More than 35 years after she had to transfer out, Brenda Miller Wolfe finally is getting an opportunity to experience seventh and eighth grades at St. Wendelin School.

This time, however, Wolfe is doing it as a teacher.

"I always knew I'd get my chance to come back," said Wolfe, who was a pupil at St. Wendelin's between 1962 and 1968. A Navy wife who has lived around the world, she can see the roof of the house where she lives now from her classroom. St. Wendelin, which straddles the Oakland and Summit line in Butler County, is the oldest operating Catholic school in the Pittsburgh diocese.

Founded in 1845 by German farm families, it began in a log cabin that also served as a chapel.

George Mueller was the first teacher and led prayer services.

The school is marking its 160th anniversary this year with events that include an alumni open house and "Return to Your Roots" day. Last week pupils and teachers dressed, taught and learned in 19th century styles.

Attending St. Wendelin is a family tradition for Wolfe. Her mother and her mother's nine brothers and sisters attended the hilltop school, as did her grandparents, Sylvester and Barbara Green. Her aunt, Sister M. Zita Green, is a former principal. Her uncle, Peter Green, who turns 90 tomorrow, is believed to be the school's oldest living alumnus.

Many of her nieces and nephews also attended St. Wendelin.

Wolfe is not alone in having strong family ties to the school and church.

Principal Charlene Fleming said her father, Tom Stephenson, attended in the 1940s and early '50s. Her two children, Jennifer and J.T., are graduates.

"I was an outsider," said the Rev. Kevin McKnight, who became pastor in January. "But from the first day, I felt a friendliness and love here. I think one reason the school has lasted this long is because so many people are related, and everyone knows everyone. Active parish members keep this place going."

St. Wendelin has a long tradition of relying on the talents of both religious and lay teachers. That history started with Mueller, who taught at St. Wendelin until 1858.

Priests from St. Philomena in Pittsburgh and St. Patrick in Sugar Creek, Venango County, conducted occasional services starting in 1851, but construction of a permanent church did not begin until 1875. In 1880 the first Capuchin father arrived to begin more than a century of pastoral service to the congregation. In recent years, St. Wendelin has been staffed by a Pittsburgh diocesan priest.

The first three Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale came north to teach in 1927. They had been joined over the years by lay teachers with the last sister leaving in 1996.

The two-story school was built in 1912 and expanded in the 1950s. The windows along one wall of the school have been decorated for the anniversary celebration with signs that read -- one or two words per window -- "160 years of Faith in Every Student."

The school and church are in Summit, while the playground is in neighboring Oakland.

In 1875, St. Wendelin had 24 pupils. During the baby boom of the 1950s, enrollment grew to 140. In 1968, the school eliminated seventh and eighth grade, but had reinstated both grades by 2001. Current enrollment is 77 in kindergarten through eighth grade with another 40 children in preschool.

Fleming, who began as a teacher in 1985 and became principal in 2002, oversees a staff of one part-time and seven full-time teachers.

The school draws pupils from five nearby school districts. Basic tuition is $1,825 for Catholics and $2,025 for non-Catholics, with family discounts offered for additional children.

Teachers and parents point to the small class size, individual attention, daily religious instruction and family-faculty cooperation as factors in explaining why St. Wendelin's has survived for more than a century and a half.

"Teachers can work one-on-one with students," Fleming said. "They get to know not only students but their families."

That family support is critical, she said. St. Wendelin depends on parish support for annual fund-raising events. Parents also volunteer to do maintenance and repairs.

Rose Kostelnik is a 19-year veteran who served six years as principal before returning to the classroom as a third-grade teacher. "I loved being with and working with the kids," she said. "I missed that as principal."

She also had praise for families that support the school. "We are so small here," she said. "We come to know each other well and can talk to each other."

Both parents and teachers share financial sacrifices in order to provide a Catholic education, she said.

Parents have to pay tuition and support fund-raisers, she said, while teachers earn less money than they would in public schools. As a result, many young teachers often leave after a few years, unless they have a spouse who also works, she said.

After many years in the classroom, Kostelnik said, she still looks forward to the start of school. "Every year is unique," she said. "I enjoy so much seeing them achieve. In the fall they arrive as scared third-graders, and now they are doing long division. It's wonderful to see how far they have come in several months."

Emphasis on individual instruction has worked out well for Baylee Verner, 6. After she spent half a year in kindergarten at St. Wendelin, her teachers recommended she be moved up to first grade for the second half of the year. Baylee, who likes art, has moved on to the challenges of second grade this year.

Kindergarten student Jackson Craig, 6, is just learning to read. His favorite books include "Green Eggs and Ham" and other works by Dr. Seuss. But what he really enjoys is time spent in the school's computer lab. St. Wendelin has 18 networked machines in addition to classroom computers. Jackson hopes to be a scientist.

Catholic education has always combined strong academics with moral and religious training, Kostelnik said. "That's a combination that many parents want."

That mix was what Gina Beaver, who has two children at St. Wendelin, was seeking. She and her husband Bruce, who teaches chemistry at Duquesne University, wanted "learning in a faith-based environment ... where religion was part of the children's day from beginning to end."

She serves as president of the school's Parent-Teacher Guild.

Teachers, pupils and parents realize they have something unusual at St. Wendelin, said McKnight, the new pastor.

"In big cities when a Catholic school gets this small, they often close it," he said. "This school is not part of an education conglomerate. Students don't get lost in the shuffle here."