The Story of the New Forestdale Logo
by Marc J Smith
Fifteen months ago the Forestdale School set out on a journey to reinvent itself. While many of the changes facing the school included things like classroom assignments, lunch schedules, grade configurations and the like, we were also looking to reshape our focus and purpose.
As a school for children aged 3-8, we considered the messages we wanted to send to students and families about the school that we wanted to be. Working with teachers, we started by developing our school mission statement. Over a series of meetings and discussions we created a mission statement that best represented our values. “At Forestdale, we grow readers. We are a family of learners. We are safe, have fun, are kind to one another and never give up.”
With our mission completed, we set out to design a visual image that represented the language we had developed. Students, teachers and parents all submitted ideas, sketches and graphics that served as inspiration for the new logo. So many fabulous ideas circulated through the various committees that were working on different projects relative to the reorganization efforts. For several months we were “stuck.” We had so many good ideas and we were unable to integrate them effectively into one unifying image.
Ultimately, through the help of a Sandwich Parent Lynn Lugo, we were connected with a graphic design artist Donna Rockwell (also a Sandwich parent). Donna took the ideas, images and conversations and integrated them into the beautiful image that now serves as the logo for our school.
As you look at the image you will see that Donna has done an excellent job capturing the themes represented in our mission. Additionally, you will notice that her image includes our iconic Sandwich boardwalk in the background.
This is a logo that we can be proud of. It is a powerful image that represents our school, its goals, its mission and its purpose.