A new high school will soon to be built for the Bentonville School District, but it still needs a name and a mascot. School officials extended the deadline for submitting suggestions to the district, now set for Monday.
"What really excited me about this is people are looking forward to the new high school, and they want to be a part of the process," said school district spokeswoman Mary Ley.
From the usual suspects like Bengals and Falcons, to unique offerings like Colonial Sam and Golden Tornadoes, hundreds of suggestions have already been made on what mascot the new Bentonville high school should go with. The submissions keep rolling in, stuffing administrators' email boxes.
This contest has only been going on for a few days now. Ley has been collecting all the ideas via phone, email and through the school district's social media sites.
Next week, close to 20 Bentonville High School freshmen will look over the names, and their top picks will be presented to the School Board, which will make the final decision some time next month.
As for what the mascot will be, the district will hold an election involving all eighth-graders and Bentonville High freshmen. However, the School Board will have the final say on that too.
A few of the names suggested include Bentonville Alliance, to show unity in the school district, and Bentonville West, along with Willis T. Dillard High School, to honor the department store founder. It could also be called Centerton High School.
Construction of the second high school will start this summer on Gamble Road in Centerton. Officials said it is expected to open in time for the 2016 school year.
Anyone with an idea for a name or mascot can still contact the Bentonville School District until the deadline Monday.
The district will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. March 10, inside the old High Middle school auditorium, to update everyone on the challenge.
The following is a list of suggested school names and mascots submitted to the Bentonville School District:
SCHOOL NAMES
. Benton County Central High School
• Bentonville Alliance High School
• Bentonville Entente High School
• Bentonville Osage High School
• Bentonville Union High School
• Bentonville West High School
• Bentonville West Ridge High School
• Bentonville West Spring High School
• Bolte High School
• Bruce Jones High School
• Centennial High School
• Centerton High School
• Century High School
• Memorial High School
• Murry High School
• Peel High School
• Peel Patriot High School
• Rockefeller High School
• Sherman Kinyon High School
• William T. Dillard High School
MASCOTS
• Bengals
• Braves
• Bruins
• Centurions
• Chargers
• Colonial Sam
• Diamond Cutters
• Eagles
• Falcons
• Golden Tornadoes
• Hawks
• Jaguars
• Land Hawks
• Lions
• Mavericks
• Mountain Lions
• Mustangs
• Panthers
• Rebels
• Rhinos
• Silver Cyclones