You will find that our school has a professional and dedicated faculty who truly care about every student in their classroom. Teachers use up-to-date technology and resources and because of small class sizes, can offer personal attention to their students. Click below to find out more about our fantastic team!
Fr. Matthew Wiering
Pastor
Fr. John Hayes
Associate Pastor
Anthony Biese
Principal
Wesley Kapping
Dean of Students, Counselor & Phy. Ed.
Bonita Suedbeck
Business Administrator
Jenny Poppler
Preschool
Erin Bobrowske
Kindergarten
Angie Helmbrecht
First Grade
Karen Thalmann
Second Grade
Polly Christensen
Third & Fourth Grade
Shelly Mendiola
Fifth & Sixth Grade
Carolyn Schmidt
Third thru Sixth Grade
Rhonda Houston
Art
Lois Fasching
Science & Religion
Amanda Wood
English & Spanish
Kris Simmons
Social Studies & English
Randy Wagner
Math and Physics
Judy Ide
High School Secretary
Peggy Lenz
Technology Coordinator
Lori Penas
Director of Religious Education
Rose Heimerl
Athletic Director
Jolie Holland
School Nurse
Cindy Decker
Health Assistant
Ken Ficker
Custodian
Michelle Olson
Resource Room
- 320-485-2182
- fatherwiering@gmail.com
Fr. Matthew Wiering
Pastor
Bio coming soon!
- 320-485-2182
Fr. John Hayes
Associate Pastor
Bio coming soon!
- 320-485-2182
- abiese@htwinsted.org
Anthony Biese
Principal
Bio coming soon!
- 320-485-5619
- wkapping@htwinsted.org
Wesley Kapping
Dean of Students, Counselor & Phy. Ed.
Mr. Wes Kapping is starting his 15th year at Holy Trinity. His duties include serving as the Dean of Students, School Counselor, and Phy. Ed. teacher. Mr. Kapping completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He then received his Master’s degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. What Mr. Kapping loves most about his job is that he gets to work with students in a variety of ways and help in their development in many areas (spiritual, physical, social, and career development). Mr. Kapping resides in Winsted with his wife, their two daughters, two dogs, and guinea pig.
- 320-485-5651
- htparish@htwinsted.org
Bonita Suedbeck
Business Administrator
Mrs. Bonnie Suedbeck has been the Holy Trinity parish secretary/bookkeeper for 3 years. She believes it's wonderful to see that so many families still value a Catholic school education. Her favorite thing to do when she is not working is to spend time with family. Bonnie and her husband have 5 children and 10 grandchildren. If she can't be with them, you will find Bonnie in her garden or kitchen.
- 320-485-5634
- jpoppler@htwinsted.org
Jenny Poppler
Preschool
Mrs. Jenny Poppler, or Ms. Jenny to her preschoolers, is going into her 6th year of teaching at Holy Trinity. She graduated Cum Laude from Winona State University with a degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. Ms. Jenny and her husband live with their four children on a dairy farm right outside of Waverly, milking 500 cows.
- 320-485-5635
- ebobrowske@htwinsted.org
Erin Bobrowske
Kindergarten
Mrs. Erin Bobrowske is the kindergarten teacher at Holy Trinity. She started in the spring of 2002. She strives to create a welcoming and positive classroom environment, where students can develop a desire to become life-long learners. Mrs. B. attended Black Hills State University for a few years, then moved to Crown College, graduating with a degree in elementary education in 2001. She is married to her wonderful husband, Mr. B. They have four children.
- 320-485-5636
- ahelmbrecht@htwinsted.org
Angie Helmbrecht
First Grade
Mrs. Angie Helmbrecht is the first grade teacher at Holy Trinity. She is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict and has been teaching for almost 20 years. She loves sharing her joy of reading with her students and watching them grow into confident readers. When not at school, Mrs. Helmbrecht enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing volleyball, and scrapbooking.
