Long Meadow Elementary School 5th Grade Logo Contest Garners Two Winners

December 17, 2010, Middlebury/Southbury, CT—Long Meadow Elementary School has seen its share of leopard mascots in the 13 years since its opening in 1997. Now, as a result of a logo contest, the school has two official leopard mascots which will appear on spirit wear and on official stationery.

In Spring 2010, Long Meadow Elementary School principal, Mr. Christopher Moretti, and Art Teacher, Mrs. Louise Porter-Hahn decided to develop a logo design project for the fifth grade students as part of a unit on art careers.

"At the beginning of their fifth grade year, the students were engaged in a long-range, independent project about art professions," said Mrs. Porter-Hahn. "Art is the basis for fashion design, photography, graphics, automobile design, and more. I wanted the boys and girls to deeply research a particular career, rooted in art. The logo design contest was a natural extension of this project."

Mrs. Porter-Hahn, who once held a graphic design position within an advertising company, ran the logo design project as though it were a paying job.

"The students developed concepts, clipped image references of leopards, evaluated typefaces, and were required to meet my deadlines," said the art teacher.

By June, LMES staff and teachers reviewed over 100 logos and overwhelmingly selected the logos drawn by Elliott Frohlinger of Southbury and Sierra Sutherland of Middlebury to represent the school.

"I liked seeing pictures of leopards lying on a branch," said Elliott, age 11. "I used those images as my inspiration but decided to hang his paw over the LMES letters."

The students were not required to include the school's mascot in their logo, but were encouraged to develop their idea based upon anything related to Long Meadow Elementary School.

"I used the field as my inspiration since LMES is known for its large grassy area," said Sierra, also age 11.

The faculty agreed that both Elliott's and Sierra's work were winners, but could be used in different ways. As a result, Elliott's relaxed leopard will be featured on mugs and spirit wear, while Sierra's logo with the two spotted paws will be used on school stationery.