WESTLOCK – Overall student enrolment at St. Mary Catholic School in Westlock has remained steady with a slight increase this year, according to principal Vance Nakonechy.
St. Mary has 280 students for the 2024-25 school year, from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12.
“I would say [the numbers] are up slightly,” said Nakonechy on Sept. 23. “Up one per cent, so pretty much the same.”
The school isn’t struggling with overcrowding and shortage of space.
“We have some classes that are a little larger than others but overall, we are not over capacity.”
Nakonechy said St. Mary School gets students from all different faiths.
“Sometimes they want to come here for the smaller size classrooms, more one-on-one connection.”
The students are bussed in from the same divisional boundaries as Pembina Hills School Division, said Nakonechy.
“We utilize Pembina Hills for busing our students. They have been very cooperative. We have the same area for bussing region.”
St. Mary School is part of the Evergreen Catholic School Division, which has 11 schools in five communities and about 4,150 students, according to the division’s website.
“We’re looking forward to another great school year,” said Nakonechy. “We’re happy to have lots of new students and we’re looking forward to 2024-25."
