Union High School introduces 'Rocket the Redhawk' mascot

Union Public Schools introduced its high school students to the district's new mascot Tuesday morning at a pep assembly.

It was the first time students had seen Rocket the Redhawk, a name they got to choose. The unveiling of the new mascot was the final step in a process that began about 5 years ago when Union Public Schools retired its previous mascot.

November 9, 2020: Union School Board votes

The Union Public Schools Board of Education voted at a meeting on November 9, 2020, to remove Redskins from its mascot and logo. Parents and teachers within the district spoke up calling for the change. The board said the mascot was offensive and a brutal reminder of what Native American people have endured. Read More here: https://www.newson6.com/story/5fa9f92b47f9e60bebfbc003/union-school-board-votes-unanimously-to-discontinue-use-of-redskins-mascot

November 8, 2021: New Mascot Announced

The search for a new mascot for Union Public Schools came to an end nearly a year later on November 8, 2021, when the school board unanimously approved the Redhawks. The name was voted on by students in grades 6-12 and got 80.7% of the vote over the mascot Bison. Read More here: https://www.newson6.com/story/6189d731ac4e5f0bea72f42f/union-schools-announce-redhawks-as-new-mascot

March 7, 2022: New Mascot Logo Design

Caiden Morales, an 11th-grade student at Union High School, designed the new mascot logo for the district. The school board made it official on March 7, 2022. Morales was a lifetime Union student and told News On 6 he had been drawing and sketching since he was 5 or 6 years old. His logo design is now used on uniforms, buildings, and t-shirts. Read More here: https://www.newson6.com/story/62268e80908e6774c79ca1bd/union-public-school-student-designs-districts-new-logo

January 21, 2025: Rocket the Redhawk Unveiled

 A pep assembly inside the UMAC on January 21, 2025, was the first time Union High School students got to see the new mascot in costume. After a video played on the big screen, Rocket the Redhawk came running out of the tunnel and was embraced by the school's spirit squads. Juniors Erin Wilson and Jackie Sanchez said they are excited to have a mascot at games and pep assemblies again. "I just know that our student section will be a hundred times more hype at every event," said Wilson. "It will make the atmosphere so much better, so much louder, everyone will be so much more excited," Sanchez continued saying, "I think it will bring a lot of energy and fun to the games."