Challenger School Colors: Royal Blue and Columbia Blue
Shuttle Logo - Designed by former art teacher, Larry Oviatt.
Each one of the stars represents one of the lost astronauts.
Alma Mater
Oh Challenger, we honor you as we go on through life,
We'll think of you and what we learned
as we face our life's strife.
As we move on through the days,
our thought will oft return
To the friends we made, the joys we shared,
They will stay throughout the years.
Written by Leonard Wolfe, First Challenger Music Teacher (1986-1997)
Upon his death, Challenger students wished to recognize his contribution to the school and subsequently named the auditorium "Wolfe Auditorium" in his honor.
Arranged by Michael Watt, Music Director 1997-2001
Adapted by Ted Foster, Music Director 2010-2023
Mascot: Christa the Cheetah
Named after the First Teacher in Space, Christa McAuliffe
Challenger Spirit
By Hannah Tan, 8th Grade Student, Promotion Ceremony June 2010
Challenger's Mascot, Christa the Cheetah, honors
Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space.
We arrived from all around the Earth
Each with our own incalculable worth
To learn how to read and to write
To learn how to run with the end in sight
Headed toward the highest goals
Aiming for the highest stars
We are Challenger, brave and true
This journey has been a beautiful ride
Of fantasies held with American pride
Of hopes and dreams yet to come true
Of reveries yet to be pursued.
Through silence, through tears,
Through sorrow, through fears
We are Challenger, brave and true
And almost like a perfect jigsaw
Each piece special and bearing awe
Each piece working in its own way
Put together carefully to portray
A marvelous picture, a masterpiece
Where all harsh words seem to cease
This is Challenger, brave and true
The space shuttle crash
On that January day
Creates an example
For us here today
We rise, ready
With complete ultimacy
The continual bearing
Of these heroes'legacy
As we go on,
We'll change and achieve
The world we live in,
And what they believe For all that we say
And all that we do
Represents Challenger,
Brave and true.
Our students submitted wonderfully creative artwork for the Christa the Cheetah Art Contest in the spring of 2008. The judging panel, consisting of members from the Community Building Committee, ASB students and representatives from our Partners in Education, selected student Emily Miller as the winning artist.
We Are Cheetahs
By Samantha Mallari, 8th Grade Student,
Promotion Ceremony June 2011
Today,
A chapter has ended.
A chapter full of change and struggle.
The memories we made,
All the people we met,
Forever engraved in our hearts.
We have finally finished our journey
Up a jagged, ascending path.
And it is our mission to pick one.
No road is smooth, No road is gentle,
And no road is simple or straightforward.
There is so much we have yet to learn,
So many choices and sacrifices we have yet to make,
And so many obstacles standing in our way.
When we stumble,
And we can no longer see
The light at the end of the tunnel,
We must keep in mind:
We are living legacies of those before us,
The hearts of our ancestors,
And the very hopes and dreams
Of past leaders.
We symbolize diversity, freedom, and cooperation,
And from where we are today,
We have finally lived up
To being true Challenger Cheetahs:
Standing up to injustice,
Saying'Why not?' to those who tell us "No",
And towering above stereotypes and prejudice.
In the struggles of life,
We dedicate our all,
Take risks,
Jump great leaps of faith,
And push the envelope,
To continue our chase
Towards a brighter future.
We are cheetahs,
Sprinting towards our goals,
At the speed of light,
Never tiring,
Never weakening,
Never faltering,
And only growing more powerful
With each confident stride.
We are the Challenger astronauts,
Breaking barriers and Never establishing a limit
To success.
Hopeful despite the negativity surrounding us,
And taller than the mightiest obstacles,
That threaten to interfere
With our journey toward the future.
o give us a challenge-
We are powerful enough to meet it any day.
For we are Challenger Cheetahs,
And so much more.
Every step we take makes history
And every challenge we meet
Becomes legend.