Community asked to share ideas for naming of new Sumner/Bonney Lake elementary school in Tehaleh

Have an idea for what to name the new elementary school in Tehaleh?

The Sumner School District wants to know.

The district opened an online form to invite community members to submit their ideas and rationales for a name. The form can be found at sumnersd.org.

The district asks for recommendations based off “geographic features or characteristics of the area in which the school is located” or “a person who has attained national or local prominence and possesses personal characteristics deemed to be a model for the educational setting.”

“We ask people to follow a couple criteria and it’s part of our school board protocol,” Sumner School District communications director Elle Warmuth said.

So far, the district has received more than 100 requests, many of them including “Tehaleh” somewhere in the name.

“Most suggestions are about the geographical area,” Warmuth said.

Some requested the school be named to commemorate recently fallen figures in the community, including former Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow, who passed away in December. Also requested were names after Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCarthy of Yelm, who died earlier this month while chasing two burglars in the Frederickson area, and Staff Sgt. Bryan Black of Puyallup, who died in an ambush in Niger in October.

After submissions close on Jan. 26, a committee formed by the district will review name ideas and create a list of three to five name ideas to present to School Board. The School Board will select a final name in March.

Construction began on the elementary school in Tehaleh in October and is currently underway. The school will serve 550 students and be the district’s ninth elementary school. It’s expected to open in time for the next school year in Fall 2018.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Community asked to share ideas for naming of new Sumner/Bonney Lake elementary school in Tehaleh."