St. Mary, Newton has been blessed to have a Catholic school almost continuously in operation since 1880, when the Pastor, Fr. Felix Swembergh and some pa­rishioners began a "select school." It had a beginning enrollment of 50 students, most of whom were non-Catholic. The Sisters of St. Joseph arrived to run the school in 1883 and have been a part of St. Mary Catholic School ever since. In fact, Sr. Rosemary Sieg, CSJ celebrates 50 years of teaching and still does tutoring and directs the children's choir today.

At the beginning of the 20th century, St. Mary par­ish moved from its original site to the present site at 8th & Main. After the church was erected, a school building was constructed in 1908. This 100-year-old building has become a historic touchstone for many in the Newton community. It holds similar value for many families in the parish who have been schooled there or have had family members who have attended. This building houses  Kindergarten through third grade. Presently, our school campus includes the 1908 building, a newer 1967 building and an old portable donated by Bishop Carroll High School.

The 1908 school building has served students well, but is becom­ing too expensive to run, and has some fire code & security issues. The restrooms are downstairs in the basement and sometimes the children refer to them as "the dungeon" because it's so dark down­stairs.

Our hope is to build a classroom addition to the 1967 school build­ing, combine all grades under one roof, and dispose of the portable. We have children from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Newton and Sa­cred Heart in Halstead who attend St. Mary Catholic School. But as you know, trying to fund the operation of a school and fund an addition is a challenge. Gifts from the St. Katharine Drexel Catholic School Fund help with the everyday operation of running the school, so that we can use any the additional monies to achieve our classroom addi­tion. We are grateful to those benefactors that help make Catholic education possible for so many.

Rev. James Mainzer
St. Mary Parish, Newton