A project years in the making will continue to see major changes in St. Brieux.

Renovations to the school began last year, and will continue for the next year, as the town and the Horizon School Division adjust to a growing community.

"The government has given us the go ahead in recent years to have a capital project in St. Brieux," said Director of Education, Kevin Garinger. "We've seen significant growth in the community. A lot of that can be attributed to the incredible work through Bourgault Industries."

Garinger added that there has been a major rise in enrollment over the last decade.

"We've gone from about 160 students to almost doubling those numbers in the last ten years. With that, the school was bursting at the seams and it is an older building."

Last year, the school, which offers classes from Kindergarten to Grade 12, welcomed over 300 students.

With new developments on the way, it was a perfect opportunity for the division to partner up with the community and local businesses.

Garinger says that they were able to strike a major partnership with Bourgault.

"They are going to be including a whole bunch of industrial arts equipment, and it is state of the art. This is the kind of stuff that they want to train students on because they could potentially become workers at Bourgault."

He added that the two sides teaming up only made sense for continued growth in St. Brieux.

"It's an incredible partnership and those are the kind of partnerships that we need in our communities and that we need in our school division and with our schools. It allows for great opportunities for kids and that's really what it is about."

Another partnership has been formed with the school and the community, bringing a redesigned public library.

"It is tremendous. We look forward to that resource, being able to support the community and support the needs of students and adults alike."

While construction continues throughout the school year, there will be no disruption to classes offered at the school.


You can hear more from Garinger below.