Saint Peter the Apostle Church sponsored parochial schools from its early history. The Sisters of Charity of Convent Station were invited to staff the schools in 1867. In 1892, St. Peter's opened a new building, Columbia Hall, which would house the elementary school until 1960 and the high school until 1970.[1]
The high school closed at the end of the 2006-07 school year in the wake of falling enrollment.[2] Enrollment at the school had reached a thousand students in the 1960s but dropped to 165 in its final year of operation, leading the diocese and parish to conclude that they could "no longer sustain the enormous expense" of subsidizing annual deficits.[3]
The school buildings were eventually sold to the City of New Brunswick, which housed a public school, in them, the Lincoln Annex School. In 2020 the Board of Education sold the school to the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), which had the building demolished to make way for Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, a new facility of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.[4]
Athletics
The boys basketball team won the Non-Public Group A state championship in 1936 (defeating Our Lady of Good Counsel High School of Newark in the tournament final) and 1939 (vs. Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair), and won the Non-Public B title in 1968 (vs. St. Mary of the Assumption High School).[5] The 1939 team won the Parochial Group II title (since reclassified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public A) with a 22-18 win against Immaculate Conception of Montclair.[6] The 1968 team finished the season with a record of 63-59 win in the Parochial B championship game.[7]
The girls basketball team won the Non-Public B state title in 1985 (defeating St. Anthony High School in the tournament final), 1991 (vs. Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair) and 1992 (vs. DePaul Catholic High School).[9] The 1992 team won the Non-Public B state title with a 69-56 win against DePaul in the finals at Rider College[10] and entered the Tournament of Champions as the second seed, winning in the semis 69-56 against sixth-seeded South Hunterdon Regional High School before taking the ToC title in the finals played at the Meadowlands Arena by a score of 51-45 against fifth-seed Egg Harbor Township High School to cap off a 32-0 record for the season.[11][12] Kristin Somogyi, who led the 1992 team scoring 37.9 points per game and named as the state's player of the year, set the New Jersey career scoring record with 3,899 points, breaking the record that had been set by her father in 1968.[13]
John A. Lynch Sr. (1908–1978), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate, where he represented the 17th Legislative District.[19]
References
^"Parish History", St. Peter the Apostle parish website, St. Peter the Apostle University & Community Parish, retrieved 2023-08-08
^"Parents stumble upon news of New Brunswick Catholic school closing", News 12 Networks, February 13, 2007. Accessed January 18, 2021. "The Diocese of Metuchen told St. Peter the Apostle High School administrators that it was closing the school. Parents and students say the school never notified them of the diocese' decision. The diocese says St. Peter has to be closed because the cost of keeping it open is too great and enrollment is declining."
^ abTufaro, Greg; and Khavkine, Richard. "St. Peter's H.S. closing; New Brunswick school is Metuchen Diocese's oldest", Home News Tribune, February 13, 2007. Accessed January 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The school's closing will impact about 165 students and 31 staff members, 22 of whom are teachers.... A school that averaged nearly 1,000 students and was predominantly Irish Catholic during its peak in the 1960s, St. Peter graduated roughly 40 seniors a year ago.... Some of the school's prominent alumni include New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill, former Mayor and state Senate President John A. Lynch Jr., Assemblyman and city Councilman Joseph Egan, Sen. Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth, author Ann Rinaldi and former North Brunswick Mayor Paul Matacera."
^Ruskie, Mark. "St Peter's '5', Orange Champs", The Morning Call, March 30, 1968. Accessed February 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "With all-time state scholastic scoring king John Somogyi netting 32 points, St. Peter's of New Brunswick trimmed St. Mary's of Elizabeth, 63-59, in the Parochial B opener. The Cardinals (24-4) did it the hard way, coming from behind in the second half to overhaul the Hilltoppers (17-10)."
^Schwartz, Paul. "DePaul unravels during title shot", The Record, March 19, 1978. Accessed January 31, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "DePaul was handling the pressure of its first appearance in a State girls basketball final until late in the first period, when a thunderbolt struck at Rider College Saturday afternoon. After missing her first six shots, many of them badly, St. Peter's guard Kristin Somogyi, New Jersey's all-time leading scorer, hit a 25-foot three-pointer with 1:13 left in the period. Although DePaul still led 10-9, Somogyi's bomb signified the end for the Spartans, who self-destructed in a 51-32 loss in the Parochial B final."
^Williams, Tom. "2d place for EHT girls; St. Peter's wins the T of C, 51-15", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 1992. Accessed March 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Egg Harbor Township's drive for the top prize in New Jersey girls' basketball ended yesterday. Kristen Somogyi, better known for her scoring than her dribbling, bounced away most of the final two minutes to help unbeaten St. Peter's defeat Egg Harbor Township, 51-45, in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions final at the Meadowlands Arena. The Cardinals (32-0) took a 48-44 lead with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left in the fourth period after Somogyi hit a 10-footer in the lane."
^Glickson, Grant. "New Jersey Q & A: Kristen Somogyi; A Basketball Champion's Latest Move", The New York Times, January 16, 1994. Accessed March 10, 2021. "Her hair is a little bit longer, but Kristen Somogyi doesn't look much different today than she did when she broke her father's record as the highest-scoring high school basketball player in the state. This was on Feb. 1, 1992, when she amassed 3,310 points at St. Peter's High School in New Brunswick. Miss Somogyi, a high school scoring legend who went on to tally 3,899 points in her career, spent last season at the University of Virginia, averaging 4.0 points and 1.9 assists in a limited role for the Cavaliers.... Miss Somogyi, a 5-foot-4-inch shooting guard who was the 1992 New Jersey player of the year in girls' basketball, said the main reasons for her decision to leave Virginia were broken promises by the university and communication problems with the coach, Debbie Ryan."
^"Knicks Five, Warriors Win", The Sunday Times, December 18, 1949. Accessed April 1, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Jake Bornheimer, former St. Peter's of New Brunswick, N. J. star, scored four of the Warriors points."
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 2004, p. 269. Skinder-Strauss Associates, 2004. ISBN1577411870. Accessed January 20, 2021. "Mr. Egan was born Feb. 27, 1938, in New Brunswick, and is a graduate of St. Peter’s Elementary and High Schools."
^"Lynch", Courier News, October 24, 2004. Accessed January 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Lynch, whose great-great-grandfather, Patrick Corrigan, emigrated from Ireland to New Brunswick in 1840 and helped construct the city's first sewer system, graduated from St. Peter's High School. There, at 5-foot-7, he was the sixth man on the 1955-56 basketball team that advanced to the state finals."
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 196, Part 2, p. 203. Accessed January 20, 2021. "John A. Lynch (Dem., New Brunswick) - Senator Lynch was born March 10, 1908. He lives at 217 New York Avenue, New Brunswick. He is a graduate of St. Peter's High School, New Brunswick, and Fordham University School of Law."