Southwood Middle School
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| Southwood Middle School Center for the Arts |
|
| Established | 1975 |
| Type | Public Middle |
| Principal | Jane Garraux |
| Students | About 1,800 |
| Grades | 6-8 |
| Location | Palmetto Bay, Florida USA |
| District | Miami-Dade County Public Schools |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue and Gold |
| Mascot | SuperStar |
| School Hours | 9:00 am - 3:40 pm |
| Website | [1] |
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. The principal is Ms. Jane Garraux.
Southwood contains five magnet programs, for which students must audition and be accepted in order to take: Music (which contains the orchestra, band, chorus, and piano strands), Photography, Drama, Art, and Dance. Southwood takes in non-magnet students too, 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.
The mascot for the school is the SuperStar, a cartoonish star who wears a top hat and carries a cane. This image appears on the outside of the main building.
[edit] The tragedy
Southwood is well known around the county for a fatal stabbing that occurred in the 2003-2004 school year. 8th grader Michael Hernandez has been charged with murdering his friend and classmate Jaime Rodrigo Gough in a second-floor bathroom on February 3, 2004. Hernandez allegedly lured Gough into a stall and then slit his throat with a knife. Southwood celebrates "Peace Week" during the first week of February as a memorial for Gough, and to spread tolerance and diversity. A particularly interesting incident occurred during the Peace Week of 2006. During the ceremony a bag full of monarch butterflies was released in honor of Gough. One of the butterflies then flew over and landed on the shoulder of Gough's weeping mother, who had been attending the ceremony.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Justin Koren, founder and producing artistic director of Magnetic Theatricals, Inc.
- Nadia Turner, finalist on the 4th season of American Idol
