Mater Lakes Academy junior Ethan Vergara didn’t know if he would wrestle again after he suffered a torn meniscus during a match last year. He needed surgery and rehab. But his perseverance paid off. The 16-year-old is the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A state 285-pound champion, after defeating Somerset Academy junior Matthew Jimenez March 6 in the title bout in Kissimmee. Ethan got the win in dramatic...

The Hialeah chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs saw how the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning negatively affected families and students working from home and took steps to fix the problem. Members of the club donated $10,000 in February to the Miami Lakes K-8 Center. The money is to purchase 25 laptops and a cart for use in the school, at 14250 NW 67th Ave. The new computers will replace devices that were...

Barbara Goleman Senior High School’s trial team finished second in the Miami Dade County Public Schools Virtual Senior High School Mock Trial competition. Students learning in school and at home would gather on campus after hours to practice in the media center at the school, at 4100 NW 89th Ave. in Miami Lakes, Law Studies teacher Ana M. Soto-Gonzalez said. The announcement was made March 10th.
Seated at the left table, left to right...

Denis Brenes and Daylin Garcia of the Giving Gators charitable organization and
Brenda Palacios, district outreach liaison for Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Project UP-START, shown above in March in a photo shared by Daylin Garcia.
To celebrate National Random Acts of Kindness Day, Giving Gators collected a pickup full of toiletries and non-perishable foods for Project UP-START’s Pantry, to serve families in areas near Miami Lakes...

Miami Lakes Councilman Josh Dieguez shows off his vaccination record after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19. Dieguez called the process on April 5 at Miami Dade College’s North Campus “easy, with no hassles. I’m glad I did it because it gives me peace of mind as someone who is often out in the community meeting many different people,” Dieguez said. “And also because I wanted to do...