Mira Mesa 4th of July Celebration 2010

Can you believe it… another year has past and it is time to celebrate another 4th of July in Mira Mesa? As always, it is going to be another fun-filled day and evening with things getting started at 7am, so make sure to get some sleep Saturday night.

Here is the basic lineup for the day’s events:

• 7:00am – 11:00 am: Pancake Breakfast at Epicentre (Definitely worth getting up early for)
• 11:00am – (All Day): “Fun Day at the Park” runs all day long at the Mira Mesa Community Park and it is definitely the best place to celebrate Independence Day in Mira Mesa. There are rides for the kids, lots of food vendors, and tons of space to hangout and BBQ with friends and family. Just make sure to get there really early to grab a prime spot.
• 1:00pm: The 4th of July Parade. The Parade runs down Mira Mesa Blvd. from Greenford Dr. all the way down to Camino Ruiz where it turns right for one block and then another right on New Salem ending just past the Fire Station. Onlookers line the streets all the way down the Parade route, so grab your beach chair and stake out a good spot early.
• 9:00pm: FIREWORKS!!! Mira Mesa has a great fireworks display each year and it is well worth hanging out until 9:00 and watching. The fireworks are synchronized to the music of local radio station KYXY (96.5 FM), so make sure to bring your radio and some extra batteries.

One thing I would like to mention is that the Mira Mesa 4th of July festivities is put together completely by local volunteers and requires planning and fund-raising efforts throughout the year. Around $40,000 had to be raised this year to put on the event (including funding the fireworks) and at least that much will be required (if not more) to have it again next year. So, if you like to donate a little cash (even 5 to 10 dollars would help), it would be greatly appreciated. Just click on the “Donate to Fireworks Fund” button below and you will be taken to a Paypal link where you can make your donation.

Hickman’s PEP Junior Kindergarten Gives “The Gift of Time”

Hickman Elementary offers a “Junior Kindergarten” program called “PEP” for Primary Extended Program. This class is for the youngest Kindergarten-age eligible children (turning 5 between June 1 and December 2) who may benefit from an additional year before entering a regular full-day Kindergarten the following year.

A San Diego Unified School District approved pilot program, PEP began in 2006 and provides an alternative and voluntary choice for parents. Recent news reports have shown that today’s Kindergarten includes previously 1st Grade expectations while at the same time California has amongst the youngest populations of Kindergarten students (most states have cut-off birthdates of September 1st and some at June 1st to turn 5 years old). Many California districts have created similar classes to PEP to support these young children.

Research-based and modeled after Poway Unified School District’s program, PEP allows for the time needed for developmental maturation socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively to succeed with greater readiness for today’s very high academic standards in Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

Hickman parents and teachers are seeing the value of developmental readiness and maturity as overall school scores have risen, data shows great success of former PEP students, and parents are 100% supportive and appreciative of the program. PEP is not a remedial class, but a developmental Kindergarten that is California Standards-based. Primarily for students who enter Kindergarten still 4 years old, PEP provides for a strong foundation for early and long-term school success. Children participate in all regular school activities and events 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. daily. The second year the students begin a regular, full day Kindergarten with greater readiness skills.

Hickman Elementary is currently accepting PEP applications and CHOICE applications. The school is located in Mira Mesa at 10850 Montongo Street, San Diego, CA 92129 and the school number is (858) 271-5210.

Hickman’s office will reopen August 26th but during the summer break the Principal may be contacted by district e-mail (jwroblewski@sandi.net) for PEP enrollment information.

Document Shredding, E-Recycling, & Rummage Sale at Mira Mesa High

Document Shredding and E-Recycling, Plus Rummage Sale at Mira Mesa High School

This Saturday and Sunday, May 15th and 16th is the perfect weekend to get rid of all those boxes of documents that you have been planning on shredding, but just haven’t gotten around to doing. Identity theft is huge and is growing more each year, so it is important to shred any documents that have information about you on them (except for the ones you need to keep, like tax records).

