Lighthouse Leaders help choose new Seven Hills Elementary mascot

When Seven Hills Elementary students walk through the doors of their new school building in the 2023-2024 school year, they will do so as the Seven Hills wolves.

In the fall of 2021, 12 student leaders from Seven Hills had the exciting opportunity to take part in the decision-making process for their new school’s mascot when two designers from Huckabee visited the group to present some ideas and designs for the building. 

The Huckabee team wowed students with a sneak peek at mascot designs and interior design ideas. Students were able to ask questions about the creative process and offer their own ideas for the new school.

"It was important for us to include students in the rebranding process in order to foster a sense of connectedness and ownership," said Seven Hills Principal Kim Blackburn. "Student leaders were excited to work with architects to learn more about how branding decisions are made, and felt valued to be a part of the process."

The students chosen to give their input were some of the school’s Lighthouse Leaders from second through fifth grade. Lighthouse leaders are the “leaders of the leaders” at Seven Hills. The team usually consists of about 30 students who are chosen after going through an application and interview process. 

The Lighthouse Leaders’ regular duties include video announcements, tutoring, campus beautification, greeting and giving tours to guests, taking part in weekly after school meetings, helping with large school events, and teaching the 7 Habits through videos, skits and lessons. As decisions are made for the new school, Seven Hills will include student Lighthouse Leaders in the process as much as is appropriate and possible.

At the end of the collaborative sessions with the Huckabee architects, the Lighthouse Leaders were able to vote for which mascot they would like their new school to have. The ballots - sticky notes - were tallied, and taking the student’s choice into consideration, the wolf was chosen as the new school mascot.

Students and staff alike were sold when they were shown the idea of incorporating the Lupus constellation into their new school’s interior design. Not only does the constellation portray the image of a wolf, but it will also pay tribute to Seven Hills’ current mascot: the stars. 

The new school, funded by Northwest ISD taxpayers in the 2021 bond election, will accommodate future growth of planned developments within the Seven Hills attendance boundary.

See additional photos from Huckabee's visit to Seven Hills on the district's Flickr page.