Trailside Elementary School is getting its own mascot and official school colors almost 25 years after the building opened its doors in 2001.
Principal Tracy Fike, who will soon transition into a new role as the school district’s Career and Technical Education director, proposed formally adopting an elk mascot with a red, white and black color scheme, telling the school board that it was time for Trailside to “solidify and unify” its visual identity.
“We’re finding we’re the only school without actual school colors,” she said last week. “We’re the only ones who never had them. I don’t know why, but we’ve never had official colors, so people just choose colors, so there was nothing ever consistent.”
Red, white and black are the colors families have most often used to represent Trailside Elementary School, so Fike suggested formalizing the color scheme, which she said also aligns well with other schools in the district.
“I think the most exciting thing is we are looking at adding an elk as our mascot, partly because we’ve spent mornings chasing them off the playground,” Fike said with a laugh. “We’ve become good elk herders, but we want to keep that same Trailblazer theme but have a good image to go with it.”
Fike said it would also be fun for students to have an elk mascot, considering the kids’ excitement whenever they see elk near the school building.
“This has mainly involved staff input, but we thought it would be fun once we do have an elk to involve the students in naming the elk,” Fike added.
The school board unanimously approved the elk mascot and new color scheme during its meeting on June 17.
Trailside Elementary School is the second school to change its color scheme in recent weeks.
The school board in May approved Ecker Hill Middle School’s proposed red, white and navy blue color scheme following a previous board decision in November to transition the school to the Miners mascot starting in the 2025-26 school year.
Incoming Ecker Hill Principal Isaiah Folau said keeping blue as a tertiary color allows students to feel connected to the Park City High School Miners while still retaining their own identity. He specifically commented on the blue color scheme currently seen throughout the school building and his inclination to align official colors with the motif reflected in hallways and classrooms.
He also pointed out a desire to stray away from sameness in athletic uniforms, especially when compared to other secondary schools in the region. Administrators felt the dark navy color would complement the red and white while offering versatility. The importance of spirit wear, signage and branding materials was also emphasized as the middle school builds its athletic program.