One of the goals of the School District Strategic Plan is to activate Student Voice and at Hugh Boyd, we have been listening to our students as they speak passionately about the school nickname Trojans.

In recent years, the Hugh Boyd student body began questioning the Trojans name and the “Tommy Trojan” mascot. Many students felt that neither the nickname nor the mascot represented the student body, the community, the diversity, the values, and the land on which the school resides.

In Spring 2023, a dedicated group of students, under the leadership and guidance of teacher-sponsor Mr. Jason Smythe, began polling Hugh Boyd students about the Trojans nickname and the Tommy Trojan mascot. The results painted a clear picture: most students no longer identified with either. Encouraged by the results of this democratic exercise, this determined group of students embarked on the next steps to create positive and lasting change in a community they care deeply about.

Over the past year and a half, the student-led School Moniker Committee engaged with the student body, staff, Indigenous partner groups, community members, and alumni to gather their input. They also organized a series of votes to gather feedback on changing the nickname and asked for suggestions for replacement monikers.

The School Moniker Committee narrowed the replacement names to four: Hawks, Hornets, Bees, and Herons. After all the votes were counted, the decision was made to replace the Trojans moniker with the Hugh Boyd Hawks. Feedback indicated that Hawks reside near our school, providing a meaningful connection to the land we live on, and are more representative of our student body and culture.

The Hugh Boyd student-led School Moniker Committee is pleased to announce that in September 2024, Hugh Boyd Secondary School will be known as the home of the Hawks, and we will begin the process of seeking artist renderings for a new mascot and logo.

There is no intent to erase the proud history of Hugh Boyd Secondary School and all that has been accomplished by the students who attended this school during the Trojans era. This change was initiated because the mascot and moniker no longer felt representative of the students and the community members in our increasingly diverse neighbourhood.

Please join me in congratulating the School Moniker Committee for their dedicated and thorough work in seeking feedback and coming up with this new and representative moniker.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the school at (604) 668-6615.