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After months of debate, Dublin’s new second high school has officially announced its mascot, as well as the accompanying school colors.
Emerald High School students will now be known as “Aerouants” — sporting green, blue and white. Francis Rojas, principal of the under-construction campus, revealed the official mascot for the school at a recent meeting of the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees.
Aerouant comes from the ancient Celtic word for dragon and is known to symbolize good luck, health and strength. In the announcement, district officials said the Aerouant also ties in with the city of Dublin’s Irish roots and is representative of the region’s increasing Asian population.
Aerouants are mythical creatures, similar to dragons or serpents. They have typically been characterized as intelligent, proud and fierce.
Rojas spoke about the mascot choice and his thoughts on what it will represent for the school.
“It symbolizes great strength and courage, something I hope will represent the school. We’re thrilled to have announced our new mascot to the community,” he said. “Aerouants are known to be extremely clever and intelligent as well.”
In Dublin Unified, the Emerald Aerouants will join the Gaels of Dublin High School and the Dragons of Valley High School, the district’s continuation high school.
The school’s process in choosing a mascot has been a lengthy and collaborative one.
Last fall, the school had initially announced the mascot would be the Serpents, however parents expressed concerns over negative connotations associated with the creature.
Several meetings were held throughout December with district board members, parents and students regarding the mascot choice. A survey was sent out to incoming future students, over 900 voted to reconsider the mascot being updated.
Other mascot options included Tigers, Sabertooths and Wolfhounds. Each had varying color and design elements that students, parents and staff were able to vote on.
The final selection, Aerouants, was made.
Emerald High, which is designed to serve the growing East Dublin community, is scheduled to see Phase I of construction complete by this December, according to district officials. To find out more about Emerald High’s mascot and other news updates, visit the official website at ehs.dublinusd.org.
