New West Haven elementary school gets name, mascot
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- Haven Bay Elementary, pictured Thursday, March 7, 2024, will be opening in West Haven in August.
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- Haven Bay Elementary, pictured Thursday, March 7, 2024, will be opening in West Haven in August.
WEST HAVEN — A new elementary school that is being constructed in Weber County has officially received its name and mascot.
The Weber School District Board of Education was presented with several options from a naming committee for the school, located at approximately 5000 W. 3300 South in West Haven, and ultimately approved the name Haven Bay Elementary on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the school’s mascot will be the heron.
Spokesman Lane Findlay told the Standard-Examiner that the naming committee was chaired by the district’s elementary director and was made up of personnel from the new school, including its principal. These naming committees typically solicit input from community members — those who could potentially have kids attending the school — to compile a list of potential names.
“It’s within the West Haven community, and so ‘Haven’ was by far the most popular name that people were suggesting,” Findlay said. “And then its relation to Ogden Bay, which is just to the west when you talk about that specific area. So, that’s where that name came from.”
A Facebook post from the district announcing the new name also noted that the word “haven” can refer to a place that’s safe or peaceful. According to Findlay, this concept resonated with the naming committee.
As for the mascot, the heron is a bird that’s regularly encountered in Utah. Per the state’s Division of Wildlife Resources, the great blue heron, or Ardea herodias, is the most commonly sighted variety of the bird, particularly along the shorelines of the state’s myriad lakes, rivers and marshes.
“It’s always a challenge to come up with unique names because when you have 50 schools, a lot of names and mascots are already taken, and so it’s always a challenge,” Findlay said.
Haven Bay is one of three new schools coming to the area. West Field High School (located in Taylor at 2007 S. 4300 West) and Mountain View Junior High (2100 S. 2700 West, West Haven) will be opening their doors alongside Haven Bay Elementary.
Said Findlay: “All three of the new schools — the high school, junior high and elementary — are slated to open in August for the 2024-25 school year.”