What do a roadrunner, a gator and a Viking have in common? They all play prominent roles at local schools, and they are the clues to this month’s photo contest, “Where In The Napa Valley Is...”

However, getting solid information about the school mascots was not so easy, because almost all the administrative offices at the elementary schools were closed or lightly-staffed for summer vacation.

But the one common thread all three school’s had in common was they had school pride in the mascot.

Zoom, zoom

Beep, beep. Welcome to Irene Snow Elementary School, whose mascot is the roadrunner.

Principal MaryAnn Salinger said she did not know how the mascot came to represent the southwest Napa campus. It has been the face of the school since 1958, when the elementary school opened.

Salinger did add the school’s roadrunner is not based on the Looney Tunes cartoon character.

“Our mascot is more or less based on the bird itself,” Salinger said. There are no roadrunners in Napa County, not even on Foster Road, where road walkers easily can be spotted on sunny weekends. The roadrunner primarily calls the desert Southwest home.

“I think our roadrunner is cute. We get a lot of mileage out of him,” Salinger said.

As for other mascot possibilities, she said, “I think we should have been called the Snow Flakes.”

“The kids enjoy the roadrunner as the school mascot. Years ago, there was a drawing contest for our memory book and students submitted a variety of versions on how the bird should look,” Salinger said.

Last year, enrollment at the school was 300 students. This fall, Salinger is girding for 320 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

“We are growing,” she said. “Our students really get into the school spirit.”

Gator aid

At Alta Heights Elementary School, the gators rule. They are known as the Alta Gators, and perhaps the alliteration is what brought the reptiles to the East Avenue campus.

The administrative gators are on hiatus for the summer and aren’t talking.

The students in gator land also take pride in a school vegetable plot, raising a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Alta Heights is always  looking for volunteers who can provide time and supplies to help keep the Gator Garden green. Volunteers sometimes are honored with stories in  the official school newspaper, the Gator Gazette.

Viking crusade

Vikings may not have a distinguished history in Napa, where Native Americans, Spaniards and Californios are among the pioneers. But Vikings hold sway at Vichy Elementary School, a California Distinguished School on the eastern edge of town.

In the history books, Vikings were fierce warriors from the Scandinavian countries. In Napa, they are among the highest-performing elementary school students when it comes to test scores, and the elders of Viking families are famous for their bake sale fundraisers.