Miami High, known for being the first school in Miami-Dade County, is recognized for its overall beauty. But, it takes more than just the old structure, the palm trees in the front of the school, the orchids planted by Mr. Zabala or the banners painted by clubs that decorate the halls and gym walls to make Miami High as beautiful as it is, which is why SGA has made a contribution of their own with Paint-A-Can.

Held every summer, Paint-A-Can is an event in which many of Miami High’s organizations, including honor societies, sports teams, and clubs, decorate their own piece of Miami High, a trash can. This year’s Paint-A-Can was held on August 12^th from 9-2 p.m. and organizations were provided with trash-cans to be painted as well as the materials needed to make their trash can as unique as they wished for it to be.

Paint-A-Can has been around for about 5 years. “It used to be a tradition in the past, but then it stopped. It was later brought back when I became advisor,” said SGA advisor Ms. Puentes.

Why do people even participate?

People get involved for different reasons. “I just wanted to leave a print of my own in Miami High,” said sophomore Rossel Meraz, who contributed for the boys volleyball team. “Every time I see that can it just reminds me of the bigger picture I belong to.”

“Helping Beta paint our can was unforgettable. You get to be creative and make something that will leave a mark at the school for when other people come visit,” said Beta’s sergeant at arms, senior Randy Gregorio.

Senior Franco Hernandez thinks the best part about Paint-A-Can was being able to do something for his club, Mu-Alpha-Theta. “Last year’s officers did an amazing job with our old can. Now it was our turn to excel,” he said.

But why do they host it?

The purpose of such event is to “show club spirit and demonstrate that Miami High doesn’t simply see clubs and sports as single organizations but as a family all together that makes up Sting Town,” said Student Government president Pablo Iraheta.

 OK I get it; how does my club sign up?

Regardless of how big or how small, every organization at Miami High gets the chance to sign up. “We simply email the advisors and send text messages to the presidents to let us know if they are interested,” said Iraheta. “There is no specific requirement or fee the club will have to pay. They just have to confirm with us at least a week before so we could prepare the materials.”

Who’s behind this?

Paint-A-Can isn’t an event in which clubs and organizations show up and cans magically appear; there is a lot of work behind it which SGA takes on. SGA had to order the cans and painting supplies 3 weeks before Paint-A-Can.

“On that day we came at 7 in the morning and split t he work evenly in order to help each other out,” said Iraheta. “We had to have everything set up by 9 a.m. when clubs were scheduled to show up.”

And where do the cans go?

After they are painted, cans are reviewed by Miami High’s school activities director to make sure everything is under the school’s guidelines. Afterwards, the cans are placed outside the different club advisors’ doors in order to help promote their organizations and also to contribute to the school’s aesthetic. “Old cans are just moved to a different building and placed somewhere they’ll be useful and contribute to the environment,” said Iraheta.

How do people feel about their trash can?

Bowling team coach Emerson Perez was more than happy with the team’s trash-can for the current year. “They put in a lot of effort on our can. I really appreciate their concern for the team,” he said.

However, not everything went well for everyone. Girls volleyball team captain Diana Aguilar was upset her team couldn’t finish their trashcan. “We had practice at 10 a.m. that day so we were only able to stay there for an hour. We couldn’t even put who does it belong to or the names from everyone on the team on it,” she said. “I just think it was unfair for the rest of the girls. We are a team, not a bunch of individuals. Now it just looks ugly, and you can’t even tell who it belongs to. I feel like it doesn’t represent our team at all.”