- 320-485-5637
- kthalmann@htwinsted.org
Karen Thalmann
Second Grade
Mrs. Karen Thalmann is the second grade teacher at Holy Trinity. This is her fourth year teaching at Holy Trinity, but she has over two decades of experience teaching in Catholic education. She is a graduate of UW-STOUT with a degree in Early Childhood Education, Preschool - 3rd grade. Mrs. Thalmann loves being able to help children grow in their faith and love of Jesus. When she's not at school, Mrs. Thalmann enjoys gardening and spending time with family.
- 320-485-5640
- pchristensen@htwinsted.org
Polly Christensen
Third & Fourth Grade
Ms. Polly Christensen is a 2019 graduate of Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. She graduated with a degree in Elementary Education with endorsements in Special Education and Reading. With one year of teaching under her belt, she is excited to jump into her second year as the 3rd and 4th grade teacher. Ms. Christensen is a proud 2015 alum of Holy Trinity and is happy to be back teaching in the Winsted community.
- shmendiola@htwinsted.org
Shelly Mendiola
Fifth & Sixth Grade
Mrs. Shelly Mendiola is excited to join the staff at Holy Trinity as a first year teacher. The Mendiolas have been members of the Holy Trinity family for 14 years. She has six children, all of whom attend Holy Trinity and range in age from 11 to 18. She loves that Jesus is an integral part of each day at HT. Mrs. Mendiola received her Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies from the College of St. Scholastica. Before returning to school and earning her Graduate Teaching License, she had worked in parish ministry for 25 years. She enjoys reading, watching Christmas movies, drinking coffee, and supporting her kids in all their activities.
- 320-485-5639
- cschmidt@htwinsted.org
Carolyn Schmidt
Third thru Sixth Grade
Mrs. Carolyn Schmidt will soon begin her seventh year at Holy Trinity. She is grateful to be teaching at a school where she can pray with her students. She has also taught in Wyoming, Louisiana, and Colorado. During her free time, Mrs. Schmidt likes to run, weight lift, hike, kayak, paddle board, and snowshoe.
- 320-485-5644
- rhouston@htwinsted.org
Rhonda Houston
Art
Mrs. Rhonda Houston has served as Holy Trinity’s art teacher in various capacities since 1998. She holds a BA degree in K-12 Visual Arts from UW-Eau Claire. Mrs. Houston feels blessed to be teaching at Holy Trinity and strives for a comfortable, safe and welcoming classroom environment where students can create, explore, build relationships and become lifetime learners both in art and in life. A random piece of timely trivia is that her daughter happens to live in the town where St Edmund, the patron saint of pandemics, is buried - Bury St Edmunds, England.
- 320-485-5606
- lfasching@htwinsted.org
Lois Fasching
Science & Religion
Ms. Lois Fasching is a graduate of Holy Trinity, as are her three children, and she has been working in the school since 1999. For most of her years she has taught Science, but will be teaching junior and senior high Religion this year, which she is very excited to take on. Holy Trinity is very important to Ms. Fasching because she feels the students not only get a great education, but they also get to learn about and live their Catholic faith. She received her education degree from Crown College in December, 1997. Ms. Fasching loves spending time with her children and their families which includes eight grandchildren.
- 320-485-6507
- awood@htwinsted.org
Amanda Wood
English & Spanish
Mrs. Amanda Wood is excited to start her second year as a Spanish teacher at Holy Trinity School. She will also be teaching English this year as well. Overall, this will be Mrs. Wood's 17th year as a teacher. She taught all the way from Kindergarten Spanish to College English. Mrs. Wood earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Dakota State University in Spanish Education and English Education. She also earned her Master of Arts degree from Missouri State University in Writing, with an emphasis in Technical Communication. When she's not at school, Mrs. Wood is spending time with her husband, Darren, their three-year-old daughter, Aurellia, and their eleven-year-old toy poodle, Jackson.
- 320-485-5611
- ksimmons@htwinsted.org
Kris Simmons
Social Studies & English
Mrs. Kris Simmons is starting her 8th year of teaching at Holy Trinity. She teaches 7th-10th grade English and 7th-12th grade Social Studies. Mrs. Simmons really enjoys being a part of the Holy Trinity family and seeing each student grow in their studies from year to year. She has a Social Studies Education degree and some masters coursework in English and a Second Language. Her family just recently bought a farm in Wadena, Minnesota.
