Chautauqua Lake Central School has officially released its “eagle” mascot logo for the district.

The school is actually going to have six different logos. The Eagles mascot is replacing the former Thunderbirds mascot, which the school has used since it was formed 27 years ago. The change was required by the state Board of Regents, because thunderbird has Indigenous origins. The thunderbird is part of Native American mythology, known as being a powerful spirit in the form of a bird.

Chautauqua Lake Central School was formed in 1996, when the Chautauqua and Mayville school districts merged. Before the merger, Mayville Central School’s mascot was the Golden Eagles. Chautauqua Central School’s mascot was the Indians.

In October, the district had a school vote, where 80% of the student body selected the “eagle” as the mascot.

School Superintendent Dr. Joshua Liddell said he believes the new logos fit the district perfectly. “We take immense pride in unveiling the new eagle logos that were crafted by our dedicated Chautauqua Lake Logo Committee members. Understanding the value of presenting choices, we hope these logos will meet the diverse needs of our district and positively impact our students in various meaningful ways. With confidence, we look forward to the positive impact the new logo imagery will have as we embrace the transition to the Chautauqua Lake Eagles. We thank our school community for their continued support with this endeavor,” he said.

Four of the five logos have eagle wings in them. Three of the four also have an eagle’s head in the logo, one of which details an eagle’s eye, beak and feathers. Although similar to the Mayville Central School District logo, none of the new logos are the same as the golden eagle used by the former school.

The one logo that does not have any part of an eagle in it has the letters “CL” in it, along with an image of Chautauqua Lake.

Liddell thanked everyone involved in the process, specifically Andy Schmitz, graphic designer out of Rochester, and Jennifer Davis, public relations specialist for the school district.

Go to observertoday.com or post-journal.com to see all six mascot logos. All of the logos will be on the school website as well.