Oh deer! Staff at St. Brieux School received an unexpected visitor yesterday.

At about 5 p.m. CST, a deer jumped through the window of the school's Grade 5 classroom, located in the village of St. Brieux, Sask., 170 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

"It's not something that happens every day," said Kevin Garinger, director of education at the Horizon School Division.

"In my career, I've never heard of this happening."

The school's principal heard the window breaking in the empty classroom. She quickly shut the door and called conservation officers to come and remove the animal.

The officers tranquillized the deer and took it out of the school to be later released into the wild.

"We're very, very thankful that no children were involved in the situation," said Garinger. "We didn't have to worry about their safety."

The deer had to cross a highway, then run across the school's outdoor field to reach the school.

Garinger remains baffled as to what caused the deer to jump through the window.

"We have no idea," he said. "We do know that there's a lot of wildlife in the area. About three weeks ago, we had a moose that went through the town."

The school has boarded up the window until it can be repaired permanently.