The bathroom where the killing happened is locked up and used for storage.
The old gray hallways are now painted sunshine yellow and tropical shades of coral, sea green and teal. The only real trace that a tragedy occurred is a small, meticulously kept garden with two memorial benches decorated with, among other artwork, cartoons of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
But the changes at Southwood Middle School in Palmetto Bay are more than cosmetic.
The anguish will never fully disappear, but students and faculty members have worked hard to shed the stigma of the day young Jaime Gough died at school.
Thursday marks the first anniversary that the 14-year-old was found stabbed to death in an upstairs bathroom. Classmate Michael Hernandez is charged with murder.
And the students here want you to know that they love their school and their principal, and that their ranks include dancers and actors and fledgling documentary filmmakers.
They want you to know they are known as the Superstars -- rival schools poke fun of the nickname, but that is only because they are jealous of Southwood's successes.
And please, students say, Southwood is more than just a backdrop for live television news shots.
''We're more than what the media and everyone thinks we are,'' said Alexis Handley, 14, an eighth-grader. ``We are an excellent school.''
To honor their fallen classmate, Alexis and other members of the school's student body council have dubbed this week ''Peace Week'' and organized a series of speakers and activities that will culminate in a rally on Thursday.
''Southwood will always have some kind of connotation and that's sad because it is one of our better performing schools. It offers many wonderful things,'' said Frank Zenere, a Miami-Dade schools psychologist and crisis counselor.
TALENTED STUDENTS
Southwood boasts an award-winning magnet program for visual and performing arts and is located in the well-off village of Palmetto Bay in South Miami-Dade.
Drama student productions of plays such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Wizard of Oz have to be staged over several nights because the auditorium fills every time. The jazz band produces DVDs of its performances.
''I'm so lucky to have been placed here at this school. This place is amazing,'' said Kristal B. Hickmon, the school's principal. ``The energy. It's a wonderful school.''
Looking back, the day of the tragedy seems beyond belief.
Students were busy preparing for the writing portion of the state's comprehensive assessment test. Then came the lockdown. Few students had an inkling of what had happened: police say Hernandez ambushed Jaime with a knife.
When authorities allowed students to leave, they walked into a whole new world.
Helicopters droned overhead like motorized flies. Television trucks lined the manicured, leafy streets. Throngs of parents and gawkers clutched cellphones and dabbed teary eyes.
`I FELT HELPLESS'
''I looked at the faces of my students as they were leaving the building -- it was a regular day for them. The majority of the kids were smiling. They were happy to see their friends,'' Hickmon said.
``It wasn't until they saw the madness that was going on out there that they began to panic. I felt so helpless because there was nothing I could do.''
Immediately, students were overwhelmed by the media glare. Some students found out what had happened from television reporters seeking interviews.
''I remember I was looking for my mom and I was walking across the street and a camera went into my face and I just pushed it out of my face,'' said Noah Gray, 12, a seventh-grader who is producing a documentary for Peace Week to be shown on the school's closed-circuit television. ``I remember watching the news that day and seeing like a second of me.''
Despite the commotion, Hickmon, therapists and schools officials decided to open school the following day, to immediately begin the healing process. Parent meetings were held.
Lesson plans were put on hold for a day so students could talk about their emotions.
A team of therapists descended on the school, counseling shaken children, especially those closest to Hernandez and Jaime.
Students walked the halls, heads down, moods somber.
''It didn't seem real,'' said Alexis Snow, 13, a seventh-grader.
The weeks passed. Anytime Hernandez appeared in court, television trucks would produce live shots in front of Southwood, a reminder that Hickmon likens to peeling back a scab.
Prosecutors say Hernandez confessed to the crime. Cops found a bloody knife and a journal detailing plans for the killing in his backpack. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty. A judge has ruled him competent to stand trial.
Teachers and administrators say a tough resolve to return to normalcy helped ease students back into their groove. Studying for FCATs continued as planned -- Southwood would earn an A ranking for the fourth consecutive year.
Attendence returned to normal after a day. Hotlines and anonymous drop boxes placed around the school to report bullying or suspicious behavior were set up.
A software program designed to monitor bullying and teach awareness was adopted.
Over the summer, the hallways were repainted.
A former Southwood student gathered Boy Scouts to landscape the memorial garden for Jaime and the front of the school with trimmed trees and ember-red mulch.
FINDING PEACE
Miami Heat basketball players welcomed students on the first day of the new school year. And during the fall student body council campaigns, candidates began tossing around ideas for events to remember Jaime.
Eventually, the idea morphed into Peace Week.
The decision to allow the events appealed to Hickmon, the principal, who knew it would be healthier to confront the tragedy with memorials than ignore the date. Students say being open about the tragedy has worked for the best.
Said Chidinma Orji, a 14-year-old eighth-grader who studies drama: ``People are a lot nicer to each other this year.''