This weekend from 9AM – 4PM each day you can take your boxes of documents to the Mira Mesa High School parking lot and get them shredded for $10 for your first bankers box of documents, and $5 for each additional box. This can save you hours and hours of time in front of your personal shredder, as well as save the shredder’s motor.

At the same time you can bring all your old electronic junk you have sitting around the house to the High School parking lot and they will get rid of that for you as well. They are accepting things like: electronics, TV’s, computers, cables, wires, cords, monitor, laptop, cell phones, and more…

WHEN:
Saturday May 15, 2010
Sunday May 16, 2010
(9AM – 4PM Each Day)

WHERE:
Mira Mesa High School (Parking Lot)
10510 Reagan Road
San Diego, CA 92126-3298

The Mira Mesa High School Class of 2012 is also having a Huge Rummage Sale benefiting their Senior Prom from 8AM – Noon in the school parking lot on Saturday, so you do a little shopping after you get done recycling!

Sandy Smith’s 2009 Mira Mesa Volunteer of the Year Award Dinner

Everyone is invited to the Mira Mesa Town Council’s annual dinner honoring Mira Mesa resident Sandy Smith as 2009 Mira Mesa Volunteer of the Year on Saturday, May 15, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Country Inn and Suites hotel in western Mira Mesa, 5975 Lusk Boulevard, San Diego 92121. Please join us for this gala event! The theme is “Old Hollywood Style.” Optional dress is 20’s – 30’s era gowns/outfits for fun and to be a part of the evening’s excitement. For details see the MMTC website, www.miramesatowncouncil.org. Reservations should be made online or by return mail to MMTC no later than May 10.

The dinner will be $35 per person. That includes a served dinner, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres during our reception from 6 to 7 p.m., and a dessert buffet. There will be a cash bar available throughout the reception and dinner. Prior to, during and following dinner there will be some special surprises and presentations for Sandy, with music and dancing into the evening. It should be a FABULOUS party!

Each year at the time of the Volunteer of the Year dinner the Mira Mesa Town Council also accepts donations in recognition of our honoree to the college scholarship fund that MMTC awards to graduating high school seniors based on their community service. In addition to attending the dinner, you can honor Sandy Smith by making a scholarship fund donation in any amount.

RSVP online (we need to know your dinner choice – grilled chicken with ratatouille and red potatoes, baked salmon with mango salsa served with rice and green beans, or vegetarian option) and pay via credit card at www.miramesatowncouncil.org or by mailing your check to the Mira Mesa Town Council, Attention – Volunteer of the Year Dinner Committee, PMB 230, 10606-8 Camino Ruiz, San Diego CA 92126.

This year’s Volunteer of the Year Dinner Committee, co-chaired by Mike Davis and Pam Stevens, includes Bari Vaz, Robin Stutsman, Debbie Vincent and Tri Huynh. Mira Mesa Town Council president Ted Brengel will be the master of ceremonies for the brief program when elected officials and fellow volunteers make their presentations to Sandy.

Sandy Smith has a long history of actively and enthusiastically volunteering with Mira Mesa community groups. In addition to serving in a variety of offices on the Mira Mesa Town Council Board, Sandy is a longtime member and current chair of the Mira Mesa Community 4th of July Committee, who raise all the funds needed for the July 4 fireworks and all-day celebration, as well as plan and host the day’s events. Sandy is also a long time Mira Mesa Theatre Guild member, having been on the Theatre Guild Board for many years, and a participant in Theatre Guild productions, including Monster Manor and Breakfast with Mrs. Claus. A realtor with RC Realty in Mira Mesa, Sandy is currently a business member on the Executive Committee of the Mira Mesa Community Planning Group. She has been part of HEROES and the Mira Mesa Chamber of Commerce since their inception.

