Well done to Brian Mongan from our Sixth Class who was selected to represent Mayo Schoolboy Boxers against Dublin in Achill recently. Brian boxes at the 35-36kg weight range.

Brian is a very talented athlete working hard at his sport. He has boxed in Galway and Belfast in recent weeks. He was also selected ‘Best Boxer ‘ in a local tournament. Brian trains very hard, three times per week.

We wish Brian well for the new season ahead which will begin in January.

We had a very first last weekend when Grace Vesey from our Sixth Class represented our school in the Equestrian InterSchools Showjumping Competition in UpperMace Equestrian Centre in Barnacarroll, Claremorris.

Grace and her Connemara Pony ‘Conny’ had a fantastic clear round but unfortunately failed to reach the jump off after a late refusal. Grace is very committed to her sport and each weekend enjoys spend time at the Equestrian Centre and looking after her ponies.

Well done Grace, we are very proud to have you representing our school in this competition for the first time.

2nd and 3rd Class had great fun this year enjoying many activities as part of Science Week. We organised skittles in a circle on a plate, and poured water on them, what formed was a really cool rainbow! This is one you can try at home!
Also, we took part in an Egg drop challenge, whereby children made their own design to hold a raw egg dropping from different heights!

Science Week in St.Attracta’s

All classes throughout our school actively took part in activities and experiments to expand their scientific knowledge and enjoyment.
Classes form 2nd to 6th took part in the annual Bebras challenge which involves solving problems and riddles and is very enjoyable.
5th and 6th class also took part in the build a Bridge competition which was also a great success.

Well done again to all the classes who took an active part in Science Week 2018!

Finally, a reminder of Mayo Science festival in GMIT this Sunday(18th) from 11:30 am, book tickets early to avoid disappointment!

We were delighted to have two finalists earlier in the Mayo Science and Teachnology Festival’s ‘Design a Bridge Competition’ in Ballina.

Our teams had to design their bridge using 25 flexible straws and three feet of masking tape. Both did us proud and learned so much in the process!

A special word of thanks to all the students in Ms.McDonagh’s Fifth Class and Mr.Rushe’s Sixth Class who participated in the project and especially to those who qualified for Ballina this afternoon. Maith sibh!

Inniu an 13ú Samhain tá na daltaí ó Rang a Cúig are taking part í Gaeilge24. This is part of a challenge which was put to schools around Ireland – to speak Irish for 24 hours organised by Conradh na Gaeilge. 32,000 people from 340 schools in every county took part.

We got maroon coloured T-shirts that said “Labhair gaeilge liom inniu” (I spoke Irish)
Fuaireamar léinte T-léine marbh a dúirt “Labhair mé Gaeilge inniu”

We also got little booklets as well with phrases you can say at home, school, talking to your friends and in the shop. Fuaireamar leabhráin beaga chomh maith le habairtí a d’fhéadfá a rá sa bhaile, sa scoil. Ag caint le do chairde agus sa siopa.

Everyone participated in this event and tried their best to talk Irish constantly.
Ghlac gach duine páirt san imeacht seo agus rinne siad a ndícheall chun Gaeilge a labhairt i gcónaí
At the end of the day we also got arm bands. Ag deireadh an lae, fuair muid bannaí láimhe freisin.

This was a good Challenge for the children to do and a really good way to increase their Irish vocabulary. Is dúshlán maith é seo do roinnt páistí a dhéanamh agus bealach an-maith é a mhéadú ar a gcuid foclóir Gaeilge.

Déanann gach duine sár iarracht Gaeilge a labhairt sa ráng, sa chlós lena muinteoirí agus lena cháirde freisin.

Go raibh míle maith agat do na páistí agus na tuismitheoirí don iarracht.

Well done to this week’s ‘Students of the Week’. As with previous weeks it was lovely to hear so many positive comments from the teachers and these students can be very proud of their week’s work.

This week all those chosen worked very hard, displaying excellent organisational and listening skills. These skills are so important, not alone in the classroom but also out in the yard. A lovely comment regarding one of our winners this week was that this pupil ‘never falls out with anyone’ setting a great example always.We heard of another student who begins and ends each day with a lovely smile on their face.
We had a recommendation for showing great ‘leadership in class ‘ and another for working so hard with their class and homework exercises while making a huge effort to ensure they understand what is being asked. We heard of those who are displaying greater self belief and confidence in their own abilities and others who have made a huge effort particularly with the important subject of Maths.

We’re delighted with the hard work that is ongoing throughout the school with many of our teachers saying so many pupils were in very close contention this week! Well done everybody keep up this great work! Maith sibh.

On Thursday 13th September, the children from Ms. McDonagh’s Fifth Class were treated to an afternoon of wonderful memories and an insight into the lives of people growing up in Charlestown in years gone by.

They are currently studying the theme of ‘My Local Area’ and thanks to kind sponsorship by Bank of Ireland, they got an opportunity to participate on a project led by intergenerational facilitators “Silver Thread”. Bank of Ireland is 100 years old in Charlestown this year, and this is the reason why we were selected to avail of the project.

The facilitators, Carmel and Cathy ran a workshop which explored the theme of local community history through the medium of interview, by our students, of “mature students” in our area.

The “mature students”, Eileen Vesey, Angie Casey, Mary O’Connell, Marty Horkan, Eamonn Walsh, Séamus Bermingham, Kitty Walsh and Fr. John Doherty had the children enthralled with tales of their childhood in Charlestown.

The children were regaled with stories of first days at school in the old school across the road, the school structure and the masters, bringing the turf to school, going home for dinner, the bonfire wars between the streets, businesses in the town, the history of the cemetery, the blizzard and games in the past. Fr. John told of his memories of his first day of school and playing with a bead frame, which we happened to have one to show for the children. It may just have been the very same one!

The children set the questions and acted as reporters over the following week, writing recounts of tales from the day, in preparation for Day 2 of the project in the Arts Centre yesterday.

A photo display was in place and presented to the group and they got the chance to further interview the “mature students” for more in-depth understanding of the changes that have occurred in our town over the past 100 years. We heard of emigration stories to America aboard the Queen Mary from Southampton, Poitín raids in the area, the manufacturing of Lemonade in McEntire’s soft drinks factory, dancehall tales and more school stories from the old school.

We were also very fortunate to have two visitors Kathy and Tom, a Welsh ex-forces employee and an Irish air force veteran to tell their stories from their lives in different areas. They told us of growing up the coalmine towns of Wales and serving time with the forces in Baldonnel and abroad. It gave another insight into how life and society has changed dramatically over the last 50 years.

Seeing the tales through the eyes of the visiting guests, accompanied by the fantastic displays of photos added greatly to the children’s understanding of life in their community, and elsewhere in times gone by. The children interviewed and recorded the stories for use back at school.

It is a very exciting and educational project which makes history real for our students. Míle buíochas to Silver Thread, Bank of Ireland and, of course, the wonderfully engaging mature students. We have learned so much from our visitor’s stories and thank them for passing on the memories.