The first Catholic school in Olds officially opened on Wednesday, giving the community a glimpse into the new pre-kindgarten to Grade 7 school.

Greeted by student ambassadors, the doors to Holy Trinity Catholic School were opened to about 50 dignitaries, school board trustees, parents and residents.

Premier Ed Stelmach cut the ribbon on his last new school south of Edmonton in his current position. Stelmach said he was honoured to be part of the historical day in Olds on his final Central Alberta stop as premier.

Stelmach said choice in education has propelled Alberta to be either number one or two in the world in various education categories in the world. This choice, he said, has made Albertans competitive in various fields on a world scale.

“That’s why I support choice and Catholic education is part of that choice,” said Stelmach.

Parents in the community started the groundwork to bring a Catholic school to the community in early 2000 with the approval and funding soundly in place in 2008.

Construction on the $6.1 million school went full steam ahead in February 2010 and was completed in August 2011. Along the way there were a few hiccups with funding and construction, which delayed the opening.

But that matters little now because parent Jane Concannon said her daughter, Mary, can finally receive a Catholic education. Concannon worked with the parent group when her daughter was about to enter kindergarten. Mary is now in Grade 6.

“It’s important to have a choice,” said Concannon. “We thought it was important to have those values in the school so she has those values 24 hours a day.”

The pre-kindergarten to Grade 7 school joined the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools fold last year in a temporary location in downtown Olds while the construction on the new school was completed.

In its temporary location, there were about 50 students in pre-kindergarten to Grade 6 school. This year there are 96 students. Grade 7 was added with plans to eventually moved to a pre-kindergarten to Grade 8 school or if the demand is there they will offer Grade 9.

Principal Blake Krause expects enrolment to increase steadily over the next few years. In the past, if parents wanted to send their children to a Catholic school, they would likely send them to Innisfail or homeschool them.

“There really wasn’t an option,” he said. “It’s definitely something parents have been involved with for years. It’s definitely been a long time coming.”

Student ambassador Kennedy Coates said she loved her new school. The Grade 6 student was homeschooled up until the 2010-2011 school year when she joined her classmates at the temporary school location.

“It was a nice start to school,” said Coates.

The school has students from Olds, Didsbury and Sundre.