By Julie Slama | [email protected]

This year, when Welby students came to school for the first day of school, they were in for a surprise. 

Parents crowded around the chain-link fence, waiting to take their students’ photos next to the new sign that reads “Welby Wildcats.”

“I think it looks awesome, and so many people complimented it as they lined up to take their kids’ photos on the first day of school,” said PTA volunteer Polly Uffens. “It does a lot for our school spirit, and it is really an exciting and welcoming way to start the school year.”

At a PTA meeting, Uffens had suggested the idea of the sign made with “putincups” after seeing similar signs at nearby Jordan Ridge and Fox Hills Elementary in Taylorsville.

At Jordan Ridge, Principal Melissa Beck said the PTA sponsored the sign to enhance school spirit and put it up in May. Fox Hills put it up not only to boost school spirit but also to give it recognition as the back of the property faces 6200 South.

Uffens said it was also a fun way “to spruce up the school since it is an older school.” 

Welby is 40 years old.

While Uffens wasn’t available to help install the cups in the chain-link fence, she said the PTA Board chose a friendly paw design versus a fierce wildcat and outlined letters so students could help.

PTA President Allisun Cartier said about five families put the “Welby Wildcats” sign in about an hour.

“We had adults put up the black outline and then the kids filled in the red in the middle of it,” she said about the Aug. 8 installation. “It was much easier than we thought.”

While some schools may put up the cups for Red Ribbon Week or other school activities, Welby plans to leave the signage up year-round.

“The kids thought it was fun and exciting since it was new,” Cartier said. “My daughter gets so excited to see it every day knowing she helped put it up. And it’s helpful to our community with our school tucked in the neighborhood, you can see the school name, in school colors, a lot farther away.” 

Principal Aaron Ichimura supported the signage for his school that has a student body of about 875, including more than 60 new students.

“I thought it would be a good thing to have ready for when our students came back to school for them and our parents to enjoy,” he said. “I was pleased to see parents taking pictures with the wall art and their students. [It] makes our school more visually welcoming and fun. Especially because we, like most schools, have a collection of new students as a result of the boundary permit change last year. Many students were a tad wary of coming to a new school, but I feel that seeing that welcoming sign and our smiling staff helped them feel more at ease. The fence art contributed to us having a great first day of school.”