Students at St. Edward School and their families joined teachers and staff Wednesday for the 12th Annual Race for Education, a fundraiser for the school.

The school divided its 364 students into three races around the block that encompasses the school grounds for the annual fundraiser.

PreK3 and PreK4 students raced from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., kindergarteners and first graders raced from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and second grade and third grade students raced from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Students either had sponsors that made a one-time donation, or sponsors whose contribution was a specific amount for each lap the student completed. Students wore a card around the neck that could be marked with a hole punch each time they completed a lap.

Students were joined by family members, from mothers running laps with babies in strollers to grandparents watching the race from folding chairs that lined the grass and sidewalk.

“Everybody looks forward to it,” said volunteer Thip Evans, parent of a first-grade student at the school.

St. Edward School developmental director Shana Boutte and assistant developmental director Melissa Dworaczyk organized the event.

Boutte said the money raised this year will be used for continued facility improvement, tuition assistance and support of long-range planning.

“This is a very supportive school,” Boutte said.

Boutte said last year’s race raised around $66,000. This year’s event isn’t far behind.

“We were blessed with a little bit cooler weather,” Boutte said. “It went extremely well.”

“We had about $50,000 at last count,” St. Edward principal Karen Bonin said. “And we still have envelopes to open and pledges to come.”

Participants were encouraged from the sidelines by classes that had completed their races. McDonald’s characters Grimace, Birdie and the Hamburglar stood along the race route to offer high fives and hugs to the students as they passed.

“The fun part is running too fast and getting sweaty,” kindergartner Mixon Haik said. “That’s my favorite part.”

“I like knowing that I am helping the school raise money,” third-grader Lexie Boney said.

Bonin said the students’ efforts to raise money through the race help to instill a sense of pride and ownership in the school for the children.

“It is a truly outstanding event,” she said. “It accomplishes so much more.”