PV Mascot Committee gives update on selection process

Matt Austin

The Pascack Valley Regional Board of Education held an in-person and virtual meeting on Monday night. During the meeting, PV Mascot Committee student representatives shared updates on their ongoing mascot search.

Pascack Valley Mascot Committee student representatives Vasili Karalewich and Delia Collis presented their updates for Pascack Valley’s mascot search during Monday’s BOE meeting held both in-person in the PV cafeteria and virtually via Zoom.

“We have been told to put our beliefs aside about the old mascot, and focus thinking of a new one,” Karalewich said, “We weren’t allowed to think about whether [PV’s previous] mascot, the Indian, matters or not, we have just [been tasked with] selecting a new mascot.”

Karalewich shared that the mascot committee is currently in the process of narrowing down the last option in the committee’s top four mascot choices – as has been the case since the previous BOE meeting.

“Beyond just names, the entire student body seems really excited to get a new mascot name,” Collis said. 

Karalewich said that the committee hopes to share its final two mascot choices during the BOE’s next meeting on Feb. 22.

“Through what was discussed in our first four meetings, I’m confident that the new mascot will be a good fit for the school,” Karalewich said.

During the BOE meeting, it was approved that PV Principal Glenn deMarrais would resign from the Pascack Valley District, effective June 30, 2021.

“We were very fortunate and thankful to Mr. deMarrais for continuing to work at Pascack Valley [after his planned retirement from Pascack Hills in 2020] when we needed him most certainly,” Gundersen said. “He will be well known for his many years [at] Pascack Hills High School, but he has been extremely impactful this one year at Pascack Valley as well.”

The BOE also approved numerous athletic resignations for the 2020-21 school year, including Assistant Baseball Coach David Frangiosa, Co-assistant Volleyball Coach Alexa Devens, and Co-assistant Volleyball Coach Jeanna Pic.

BOE member James Stankus, who is also a part of the Communication Instructions and Technology subcommittee, shared that after the Class of 2020 spoke to its guidance counselor about its preference of using its eighth-period class for either a free period or extra class period, the committee found that the class was split between the two choices.

“The opinions were almost split, which was quite interesting,” Stankus said. “It looks like it may do some good to get that eighth-period class [into the scheduling going forward], and we’re going to try and work on that.”