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General School Information Archives - St Attractas NS

Category: General School Information

-  19-20

Students of the Week Friday September 27th

We had another exciting assembly earlier this afternoon reflecting on another very busy week at school!From Music to the Mayo Cross Country finals to exploring our whole school theme of a ‘Journey to Space’ we haven’t had time to draw breath.

As always, it was really difficult for the teachers to make their decision for Students of the Week with so many putting their names forward through their hard work and excellent behaviour.
This week’s students were recommended for a variety of very positive reasons. These ranged from continuously being in great form , working happily each day and having a great impact on classmates, to working very hard with their ‘Gaeilge’ and being kind to others and also to a great improvement in listening to their teacher. Others have settled into their new class with ease and continued where they left off last year while it was also lovely to hear of students who’ve settled so well into their new school. Recommendations also included students making a huge effort to improve handwriting/presentation and setting a great example to younger students by word and action.

Well done to all who were selected – we are very proud of you.

-  19-20

Students of the Week Friday September 20th

This week has really flown by with all classes settled back and working very hard. As a result, the teachers found the decision very difficult again this week, as many students had put themselves forward for selection as ‘Student of the Week’.

At the outset it is important to say a big well done to our new Infant Classes who again have survived their second full week. We were delighted at how well you’ve all settled into our school. We hope you’ve a good rest over the weekend and look forward to welcoming you on Monday morning for another busy week.

A Common theme this week among those selected was kindness to others alongside being very helpful to classmates and teachers, while always working very hard. Two of this week’s students of the week were also recommended for working very quietly, giving 100% to everything that they do while displaying a great attitude. All of this week’s ‘students’ are very eager to follow the school rules and in some cases have reminded others the importance of following these rules! Other’s have made a special effort to work hard in areas that perhaps last year they found difficult and have made great progress while it was also fantastic to hear of a student whose work is always presented to the highest standard, settling so well into the new school year. Well done again to all those selected. You all have worked very well throughout the week. Maith sibh!

Next week promises to be another busy week here in the school. GAA continues on Friday with Eugene Ivers. Ms.Fiona Doherty will be with us for week one of Music on Monday and on Thursday the students who qualified from the East Mayo Cross Country Championships will compete in Ballina in the Mayo finals. We wish these students well and hope they have a great day!

-  18-19

Storybox Creative Writing Competition 2019

Our annual Storybox competition winner was announced at our final assembly of the school year on Friday morning last. The Helena McDonagh Writing Competition is a firm favourite in our student’s calendar.

Mrs.McDonagh taught here in St. Attracta’s for many years before retiring in 2003. As a published author herself, Helena presented the school with a perpetual trophy to be used for creative writing. And so our storybox began. 

Ms. Connaghan who adjudicates the competition every year was very impressed with the number and calibre of this year’s entries. So many giving their all and making a huge effort while displaying their imaginative and creative sides.

This year’s story winner was Síofra McGuinness for her wonderful story entitled “The Two Explorers”. Well done also to Sophie Frizzell and Roisín Casey who were highly commended.

Comhghairdeachas Síofra and to all our wonderful pupils who entered this years competition. Maith sibh go léir

-  18-19

Green Schools / Active Flag Raising Ceremonies /Discover Primary Science and Maths Award

We had a wonderful afternoon at school on Thursday last celebrating our Seventh Green Flag renewal for Global Citizenship-Energy, our Active School Flag and our Discover Primary Science and Maths Award of Excellence.

Green School

This theme helped us discover how Green-Schools work has positively influenced people and environments worldwide while we revised our previous energy theme.

It was a great success. An afternoon of music and song with a few speeches thrown in along the way! Thankfully the weather was very kind to us. At the outset we must say a very special thank you to Ms.Delaney for all her hard work not alone on this renewal but indeed her commitment to the Green School programme over many years. She can be so proud of her hard-working and talented committee and indeed all the students in our school. Each of the children supported and worked so hard on this renewal. Fr Doherty had the honour of raising flag, we are very appreciative of all his support of our school and would like to congratulate and wish Fr John well on the recent Diamond Jubilee of his ordination.

Active Schools

We were thrilled recently to have been awarded Active School Status recognising our physically educated and active school community.Active schools programme has been hugely successful project this year in our school.We are very appreciative of our hard working committee, supporting parents and co-ordinating teachers Mrs Quinn, Ms.Sloyan, Ms.McDonagh and Ms.Durkin. We were also delighted to welcome past pupil Ella Brennan back to our school to raise our Active Flag. Ella is a member of the Mayo Senior Ladies panel preparing for their Connacht Senior Final replay.Ella is a great role model for the children in our school and county. We wish her every success for the Summer ahead!

Finally thank you also to all our wonderful teachers for their continued support as without them days like yesterday would not happen.Thank you also to our Parent Association who provided a lovely treat which everyone certainly enjoyed! We thank all the members sincerely for all their hard work today and throughout the year.

Discover Primary Science and Maths Award of Excellence

Huge congrats and thank you to Ms.Ruane and Mr.Clarke who successfully coordinated our Discover Primary Science and Maths Award submission. We received lovely feedback on our whole school efforts to promote STEM throughout our school involving young and old. This is the third year in succession that we have received this award. It is a fantastic initiative having a significant impact in all of our classrooms!

-  18-19

Graduation in St.Attracta’s

Yesterday, Thursday was a momentous day in St. Attracta’s, where we saw the the passing of students from one class to the next, and some onto new schools!

Our graduation ceremonies revealed the talents and skills of all of our pupils, through the fantastic displays of drama, poetry, music and song on our school hall stage. A special word of thanks must go to our teachers for all their hard work in preparation.

