School marks golden anniversary of faith-filled education

EDISON — Festivities, family and prayer were the main ingredients for a joy-filled series of events to mark 50 years of faith-filled education on Tingley Lane.
Hundreds of students and alumni, past and present teachers, and staff, clergy and benefactors gathered at St. Thomas Aquinas High School Sept. 27-28 to remember the past, rejoice in the present, and plan for the future of the secondary school that opened in 1969 on a 36-acre plot of land then in the Diocese of Trenton.
Founded as St. Thomas Aquinas High School, it was renamed after the formation of the Diocese of Metuchen to Bishop George W. Ahr High School in 1984. A capital expansion in 2006 offered students new classrooms, two computer labs, a second gym, a weight room, a video studio and other facilities. The diverse student body hails from more than 60 districts, primarily from Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset and Union Counties.
In 2014, the school received full re-accreditation through AdvancEd, the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. The school returned to its original name, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, July 1.
The anniversary celebration included pep rallies, performances by gymnasts and the school marching band, gala awards dinners and a Mass for students celebrated by Father Keith A. Cervine, school chaplain. Bishop James F. Checchio presided at a Mass of Thanksgiving in the school’s Catanzaro gymnasium Sept. 28.
Representatives of the school carried forward five lit candles in the opening procession to signify the decades of its existence. The school crest was on prominent display, its symbols recalling its focus on the Eucharist; heritage of the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, and the Franciscan Felician leadership.
In his homily, Bishop Checchio reflected upon the story of Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), who in life was ignored by the rich man but in death sat at the side of Abraham. The sin of the rich man, he said, was that he didn’t recognize his neighbor in need.
“We are called to reflect the Father’s goodness in our world,” the bishop continued. “Thanks be to God, we have been doing this at St. Thomas Aquinas, recognizing others’ needs for 50 years. It was founded for exactly this purpose.”
Bishop Checchio noted the Catholic high school’s strongest attributes: its superior academics and athletics; a robust arts program; school spirit, and community outreach programs such as the Ahr Star Program and the Christian Social Action Club. “Each one of these illustrates our students loving one another and those in need,” he said, “living out the commandment of loving God and loving neighbor with all our heart, mind and strength.”
The bishop thanked the Felician sisters, priests and dedicated teachers who had educated the students since it opened, including Felician Sister Donna Marie Trukowski, who had taught at the school for nine years then assumed her current role as principal for the following 37 years.
“This Gospel today, on our 50th anniversary, rightly calls us to notice our neighbor in need,” Bishop Checchio concluded. “St. Thomas Aquinas has certainly done that, and I am grateful. You are a blessing to our Church and your neighborhoods. Never rest on your laurels. Help St. Thomas Aquinas High School to live our faith even more boldly and generously in the future.”
Congregants looked back with fondness at the school’s roots. Felician Sister Cynthia Marie Babyak traded smiles, hugs and handshakes with many of the students and their parents before the Saturday liturgy.
“Something special happened on One Tingley Lane in 1969, and it has continued because of the people here,” Sister Cynthia Marie said. “Not just the people in this auditorium, but the faculty, alumni, students and all involved.”
Alumna Maureen Lynch MacArthur, Class of 1979, valued her Catholic education and enabled her daughter, Julie, ’12, and son, Bobby, ’16, to do the same. “The public schools are good in my area, but it’s because of that one extra subject they teach every day: religion,” she said.
For more information about the school, visit the website stahs.net/visit.