Another 150 Years Starts With You
To the Saint Mary’s Community,
As we reflect on the extraordinary milestone of Saint Mary’s High School’s 150th year, we are filled with gratitude for the generations of faith, excellence, and tradition that have brought us to this moment—and with renewed excitement for the future we are building together.
For 150 years, Saint Mary’s has stood as a beacon of faith, education, and opportunity in the San Joaquin Valley. That legacy exists because of the unwavering generosity of alumni, families, and friends who have believed that a Saint Mary’s education and our Catholic mission are worth sustaining.
Our 150th year gave us the opportunity to celebrate that remarkable legacy, but it also reminded us that our responsibility to the generations who will follow us continues.
One of the most meaningful examples of this commitment came when two generous donors stepped forward to fund complete updates of two Saint Mary’s classrooms. Their extraordinary generosity is a powerful reminder of what is possible when members of our community choose to invest in the future of our school. These classroom transformations will have an impact on countless students for years to come.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped make our 150th year so special, and especially to everyone who came together for Breaking Bread on the 50 Yard Line. It was a truly memorable evening—one that brought alumni, families, friends, faculty, and supporters together to celebrate the school we love and the community that makes Saint Mary’s so special. The spirit of that evening captured the very best of Saint Mary’s: faith, fellowship, tradition, and a shared belief in our students and their future.
While the 150th year celebration has concluded, the work it inspired is just beginning.
Across the country, Catholic schools continue to face significant challenges, including rising operational costs, aging facilities, and an increasingly competitive landscape for attracting and retaining exceptional educators. At the same time, Saint Mary’s remains deeply committed to keeping a Saint Mary’s education accessible and affordable to families who seek it.
That balance is only possible through the generosity and commitment of our community.
As we look beyond our 150th year and toward the next 150 years, we remain committed to building an enduring endowment and investing in the facilities, classrooms, educators, and programs that will allow Saint Mary’s to continue forming young men and women in faith, knowledge, and character for generations to come.
The generosity demonstrated throughout our 150th year showed us what can happen when we come together. The two classroom transformations are a tangible example of the lasting difference that individual acts of generosity can make. But there is still much more to do.
We invite you to remain part of this important effort.
For those who are in a position to make a significant investment, we ask you to consider a gift that will help strengthen the foundation of Saint Mary’s for generations to come. For every member of our Saint Mary’s family, we invite you to continue giving in whatever way is meaningful and possible for you.
No gift is too small. No act of generosity is insignificant. What matters is that we continue standing together as one community, building upon the legacy of the past while creating new opportunities for the students of the future.
The 150th year was more than a celebration. It was a reminder of who we are, where we have come from, and what we can accomplish when we come together.
Thank you for being part of this extraordinary year. Thank you for celebrating Saint Mary’s, for supporting our students, and for believing in our mission. And thank you to everyone who continues to give their time, talent, prayers, and resources to ensure that this great school remains strong for generations to come.
The next 150 years of faith, excellence, and tradition are being built today—because of you.
Respectfully in the Lord,
Jim Brusa
President of Saint Mary's High School
