Year: 2019

-  19-20

Cuairt Daidí na Nollag

Tháinig Daidí na Nollag ar cuairt chuig Scoil Naomh Athracht ar maidin. Bhí sceitimíní áthais ar na páistí!

Santa visited the very excited boys and girls of St.Attracta’s on this morning. He arrived in style in a Garda car due to Rudolph experiencing some flying difficulties which grounded him at Knock Airport!

Santa brought treats with him for all the children and imparted wise words for the build up to Christmas! It was a lovely way to finish the term.

Santa returned to Knock Airport where he was reunited with Rudolph who was by now back in action after some running repairs. We believe he then returned to Lapland for a good rest before his long journey on Monday night.

A special word of thanks to Garda Brian who saved the day and of course to Daidí na Nollag for taking time out at this extremely busy time to visit our school.

-  19-20

Christmas Concert 2019

What fantastic performances we were treated to last night at our Christmas concert! There was so much to enjoy, singing, music, dance and drama!

Buíochas mór to our fantastic students of whom we are very proud of. They practised so hard and worked together to make our “Christmas Show” truly memorable.

A special word must go to our Junior Infants Class who were on stage for the first time. They really excelled with their “Christmas Medley” performances. Maith sibh! Bhí sibh ar fheabhas.

Our students throughout the school also deserve huge credit for their efforts over the past number of weeks in preparation. As always we come away bowled over by their talents and enthusiasm. These were all complimented by beautiful musical performances arranged by Ms.Fiona Doherty.

Mile buíochas to all our teachers for their hard work over the past number of weeks. The fruits of their labour was very much in evidence on stage last night.

Thank you to Helen McCafferty, her son Joseph who as always did so much in the background, preparing props and costumes for all the class productions. This work added so much to the children’s performances. Thank you also to Joe Lowther and all at the CBD Complex for all their help and support.

Sincere thanks must also go to our parents/guardians/friends/family members who turned out in such large numbers to support our students. We really hope you enjoyed the shows as much as we did!

We are also extremely grateful for all the kindness that has been shown to us again in the build up to our Christmas Concerts. We would like to sincerely thank all the local businesses who really went above and beyond to support us through sponsorship of spot prizes for our raffle, this continued support and interest is much appreciated. We are very fortunate with this generosity.

Finally a sincere thank you to our Parents Association for all their hard work in organising the running of both shows. It is as always very much appreciated. All Monies raised will go towards the extension of our play area.

-  Students of the Week 19/20

Students of the Week & Daltaí na Seachtaine Friday December 13th

A little later than usual this week but as always we enjoyed a wonderful assembly on Friday morning. Our recurring theme was consistency. Our teachers talked about children who could get this award every week of the school year as they are always trying their best, or even trying to do better than they did last week. 

Um seachtain ar scoil chuireamar béim chomh maith ar labhairt ghaeilge. De réir sin, bhí Gaeilgóir Na Seachtaine againne agus Dalta Na Seachtaine! Mar is gnáth, níor lig siad síos muid.Bhí neart gaeilge líofa le chloisteál timpeall na háite, agus ba chóir go mbéadh.Maith sibh go léir!
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We heard of pupils who despite all that is going on around them in school, preparations for school dramas, art work, carol singing and general changing of timetables, are still working hard and applying themselves to any task set before them. We all know and appreciate how busy and hectic this week can be in school. It is so hard to be on our best behaviour when we have mischievous elves doing untold damage in our classrooms.

Our children are doing their utmost to keep themselves in line for the special visitor that is expected soon. Our teachers spoke of children who did not always find change easy but who are now adapting to changes more readily. We were reminded by our teachers that these small differences have a very big impact on classroom life. We know how lucky we are here in St. Attracta’s N.S. to have children who are motivated and take pride in their work, their classroom and in their school.

We are proud to award these children our students of the week. Maith sibh go léir. Have a great weekend!

Dates for your Diary

Our Christmas Concerts will take place this Wednesday December 18th at 7 p.m. in the CBD Complex. Please note that there will not be a matinee performance this year. Details will be sent home to all families on Monday.

St. Vincent De Paul Food Hampers:o school early in the coming week. Tomorrow is the final date for our St.Vincent de Paul collection. Thank you to all who have contributed so generously to date.

School Closure: The school will close on Friday 20th December at 12 noon for our Christmas break and re-open on Monday January 6th.

We are looking forward to seeing you all over the coming week.

-  19-20

Students of the Week Friday November 29th

The excitement and anticipation of the toy show was palpable in school on Friday afternoon as our children have been busy getting their roles and participating in early rehearsals for Christmas plays.

Despite this excitement, as always, we were delighted with the lovely comments from teachers on the hard work and great attitude displayed by children in all classrooms. Our students of the week earned their accolades due to continued efforts in areas of difficulty, being super role models to younger students, compassionate toward others and constant enthusiasm in class. We heard of students who are consistently diligent and always well mannered and also of students who continuously go the extra mile. Maith sibh a phaistí.

Dates for your Diaries.

