Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Southwood Middle School

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Type
  
Public middle

Principal
  
Raul Garcia

Enrollment
  
1,524

Founded
  
1975

Number of students
  
1,524

Established
  
1975

Grades
  
6-8

Phone
  
+1 305-251-5361

Mascot
  
SuperStar

Colors
  
Address
  
16301 SW 80th Ave, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USA

District
  
Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Profiles

Southwood middle school killer back in court


Southwood Middle School Center for the Arts, more commonly known as Southwood Middle School, is a public secondary school located on 16301 Southwest 80th Avenue in Palmetto Bay, Florida. Its principal is Raul Garcia.

Contents

The mascot for the school is the SuperStar, a cartoonish star who wears a top hat and carries a cane.

Southwood middle school drumline


History

The school was formerly located in the census-designated place of Cutler until the incorporation of Palmetto Bay on September 10, 2002.

Stabbing incident

Southwood received national attention when, on February 3, 2004, eighth-grader Jaime Rodrigo Gough was stabbed to death in a second-floor bathroom by classmate Michael Hernandez. When a fellow student found his body in a bathroom stall, the school went into lockdown. Parents who found out from other parents had gathered in front of the school, and "many tears were shed," said a student at the school.

Southwood celebrates "Peace Week" during the first week of February as a memorial for Gough, and to spread messages of tolerance and diversity. During the 2005 Peace Week ceremony, monarch butterflies were released in memory of Gough.

In late 2015, the convicted student's case was brought back to court for a re-sentencing.

Academics

During the 1984-85 school year, Southwood Jr. High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Southwood contains five magnet programs, for which students must audition and be accepted in order to take: Music (which contains the orchestra, band, and chorus strands), Photography, Theatre, Art, and Dance. Southwood takes in non-magnet students as well, who live within the designated area, but those students take regular electives instead of magnet classes. Magnet students do not have to live within this district in order to attend.

Notable alumni

  • Alex Lacamoire, Tony Award-winning music director and conductor; music director of Wicked, In the Heights, and Hamilton.
  • Christy Turlington, model best known for representing Calvin Klein from 1987 to 2007
  • Nadia Turner, finalist on the 4th season of American Idol
  • References

    Southwood Middle School Wikipedia


    Similar Topics