Year: 2018

-  General School Information

Third and Fourth Class Tour of Trim Castle and Tayto Park

Earlier this morning, we departed from school at 7:15 Eastbound for Trim Castle and Tayto Park. We passed through the counties of Roscommon, Longford and Westmeath.

At 9:45am we arrived at Trim Castle, Co. Meath.This castle is a Norman Castle built in the 12th century by a Norman Lord named Hugh De Lacy. It is a huge castle and the children were captivated by the sheer size of it as we walked straight to the top. We heard from our brilliant tour guide about life in Norman times and what was most fascinating was their lifestyle. We were reminded about the motte, moat and bailey as well as the watch tower at the very top. It is the largest Norman Castle in Europe, which was very interesting.

After this, we hopped back on the bus and our brilliant bus driver Gerry drove us towards Tayto Park. On the way to Tayto park, the children were thrilled to see that we were to get VIP treatment as we entered. Past pupil, Garda Cathal Walsh kindly met us and led us to the entry of Tayto Park. We are so thankful to Garda Walsh for this lovely act of generosity and the children loved it.

From there, we were greeted by our Tour Guide in Tayto Park, Samantha, who would lead us on our tour of the Zoo. She showed us all the very interesting animals from the Amur Tiger, Mountain Lion, Alpaca, sheep, chickens, owls as well as loads more!
We then went on a short tour of the Potato Factory where we saw all the machines and the Tayto’s being made. We learned all about the Tayto, crisp the history of the Potato and history of Tayto in Ireland.

Then the children really got what they had been waiting for – use of all the attractions! They stayed in groups and made sure they got on as many as possible. We decided to stay a little longer so the children could get full use of the park. The really enjoyed these.

Finally, we boarded the bus at 5;00pm. Heading Westbound, this time passing through Counties Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon and finally Mayo. We arrived back a little tired at the school at 8;30pm after a long but brilliant day!

A very special word of thanks to Mr Clarke who organised this wonderful tour and to Mrs McCafferty and Ms Colson who looked after all the girls and boys so well throughout the day. This certainly was a tour to remember!

-  General School Information

Junior and Senior Infants School Tour

Early this morning our very excited Junior and Senior Infants boarded the bus and we hit off on our school tour to Maghu’s Castle, Kiltimagh.

The children had great fun maneuvering through the indoor mazes and obstacles which included the aerial runway, a rope bridge, a fun booster cannon game, and a climbing ‘Giant’s Causeway’.

From there the children went on to explore the outdoor enchanted area ‘Tír na nÓg’ where they worked on on their team building skills, whilst making full use of the brilliant play structures including the clatter bridge, slides, zip-line and swings.

After much energetic play and a delicious lunch it was time to head over to the Town Theatre. Here we sat back and enjoyed the animated action comedy movie ‘Despicable Me 3’.

We all had a wonderful day! Everybody played nicely together, behaved brilliantly and had great fun.

We all arrived home tired after our fun school tour. Thank you to Ms.Duffy, Mrs.Reilly, Ms Munnelly and Mrs McCafferty for taking great care of us today!

-  Discover Primary Science

First Class Science Project: Ducklings and Chicks

What a few weeks the boys and girls from First Class have had as they worked very hard on their science project learning all about the life cycle of hens and ducks!

All students throughout the school have been so excited and really enjoyed their daily trips to First Class monitoring progress. After twenty eight days (ducklings) and twenty one days (chicks) in an incubator the eggs have hatched and Ms.Sloyan’s class have now four ducklings and eight chicks.

Please click on the link below to Ms.Sloyan’s fantastic blog which documents the their journey.

http://firstclasscharlestown.blogspot.ie/

It really has been a fantastic learning experience for us all!!

Finally a very special word of thanks again to Paul Duffy who along with Ms.Sloyan has coordinated this project. We really appreciated his time, interest and talents.

-  Blue Star Project

MEP Marian Harkin visits Rang a Cúig

This morning, we concluded our Blue Star Programme Journey for this school year with the visit of MEP Marian Harkin to Fifth Class who co-ordinated the project on our behalf.
Again, this was a wonderful learning experience for young and old. We discussed the importance of Europe, what it means to be part of the EU, how the EU functions and the workings of the European Parliament and Council in Brussels. We also found out about the life of an MEP. Marian discussed the various committees that she was a member of, the challenges facing the EU and its importance as we move forward.

She ended her visit with some inspirational words to our students about being politically active, having an opinion while expressing it in the right way, having courage and always believing in yourself despite the challenges that life presents.

Life is not a dress rehearsal, make use of every day!

A very fitting way to end our project.

-  General School Information

Students of the Week Friday May 18th

At our weekly assembly this afternoon teachers related their pleasure at seeing children take on new responsibilities and challenges in life with great enthusiasm. We heard of pupils who put the same level of energy onto anything that’s asked of them, not just the tasks they enjoy.

We were told of pupils who are now displaying high levels of maturity and common sense when dealing with small problems encountered in the classroom environment and in life in general. It is heartening for our teachers to see pupils developing their independence. This week, pupils were described as caring and considerate for all those around them. We heard about pupils who are working consistently hard on their class work and homework.
We heard of pupils who show care and consideration for others and are always trying to help others out and make things easier for the class and their teacher. We were reminded that we always need to challenge and push ourselves to be the best that we can be.
Finally we learned of those who consistently set a wonderful example for others inside of and outside of their rooms. Maith sibh! The praise bestowed on the winners this week was heartening for all of us listening. Well done to all this week’s winners.