Christmas Carol Service.

The Parish Christmas Carol Service will take place on Tuesday evening December 10th at 7 p.m. in St. James’ Church. All are invited to attend.

Arrangements for our Christmas Concert.

Our annual Christmas Concert will take place on Wednesday December 18th at 7 p.m.in the CBD Complex. Further details will follow. As always, we look forward to one of the highlights of our school year.

Changes to School Calendar

We will have a school closure for Teacher Induction/CPD to assist with the implementation of the new Primary Language Curriculum on Wednesday January 15th 2020. All teaching staff must attend in-service on this date.

Bainigí taitneamh as an deireadh seachtaine!

-  19-20

Christmas Shoebox Appeal : Míle buíochas

A very special thank you to all our parents/guardians for the wonderful response to the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal. An incredible 114 Shoeboxes were returned.

The children who receive the shoeboxes are affected by poverty in different ways. Many come from families with very little income, others live on the margins of society or in areas affected by conflict. Shoeboxes are given based on need alone and bring joy and excitement to children living in often very difficult situations.

We are very thankful for you generosity and continued support of this wonderful project. A sincere thank you to also to Mrs Reilly who coordinated the project.

-  General School Information

Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety Talk for Parents

On Tuesday of next week November 26th we are very pleased to host Internet Safety workshops here in school:
1st – 6th Class pupils during the school day, our staff after school and a talk on Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety for Parents at 7.30pm.

Talk for Parents Overview

In today’s technology-rich environment most of us feel woefully inadequate when it comes to knowing what our children are really experiencing when they use the internet. This is normal and to be expected. However, as parents we have a fundamental duty of care for our children, and unfortunately that means getting a grasp of the things that our children are experiencing online.

Jeremy Pagden, the Managing Director of Schools Websites, will deliver the talk. Jeremy has been travelling all over the country delivering Internet Safety talks to both Parents and children alike. The topics covered during the session are as follows:

· Cyber bullying

· Social Media & The Law

· Gaming and Internet Addiction

· Fortnite & Gamification

· Social Media Privacy, Issues & Challenges

· The motivation behind large Social Media Companies

· Types of Internet Theft

· Browser History

· Safe use of apps

· Safe Searching on You Tube

· Safety settings on your home Wifi

· Useful Resources

We cannot stress the importance of this presentation and very much look forward to seeing you all on the night.

-  19-20

Ms.Henry’s Class Visit the Linenhall Arts Centre

Ms. Henry’s 4th and 5th Class attended a wonderful art exhibition yesterday in the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar by the artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward. The exhibition explored the art of paper folding from simple to more complex structures and varied in size and shape. The exhibition explored the transition between 2D and 3D shapes and were both aesthetically pleasing and intriguing.

The children were allowed look at the exhibit and the facilitators Elisa, Isaac and Daniel then asked questions of the children about what they thought the structures looked like or made them think of. This was an interesting part of the exhibition as the answers given were very creative. The children were complemented on their curiosity and wonderful enthusiasm.
Following the exhibition, the children took part in an excellent hands on workshop in paper folding. They made colourful snakes, finger puppets, dogs and various other paper structures which the children were very proud of, and so they should have been, they were beautiful. The excitement, engagement and overall enjoyment in this activity was clearly seen by all the children.

-  19-20

Students of the Week Friday November 8th

It was back to reality this week with all classes settling very well to work after their mid term break. At assembly we lived up to the motto to be the best that we can be. We learned of students who are in contention each week, with their hard work and attention to detail before hearing of others who are improving in areas that have in the past presented a difficulty and performing random acts of kindness .
This is a wonderful to hear and it is a great example to us all that it is easy to do something for somebody else, simply because it’s a nice thing to do. We heard of children who have been working on particular areas of improvement. Things that are easy for some are much more difficult for others.
We are delighted to award children for their efforts to improve. We are always proud of our children here, but it always adds to our appreciation of them when we hear that they are being kind, generous and happy in their everyday lives in school.

Maith sibh go léir. Táimid fíor bhródúil asaibh.

Dates for your Diaries:

On Wednesday and Thursday next November 13th/14th we will have our Parent Teacher Meetings. For the students of 1st to 6th Class , school will end at the earlier time of 2.45pm on both of these evenings.

Have a great weekend everyone!

-  19-20

Halloween Fancy Dress Assembly 2019

Halloween is always a very special time of our school year with the children working so hard to prepare their costumes for our special Halloween Assembly!

We were amazed earlier with the creative and imaginative designs the children prepared for our assembly particularly the many wonderful homemade creations. Well done to all the children for their hard work and effort.You all have wonderful trick or treating costumes!

We hope you all have a lovely, fun filled and safe Halloween break.

A very special word of thanks to all our Mums/Dads/Guardians who played such a pivotal role in the background, we sincerely as always appreciate your effort, hard work and support!

Finally a special word of thanks to Mrs McCafferty for all her help organising well deserved treats for all our wonderful students. Bainigí an taitneamh as an sos lár théarma!