Piney Woods Elementary, Lexington-Richland School District Five’s 13th elementary school, revealed their mascot chosen by the community during the September 28 Board Meeting.
Three options were available for the community to choose from: the Purple Martins, the Bears or the Ospreys. With just over 54 percent of the votes out of over 2,300 submissions, the Purple Martin will be the mascot of Piney Woods Elementary School.
“I am grateful to our community for participating in helping us name our mascot, the Purple Martins,” said Piney Woods Elementary School principal Cassy Paschal. “We greatly appreciate their support and cannot wait to start working on our school logo, colors and so much more with this decision by the School District Five community. I am so excited to be a Piney Woods Purple Martin!”
Purple Martins migrate south to South Carolina every year to roost on Bomb Island, the largest purple martin sanctuary in North America, located in Lake Murray every summer. Locals of the Midlands flock to Lake Murray around dusk while the purple martins visit to take in the sights and sounds of the birds swarming together circling the island for several minutes before they disappear into the trees on Bomb Island.
Naming Committee Member Norman Agnew said of the choice, “I love the Purple Martins. I think just like the Piney Woods name for the school, tying the community in, the purple martins obviously pays great homage to the Lake and the area that we live in, I think it is an awesome tie in.”
Piney Woods Elementary is slated to open in the fall of 2021. For more information on the district’s new elementary school in Chapin, visit www.lexrich5.org/pineywoods.
Photo credit: Anna Miller (Chapin Middle School Principal/naming committee member), Rick Howell (Historian & Community Member) Tammy Simpson (Piney Woods Elementary secretary). Cassy Paschal (Piney Woods Principal), Al Walker (Naming Committee member/Community Member,) Mr. Norman Agnew (Naming committee member/Community Member)
