Beasts of Learning: The 4th-Grade Mascots

"Do you want to see what this year's animal is?"

 

"Yes!" came the enthusiastic reply from dozens of 4th graders (and a few of their parents) on the first day of school.

 

"Okay!" replied Molly Hemphill, the 4th-grade English teacher. "On three. One, two, three." Hemphill, math teacher Kathy Kiernan, and social sciences teacher Raegan Conlin spun around to present the backs of their purple shirts, on which was emblazoned ... a gaggle.

 

Make way, puffins, and move over, moose. The newest addition to a beloved NCS tradition—bestowing a unique animal mascot on each 4th-grade class—is the goose. Honk, honk!

 

The menagerie now contains 35 animals, and Hemphill (pictured) has played a role in selecting each one, ever since she and Jane Warker, another teacher in the Lower School, began brainstorming in 1980 over mascot ideas for the 4th grade.

 

"We started off with ice cream cones," said Warker, who has retired from teaching and now lives in Maine. "But we needed a more permanent mascot since ice cream either melts or is consumed."

 

Flowers came to mind as an alternative, but they wilt. So did trees, but eventually leaves fall and the trees are bare.

 

"It suddenly dawned that animals were perfect. Many are cuddly, others rhyme well and are cute, and there are quite a few different ones," Warker said.

 

So the teachers settled on a penguin for the mascot for 4th graders entering in 1981. Then they made it more complicated.

 

"Jane said, 'Why don't we make an animal for each child in the class?'," Hemphill recalled.

 

"Molly loved to sew little felt things, and I was her most ardent supporter -- as long as I did not have to participate directly," Warker said.

 

So Hemphill set her sights on personally making a kangaroo for each 4th grader entering in 1982. She wasn't satisfied with the result, but the little animals were wildly received by the littlest NCS students. (Indeed, years later, they still hold a place in the hearts of many.) The tradition was born.

 

For help in producing some 40 animals, Hemphill said she calls upon "an extremely talented and patient stepdaughter," Alice Kearney. The work sounds laborious, but Hemphill says the two can generally produce the critters over a weekend. The most demanding part, she said, has little to do with a needle and thread; it is developing the prototype for the animal.

 

But as if creating so many stuffed animals wasn't enough of a challenge, Hemphill and her 4th-grade colleagues have set themselves a sterner test—never repeating an animal, so that each class has its own mascot. Thirty-five years later, they haven't missed yet.

 

"We went through the barnyard," Hemphill said. "Honestly, I haven't kept track of all the animals."

 

Kiernan has a reminder of the recent animals: All but one since she joined NCS in 2006 are pinned to her bulletin board.

 

Sometimes, Kiernan noted, she, Hemphill, and Conlin, who joined NCS in 2012, aim to choose an animal that matches well with the mascot of the graduating class. For example, the Class of 2013's mascot was the prairie dog, so the mascot for that year's 4th graders was the burrowing owl, which moves into the homes prairie dogs leave behind.

 

Other times, the teachers strive to connect the animal with what's going on around the school. "We did centipedes for the 100th anniversary" of the school, Kiernan said. "And we did eagles the year the Athletic Center opened."

 

This year's selection was prodded by the fact that Conlin's curriculum would focus now on the United States, Hemphill said. "And we thought a goose would be neat" -- enabling the teachers to highlight for the girls anserine qualities such as working together and adaptability.

 

Once they've settled on their choice, the three teachers begin thinking up ways to work the animal into their lessons for the year. Of course, that means they have to rethink those lessons each year. "It keeps things fresh for us," Kiernan said.

 

"The fun of it is it forces us to think through themes," agreed Hemphill.

 

As the start of school approaches, Hemphill, Kiernan, and Conlin go to great lengths to keep their selection secret. They delay setting up the 4th-grade pod in Whitby Hall until the last possible instant, and even then, they cover the windows so no passerby can sneak a peek and spoil the big reveal.

 

"The making of the animals is a tiny part," Hemphill said. But she knows that it's a special part: "It's really nice, the number of 10th graders and such who will tell us, 'I still have my duck.' "

 

***

 

Once the tradition of NCS’s 4th-grade mascot entered its third decade, the question started to arise: Which classes have which animals?

 

It's a question that stumps Molly Hemphill, who has helped select and personally craft each of the mascots.

 

Her colleagues have tracked some of them. Even so, several animals from the 1980s and 1990s remain unknown. If you can help fill in the blanks below, please email ncswebsite@cathedral.org. (You get bonus points for including a photo of yourself with your animal.)

 

1981 (Class of '90): Penguin

1982 (Class of '91): Kangaroo

1983 (Class of '92): ???

1984 (Class of '93): Ewe (Thank you, Rebecca Peterson!)

1985 (Class of '94): ???

1986 (Class of '95): Duck (Thank you, Laura Brenneman!)

1987 (Class of '96): Cow (Thank you, Abby Trooboff Goldman!)

1988 (Class of '97): Pig (Thank you, Courtney Weiner!)

1989 (Class of '98): ???

1990 (Class of '99): Mouse (Thank you, Jennifer Schifter!)

1991 (Class of '00): Giraffe (Thank you, Catherine Bemis!)

1992 (Class of '01): Otter

1993 (Class of '02): Moose

1994 (Class of '03): Gnu

1995 (Class of '04): Koala (Thank you, Melanie Dickson!)

1996 (Class of '05): Caterpillar (Thank you, Anna Barrett!)

1997 (Class of '06): Frog (Thank you, Medora Brown!)

1998 (Class of '07): Toucan (Thank you, Nicole Johnson!)

1999 (Class of '08): Centipede

2000 (Class of '09): Turtle

2001 (Class of '10): Panda

2002 (Class of '11): Eagle

2003 (Class of '12): Dolphin

2004 (Class of '13): Prairie Dog

2005 (Class of '14): Puffin

2006 (Class of '15): Ladybug

2007 (Class of '16): Seal

2008 (Class of '17): Hippopotamus

2009 (Class of '18): Hedgehog

2010 (Class of '19): Whale

2011 (Class of '20): Firefly

2012 (Class of '21): Owl

2013 (Class of '22): Elephant

2014 (Class of '23): Angelfish

2015 (Class of '24): Goose

2016 (Class of '25): Alpaca

2017 (Class of '26): Lion Cub

2018 (Class of '27): Walrus

2019 (Class of '28): Roadrunner
2020 (Class of '29): Bear Cub