To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Miami Lakes, a group of art students and their teacher at Miami Lakes Middle School created a mural reminiscent of the 1960s when the area was an area of cow pastures and an immense dairy farm.
The giant-sized painting adorns the school’s wall at 6425 Miami Lakeway North near the students pick-up, drop-off point, creating an image to reflect the many academics, magnet programs, sports and elective courses the school has to offer to students. But in the mural, the cows are portraying the students and teachers.
“It shows the community what we have to offer in courses filled with a diverse culture and different colors to describe the atmosphere at the school,” said art teacher Irene Albalat.
The mural mirrors the learning and recreation ambiance of the students’ everyday life that helped the school earn an A for five consecutive years. In the painting, the cows are learning language arts, reading books in the library, taking computer and math courses, playing musical instruments such as the saxophone and bass drum for the marching band, playing tennis and basketball, cheerleading and a cow student painting a beautiful portrait of the Mona Lisa Cow.
The mural also reflects Miami Lakes Middle School’s Law Studies Magnet Program, as the cows are portraying the judge, lawyers and the jury. Nora Bueno, the school’s assistant principal, said the administration wanted to come up with the perfect painting that best describes Miami Lakes and its rich history.
Bueno has been a Miami Lakes resident for years and some of the school’s administrators grew up near the area and they love to reminisce about the cow pastures and diary farm before The Graham Companies started developing Miami Lakes into a community in 1962. Miami Lakes became a city in 2000.
“I remember the cows were running in the streets,” she said. “We had to explain to the students that Miami Lakes and the cow pastures have everything to do with our school. And since the school is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the Spring, we wanted to do something extra special for both occasions.”
Bueno said Albalat and her students started painting the mural last April and put the finishing touches on it in early October. They chose the location near the pick-up, drop-off point for parents to see. Bueno said the painting gave the art students a more relaxed activity.
“With the rigorous studies, it was a break for students and the way to show how important our elective courses are at the school,” she said.