LEWISTON — The color theme for the new Connors Elementary School currently under construction has been decided — by students.

The school colors will be blue and green.

The new school is scheduled to open in August 2019. Connors students will be  the merged population of Martel and Longley elementary schools.

Both Martel and Longley held school color elections last month, complete with ballots. Students were given three combinations to vote on: purple and white, red and black, or blue and green.

“Overwhelmingly, blue and green was circled the most,” said Longley Principal Kristie Clark, who will be the Connors School principal. 

Green is the school color for Martel, blue the color for Longley.

Martel Principal Stephen Whitfield, who is retiring after this year, said there was a deadline on choosing the colors because materials needed to be ordered.

He and Clark gave students choices of “colors that would look good for the long run,” he said. “Colors that would look good in different materials, paint, plastic and canvas.

Clark said she has met with Harriman architect Jeff Larimer to plan how the colors will be used. The new school’s gym will have blue bleachers and a green curtain. Blue and green will also be incorporated in the school’s signage, logo and letterheads, said Superintendent Bill Webster.

Both principals said they wanted students to have a voice and give them ownership. “It’s their school,” Clark said. 

Longley students Eben Likibi and Dominic Militrano, 10, said they voted for red and black. “They’re cool colors,” Dominic said. But they are fine with blue and green. They liked that students had a voice, they said. “It makes everyone involved,” Dominic said.

Amina Hassan, 10, said she voted for blue and green because she likes the colors. Allowing students to decide was a good idea, she said, “because everybody’s important.” She and other students said they are excited about attending the new school, which will be among the largest elementary schools in Maine.

“It’s going to be easier for people to learn with the new space,” Amina said.

At Martel, fourth-graders Silas Chasse and Evan Brousseau, both 9, said they voted for blue and green.

“I like how Martel is green and Longley is blue,” Silas said. “It will make a good combination.”

They are also keeping tabs on their school’s construction.

“They’re doing the job fast,” Silas said.

“Last year, it was just a pile. This year, it’s a tall thing,” said Evan.

Administrators say the students’ color choices will be a nice fit. The shade of blue will be the same as Lewiston High School, which will be near Connors School. Walking trails to the school will offer green space. And the school’s design will mean that trees will be viewed from classroom windows.

Longley art teacher Betsy Brooker said colors evoke different emotions. Blues can create atmospheres of trust, stability and confidence; greens suggest harmony, growth, freshness and safety. The colors will be beautiful and appropriate, she said, because “it can be chaotic bringing two schools together.”

With the colors decided, Martel and Longley students will soon face another decision: What should the new school mascot be?

Martel’s mascot is a cougar, Longley’s is a lion.

“Maybe it should be a kind of cat, because both mascots are cats,” fourth-grader Evan Brousseau said.

“That’s a good idea,” said Silas Chasse.

An early consensus may be building. 

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Longley Elementary students, from left, Dominic Militrano, Eden Likibi and Amina Hassan had three choices to consider while voting for the school colors of Connors Elementary School. Militrano and Likibi chose red and black; Hassan chose green and blue, the winning combination. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Martel Elementary fourth-graders Silas Chasse, left, and Evan Brousseau both voted for green and blue to be the school colors of Connors Elementary School. Chasse and Brousseau will be entering sixth grade when the new school opens in the fall of 2019. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)