TRIBUTES AND UNIQUE GIFTS

TRIBUTES

Gifts were made in memory of these people.

Patrick Acord ’97 Christopher Ryan Bloss Mary-Ellen Cafferty Lawrence Cheskaty Dr. Douglas Crone Emily Desbiens Tony Ghironi Owen Hasler Corie Anne Jensen ’91 Marianne Kunkle Tyler Mabry ’07 The Honorable

James A. McIntyre Mary Moore Linda Pope Marites Quini ’83 Romeo Quini Carrel Reavis Judi Sinnott Janet Hoskings Smith ’51 Christian Stover Eric Subin ’84 Diane Wasilewski

UNIQUE GIFTS

Unique gifts are significant donations in support of targeted initiatives. Each year, Parker is extremely fortunate to work with donors and foundations that make specific current-use gifts. The School is able to solicit grants due to the high giving participation of our Parker community.

Amelita Galli-Curci Performing Arts Center (PAC) Outdoor Amphitheater Door

An anonymous Parker Family provided the seed funding to improve the sound barrier between the PAC and the outdoor amphitheater, Silberman Family Plaza, and Parker Cafe. The garage-style Jordan Family Stage door was replaced with an acoustic, noise-reducing, mechanical door that allows for the indoor and outdoor spaces to be used simultaneously with minimal disruption.

Athletics Department Electric Vehicle

Marie and Manny Sedano provided funding to purchase a state-of-the-art electric vehicle with a paramedic responder to aid the athletic training staff and coaches in assisting student-athletes. This safety equipment is essential to supporting the indoor and outdoor sports programs on the Linda Vista Campus.

Horizons at Francis Parker School Second Year

Diana Strauss Casey, The Mason Hirst Foundation, Jeff ‘75 and Karen Silberman, and Carin Canale-Theakston and Hillary Theakston each provided significant grants to fully launch Horizons at Francis Parker School for its second year. Partnered with Nye Elementary and Valencia Park Elementary, Horizons at Francis Parker School has expanded to 30 students, 15 students in Kindergarten and 15 students in Grades 1 and 2.

To learn more about Horizons at Francis Parker School, visit www.horizonsatparker.org.

Lauer Field Electrical Upgrade

Meghan and Warren Spieker invested in the electrical upgrade on the south side of Lauer Field, ensuring that teams have the opportunity to practice and play a game under the lights even when other teams are competing on the field.

Lower School Digital Program STEM Investment

Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation continues to invest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiatives at Parker, this time bringing their focus to our Lower School students. The grant enables the School to integrate two new educational robotics systems into the Lower School digital program curriculum: Ozobots for Grades 2 and 3, and LEGO Education SPIKE Prime for Grades 4 and 5, and has provided storage for the new equipment.

Middle School Gaga Pit

An anonymous Parker family provided resources to build a Gaga pit—an octagonal pit where students play a fastpaced, super-fun, gentler version of dodgeball. Middle School students take advantage of this sport space and enjoy the striking, dodging, and jumping of the game throughout the day.

Performing Arts Equipment

The Rice Family Foundation provided a grant to fund headsets, wireless headsets, and lavalier microphones, as well as the installation of new antennas for better sound in the PAC theater for actors, production crew, and the audience. The new equipment helped students transition, prepare, and perform for a live audience (finally!).

(Unique Gifts continued)

Summer at Parker Weickart Scholars

Christiane and Nicolaus Weickart sponsored 23 students from seven different middle schools in San Diego to attend the Summer at Parker 2022 program. The students, known as the “Weickart Scholars,” receive a three-week tuition-free summer academic and enrichment experience. The Weickarts have provided more than 170 students the opportunity to attend the Summer at Parker program since 2013.

This summer, an anonymous Parker family purchased daily lunch service for the Weickart Scholars.

Upper School Interim Week Entrepreneurship Course

Judi and Jim Douglas funded the Upper School Interim Week opportunity for students to attend the UCSD Rady School of Management LaunchPad program. This one-week course is for Upper School students who want to explore the path of entrepreneurship. In 2021, Parker established an equitable and inclusive grant process to promote students’ strategic community engagement outreach and efforts, achieve maximum educational and service impact, and cease any financial demand unnecessarily placed on students and families in the Parker community. Student organizations, clubs, groups, or individuals were encouraged to apply through a formal process for a Parker grant that could be directed to tax-exempt charitable organizations.

JK-Grade 12 Community Engagement Grants

Students in Junior Kindergarten and Grade 4 hosted a multi-day walkathon for Water for South Sudan in December. Parents were invited to participate and together, with the support of their teachers, the community read books, wrote poems, and walked together to think, act, and reflect on the importance of water. The Parker grant of $1,000 for Water for South Sudan provides support for the maintenance of a well.