St. Mary School in West Bend closes after 160 years, third oldest Catholic school in the nation

When students left St. Mary School in West Bend on June 2, the doors closed for the final time.

Opened 160 years ago, the school had been the longest continually operating Catholic school in the state, and the third oldest in the nation, according to Jenny Trimberger, the school’s principal for the past two years.

“The loss of any school site is difficult for us because of the history, the generations of students and clearly their families that are formed and educated in our Catholic schools,” said Kathleen Cepelka, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. “But in a very unique way, we are impacted by this, because this little school was founded to serve the needs of largely German immigrants. There are very deep roots, specifically because it was farmland, and symbolically that are affected by this closure.”

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A school in Pewaukee also closed this year.