Coat of Arms
KINGSWAY’S COAT OF ARMS (2014 – Present)
Kingsway’s coat of arms is a manifestation of our institution’s history and tradition. It represents our core mission and possesses a unique visual style that identifies our district. This artwork is protected and cannot be used without written permission from the chief school administrator.
Symbolism
Kingsway’s Coat of Arms, depicted in scarlet and black, centers around a shield. The top left quadrant displays a varsity K, which represents our a proud athletic heritage and commitment to co-curricular activities; The bottom left quadrant displays the torch of learning, which represents our core mission and comes from our 1989 coat of arms; the top right quadrant reflects the original crown, which represents the regal connotation of our name and comes from the 1963 coat of arms; and, the bottom right quadrant displays the original Kingsway Dragon, which represents our school spirit and is embodied in the motto “Once a Dragon, Always a Dragon.” The circle around the shield represents continuity of service to our school community while the laurel wreath represents excellence in the arts.
History
It was decided during the 50th anniversary preparation that it would be time to modernize the district’s logo (coat of arms). Dr. Lavender (Superintendent) chose Erica Shannon’s (Class of 2014) work as an inspirational source to develop the logo. Erica’s logo design resulted from a projected facilitated by high school art teacher Christine Bjanes. The Coat of Arms was officially adopted by the Board of Education in May 2014.
In preparation of Kingsway’s 50th Anniversary celebration, a committee was assembled to a number of special events. One of the responsibilities of the committee, which included a number of former graduates, retirees, and current staff, was to develop a commemorative logo to be used throughout the 2013-2014 school year. It was the desire of the committee to incorporate the original coat of arms as part of the commemorative logo. This commemorative logo was used on official letterhead, the District’s website, banners, athletic field stencils, Class of 2014 Diplomas, and other promotional items.
This version of the coat of arms first appeared in the 1989-90 Lancer and would be used until June 2014. There isn’t much information recorded to accurately depict the reasons why the original coat of arms was changed but one can reasonably assume it was the desire of leadership to reflect a new era and modernize the logo. The logo depicted here does not include (H and S) which was dropped after the middle school opened their new building in 2006. This coat of arms introduced a number of new items but maintained the ‘Kingsway’ banner beneath the shield and varsity K from the original. It should be noted that the dragon image is different from the original coat of arms. New features of this logo included the torches of learning flanking both sides of the shield, the 1963 establishment date, and a modernized shield.
ORIGINAL COAT OF ARMS (1963 – 1985)
Kingsway used this shield as its official coat of arms from approximately 1963 – 1989. The only information collected about the design of the original coat of arms comes from a 2010 interview with Kingsway’s first superintendent, Robert Costill. Mr. Costill informed Dr. Lavender that Kingsway’s regal connotation played into the design of the original coat of arms and may explain why a crown was positioned at the center of the shield. The school’s official colors, scarlet and black, were adopted by the first Board of Education in 1962 by resolution and were selected by Mr. Costill after watching a Haddonfield High School football game. Critics of the coat of arms emerged sometime in the 1980s and claimed that the dragon image appeared “too mean” and unsportsmanlike. This may have contributed to the design of a new logo by the end of the 1980s.