The Eagle-Mountain Saginaw ISD school board naming committee was recently charged with the task of discussing possible names for the district’s third high school. High School #3, as we currently refer to it, is scheduled to open in August 2012 and we are at the point where a name needs to be selected. It is no easy task to name a school, especially a high school. Compare it to having to select the perfect name for a child; every parent wants to make sure the name is because it is permanent. As we seek community input regarding the naming of High School#3, the famous quote from Romeo and Juliet comes to mind:
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2).
I am not sure if I agree with the intended meaning behind this quote, because what Shakespeare is basically saying is what matters is what something IS, not what it is called. If we take this Shakespearean concept and apply it to our present situation of naming High School #3 then it doesn’t matter what we name it. But how do we help the “nameless high school” build a strong foundation so that they can establish character, pride, culture and build a name for themselves. If Shakespeare is correct and it doesn’t matter what something is called then we should not take into account the following when determining the name of High School #3:
- High School #3 sits just north of the TCC Northwest Campus on Marine Creek Parkway, so if would be rational thinking to name it Northwest High School. Ahh, but there is already a Northwest High School located just one district over. Do you think they would mind if we “stole” their name and used it for our own? What matters is what their school IS right, not what it is called?
- High School #3 backs up to Marine Creek Lake, so another rational option would be Marine Creek High School. But not more than four miles away from the High School #3 site is a Marine Creek Elementary that belongs to a neighboring district. How much confusion might that cause?
- Another option for High School #3 is Eagle Mountain High School. We already have Saginaw High School and our district consolidated a little over 50 years ago to form Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD, therefore Eagle Mountain High School would seem appropriate. However, the high school site does not sit anywhere near Eagle Mountain Lake, and we are a growing district and much of our future growth area is in the northern part of the district, which is near the lake. We are projected to add at least one more high school and it will logically be in the northern part of the district. Do we go ahead and “use up” the name Eagle Mountain High School now and not think about the possibility of future growth in our district and the impact it will have on naming High School #4 in the future?
So Mr. Shakespeare, I feel confident in saying that is it possible that Juliet was wrong, and what something is named matters just as much as what it is. The name of High School #3 will determine what it is and what it because. Until it has a name, it is simply High School #3 and will not be able to establish all the aspects that make a high school great. There will be no pride, no ownership, no spirit or no character until they can say “We are proud to be [insert name] High School!”
I think we can all agree that the school board naming committee has been charged with a great task…the perfect name is out there, but what will it be?
*Note: High School #3 is located just north of the TCC Northwest Campus on Marine Creek Parkway. Colors for the high school were previously selected to be purple and gold. If you have any naming suggestions, please e-mail them to info[at]ems-isd.net.
~Tammy Castleberry, EM-S ISD Communications Specialist