Sandy Smith has also been a participant in the Stakeholders committee, Kiwanis, Epicentre (Teen Center) Oversight Committee, NEC and the Mira Mesa High School Business Partnership Council. Sandy likes to connect our community groups and volunteers to each other, and likes to work behind the scenes to make Mira Mesa a better place to live, work and play. In addition to volunteering herself, Sandy is exceptionally good at bringing new volunteers into our community groups.

Join the Mira Mesa Town Council and elected dignitaries on May 15 in honoring Sandy Smith, volunteer extraordinaire!

UPDATE: The Volunteer of the Year Dinner for Sandy Smith has reached its capacity for the dinner (starting with reception at 6 p.m., meal at 7, post-dinner program at 7:30 p.m.), but anyone else who would like to join in celebrating with Sandy Smith is welcome to join us for music and dancing from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Country Inn and Suites ballroom in western Mira Mesa. Donations to the Mira Mesa Town Council/Verne Goodwin college scholarship fund are encouraged. Please contact Pam Stevens for more information – pstevens@san.rr.com

Save Money with Groupon San Diego and Signon Daily Deal

Who doesn’t like saving money? I know I do! Well this probably isn’t new to a lot of you out there, but it was new to me… so I thought I would share. Have you heard of Groupon San Diego?

Groupon is a “Deal of the Day” type of website that offers a new local discount “Groupon” each day. These can save you up to 90% on different products and services around San Diego.

The way it works is Groupon make deals with local merchants to offer big discounts on individual products or services for one day and they create an assurance contract with them. What that mean is they guarantee the merchant a certain minimum number of sales to be made. So if that number is met, the deal is on and it becomes available to everyone. But if that number is not met… nobody gets the deal for that product. This helps take some of the risk away from the retailer, as they can treat the “Groupon” as quantity discount coupon, and it is also a great promotional tool to get their name out there.

I have been a member for just over two weeks now and I have not seen a Deal fall below the required number, but I am sure it is possible.

Check out the image on the right to see a few of the great deals they offered recently. I actually would have liked to have purchased each one of those deals, but some of them were offered before I ever heard of Groupon San Diego. My boys would have loved me to get that paintball Groupon, and we always go to Belmont Park a couple of times each year, so that $10 All Day Pass would have been a no-brainer!

Not only is it a great site for saving you money on stuff for you and your family, but it also a great place to buy gifts as well.

To compete with the great success Groupon San Diego is having, the San Diego Union-Tribune and some partners have created their own version and it is called the “Signon Daily Deal“. They are brand new, but they offer some AWESOME DISCOUNTS as well. Yesterday I purchased a $100 voucher for the restaurant Bellefleur (great downtown eatery), which also included a Free Bottle of Wine for only $50. I am going to use it to take my wife out for a nice romantic night on the town.

So what are you waiting for? Head over to both Groupon San Diego and Signon Daily Deal and get on their Daily Alert lists today. It is absolutely free to sign-up, and I promise you that you will glad you did!

My Groupon Deal of the Day and Signon Daily Deal emails are literally the only emails I look forward to receiving each day, as I love saving money and finding new things to do in San Diego, as well as new places to eat.

Mira Mesa Free Classified Ads Now Open

One of the main requests we have received over the last few years was to add a Classified Ads section to the website. Until just recently there was really no good software programs available that would integrate well with the back-end of this site’s software. Well fortunately there is now, and we are “Beta Testing” it on MiraMesa.com.

It is actually more than a beta test, as it is fully functional and should be working fine. I just say we are beta testing it because I am sure there will be lots of tweaking and categories to be added, so if you start using it… please make sure to send us some feedback of what you like and don’t like, as well as anything you think we need to add.

Now the Classifieds will be different than the Business Directory (that we already have on MiraMesa.com), so please don’t list your business in this section. The Classified section is more for things like; Selling Cars and Household Items, listing Garage Sales, posting photos of Lost Pets, listing Rental Properties or Rooms for Rent, etc… and we even have a Help Wanted section so local businesses can hopefully find some good employees that live close to work.

So please give it a try and make sure to let your friends and neighbors know about it as well. Like any good idea, it will take a while to catch on… but hopefully each week it will grow more and more, and people will start to take advantage of it, especially since it is FREE!

