Homecoming  

    Homecoming Week at Miami Senior High is one of the most anticipated events of the school year. Spirit clubs like BETA, Honoria, Interact, and Key spend weeks preparing to unveil their floats, banners, and performances. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Homecoming had to be held virtually. The way clubs planned and executed their performances differed immensely from past years. Class of 2022 President Ralph Garcia said, “ Homecoming differed a lot this year compared to last year’s. Many clubs were not looking forward to having a virtual homecoming. Others did. This ultimately proved us how our school spirit is doing in the midst of the pandemic. It was not an easy thing having a virtual homecoming, but we accomplished it ensuring all clubs maintained the proper precautions.”   

     BETA President Gabriela Gonzalez-Andin adds “ The most exciting and nerve recking thing BETA has done for past Homecomings is our infamous floats. Due to the circumstances this year, we weren’t able to go all out like we previously would. Sadly, only a few members were able to participate, and we couldn’t have a full-on homecoming experience. And what hit hard the most is we weren’t able to have a football game with members and alumni showing off their BETA pride. But, at least we were able to participate in the virtual homecoming parade and BETA, once again, broke record and for the ninth year in a row we placed 1st Overall.”  

Clubs 2020-2021 Experience      For normal school years, students here at Miami High can usually feel the big presence of our school spirit. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 that spirit has diminished; however, many student leaders are trying to have their clubs be active as possible. Student Government Association President Danelia Nunez expresses, “Although, this year has been very different regarding activities, I feel like SGA has been able to adjust to the situation we’re in and accomplish as many events as possible while following CDC guidelines. SGA is also introducing a new partnership with PowerU, an organization dedicated to fight for social justice. We’re going to be hosting two virtual sessions on April 23rd and April 24th. My advisor Ms. Puentes has also been an amazing support for me and all of my officers, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her help.”  

     Editor-in-Chief of MIAHI Carlos Martinez-Busta said, “MIAHI has been trying to remain very active this year in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been constantly taking pictures of the events that have happened and we are accepting photos that are being sent in by MSO and Physical students. Having the independence to create such an important piece of student’s high school years is very important to the MIAHI staff and I, so don’t worry this year’s yearbook will get done and will be amazing.”  

Balancing High School 

     High school students sometimes feel like they have to be as productive as possible and accomplish as many things they can throughout their four years. However, many students don’t just have to worry about their academic lives. Plenty of students, on top of being leaders in their school, have after-school jobs that they need to attend to and countless AP and Dual Enrollment classes. Being able to balance all this is impressive but how do they do it? Ralph Garcia said, “As president, I try to balance high school by a technique I like to call time management. Being Junior Class president, taking AP & dual enrollment classes, & being a Manager at my store, is quite a lot of weight on my back, but all it takes is knowing how you can manage your time & what deserves higher priority on your list to go through. Having to oversee work operations & manage the instagram account of my job @dripanddough is a lot of stress, but the stress trains me to better handle other real world situations with ease. Sometimes I slack off in school or work, sometimes it can pay a big toll on me like receiving & F on a test I didn’t study hard on, but those are just lessons in life that we must take & learn from to never repeat again.” 

     Editor-in-Chief of the Miami High Times and President of Mu Alpha Theta Annette Chu said, “Luckily for me, my clubs don’t mesh into my personal life as much as other clubs. Mu Alpha Theta is a relatively small club, so there isn’t much for me to handle. With the Miami High Times, since it’s a class I am able to complete all my responsibilities during the period, so after school I don’t need to worry about it. However, I do attend dance classes but because my schedule is consistent I do not really have to worry about it.”  

Leaving Behind Legacies 

     As the school year comes to a close the class of 2021 prepares to say goodbye to Miami Senior High and the clubs they took part in. Even though these influential seniors are preparing to welcome in a new chapter in their lives, they’re getting ready to leave behind a legacy for future members of their clubs. Annette Chu said, “ For Mu Alpha Theta I hope tutoring becomes more consistent. This year, I tried to make tutoring accessible to both virtual and physical students, and tried to have it throughout the year. Tutoring ended up starting half way through the year, so I hope next year the president will start it the first quarter with the resources provided from this year. In regard to the Miami High Times, I hope my articles on activism inspires others to speak out and use this platform and their voice for a change. I tried growing the newspaper as much as possible, so I hope the next editor-in-chief continues to grow the newspaper with the resources I’ve left behind.” 

Daniela Nunez said, “ Throughout the years, SGA has produced some of the most influential students Miami High has housed. Past SGA presidents have inspired me to be the best leader I could become and I want to do the same for next year’s president. When the pandemic regulations begin to be lifted, I hope next year’s set of officers will be able to host all the activities we unfortunately couldn’t this year. For example, the Sadie’s Hawkins Dance, Paint-A-Can, and Prom. I hope the determination SGA has showed this year carries on to next year and they make the best of their senior year.”  

Miami Senior High’s Presidents  

Student Government Association: Danelia Nunez 

Senior Class: Victoria Mendez 

Junior Class: Ralph Garcia 

Sophmore Class: Djahnay Jones  

BETA: Gabriela Gonzalez-Andin 

Interact: Melanie Sousa  

Key: Mariana Cepeda 

Honoria: Norka Alarcon  

MIAHI: Carlos Martinez-Busta 

Miami High Times: Annette Chu 

National Honor Society: Sigrid Real-Aguilar 

Mu Alpha Theta: Annette Chu 

Science National Honor Society: Valerie Hernandez 

English Honor Society: Melissa Elmhorst  

Law and Leadership Honor Society: Marco Perez-Vazquez 

Tri-M Music Honor Society: Nicole Morgan 

Future Educators of America: Cecilia Canas 

FBLA: Samantha Yera 

T.V. Production: Rolando Morales 

Chorus: Jasmine Bermudez