Altara Elementary School opened in September of 1980. Getting the new school up and running and getting the PTA together was very exciting. Mr. Bill Nelson was the new Principal and Zanette Nordhoff was the PTA President. As a PTA, one of our first tasks was to find a logo for the school. We gave each child the opportunity to sumbit a drawing and a name they would like for their mascot.
Entries included: Altara Rams, Altara Bobcats, the Altara Bears, etc. Since Alta High is just a few blocks east of Altara, we thought it would be fun to have the “Altara Kittyhawks” as our mascot, hence the Kittyhawk was born. The first school t-shirt had the kittyhawk logo on it and was sold as the first fundraiser for the school’s PTA.
In 2019, the kittyhawk was revamped to be more inspirational to children and the community. Our mascot is now named Kit and is based after the famous aviator, Amelia Earhart. After many decades, the kittyhawk is still part of the school and school spirit is as lively as ever.
