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The new logos for two new St. Johns County Schools. Lakeside Academy and Trout Creek Academy will open for the 2024-25 school year. | St. Johns County Schools.

Live in St. Johns? Your kids may be Terrapins or Sasquatches

Published on April 4, 2024 at 7:00 pm

If your family lives in the zoning area for two new St. Johns County schools, your student could be a Trout Creek Terrapin or a Lakeside Sasquatch.

The two new K-8 schools will open in St. Johns County next school year. They are among nine schools planned to open in St. Johns County in the next five years to accommodate the rapid growth the county has seen. 

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Choosing a mascot isn’t easy, but Trout Creek Academy administrators outlined in a memo shared with families why the mighty terrapin was a fitting choice.

“Our choice of the Terrapin as our mascot reflects strength, resilience, and adaptability — qualities that resonate deeply with our community’s ethos and the spirit of our students and staff,” the memo says. “Just like the mighty Terrapin, we embrace challenges head-on and persevere with unwavering determination.”

A St. Johns County Schools zoning map for Trout Creek Academy. | Screenshot.

At Lakeside Academy, Principal Jesse Gates said Sasquatch was chosen by popular demand in part due to one of the nearby neighborhoods’ association with the cryptid. 

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“Having always been a lover of the Bigfoot lore,” Gates told Jacksonville Today, “I was very happy to see this was the community’s choice.”

A St. Johns County Schools zoning map for Lakeside Academy. | Screenshot.

Families living along the St. Johns River near the Rivertown Development and Trout Creek Memorial Park will have their young students zoned for Trout Creek Academy come next school year. Families in central St. Johns County near Nocatee are likely to have students zoned for Lakeside Academy.

The two schools will accommodate around 1,500 students each when they open for the 2024-25 school year.


author image Reporter Noah Hertz is a Jacksonville Today reporter focusing on St. Johns County. From Central Florida, Noah got his start as an intern at WFSU, Tallahassee’s public radio station, and as a reporter at The Wakulla News. He went on to work for three years as a general assignment reporter and editor for The West Volusia Beacon in his hometown, DeLand.
author image Reporter Noah Hertz is a Jacksonville Today reporter focusing on St. Johns County. From Central Florida, Noah got his start as an intern at WFSU, Tallahassee’s public radio station, and as a reporter at The Wakulla News. He went on to work for three years as a general assignment reporter and editor for The West Volusia Beacon in his hometown, DeLand.

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