History

St. Augustine School, Humboldt 

Principals: J. Reinhart 1907-1912; Leo Schumacher 1912-1919; E. LeBlanc 1926-1931; Frank Lucas 1936-1939; William McClellan 1939-1944; Sister Ambrosse Nenzel 1944-1947; Sister Veronica Plemel 1947-1949; Sister Ambrose Nenzel 1949-1952; Sister Carmelita Kolla 1952-1959; Sister Jerome Pulvemacher 1959-1962; Walter Germann 1962-1985; Malcom Eaton 1985-1996; Denis Bergerman 1996-2007; Carol McLaren 2007-2014; Cal Theisen 2014-2021 

St. Augustine was named after St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604).  Augustine was a Benedictine monk and a friend of Pope Gregory the Great.  He was known for his virtues of loyalty and perseverance. 

While construction of St. Augustine was under way in 1906, on land donated by C. Kohle, a building on the SE corner of 6th Avenue and 9th Street was used for classes and taught by Miss Scanlon.  During the winter of 1906-1907, the school was run by Father Rudolph Palm.  Classes were in German, and although the classes were irregular, the calibre was high.  In 1907, the new school was complete.  Mr. J. Reinhart, a teacher from Ontario, instructed all subjects including Religion and German.  His income was $750.00 per year.  In the early days, a pot-bellied stove was the only source of heat in the one-roomed school. Desks consisted of crudely constructed benches and tables.  A slate was the only writing material.  A new school was built in 1936, on the NW corner of 8th Avenue and 11th Street with 10 classrooms.  This building was added to in 1964.  The old school housed Grades 1-8 until 1967, when Grade 5 & 6 students from St. Augustine were all moved to St. Dominic School and all Grade 7 & 8 students from St. Dominic and St. Augustine attended St. Augustine School which continued until 1988.  The old part of the school now only had Grades s1-4, while the new 1964 addition housed Grades 7 & 8.  The new addition was also the home of the library, science room, music room and gymnasium.  In June 1976, the 1936-built part of the school was destroyed entirely by a fire leaving the 1964 addition intact.  By March 1977, construction of the newest addition was underway.  When completed, it housed 12 classrooms, a kindergarten room, resource center, nature lab, server, staff room, classroom lab, special education lab, gymnasium, art room, band, music and practice room.  June 1, 1978 was the Official opening of the Renovations and Addition to St. Augustine School.  In, the Humboldt Roman Catholic Separate School Division #15, Biggar, and Rural Saskatoon amalgamated with St. Paul's Roman Catholic School Division #20, to become Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division.  In 2010, the Humboldt Co-operative Daycare took over 4 classrooms for their new home at St. Augustine School.  Portable classrooms were added to the school.