Support 4th of July Fireworks at Casino Night on March 12th

“Casino Night”, the annual fundraiser to support the Mira Mesa Community 4th of July, returns this year with the theme “Mardi Gras”.  Casino Night is scheduled for Friday, March 12, beginning at 5 p.m. The Country Inn and Suites, 5975 Lusk Blvd., will again be the site of this fun-filled fund-raiser.

This year, Casino Night will get a boost from the Mira Mesa Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is committed to supporting the Mira Mesa Community, and the annual 4th of July event is one of Mira Mesa’s most popular community events. The event is also an excellent chance for Mira Mesa businesses to say “thank you” to their employees and clients, by sponsoring a game table or auction item.

Businesses and individuals interested in sponsoring game tables can download a sponsorship form from the Mira Mesa Town Council website. Additionally, auction items are being sought for Casino Night and donors will receive tickets to the event. Donation forms are also available at the MMTC website.

For additional information, or to sponsor a table or donate an auction item, contact Bonnie Apple at 858-784-3676 or Bonnie.Apple@expresspros.com, or Sandy Smith at 858-361-5229 or sandysmt@san.rr.com.

Mira Mesa Farmer’s Market is Back!

After a couple month winter hiatus, the Mira Mesa Farmer’s Market is back open and ready for business.

If you are looking for some farm fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, specialty foods, farm fresh eggs, fish, baked goods, cheeses, olive oils, honey, jams and jellies, arts & crafts, boutique items, clothing, accessories, and more… then make sure you stop by each week.

The Market is open every Tuesday from 3-6pm and I believe it will be staying open until 7 with the next time change.

It is located right in front of Mira Mesa High School at the corner of Mira Mesa Blvd. and Reagan Rd.

Sandy Smith – Mira Mesa 2009 Volunteer of the Year

We would like to congratulate Sandy Smith for being the 2009 Volunteer of the Year in Mira Mesa. Sandy has been a very active volunteer in the community for many years now, and this annual award is very well deserved.

She is the current chairperson (last year as well) of the 4th of July Committee and has been a very active member for several years. You would think that that alone would be enough volunteer work for one person, as it takes a ton of effort to put on events to raise money and organize the festivities of the 4th of July, but she does that and so much more.

I could go on and on about the different groups and committees she is on and been on, so instead… I will just list the groups she has been a member of over the years. She is still active in many of these groups and is serving on the board of some as well. I am sure I probably missed a few, but you’ll see why she is so deserving of being the Mira Mesa Volunteer of the Year for 2009…

Mira Mesa Town Council
Mira Mesa Chamber of Commerce
Mira Mesa HEROES
Mira Mesa Theater Guild
Stakeholders Committee
Kiwanis
NEC
Mira Mesa High School Business Partnership Council
Mira Mesa Community Planning Group
Hillery DAR Subcommittee

CONGRATULATIONS SANDY… Keep up the GREAT WORK!

Circus Vargas is Coming to Mira Mesa – March 18th – 22nd

Circus Vargas (California’s Own Circus) is heading to Mira Mesa. If you are looking for some dazzling visual entertainment and a lot of laughs, then you don’t want to miss this year’s show.

Newly overhauled for 2010, complete with a brand new Big Top Tent, Circus Vargas should be a sure hit for your entire family.

Make sure to get there early so your kids can participate in the FREE interactive pre-show. It will be hosted by Jon Weiss, Reality Star from CBS’s “Amazing Race”. Your kids will be be allowed in the center ring under the Big Top to get a feel of what it is like to be in the circus. Jon will be guiding everyone in a quick course on some circus performing basics like; juggling, feather balancing and learning to hula-hoop! You definitely don’t want to miss that.

You can purchase tickets online at their website or at the event itself.  You can also find $5.00 Off Child Discount Coupons at many businesses around Mira Mesa, so make sure to look for those next time you are out shopping.

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