La Mesa Historical Photo Story-Writing Contest Winners Announced

The winners were chosen from 102 entries received from throughout the district’s 3rd Grade classes.

The La Mesa Historical Society made the following announcement on Thursday, May 16, 2012: On Tuesday, May 15, the La Mesa Historical Society and Kiwanis Club of La Mesa presented prizes to the award winners for the first annual 3rd grade La Mesa Historical Photo Story-Writing Contest at the La Mesa-Spring Valley School Board meeting.    The Contest was created as part of the 2012 City of La Mesa Centennial Celebration. Grand Prize Winner:  Grace Eby, Maryland Avenue Elementary, Mary Carrera’s class.  Grace received an iPad from the Kiwanis Club of La Mesa. Grace wrote about a circa 1919 photo of a group of children, and their pet donkeys, playing on Date Avenue. Runners Up:  Isaiah Graves, Rolando Elementary, Melinda Swulius’ class and …

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LA MESA MICROSCOPE

Grossmont Baseball Coach Jim Earley Quits Amid Parent Accusations

Father of pitching star Robby Nesovic says Earley handled money in violation of district policy.

Updated at 9:35 p.m. May 18, 2012 Grossmont High School baseball coach Jim Earley, who resigned this week after ending the season with 20 straight losses, is under fire from a parent who accuses him of misusing money from the program and running a booster club that violates district rules. In a Nov. 9, 2011, memo to Principal Dan Barnes, Danilo “Dan” Nesovic made a series of complaints, including: The Grossmont Union High School District on Friday said Earley has retired, and East County Sports quoted Earley as saying: “I want to spend more time with my family, especially my two sons who are 9 and 10.” But documents obtained by Patch indicate four-year head coach Earley, as president of a nonprofit called Blue and Gold Baseball Inc., …

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Doug Curlee

8:16 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012

if this crap was going on all year, no wonder the kids lost 20 straight.. doug   more ›

School District 'Not Considering Layoffs' Despite Budget Reduction

La Mesa-Spring Valley District Superintendent Brian Marshall says the district faces a $3M reduction in its budget following the release of Gov. Jerry Brown's revised budget this week.

Gov. Jerry Brown's revised state budget proposal released Monday increases the stakes of a public vote in November to raise taxes, a San Diego Unified School District official said. Local school officials have been waiting for the "May revise" to judge the impact of lower-than-expected state revenues on funding for education. "Nothing has improved for K-12 education in the May revise, which is what we expected," said Bernie Rhinerson, the SDUSD chief of staff. Based on the governor's original budget proposal in January, the state's second-largest school district expected to lose around $40 million if the tax increases fail at the ballot box, Rhinerson said. He said the new numbers still need to be crunched, but the revision could raise the…

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Grossmont Investing Club Featured in Facebook IPO Article in Wall Street Journal

The club, which is led by adviser Todd Benrud, recently purchases a few shares of the hottest stock on the market.

Female Grossmont Students Harassed by Adult Males on Way to School

The Grossmont Union High School District is reminding parents not to allow students to travel to school alone, after reports of two separate incidents last week.

The Grossmont Union High School District is reminding parents not to allow students to travel to school alone, after reports of two separate incidents of female Grossmont High School students being approached by adult males, while walking to school last week. In each of the incidents, school officials report that the males asked the girls if they wanted a ride to school. Upon hearing of the incidents, school officials then notified the La Mesa and El Cajon police departments, which prompted El Cajon police to conduct additional patrol and surveillance in the areas of question. Principal Dan Barnes sent a letter home to parents notifying them of the incidents and encouraging them students to travel to school with friends or in a group. …

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Grossmont Falls to Torrey Pines in CIF Division I Volleyball Quarterfinals

Falcons upset the host Foothillers in five games; GHS ended remarkable season with a record of 29-6.

In a hard fought match Saturday evening, Grossmont High School was upset by visiting Torrey Pines in the second round of the CIF San Diego Division I volleyball playoffs. It seemed at first that No. 6 seed Torrey Pines might take No. 3 seed Grossmont in 1-2-3 fashion, but the Hillers leaped ahead to win the third game, and then dominated the fourth, up 20-7 at one point. The Falcons edged the Foothillers 15-12 in the decisive fifth game to raise their record to 20-13. With Grossmont Principal Dan Barnes looking on, the Falcons beat GHS in the first two games 25-23 and 25-21. The Foothillers won the next two games 25-23 and 25-13. The quarterfinal match was punctuated with long volleys that were applauded by fans on both sides. The Hillers…

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Helix Speech and Debate Team Garners Success at State Championships

The Helix Speech and Debate Team is composed of approximately 40 students, and the team competes in 15-20 tournaments around the state each school year.

Helix Charter High School made the following announcement on May 9, 2012: The Helix Charter High School Speech and Debate Team members know what they are talking about! Eleven students from Helix, along with 80 students from other San Diego County high schools, participated in the California High School Speech Association State Championships in San Francisco April 27-29, 2012. Almost 350 students in the San Diego/Imperial Valley Speech League competed in February and March at the local level to make it to the State Championships. The 13 San Diego schools that qualified students locally spent the last weekend in April competing against the best California has to offer. There are approximately 250 high school Speech and Debate teams in …

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U.S. News & World Report Analyzes La Mesa, Spring Valley High Schools

Helix Charter HS was named No. 277 in California and No. 1,328 nationally, in the annual academic survey.

Helix Charter High School was included in the top 1,800 high schools according to an annual academic survey ranking published this week in U.S. News & World Report. The La Mesa institution was ranked 277 in the state of California and 1,328 nationally. Helix was also ranked 96th among charter schools in the U.S. None of Spring Valley's high schools were included in the rankings, nor was La Mesa's other public high school, Grossmont. But, an analysis of Grossmont, Mount Miguel, Monte Vista and Steele Canyon statistics can be found on their website. The report lists and compares student to teacher ratios, college readiness scores based on advanced placement tests, scores on the Academic Performance Index and more. Helix comes out ahead in …

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Komfort

8:11 am on Friday, May 11, 2012

Using MV logic, racism led to the smaller class size, David. You are saying class size and attendance are unrelated? Are you sure?   more ›

County Office of Education to Receive $22,500 to Enforce Tobacco-Free Policies

The funds will come from the state government.

The San Diego County Office of Education will receive $22,500 in state funds to enforce tobacco-free school policies and collect data on the prevalence of tobacco use and other behaviors  that put students' health at risk. More than $410,000 in Tobacco Use Prevention Education dollars from the state Department of Education went to 30 districts across California. The winners in TUPE competitive bidding demonstrated the greatest tobacco-use prevention efforts, and proposed programs that will likely be effective, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. "Schools can help our kids learn to avoid dangerous behaviors -- including tobacco use—early," Torlakson said. TUPE is a three-year, $16.5 million competitive state grant…

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