An amalgamation has played an important part in an enrolment increase for the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division.

St. Augustine School – a Kindergarten to Grade 8 school in Wilcox – officially merged with Holy Family on September 1. Holy Family has 1,086 students, which is up 63 from last year. St. Augustine accounts for 48 of those students, said director of education Shelly Rowein.

The amalgamation with St. Augustine went well, Rowein said.

“We'll have a number of things that we need to finalize,” Rowein said. “The boards worked together last year, which certainly helped with the transition.”

Holy Family continues to offer two schools in Estevan. Sacred Heart School has 243 students, which is up from last year, Rowein said. St. Mary's School has 230 students, which is down a little, but overall, Holy Family is up seven students in Estevan from a year ago.

Holy Family has also seen increases for their schools in Weyburn and Radville, Rowein said. She said it's an encouraging sign.

Administration changes include the hiring of Mary Ellen Barreth as the new principal at Sacred Heart School. And Norm Casavant has joined Holy Family as its first-ever assistant director of education.

“For succession purposes, the board decided they wanted to move to an assistant director,” said Rowein.

Holy Family also has one building project for this year. The plans for St. Michael’s School in Weyburn are expected to go to tender soon, and Rowein hopes that construction could begin within a month.