Royal Pride Foundation

Fall/Winter Newsletter

Thank You

During this season of giving thanks, the Royal Pride Foundation is grateful for our amazing San Marcos community! Because of your generosity, RPF is able to continue its mission to provide much needed support to our students and school!

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

The Greek Theater lights up the night! photo credit on all Greek photos: Steve Kennedy

The San Marcos High School Royal Pride Foundation (RPF) is excited to announce that our landscape lighting project for the Greek Theater is complete! This has been a dream in the making since our Royal Benefit in April 2022 and with the generous support of our San Marcos community, it has been made a reality!

The beautiful new lighting provides a safe space and added security, with light illuminating the stairways and surrounding trees. By accentuating the natural features of the Greek Theater, it transforms to a more welcoming space for the students to convene for a concert or a movie - the possibilities are endless! Please come take a look the next time you’re on campus after sunset!

A BIG thank you to Lightscapes and the SBUSD Facilities & Operations Department for all the hard work and attention to detail!

RPF Fall Grant Cycle

RPF was thrilled to kick off our Fall Grant Cycle in September. We invited all San Marcos faculty and staff to submit requests, which were then evaluated by our Grants Committee before a final review and vote took place at our October Board Meeting. Once again, we were able to invest $30K into SMHS programs and new technology, fully or partially funding over 12 departments and programs including:

Emerging Multilingual Learners & Newcomers - Incentives to help encourage new English language speakers
Spanish for Heritage Speakers - New books that help to support students who speak Spanish as a heritage language in their homes
College & Career Center - Bookshelves and organizational storage to create a dedicated space for student research into their futures and college opportunities
Counseling Department - Team gear for counselors to wear that will identify them to the students and families they support
AVID Juniors & Seniors - Transportation for college visits for students in this program
Photography Classes - 10 new DSLR cameras for the three digital photography classes, positively impacting nearly 100 students
Computer Science Classes - 17 new Dell computers, to replace the decade-old computers currently used by the three computer science classes
Titan Strength & Conditioning Program - This program has been made available to all SMHS sports teams and its focus is to improve strength and conditioning of SMHS athletes, safety in the weight room and injury prevention. The RPF grant helps to pay for this service that otherwise student athletes would not have access to.

RPF’s goal is to hold two grant cycles per school year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. Your support really makes a difference in our school and students. Please consider making a donation to our Annual Appeal!

RPF Annual Appeal

The Royal Pride Foundation conducts two major fundraisers each year: our Annual Appeal campaign in the Fall and our Royal Benefit in the Spring! This year, our goal for our Annual Appeal is to raise $60,000! We are kicking things off earlier this year to, hopefully, allow people more time to support RPF’s Mission to provide an exceptional learning environment for ALL San Marcos students!

You can donate today by clicking this link to donate online or you can write a check out to, “SMHS Royal Pride Foundation” and mail it to: Royal Pride Foundation, 4750 Hollister Ave, Santa Barbara, CA 93110.

No amount is too small (or too big) so please, donate today!

RPF Annual Benefit

Save-the-date! Our 2024 Benefit will be Friday, May 3!!!

Interested in being involved or possibly co-chairing this event?

Contact Karen Callanan at [email protected]

RPF'S APPRECIATION RECEPTION

In October, RPF hosted an appreciation event for our supporters. It was a great opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support, meet with our Principal, Dare Holdren, and learn more about RPF’s impact on SMHS and the vision for the future of San Marcos High School.

Thank you to everyone that was able to attend! A special thank you to Debbie and Craig Stevenson for hosting the event and to RPF board member Mark Gonzales for providing the amazing food. A ROYAL thank you for members of the SMHS Cheer Team, King’s Page and Marching Band for attending and sharing your school spirit! Go Royals!

Members of the San Marcos Band and Guard greeted guests wearing their band uniforms RPF helped to purchase.

Hosts, Craig and Debbie Stevenson, with RPF President, Julie Strand.

Questions?

Contact Karen Callanan, Executive Manager for Royal Pride Foundation [email protected]

805-967-4581 ext. 5562

Why is RPF Important?

This short video covers all your questions as to why a nonprofit organization is necessary at a public institution. School funding is complicated, but we break it down so you can learn about the importance of the Royal Pride Foundation.

Watch Now

Go Royals!

Our students deserve the best educational experience possible. Every dollar donated to RPF ensures that we can make that happen - from funding technology and programmatic support, to campus safety, improvements and beautification, to athletics and arts, RPF improves the high school experience for every single SMHS student.

We make a difference, and you can help.

Thank you for considering a financial contribution to the Royal Pride Foundation!

SMHS Royal Pride Foundation is a U.S. tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) organization,

EIN 46-1787939.

DONATE

San Marcos High School Royal Pride Foundation

4750 Hollister Ave

Santa Barbara, CA 93117