Following an intensive community engagement process—and more than 50 original sketches from HPS students who submitted their own design inspirations—Peck Middle School now has a new logo.
The student-artist who inspired the final design is Malachi Agudelo, a sixth-grader at Metcalf Middle. His original logo concept made it all the way to the finish line, following a two-step selection process in February. First, a committee of enrichment teachers and district communications staff narrowed the field down from 50+ entries to six finalists. From there, students and staff from Donahue, Lawrence, Morgan, Metcalf, and STEM Academy voted for their favorites in an online survey.
In addition to Malachi, the other student-artist finalists included Yami Ramos (Donahue, grade 5), Alivia Mangual (Lawrence, grade 6), Dwayne Lopez (Metcalf, grade 7), Aishanelys Velez (STEM, grade 7), and Zarayalee Perez Ramos (STEM, grade 6).
In January, students were given basic guidelines for the elements they should include in their logo concepts, including:
The school name: William R. Peck Middle School (or “Peck School” for short)
The school mascot: Phoenix (a mythical bird that rises from the ashes)
School colors: Red and black (similar to the colors used by the STEM Beats music group)
The new middle school’s name, mascot, and colors were selected by the Holyoke School Committee and district administrators in December 2024, following months of public engagement and several community surveys that included more than 2,000 respondents.
The new school will retain the name William R. Peck School, the same name as the school that stood at the site of the new middle school for 50 years—from 1973-2023—before it was demolished almost a year ago to make way for the new one.
The school’s mascot will continue to be a phoenix—a mythical bird that symbolizes renewal, hope, and transformation—as it was for the original Peck School from 2016 until it closed in 2023.
The school’s colors will be red and black—the same color scheme used by Holyoke STEM Academy’s STEM Beats music group, which will be moving to the new school when it opens in fall 2025.
