St. Thomas Aquinas School trades pennies for helmets in honor of late student

On October 11, 2015, former Aquinas student, Colby Thomas Smith, passed away tragically in a dirt bike accident.

Colby’s parents formed the charity, Colby’s Ride, in his memory to provide bicycles and helmets for underprivileged youth in our community.

Students and faculty/staff at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School (Aquinas) mourned the loss of former Aquinas student, Colby Thomas Smith, along with his parents, family and friends. When news of Colby’s passing was shared, our Aquinas community came together in prayer and comfort provided by our Catholic faith.

Colby and his family were remembered several times in prayer including the recitation of the Holy Rosary by a gathering of our school community, grief counseling was provided for his classmates, and faculty/staff and students attended his funeral at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church.

Inspired by their son and his love of bike sports, Colby parents, Keri Farley and Zach Smith, created a charity bearing his name, Colby’s Ride. The charity will provide bicycles and helmets to underprivileged children in this area. Our students and parents were eager to support Colby’s Ride, so Aquinas Admissions Director, Ms. Cardinale, suggested a Penny Competition to raise funds for this worthy cause.

A penny competition is traditionally held between the boys and girls at Aquinas, with the intent of providing an accessible way for our students to participate by contributing their own pocket money. Large water bottles are marked separately as “boys” and “girls” for this competition.

Each team places pennies in their own bottle to count positively towards a final total, and students can place silver coins and paper bills in the opposing team’s bottle to count negatively against that team. This year, the girls won bragging rights in winning the Penny Competition but helping the less fortunate in our neighborhood is an important act of mercy for all of our students.

Our Penny Competition raised a total of $1,198.37 for Colby’s Ride in just four days.

“Our school community was deeply affected by Colby’s death and he was fondly remembered by all. It was an important part of the healing process for our students to be able to participate in this fundraiser to honor Colby’s memory and to extend our love and support to his parents,” said Sister Kateri Rose Masters, O.P., Principal at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School.

St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School will present the Penny Competition funds to Colby’s mother for Colby’s Ride, on Tuesday, November 24, 2015, at 2 p.m., in the school Hall. Students in our fifth grade classes who were his classmates (until this year when he transferred to a public school) will participate in this event.

Fifth grade student, Kayley Benway, made posters to help raise support for Colby’s Ride. She and another fifth grade student received a Colby’s Ride t-shirt from Ms. Farley. We are pleased to support Colby’s Ride with the student-driven fundraising initiative of the Penny Competition.

Prayer, acts of mercy and community service are intrinsic to student life at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School.