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Steward Welcomes Spartina

The Steward School
Sparty’s best friend is strong, kind, and compassionate.
The Steward community welcomed a new friend to campus on January 27: Spartina, our newest mascot! Spartina is Sparty’s best friend, and the two mascots will appear at various school events throughout the year. Having two mascots will allow Spartan spirit to be spread farther and wider!


Spartina's surprise appearance during a mid-morning pep rally was met with super Spartan enthusiasm. Decked out in blue and gold to cap off Spirit Week, students, faculty, and staff cheered, clapped, and stomped their feet in excitement when Spartina was revealed at the end of a faculty lip-synch contest. Singing along to Rihanna’s song, “Umbrella” (remixed by Tiffany Goodman, diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator, and pep rally DJ), Spartina was accompanied by dancers Zamiyah Burton ’23 and Grace Virginia Deal ’24

The Power Within Every Spartan
With her bronze skin, braided hair, and sculpted arms, Spartina represents the power that lies within every Spartan. Her toenails, painted in school colors, indicate her passion for art and for school spirit. A strong competitor, Spartina is also compassionate, kind, and a friend to all. 

“We are hopeful that Spartina will not only give Sparty a partner in Steward spirit, but also allow for more people to connect with a mascot that is both different and complementary to Sparty,” Ms. Goodman said. “Current and future Spartans will be able to say, ‘Wow, my mascot looks like me!’”

So many Spartans collaborated to make Spartina’s “fierce but friendly” persona a reality: the Spirit Squad (the student component of the Spirit Committee), parent volunteers (also known as Magic Makers; sign up to join them here), and a spirit liaison group, led by super Spartans Colleen Carpinelli and Carley Hamilton, that included Gardner Mundy, Betsy Orgain, Emily Oliff, Tiffany Goodman, and Kara Bacile, with support from Rachel Williard and Lisa Dwelle. Thank you to those who provided input and feedback about Spartina’s name: the Spartina Committee, Spirit Squad, Middle School Student Council Association, and Lower School spirit leaders.

Debut Video
Meet Spartina in this debut video, which includes (tongue in cheek) highlights of the time that best buddies Sparty and Spartina have spent together prior to her joining Steward, as well as Sparty introducing Spartina to his Steward friends. A heartfelt thank you to the students (and one alumnus) who shared their time, talent (and spirit!) to help create Spartina’s debut video: Mikal Banks ’23, Anna Carpinelli ’25, Khanh Dang ’24, Taylor Derwin ’25, Gates Fox ’23, Davonte Hines, ’25 Kamran Mohanty, ’26 Gates Orgain ’24, Zak Qureshi ’24, Marc-Michel René ’25, Braylan Rice ’25, Ella Grace Saunders ’26, Morgan Shigley ’25, Kamron Smith ’16, and Maya Trepp ’25. The video was produced by Marketing and Communications practicum interns Sabina Mohanty ’23, Chase Wingfield ’23, and Charlie Ventura ’23, who worked under the guidance of Aaron Jay Ledesma.  
 


Get into the Spartan spirit! Learn more about Spirit Week and the Spirit Committee, and follow our social media mashup.
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