When the 1971-72 school year began, South Miami Senior High was still not quite ready to open its doors to its first 1,500 students. In August of '71, the faculty led by SMSH first principal Warren E. Burchell came together at Miami Killian Senior High to plan for the first few months (two months, one week, and two days to be exact). The first Cobras spent the early part of the year at Coral Park Senior High before arriving at thier own high school.

The cobra became the school's mascot after three school-wide votes while still at Coral Park Senior High. The school colors were also voted on; orange brown and white.

The school board gave the final approval for the building in October and the following month, South Miami Senior High finally opened its doors to faculty, staff, and students. Everyone was given a map with a color code to explain where everything was. Arrows in different colors pointed the way to the various areas of the school. On February 3, 1972, South Miami Senior High was officially dedicated. The Dade County School Board, led by Superintendent Dr. Whigham, presented the school with a flag that had flown over Tallahassee.

Among the first clubs at SMSH were the Art Club, The French Club (known as 'Les Amis de Francaise'), Spanish National Honor Society, and Sourisse, a girl's community service club. The varsity cheerleaders first cheered On October 1, 1971 when the Cobras beat North Miami Beach. Our football team won six out of ten games during the inaugural season, including beating Coral Gables Senior High. SMSH's first varsity basketball season under the leadership of Coach Colzie earned recognition by the Miami Herald and the Miami News for three of our players.