Ms. Armas is an Intensive Reading teacher at Miami Senior High School (MHS). She has been here as a teacher for 6 years, but she has had the Sting spirit in her soul for a long time.  She is a MHS alumni, graduating class of ’86. She puts her everything into the things she does here at MHS, including important roles in sponsoring Color Guard and Junior Board. 

Get to know Ms. Armas  

    Ms. Armas was born and raised in Miami, but her parents are from Cuba. She has twin boys who were born and raised in Miami. They are now 29 years old. They also came to Miami High and graduated in 2011.    

    After Ms. Armas graduated from Miami High, she attended Miami Dade and later transferred to FIU.  

     You might not know that at some point in her life, Ms. Armas wanted to leave Florida. She always had her mind set on leaving, but times were different back then. As well, her parents didn’t allow her; they didn’t think it was a good idea  

    I asked Ms. Armas if she didn’t become a teacher, what’s another career she would have chosen. She said she didn’t really want another career. She would have probably done something in the business of book keeping like most of her family, but she said that wouldn’t have gone well because she’s not the best with numbers.  

Her history at Miami Senior High  

    Ms. Armas came to Miami High in 1982 and graduated in 1986. When she attended Miami High, she was a majorette in Color Guard, and she was also in FBLA.  

    Ms. Armas loved everything about high school. She made great friends here, and she’s still friends with most of them till this day. She’s glad that no matter how much time passes, she still has bonds with her former classmates that last forever. 

     Ms. Armas didn’t come to teach at Miami High School right away. She used to teach for 26 years at an elementary school and was really comfortable there. However, when her 2 kids went to Miami High, Ms. Armas was always coming back to Miami High for her kids’ band activities. It became difficult to be at two place at the same time. When the opportunity came to teach at Miami High, she took it. She says it’s the best decision she could have ever made.  

Color Guard  

    Color Guard has been in Ms. Armas’s life for a long time. When both of her sons attended Miami High in 2007, she became a band mom, which meant she was always around the Million Dollar Band and Color Guard.  

    She loved Color Guard so much. Even though she wasn’t officially sponsoring Color Guard, she would always help with practice. When she officially became a teacher here at Miami High 6 years ago, she became their official sponsor.  

   One challenge the team continues to deal with are financial problems. It’s not easy to raise money for materials, trips, uniforms, and more. But despite that, Color Guard still manages to do the best they can with what they have.  

   When asked what her favorite part about sponsoring is, she said, “I love everything about Color Guard. I love seeing them blossom from not knowing how to catch a flag to mastering  what they do.” The only expectations she has for Color Guard are for them to be the best they can be and show their true potential.  

 Junior Board 

   Ms. Armas wasn’t always the sponsor for the Junior Board. She used to be sponsor for the  Freshmen Board for a year and then moved to Junior Board, which she has been sponsoring for five years. She was transferred because people believed she was good for the position and would be great at handling all the craziness. She said that she doesn’t do it all by herself because she has the sponsors from other clubs help her out too. 

   When asked about what her favorite thing about the Junior Board is, she answered, “Everything but if I had to pick, it would be being in charge of homecoming and ensuring that future classes keep it going.”  

    One problem that Junior Board deals with is the lack of student involvement. Some students are willing to help out and participate. But unfortunately, it’s not enough to help. Getting more kids to become involved is really difficult.  

A lot of people don’t know what the Junior Board does for students to have fun school activities. They also don’t know how much time the Junior Board puts into all the activities, which they start prepping for in summer time.  They start planning events, themes, activities and also have do deal with budgeting. “They have early days and late nights but it’a worth it for the students of Miami High because we always have a good time,” she said.