The school recently wrapped up its “Design the Lion” contest — a creative project that invited students to play a key role in selecting Love’s new lion mascot. While the school has long been known as the Love Lions, it had never officially adopted a visual mascot — until now.

In late October, Love students voted on three finalist designs, each inspired by drawings created by their classmates. The winning lion, drawn by fourth-grade student Amanda Jimenez, will now proudly represent the school for years to come. The design features a friendly, standing lion with a shirt that says “L is for Love.” Jimenez was recognized during a school assembly on Nov. 6.

“This was such a fun and meaningful project for our students,” said Michael Brown, Love School Principal. “Not only did they get to show off their creativity, but they also learned about the design process and how their ideas can come to life. It’s really special that our new logo was created by a Love Lion. It gives our students a true sense of pride and ownership in their school.”

Love students learned about logos and icons in their art class with teacher Robbi Fabretti and were then given the opportunity to submit their own lion drawing for consideration as the new logo. Over 50 entries were received by the school’s shared-decision making team which then chose their top three drawings.

The finalists were sent to Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES graphic designer Tom Rickert, who transformed each student’s hand-drawn lion into a professional, digital cartoon version. Students then cast their votes for their favorite design, and the winning logo was officially unveiled on October 31.