Finally a reminder that on Friday next, May 25th, school will be closed as it has been requisitioned as a polling centre for Eight Amendment Referendum.

Have a lovely weekend!

-  General School Information

Cumann na mBunscol Area Finals

Congratulations to our Girls and Boys teams who earlier progressed to the County Cumann na mBunscol Quarter Finals after hard fought games against Swinford NS at the Amenity Park in Swinford.

Both our teams acquitted themselves very well and now move onto play Ballindine NS (Boys@11am) and Gaelscoil De Burca (Girls@11.30am) respectively in Thursday’s County Quarter Finals here in Charlestown.

We wish our both teams well!

Finally, while it was a very disappointing result yesterday afternoon in McHale Park, all our thoughts and best wishes go this evening to Tom Parsons after his injury. All here in St.Attracta’s wish Tom a full and speedy recovery.

-  General School Information

Students of the Week Friday May 11th

What a busy few weeks we’ve had, from our First Holy Communion to our European Day. We’ve welcomed distinguished visitors to our school and prepared well for our Cumann na mBunscol Competition. We’ve hardly time for a breath!

A common theme among all the teachers’ comments was that the students chosen are determined to finish the school year in a positive manner. All are working very hard in class and at home while also involving themselves in all the various fun activities that all our classes and students enjoy at this time of the year.

Well done to each of these students – keep up this great work.

Maith sibh!

Another busy week lies ahead in all classes. In particular, our Senior Girls and Boys teams, who on Monday play in their Area Cumann na mBunscol Final’s in Swinford. We wish them well.

Finally all here in St.Attracta’s would like to wish Tom and the Mayo team the very best of good luck on Sunday in Castlebar as they begin another championship adventure. There was great excitement about the game at assembly earlier with all confident of an excellent performance! Maigh Eó abú!

-  Blue Star Project

Europe Day 2018

This morning we hosted our European Day here in St. Attracta’s as part of our Blue Star programme.
The Blue Star programme aims to foster a better understanding and knowledge of the European Union and how it affects the lives of Irish citizens among Irish primary pupils through classroom projects and activities. It aims to introduce participants to the EU – what it means and how it works.
It also aims to foster a strong sense of the EU among us all that reaches far beyond the school walls and out into the wider community.

As part of the morning activities we were delighted to welcome both Matt Carthy MEP to our school. It was so kind of Matt to take time out of his busy schedule to come to speak with the children and our parents at our showcase in the school hall.

As alluded to, our morning began with question and answers with our 6th Class. We discussed the importance of Europe, what it means to be part of the EU, how the EU functions and the workings of the European parliament and council in Brussels. We also found out about the life of an MEP.

Matt then viewed the projects through the corridors and the hall in particular was thrilled to learn how much our Infants knew about Spain and the UK, amazed with the many facts and pieces of information that were on the tips of their tongues.

Our guest moved to the hall where he was joined by our parents/family members to view the wonderful projects that were on display. All our students confidently showcased their work, answering questions and displaying their knowledge of the member states, famous European citizens, and famous European landmarks, the languages of the member states, a timeline of key dates in European history and the flags of the member states.

Also on display was a wonderful project from all our Polish students who supplemented their wonderful work with beautiful treats and foods for us all to taste and enjoy. It was such a lovely experience for us all to sample the traditional foods of our Polish families who went to great trouble in preparation for this morning. We really appreciate this effort and hard work.

As always this event would not have happened without the very hard work of our pupils. In particular, a very special mention to Ms.Henry’s 5th Class who are leading the project in our school. We feel the hall/corridors really looked amazing and that is very much down to our students hard work and effort. A huge thank you also, to our teachers. The fruits of their labour were very much in evidence today.

Finally thank you to all those who supported, attended and helped in any small way, we were delighted with how our European Celebration went today!

-  Digital Schools

School Excellence Fund – Digital

We were honoured earlier to have our school represented in UCD at the launch by Minister for Education Richard Bruton of the Schools Excellence Fund (Digital).

The newly established School Excellence Fund encourages collaboration in the use of digital technology, STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), tackling creativity. It is the first time resources have been put in place to encourage schools to work together locally to trial ideas.

We are delighted to announce that our cluster proposal was successful and we look forward to working alongside a number of very innovative and creative schools and leaders in Mayo. This will be a three year project focused on the development of teachers competencies and a continuum of computational thinking (problem solving) across all our classes.

It promises to be a very exciting initiative allowing our schools and teachers the opportunity to work together, share good practice while focusing on developing the important skills our children will need to thrive in the future.

Our Partner schools for this project are ..

Attymass NS Ballina
Bofield NS Ballina
Behy NS Ballina
Stokane NS, Corballa Co.Sligo
St.Angela’s NS Castlebar
Castlebar ETNS
Craggagh NS Kiltimagh
Scoil Phadraig Westport
Cloghans Hill NS
Lehinch NS Hollymount
St.Joseph’s NS Ballinrobe

We look forward to working with our partners and are so excited to be one of 265 schools at Primary/Post Primary nationally to have been selected.

It promises to be a wonderful learning experience for young and old!