new high school and meeting all the new people they had likely never gone to school with in the past years. However, some of the students said they were excited about the new high school because it would be a brand new experience, welcoming all the different students of Waterloo. Freshman Hailey Woods said “I think it’s exciting and will be a good experience to be the first class to experience graduating from there and become a part of the history of the school.”
Sophomores, who will be the last graduating class of West High, were asked how they felt about being the last graduates. Some of the respondents stated they were excited, but were balancing feelings of missing out on the new high school and West High overall.
A mass email was sent out to students from Katrina Heiman, the Communications Coordinator of Waterloo Schools, inviting students to an Unveiling event for the new school on October 8. The email said “A new era for Waterloo Schools is on the way. Something historic is happening in Waterloo—and YOU’RE invited to be part of it!” Heiman said that everyone is welcome to join as they reveal the new high school details. According to Heiman, students should expect a state of district presentation from Dr. Smith, an unveiling experience, and exclusive apparel. It should also be noted that this event was a Black Out, where everyone was encouraged to wear black, which secretly symbolized one of the school’s new colors.
Furthermore, leading up to this big announcement on the Waterloo schools’ Instagram and Facebook, they have made a video counting down the days. On September 29th, they made their first post on Instagram with the caption, “Something’s coming. Can you feel it? History is about to be made in Waterloo. Black out your calendar: Wednesday, Oct. 8-5 PM-Convention Center. Don’t ask. Just show up.” The video has a glitchy effect of a question mark with ominous music in the background, with words displayed as “Something’s Coming, can you feel it? History is about to be made.” They continued to do this on September 30 with a video of the bridge downtown captioned, “The lights are about to go out. Some things can’t be explained. They have to be experienced. Slide out of work early. Wednesday, Oct. 8, 5:00 PM. Convention Center. All will be revealed.” Since then, they have made posts every single day discussing this new era within the whispers and shadows.
The lead-up was intense, with many different opinions regarding this new high school. However, in the end, Waterloo schools are becoming one, no matter what happens, and the biggest hope is unity for all.
And with that, it is the moment everyone has been waiting for. The new name, mascot, and colors are the Waterloo United Titans represented by Gold, Black, and White. What a monumental moment for the Waterloo Schools District and an event that will always be remembered. Here’s to the future, here’s to unity in Waterloo.
