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Three thousand miles and three hours apart, the two campuses of Thomas Aquinas ¹û¶³´«Ã½ both celebrated the new academic year on Saturday with an All-¹û¶³´«Ã½ Picnic, with students, faculty, staff, and their families getting together for an evening of food and fun.

On the New England campus, the festivities began with a competitive game of soccer and a refreshing slip-n-slide. The group then gathered on the central campus lawn for the picnic. After eating and enjoying the sunset, all joined to sing hymns and Irish tunes around a bonfire while sophomores served hot chocolate and caramel apples:

Three hours later, the California event began with an inter-class tug-of-war, which the seniors won handily. Then the Californians took a dive on their own slip-n-slide — and a few went swimming in the campus ponds — followed by the picnic itself. The afternoon provided an opportunity for upperclassmen to reconnect after the summer and to get to know members of the Freshman Class.