New Fort Mill schools pick student-designed logos

Two new Fort Mill elementary schools on Thursday took yet another step toward their opening in August with the selection of the schools’ logos.

The Tega Cay Elementary Titans logo was designed by Nation Ford High School junior Matthew Meacham, and the logo for the Doby’s Bridge Elementary Dragons was designed by Nation Ford High junior Emily Wagner.

Chris Gardner and Scott Frattaroli, principals at Tega Cay and Doby’s Bridge, respectively, both said that choosing the logos was an important step in developing the schools’ identities. Designs were solicited from students at Nation Ford and Fort Mill high schools. Administrators narrowed the top six choices for each school. Thursday, at the district office, families were invited to vote for their favorites.

“It’s great because it’s the kids that need to embrace it,” said parent Kerry Arnold, whose daughter, Morgan, will attend Tega Cay Elementary when it opens in August. “It’s nice to be involved from the ground up.”

Morgan voted for Design 6, which ended up being the winning design. That put a big smile on her face.

“It’s exciting because it’s the one I picked,” Morgan said. “I liked the writing.”

Third-grader Nicolas Heisler will attend Doby’s Bridge Elementary next year. He said helping pick a logo was fun and that he was excited about the new school.

“All my friends are going,” he said.

Kindergartener Lily McCart likes the Doby’s Bridge Dragons logo.

“Because I love the color yellow and it looks like a horse and a dragon in one,” she said.

Lily’s mother, Sara McCart, said the voting process was exciting for students like her daughters, Lily and Mallory, because it helped them create the school’s legacy.

“It makes us really happy to be a part of the new school,” McCart said.

Both schools will open over the summer. Frattaroli and Gardner said construction was running on schedule.

Tega Cay will open in late May or early June, giving staff plenty of time to settle in before the new school year starts.

“It gives the teachers a chance to get in there and feel like it’s home,” he said.

This story was originally published February 27, 2014 at 11:27 PM.