St Rose of Lima School students, faculty, volunteers, and more laced up their sneakers for the school’s Walk-a-Thon fundraiser on Wednesday, April 30.

The goal of the Walk-a-Thon is to bring the community together and raise funds for St Rose School, according to Director of Mission Advancement Laura Moulder. Students walked miles around the field next to the school and collected donations in advance for their participation.

This is far from the school’s first Walk-a-Thon. The fundraiser was actually a St Rose School tradition spanning over 20 years. Moulder said the school has the need to fundraise every year, but had taken a break from doing the Walk-a-Thon around 10 years ago so as to shake things up.

Since then, St Rose School has held galas to raise money. However, Moulder said they took a break from galas this year for a change of pace, and decided to do another Walk-a-Thon.

In that sense, Moulder called this year’s event a “revival.”

The Walk-a-Thon technically kicked off in early March, which is when students started collecting donations. Between incentives and weekly goals that encouraged students to raise money, Moulder said the St Rose community quickly blew the Walk-a-Thon’s initial goal of $30,000 “out of the water.”

Moulder noted how she saw students of all ages work hard to support the Walk-a-Thon because they love St Rose and want it to thrive.

“This is our way to show our community spirit,” Moulder said. “Not only have we raised money, but we’ve raised spirits, and it goes to show how much they love their school.”

St Rose School also had outside sponsorships to reach its fundraising goal. Money raised went to the Blooms Fund to help offset costs such as salaries, curriculum, security updates, and more that are not covered by tuition alone.

Moulder said students ultimately raised over $45,000 while community sponsors donated over $13,000, making for a total of almost $60,000 — almost double their initial goal.

The student who raised the most money was kindergartner Hudson Khalil, who raised over $2,500. His award for raising the most money was leading the first lap of the Walk-a-Thon’s kick-off ceremony.

Everyone from students to volunteers showed their school spirit by wearing red hats and shirts, St Rose School’s signature color. Students who wore red hats indicated that they raised $500 or more over the course of the Walk-a-Thon fundraising effort.

Teachers and staff helped spread students out onto the grassy hill beside the field for the kick-off, while the sunny weather made it a perfect day for the school’s community to come together, Moulder said.

“The Walk-a-Thon is about bringing us all together after these miles we’ve already worked to get here, and it’s a way of showing our supporters that we’re walking laps to benefit our school,” Moulder said.

St Rose School faculty, administrators, and students across every grade, from preschool through eighth grade, came outside to enjoy the opening ceremony on Wednesday morning. It started with remarks from St Rose Principal Dr Bardhyl Gjoka.

He noted how common it can feel to hear stories about schools, particularly Catholic schools, struggling or closing their doors due to financial issues. Gjoka continued by saying that the story of St Rose is the “total opposite of that.”

“We are forever grateful to you and your families,” Gjoka said. “And we’re so grateful to all of you for taking the time to join us today.”

First Selectman Jeff Capeci, Newtown Police Department, St Rose School parents, and more attended the kickoff event. The school’s mascot, Ramsey the Ram, even made a special appearance to celebrate and run the first lap with everyone.

After Father Peter led everyone in a prayer, everyone took off and ran several laps around the field. Students completed laps throughout the day, and every time they did, they could enter their names into a raffle box for 15 gift card prizes.

Everyone reconvened in the middle of the day to enjoy sweet treats from a slushie truck outside. At that point, the raffle prizes were drawn — five gift cards donated by Holy Cow Ice Cream Shop, five gift certificates donated by Robeks and five Dunkin’ gift cards donated by a St Rose School family.

The whole school did a final lap later in the day, with Khalil leading once again, carrying the Olympic-styled torch.

Moulder said that students of all ages were so inspired to walk and run as many miles as they could, with some even running as many as 50 laps. This meant a lot to Gjoka, who said this reflects the “commitment and dedication of students to raise money for their school.”

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.