Kennewick School Board considers names for new middle school

How does Canyon Creek Middle School sound? Chinook Middle School? South Hill? Summit?

Those were the four names recommended Wednesday night to the Kennewick School Board for the future fifth middle school under construction on Southridge Boulevard. More than 650 people suggested names in an online survey, as well as possible mascots and school colors.

The board isn’t expected to take action on the name until its Dec. 9 board meeting, though board members indicated they may look at some other top choices submitted by the public.

“One of the greatest honors we have is to name a school,” said board Vice President Heather Kintzley.

The eventual home of the new school, across from the Southridge Sports Complex, won't be ready for more than a year, though students and staff assigned to it will start the year in the old Desert Hills Middle School building off 10th Avenue. Desert Hills is moving to a new building in west Kennewick.

The new school’s principal, Kevin Pierce, along with his planning team and district officials, kicked off the naming process in October when the survey was launched. A committee reviewed the suggestions and Pierce also talked to students about their ideas.

All of the district’s middle schools — Park, Horse Heaven Hills, Desert Hills and Highlands — are named after natural or geographic attributes of the land around them.

The Canyon Creek name is derived from neighborhoods surrounding the school, such as Creekstone and Canyon Lakes. Chinook, which was the second most-suggested through the survey, is the name of a Washington tribe and also the winds that roar across Eastern Washington from the Cascades.

South Hill, a favorite of students, is a combination of Southridge and Thompson Hill, which sits nearby. Summit is also related to the school’s proximity to Thompson Hill.

A number of other names were also frequently recommended, Pierce said, including Southridge Prep and Columbia. They were eliminated for sounding too similar to the names of other schools in Kennewick and elsewhere in the Mid-Columbia.

Top mascot recommendations included wolves, bobcats, titans and raptors. A lot of people also suggested cougars and llamas. Blue and few other colors — such as green, silver, brown or white — were popular color suggestions.

Only four of the board’s five members were present at Wednesday’s meeting and board members agreed the whole board should make the decision. At the same time, Kintzley said she would like to see some of the other top choices submitted to the district as possible contenders.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 10:08 PM with the headline "Kennewick School Board considers names for new middle school."