Braving some cool and damp weather last Friday morning, students from St. Joseph Regional Academy in Jim Thorpe took part in the school's 7th Annual "Race for Education" on the track at the Jim Thorpe Area High School sports complex.

The students turned in sponsor sheets listing family and friends who pledged money based on the individual student's number of laps during the run, or by making a donation.The goal for this year's run is $20,000, all of which goes back to the students by way of educational materials, classroom supplies, and field trips.All of the grades participated in the day's event in one hour sessions, comprised of three grades together at a time, with a student goal of 10 to 15 laps or more.Kindergarten through second grade comprised the first group; third grade through fifth, the second group; and sixth through eighth, the last group.According to Marcy Vincent, coordinator of the Race for Education, about 130 students took part in this year's race.Monsignor John Chizmar, a member of the Board of Pastors and Pastor of St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Lake Harmony, said, "The event is a very important one, not just because it is a major fundraiser, but it's a major way to show support for Catholic schools by the pledges parents and community make for the children to raise the money, so that it may be utilized toward their education, by maintaining the programs that they already have."Chizmar said a Catholic education addresses both a secular education and a spiritual education and he invited more students to be a part of it and more parents to help.He said there is financial aid and he hopes that the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation, that is sponsored by the state, will continue to help parents who want to give their children the type of education that they would like, wether it be private or parochial school.