Smokey Barn News, September 4, 2013 Springfield TN
Here’s something that doesn’t happen too often, a school is changing their mascot right here in Robertson County.
At the Robertson County Schools Board meeting Tuesday evening one of the topics was whether or not to change Krisle Elementary’s mascot from the Krisle Vikings to the Krisle Yellow Jackets. The decision; do it. The school is located at 6712 Highway 49 East in Springfield.
The topic was originally on the Consent Agenda, which requires no vote. It was moved to another section of the agenda in order to provide for discussion.
Ridgetop Police Chief and R/C. school’s board member Jeff White made a motion to table the decision until rezoning occurs. There was no second motion. Then attorney and R/C. school’s board member Jerry Converse made a motion to make the mascot change and Lyle Payne seconded it. That vote passed 4-2.
According to the principal of Krisle Mrs. Michele’ Galluzzi, administrators and school leaders from the Springfield Schools had been meeting over the past few months to discuss ways to strengthen the sense of community within the Springfield school cluster. The history of Krisle Elementary School as the Vikings goes back to a time when the school housed Kindergarten through eighth grades and needed a separate identity for athletic purposes. That separate identity is no longer needed because we do not serve the middle school grades nor compete in athletics.
Some of the discussions about building a stronger community revolved around the fact that the students were not able to enjoy a strong sense of school identity that students in other school clusters enjoy. Many Krisle students already associate with the Yellow Jacket community by participating in Springfield Junior Pro athletics and by supporting older siblings who attend Springfield Middle School and Springfield High School. The goal was to offer students the same sense of pride by adopting the mascot and colors of the Springfield Yellow Jackets. They would become the Krisle Yellow Jackets along with the Westside Yellow Jacket and Cheatham Park Yellow Jackets, using the Black and Gold colors.
A survey was sent home with all 564 students on Thursday, August 22, 2013, to gather parent feedback. As of today, 257 surveys have been returned with the following results: 80% are in favor of changing from the Krisle Vikings to the Krisle Yellow Jackets, 11% are not in favor of changing from the Krisle Vikings to Krisle Yellow Jackets, and 9% stated they had no opinion on the matter.
Jim Ball reporting
The memory of young “Vikings” performing in pageants and musical renditions, bringing home trophies for spelling and math bees, creating excitement and school spirit at ballgames, and being involved in community service will linger long after the name of the mascot has changed. For all the students, teachers, and parents that were privileged to be part of the small community school with the big heart, it will remain Krisle Vikings.