St. Mary School’s enrolment remains on par with last year, though the school’s Kindergarten numbers have rebounded.
St. Mary principal Sheila Glebe said their current enrolment for is 281 students, a slight increase from last year’s 279.
Currently, they have 24 children in their Kindergarten program, which is something they’re proud about, Glebe said, noting that the primary school was struggling about three years ago when enrolment dropped to just 10.
“We’re seeing a nice increase in our numbers there. And … it’s a fantastic program. It’s been very, very successful. Our students are successful, parents are pleased; we’re seeing lots of gains with our little ones,” she said.
Glebe noted that number doesn’t include the 20 pre-Kindergarten kids enrolled in the “Stepping Stones” program, which is in its second year.
The program is based on a similar initiative dubbed ‘Hundred Voices’ out of Edmonton, which is itself based on the Reggio Emilia Approach of early education, she said.
“It is a play-based program; it’s intended to really target the social, emotional and communication skills of students,” added Glebe.
The program is aimed at four year olds and if it’s determined that they have issues with fine motor skills or speech and language, Glebe said they work with a speech pathologist, occupational therapist and teacher aides to improve their skills to enter Kindergarten or Grade 1.
“We run them together (with the Kindergarten program) so that the younger kids are gaining from the older kids and we can group them together according to their needs.”
Overall, enrolment is healthy at St. Mary School, though obviously there are always years where one class is significantly smaller than others.
“We do feel very, very pleased with Kindergarten numbers,” she said. “We’re working very hard to continue that trend, and working with teachers to ensure top-quality education. We’re very pleased with things right now.”
St. Mary School is part of the Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional School Division (ECSRD). Glebe noted enrolment for the whole division is up by about 100 students; their schools in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain are doing particularly well.
