ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The new high school coming to St. Johns County officially has a name: Tocoi Creek School.
The school, previously referred to in the planning phases as High School HHH, will hold about 1,300 students in its first year, with most coming from Nease High School. The high school is projected to help alleviate crowding at some of the rapidly growing county's other schools.
The campus includes six buildings, most of which are three stories tall.
The mascot for Tocoi Creek has not yet been revealed. A spokesperson for the school district tells First Coast News that the St. Johns County School Board does not decide the mascot.
In November, the top choices for a possible mascot were:
- Bulls
- Cyclones
- Hornets
- Hurricanes
- Longhorns
- Moccasins
- Razorbacks
- Tiger
- Toros
- Vikings
- Vipers
Last month, the school's colors of burnt orange, gunmetal gray and black were revealed.
Principal Jay Willets told First Coast News last month Tocoi Creek will be a collegiate high school where students can start earning their Associate of Arts degree in 9th grade, preparing kids for post-secondary programs after graduation. The school will have three academies, focusing on design and engineering, technology and robotics and health care.
The school is set to open in August of 2021.
The word "Tocoi" is said to come from a Native American word for water lily. Tocoi was a former settlement along the St. Johns River in western St. Johns County. It was the site of a ferry landing and a local rail line to St. Augustine.