From Sonas/ Spraoi / Sásta / Infants up to Sixth Class, we were delighted to see everyone participating and performing poetry and song. It really was a lovely end to the school year.

All of the children were presented with Certificates of Completion upon their transition to their new classes. We were very impressed with the hard work that every child has put in this year and hope to see them all back working hard after their Summer break!

Finally last evening, we had our 6th Class Graduation Mass. It was a very special evening for everyone involved. Fr. Johnston and Fr. Doherty concelebrated the mass in the open air outside and we had great attendance from family, friends and staff members. The theme of the mass was gratitude and hope, both very appropriate in giving thanks for the children’s time in St. Attracta’s and instilling hope in them for their future successes in Secondary School.

It was a lovely evening and a fitting end to a wonderful year. The 6th Class students have been fantastic representatives of our school, we wish them every success in the future. They will always be part of the St. Attracta’s family!

Finally thank you to Joe for all his support with the sound system, it really added to our day.

-  General School Information

Third and Fourth Class School Tour

Third and Fourth Class set off yesterday morning bright and early on our school tour to Lough Key Forest Park and Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, Tulsk. The weather for the day was promised good and it didn’t disappoint. We had a very adventurous day that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

We embarked on our journey full of excitement on our bus and our first stop was Rathcroghan Visitor Centre. We were greeted by the lovely and very informative tour guide and Mayo man Mike who showed us around the interpretive centre and told us the story of the Medieval Village of Tulsk and its surrounding historical sights. We learned that it is the home of the Warrior King Meabh of Connacht. We learned a very interesting fact about her too that she was killed by her nephew who fired a piece of cheese through a sling shot which hit her in the temple and killed her. Who knew cheese could be so dangerous!! We also learned there were more than 48,000 forts in Ireland and about crannógs as well as examining the differences between a person that lived in Tulsk 600 years ago and now.

We got back on the bus and we arrived at Boda Borg at Lough key a little ahead of schedule so we took this time to enjoy our morning break. We had a lovely picnic before playing football and exploring the old church. We fuelled our bodies for the fun filled challenges, imaginative puzzles and enjoyable tasks ahead of us. We were brought into a media room where we watched a quick video on what was expected of us through the big doors. We then formed our teams and our two hours of activity started. During the challenges we used many skills such as balance, cooperation, collaboration, problem solving and most importantly teamwork. Laughter, excitement and comradery could be heard from every room which was lovely to hear and see.

After this we got to go to Adventure Kingdom Playground where we explored the giant climbing frames, slides, monkey bars, tire swings and much more. The weather was beautiful and the excitement on the children’s faces were a joy to see.

Next on our list was the Lough Key Tunnel Tour. This tour was very interesting and our wonderful tour guides took us through the servant tunnels of the old Rockingham House which once stood on the grounds of Lough Key Forest Park. The children listened to the tour guide very attentively who told us that the Park was formally known as Murlorg up to the 17th century and that the kings of Murlorg were the McDermotts. They sold the land to the King family who built Rockingham House. Unfortunately Rockingham House was destroyed by fire in 1957 due to an electrical fault in the basement. During the tour we climbed the 160 steps of the Murlorg tower which now stands where the house once stood. From the top of the tower we could see the beautiful landscape around Lough Key including Castle Island the home of the McDermotts.

The final part of our tour was to visit the souvenir and sweet shop in the centre. The children enjoyed well deserved slushies and ice-cream as well as purchasing some souvenirs for home.!

We had a very enjoyable, educational and fun filled day!

-  General School Information

First and Second Class School Tour to Achill

This morning, the students from First and Second class departed full of excitement for Achill Island. The beautiful journey included passing though the towns of Castlebar, Newport, and Mulranny before arriving on the island of Achill at approx. 10.45am.

We got a wonderful welcome from Elaine at the Achill Island aquarium and were split into two groups. First class began at the aquarium, while Second class did a lovely craft workshop with Ryan. The craft lesson included drawing a fish tank and making a lobster. Beautiful work was done from all the children. Second class were then welcomed into the Aquarium, where they were enthralled by their tour guide Tom. Tom explained about a huge number of fish, including piranhas, baby sharks, lobsters, clams, starfish and squid. The children really enjoyed examining all the fish at close quarters and all the unique features of each fish.

After the visit to the aquarium the children visited the gift shop before sitting down for their hot food. Following this, we took a trip to Keel beach where we enjoyed a paddle in the nice cold freshwater and some fun on the beach. The cliffs of Minaun provided a very beautiful, picturesque backdrop for us.

We then departed for home tired, after a great day of fun and enjoyment.

-  Active School's Award

County Final Heartache!

Commiserations to our girls who were defeated earlier in their Cumann na mBunscol County Final at McHale Park losing out to an excellent Myna NS, Kilmeena.

While this evening may not have gone our way, we are so proud of each of the girls, of their determination, their never say die attitude and their willingness to give their all.

The girls have given us a fantastic year, winning their area in the Mini 7’s and reaching todays County Final. While understandably their was disappointment earlier they can be so proud of all they have achieved.

As the year ends a very special thank you to Ciarán McBrien and his team who always made the wonderful facilities at Charlestown GAA available for us. We as always sincerely appreciate this support.
Also, a very special word of thanks to all our supporters in McHale Park this evening, it was fantastic to have you with us especially when the going got tough. Finally, thank you to Mr.Rushe for all his time and hard word preparing the team so well.

Maith sibh a chailiní!

-  18-19

Good Luck Girls!

All that remains this evening is to wish our team the very best tomorrow evening in their County Final in McHale Park at 3.15pm. We are so proud of the girls and hope they each enjoy this very special occasion.

All support would be greatly appreciated. Go n-éirí libh!