- rwagner@htwinsted.org
Randy Wagner
Math and Physics
Mr. Randy Wagner is teaching for the first year at Holy Trinity. He is teaching the Math and Physics classes. Mr. Wagner received his BS degree in Engineering at South Dakota State University in Brookings, and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education for Secondary Mathematics from Saint Scholastica. He and his wife have three children and live on a hobby farm in Maple Lake where they raise beef and chickens.
- 320-485-5654
- jide@htwinsted.org
Judy Ide
High School Secretary
Mrs. Judy Ide has been in Winsted for 43 years and she is starting her 30th year at Holy Trinity. Mrs. Ide has 2 children (both Holy Trinity alumni) and 6 grandchildren who she loves spending time with. One of the nice things about working at a private school is that she can express her faith and talk about God with fellow workers or go up to the chapel for a quiet moment with God. When Mrs. Ide is not at school, she loves to travel, bowl, read and spend time with family and friends.
- 320-485-5653
- plenz@htwinsted.org
Peggy Lenz
Technology Coordinator
Ms. Peggy Lenz is a life long parishioner and a 1978 graduate of Holy Trinity School. She then went on to graduate from Hutchinson Vocational school in the Accounting I program. Peggy has worked at Holy Trinity School since September of 1998 as the Technology Coordinator. She has always been interested in computers and has taken many online courses through St. Cloud State University. A fun fact about her is although she appreciates all the seasons of Minnesota, winter is her favorite with skiing, skating, sledding and testing one's driving skills.
- 320-485-5633
- lpenas@htwinsted.org
Lori Penas
Director of Religious Education
Mrs. Lori Penas has been the Religious Education Director at Holy Trinity since 2008. Mrs. Penas attended Normandale Community College and Hennepin Technical College, worked at Carlson Companies for 19 years and Goebel Fixture Company for four years before accepting the position of Director of Religious Education. She has been married to her husband for 29 years and they have one son. Mrs. Penas is also the owner of a full service flower shop - Jean's Floral - located on her father-in-law's farm.
- 320-224-8599
- rheimerl@htwinsted.org
Rose Heimerl
Athletic Director
Bio coming soon!
- 763-219-2469
- jholland@hlww.k12.mn.us
Jolie Holland
School Nurse
Mrs. Jolie Holland is a Registered Nurse and has been the District School Nurse for 15 years, covering Holy Trinity and the Howard Lake, Waverly, Winsted and MAWSECO schools. She has a BA from Concordia University and BSN from Bethel University. Jolie's background includes Coronary Intensive Care and ICU starting in California and then in various Minnesota hospitals. She says that whenever she interacts with Holy Trinity students, they radiate a special kindness and thoughtfulness that the world needs more of! Jolie has many interests outside of school including a wonderful horse, Isabelle. She also enjoys tatting, which is a very old art taught to her by her grandmother, Hannah, but dates back to Egyptian mummies.
- 320-485-5643
- cdecker@hlww.k12.mn.us
Cindy Decker
Health Assistant
Bio coming soon!
- 320-485-5620
- kficker@htwinsted.org
Ken Ficker
Custodian
Ken Ficker started working at Holy Trinity in September of 1997. He has enjoyed watching many kids grow from Kindergarteners to Seniors. Ken and his wife live on Lake Mary and enjoy boating and fishing. Ken is very grateful for his years at Holy Trinity.
- 320-485-5627
- molson@hlww.k12.mn.us
Michelle Olson
Resource Room
Ms. Michelle Olson grew up in Lester Prairie, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota -Moorhead with a degree in Special Education. She enjoys spending her free time with family, friends and just being outdoors. Ms. Olson is looking forward to working with your son and/or daughters this school year!
We appreciate our teachers who genuinely care for our children’s well being and academic advancement. It is also a treasure to know that Jesus is at school everyday in the school chapel.
leah cathey, parent