How did Little Cedars get its name?

The “Name That School” Committee consisted of eight students, one community member, seven parents and five Snohomish School District employees. This committee looked at names that were submitted in writing or through the “Name That School” Web site, and also added names that they received from friends and neighbors. A total of 306 names were submitted for their consideration. A local historian submitted a number of suggestions, based upon the history of the area around the new school site. It was also decided that the Committee would seek nominations from the Native American community.

 

Becky Brockman, the principal for the new elementary school, met with Jim Knapp, a representative from the Snohomish Tribe of Indians, at the school site late in January. The purpose of this meeting was for Mr. Knapp to get a better idea of what names might be appropriate for this new school based upon its location and the surrounding areas. One of the things that struck him as he walked around the site was the tall cedar trees at the eastern portion of the site.

 

Following their meeting at the school site, Mr. Knapp submitted the name “Little Cedars Elementary School” to the District through a letter and a story, “The Grandmother Cedar Tree” as a “gift to the Snohomish School District from the Snohomish Tribe of Indians.”  Read the original letter from Mr. Knapp, and the story, “The Grandmother Cedar Tree.” (The story is in pdf format. You will need Acrobat Reader to read this file. Get a free copy of Adobe Acrobat.)

 

When Mrs. Brockman read Mr. Knapp’s letter and the story to the “Name that School” Committee, all of the children and the adults on the committee were touched by the nurturing aspect of this story. They all felt that this story could be included in everything that the new elementary school does. They also felt that the story shows how the staff and students should relate to each other.

 

Committee members felt that this name met both criteria set by the School Board, because it is both geographical and historical, in the sense that the cedar tree represented the “tree of life” to the Snohomish People, as well as other Native people in the area. As you will read in Mr. Knapp’s letter, the cedar tree’s, “wood provided shelter; it also was used for canoes and paddles so we could travel the waterways from one village to another.” Committee members also liked this name because they felt that it was unique and special.

 

The other two names recommended by the committee were Eagle Point Elementary School and Mountain View Elementary School. The Board approved "Little Cedars Elementary School."

 

Little Cedars Elementary School opened the fall of 2007.

 
little_cedars_name_committee.jpgPhoto: Committee members from the Name That School Committee pose for a photograph after the School Board Meeting when the Board selected the name.