Katonah-Lewisboro Unveils Brand Identity For New Mascot

CROSS RIVER, NY — Katonah-Lewisboro School District unveiled the brand identity today for its new mascot, the Wolves, in a video message produced by the high school athletic department and sent to middle and high school students.

“A new era begins …” read the words on the screen, set to the sounds of the night forest. “A place with pride and tradition chooses a new identity … to remember the past and look to the future.”

"Our new mascot logo is intense and majestic but also fun,” said Chris McCarthy, the district’s director of health, physical education, athletics and wellness. “We couldn’t be happier with the results!”

McCarthy has been working alongside Board of Education trustee and John Jay parent Elizabeth Gereghty, high school physical education teacher Kim Mammoser and Varsity Brand's design division, VIP Branding, on the initiative since the new mascot was announced in June 2020.

VIP Branding developed sketches based on the team’s direction and the design was refined throughout the summer and early fall. The resulting Brand Locker includes a word mark that uses a paw print as the “O” in Wolves and a version that features three wolves. That’s the visual that will be in the center of John Jay High School’s gymnasium floor.

Team uniforms and other gear for the John Jay Wolves and their fans will be available through the school and the John Jay Boosters this fall. View the John Jay Wolves' Brand Locker here.

“We’re excited to have a mascot that that has qualities we want our students to embody. They’re complex, highly intelligent and fierce animals who are caring, playful, and above all devoted to family,” said McCarthy. “Go Wolves!”

The Katonah-Lewisboro school board decided in November 2019 to retire the school's “Indians” mascot on the grounds that it was divisive and counter-intuitive to the district's goal of fostering a welcoming environment.

The new mascot was identified through the purposeful and inclusive work of a Mascot Selection Committee in spring 2020. The 18-member group of administrators, staff and students determined ground rules for the new mascot: nothing that evokes race, religion, or weapons; not used by any other school in the region and having a connection to the community. Meetings included a discussion with Lewisboro Town Historian Maureen Koehl to review some of the animals native to the area.

The committee opened a virtual suggestion box for mascot ideas and refined the community’s ideas to Wolfpack and Ravens. Rising sixth graders through the Class of 2020 and all staff were eligible to vote. The winning mascot was tightened to be the Wolves.