Six On Your Side got a behind the scenes tour Friday of one of the Treasure Valley's newest high schools.
The Ridgevue High School in Nampa was constructed from the ground up based on a need, according to the school's principal Julie Yamamoto. The Vallivue School District's only high school was getting overcrowded.
"We are one of the few school districts in Idaho that continually gains students," Yamamoto said.
Yamamoto has been a part of the process to bring on board the new school since day one. Part of that process involved choosing the mascot.
The reigning choice seemed to soar above the rest and is something you can visit any day of the week at the Warhawk Air Museum.
The co-founder of the museum, Sue Paul, said choosing the Warkhawk as the school mascot makes sense and that it lines up with everything the museum represents.
Paul explained, "Our mission is filled with patriotism, strength, perseverance, sacrifice and freedom. She [Yamamoto] intends that to be a part of who that school is."
Paul added that the Warhawk P-40 fighter plane was the only one in full production in the U.S. when Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan.
"These [Warhawks] were the fastest, best fighter planes in the world when W.W.II started. It was the P-40's," she said.
The Warkhawk planes' motto was "Above the Best." Of course, this referred to the troops fighting on the ground below.
Yamamoto hopes the partnership with the museum broadens the students' horizons and instills a desire to be the next best generation.
"We believe that the P-40 Warhawk is an iconic symbol of what made the greatest generation great," Yamamoto said. "It was a symbol of hope for our country. It's what turned the tide of the war."
The public is invited to an open house that coincides with the school football team's first game of the season.
On Friday, August 26, tours will be offered from 4-6 p.m. At 6 o'clock, there will be a short ceremony with a ribbon cutting and the inaugural raising of the flag. Directly following, the football game will kick off with a P-40 plane set to fly over the field.
