Students at DeSmet Public School often watched smokejumpers diving from the sky, wondering about the bravery and heroism it takes to jump from planes to fight fires.
Now they have claimed those idols as their school mascot.
“For our students to look at (smokejumpers) and say ‘that’s who we want to be,’ I think is going to change the way the students feel about themselves,” DeSmet’s Principal Matt Driessen said.
The change in mascot is coming at the same time as the school is going through a $6 million renovation. Driessen said it’s the first time the school has been updated since 1975. He hopes that making the school more modern and welcoming will build pride and a sense of community.
The school was built in 1890 and its original mascot, the Padres, which are Catholic priests, felt outdated and not all-inclusive. The public school has no religious affiliation, and the male image of a Catholic priest was one Driessen said the girls at the school couldn’t relate to.