Western Coventry Kindergartener Wins School Mascot Contest

Haley Garcia, an afternoon kindergarten student at Western Coventry Elementary School received a big surprise this Halloween. 

Haley, who recently moved to Western Coventry with her family, submitted a drawing of "Westie the Owl" for the school's new mascot design contest. Of approximately 250 entries from all grades, her design was selected by an anonymous staff member to represent the spirit of Western Coventry School!

On Thursday afternoon, Haley was surprised and excited when her name was announced over the school's intercom as the winner of the mascot contest. To make the afternoon even more memorable, she was again surprised to find that her parents had been waiting outside her classroom to be the first to congratulate their daughter once she heard the news.

"I heard my name on the speaker and was really excited!" said Haley, who earlier that week had coincidentally been named "Star of the Week" in Kristen Abood's afternoon kindergarten class.

In the final computer-generated version of the school's new mascot, Haley's original drawing was tweaked just a bit to remove a bow on Westie's head to allow the owl to represent any Western Coventry student.

In addition to terrific bragging rights, Haley will receive some merchandise featuring her design that is currently being ordered to raise money for the school through future sales. Items sporting "Westie" will include sweatshirts, t-shirts, magnets and cups, among others.

"We loved Haley's owl because it's happy and makes people smile," said Principal Amy Anzalone, who plans to arrange a collage of all 250 student entries which will be displayed within the school.