Jog-a-Thon for Saint Thomas More Academy
The anticipation for the Big Day had been immense and had been seen in the amazing fundraising efforts done by one and all. Thanks to these efforts and the generous energy of the students and teachers, the school was able not only to meet its goal of $35,000, but to surpass it!
“Who’s ready to run?” “I am!” “Who’s ready to run a lot of laps?” “I am!” “Who’s going to run more than last year?” “I am!”
These are some of the energetic cries from the St. Thomas More Academy students waiting to line up for their annual Jog-a-Thon at Fort Melon Park in Sanford, Fl., on Tuesday, March 12th. The day had dawned somewhat overcast, which greatly pleased the joggers who were grateful for the cool breeze and comfortable running temperatures.
Finally the moment had come and they all lined up, ready to take off. “3, 2, 1!” shouted Mrs. Aimee Bourque. The students, priests, faculty and friends began the hour-long run around the 1/8th mile track. Those with significant sponsorship per lap were constantly being raced and cheered on by their peers, teachers, and principal, Fr. Duverger. This energy never waned and gave everyone the extra push to do significantly more laps than ever before. One of the kindergartners continued to repeat “Just keep jogging, just keep jogging”, while her little legs worked vigorously to keep running as quickly as possible towards the rubber band holders. If one child saw another beginning to lag, he or she would cheer the other on, run hand in hand or do a quick sprint “just until the cone”!
Many friends and family members showed up to root the children on, or to sprinkle them with water as they rounded the lap marker in order to cool them down. This was then continued by some of the students, who managed to keep the small cups of water for a portion of the track just to catch up to a fellow student and splash them with it.
“Only 5 minutes left!” rang out and fueled the runners to try to get 5, 10, 15 more laps in before the end of the hour! The thought on everyone’s mind was who would run the most laps. Would it be Fr. Jacobs, like last year? Out of the boys, would it be Luke or Brendan? Which girl would run the most laps? Pushing until the very end, everyone joined in the countdown of the last 30 seconds, trying to run that last lap before the time would be up! With the ending horn, children and teachers stopped their jogging – the Jog-a-Thon was over, and now came the task of counting the rubber bands.
The counting began and everyone was trying to focus in order to get the true number of his or her laps. The assistant principal, Mr. Justin Sauer, won for the most laps of the day, a total of 65 – 5 more than Fr. Jacobs! Luke Bellows, 8th grade, won for the students, with a total of 50 laps – just one more than Brendan Campbell, 5th grade. Wendy Rhea, 3rd grade, won for the girls, running a total of 45. The rejoicing over the number of laps run could be felt by one and all, with “Good job!” “Well done!” “Awesome work!” resounding throughout the park. Children began calculating the amount raised from their pledges per lap, asking for calculators from the adults, eager to know whether this year’s goal had been reached. The helpers also had their own competition, counting the number of rubber bands they distributed to the eager runners – 200, 220, 250 and more!
The anticipation for the Big Day had been immense and had been seen in the amazing fundraising efforts done by one and all. Thanks to these efforts and the generous energy of the students and teachers, the school was able not only to meet its goal of $35,000, but to surpass it! Gratitude can be felt by the entire school, as this Jog-a-Thon would not be such a success without the help of our dear benefactors! The students have already asked about sending out thank you notes to all of their sponsors – which is currently being worked on. They continue to express their gratitude by remembering the benefactors in their daily prayers.
Many wonder what the money raised from our Jog-a-Thon is used for. Aside from the daily running of the school, there is a very special project, which is dear to the students, faculty, and families here at St. Thomas More Academy. This project is the building of a school, as our classrooms are currently portables. The children mention the future school building almost daily, either in wondering where their classroom will be, where the toys will be stored, or where lunchtime will take place. Their imaginations have been greatly helped along by the design, and one can sense their hope and eagerness to see the building become a reality. Being able to work towards accomplishing this dream spurred them all on in their fundraising and running efforts, and in remembering your generosity in their prayers!
Thank you to each and every one of you!
