Year: 2018

-  Blue Star Project

Blue Star Project: MEP Luke’Ming’ Flanagan visit’s St.Attracta’s

The second part of our exciting morning this morning saw as part of our Blue Star project the visit of Luke’Ming’Flanagan who spoke to the students of 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Class.

The Blue Star Programme is an education initiative for primary school pupils across Ireland. The idea of the Programme is simple: to foster better understanding and knowledge of the European Union and how it affects the lives of Irish citizens among primary pupils through classroom projects and activities.

Luke spoke to our pupils about life as an MEP, the role of MEP’s and the difference between an MEP and a TD. We learned of function of the EU and Irelands relationship with the union. It was a very informative visit and one that young and old enjoyed. A very special word of thanks to Luke for taking the time to visit our school.

Please find below a report of Luke’s visit from 5th Class the co-ordinators of the programme in our school.

Today Luke Ming Flanagan, an Independent MEP for the Midlands – North West constituency came on a visit to our school.

At 11 Am 3rd ,4th ,5th 6th class went into the hall for our talk with Luke . Luke told his story on his many attempts of how he got into politics and became a MEP.
He is part of many committees including the agricultural , environmental and budget.
We asked Luke questions about life as a MEP. We had a very interesting discussion on these topics and talked about the European Union.We all learned so much from it.
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan on behalf of all the students in our school.

-  General School Information

A Visit from an Engineer!

Our Senior students (3rd-6th) enjoyed a very busy morning earlier. First up we were delighted to welcome Engineer Anthony Byrne to our senior classes, 3rd -6th to talk to them about many different aspects of Engineering. Anthony is a Civil Engineer with P&D Lydon Engineering, Cong, Co. Mayo.

Anthony began his presentation by explaining what being an Engineer is. He told us that Science is about knowing, engineering is about doing. Science is exploring the world as it is, engineering is exploring how to make the world better and easier to live in.

Anthony explained then that there are many different types of Engineers including Civil, Structural, Aeronautical, Sound, Water, Biomedical, Mechanical and more. He explained that he works as a Civil Engineer with a big company. His many tasks may include designing and building bridges, planning and constructing roads and installing water systems. He gave a few examples of people who became Engineers including Tom Parsons. He explained that you didn’t need to be a genius to be an Engineer; Working hard at Maths, Science and Computer programming all helped to become one. He said to work hard in School and pass all tests! Anthony explained that he works hard but he loves his job. He has worked on many roads and bridges throughout the country . His company transported a new bridge from Holland by sea, and erected it in Achill.

Finally, Anthony was very helpful answering many questions from all classes. We are very grateful to Anthony to come into our school and would like to thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to share all his expertise, knowledge and experience with us.

Go raibh míle maith agat Anthony!!

-  General School Information

Féile Scoldramaíochta Náisiúnta : The Results

The results of the Féile Scoldramaiochta Náisiúnta came through to us earlier this evening and unfortunately Ms.Henry’s wonderful Fifth Class students were on this occasion unsuccessful.

While we are all disappointed for the girls and boys and of course their fantastic teacher Ms.Henry, we are so proud of each of them and of their wonderful performance on Thursday last. It was a great honour to have our school represented again on a national stage.

Maith sibh agus míle buíochas Ms.Henry agus na scolairí ó Rang a Cúig. We are very proud of you all.

-  General School Information

Students of the Week Friday April 20th

What a busy week we’ve just had, preparation for our First Holy Communion candidates, FAI Spar Girls’ Soccer 5’s,All Ireland Féile Dramaíochta Finals, preparation for the Bebras National Finals to Second class’ visit to Supermac’s making Pizzas!

Alongside this we also had another batch of excellent students to aspire to. This week our students were praised for their generosity and empathy towards their fellow classmates. We learned of a special act of kindness from a younger student which sets a great example for us all. We also learned of excellent manners from a senior student who represented our school so well on a trip out. This is very heartwarming for us as teachers to see and hear about.

We heard of pupils who have made great advances in all aspects of their school life as maturity takes hold and settles them down. Children were applauded for their continued hard work, diligence towards their class work and homework.

All of the praise we heard earlier today was a testament to the great students we have in our midst! We are very proud of all of you as you continue to grow, mature and blossom.

Maith sibh go léir.Bainigí taitneamh as an deireadh seachtaine.

Dates for your Diary:

Monday: FAI 5’s Our Boys will compete in the FAI Soccer 5’s in Kiltimagh/knock United on Monday at 10.30 am . Ádh mór lads!

-  General School Information

Féile Scoildramaíochta: An Fhéile Náisiuntá

Ghlac Rang a Cúig páirt sa Féile Scoildramaíochta Náisiúnta ar maidin i Mullingar sna dramaí Rumplestilskin. Bhí siad go léir thar barr agus d’eirigh siad go hiontach leo.

We are so proud of our Fifth Class who this morning presented their drama ‘Rumplestilskin’ at the All Ireland Féile Scoldramaíochta finals in Mullingar Arts Centre. It really was a fantastic achievement from our students to present their drama on a national stage. We’re certain this experience will remain with them long into the future.

Tá súil againn go mbainfidh na paistí go léir taitneamh as an lá. Táimid an bhrodúil as na páistí mar go n-oibríonn siad go crua agus go ndéanann gach duine a ndícheall agus iad ag foghlaim agus ag labhairt gaeilge.

Buíochas mór le gach duine a chabhraigh linn chun na dramaí a chur ar siúl go háirithe Ms.Henry. We really appreciated her hard work, interest and effort achieving so much with her students. Maith thú agus míle buíochas Ms.Henry. You can be very proud of your students efforts.

Also a very special thank you to Mrs McCafferty, her son Joseph and Ms.Sloyan for all their help in the background. Again this support is greatly appreciated.

Sincere thanks to the parents/family members who travelled to support the children in Mullingar this morning, we really appreciated this and having so many friendly faces in the crowd helped put us at ease immediately.

Finally once the results are at hand in the next week we will let you all know. Well done again Rang a Cúig and indeed all who participated in the Féile Dramaíochta this year, we are so proud of you all!

-  General School Information

Ádh Mór le Rang a Cúig

Everyone here in St.Attracta’s would like to wish Ms.Henry’s Fifth Class the very best of good luck tomorrow morning in Mullingar when they compete in the All Ireland Féile Dramaíochta Competition.

We are so proud of the girls and boys and their achievements. We hope they each enjoy this very special day. Bainigí an taitneamh agus sult as!

-  Active School's Award

Spar Girls 5’s 2018

Comhghairdeachas and well done to both our Girl’s team’s who earlier took part in the FAI Spar 5’s at Kiltimagh and Knock United.

Team 1 / White had a fantastic morning winning three of their group games before losing to the eventual winners from Bekan NS. The can be so proud of their performances.

Team 2 / Green also performed brilliantly progressing from a very difficult group (Scoil Íosa Ballyhaunis, Claremorris Girls NS and St.Aidan’s NS Kiltimagh) winning all three of their games and with each member of the squad playing a big part in this.

Unfortunately the girls lost the final against an excellent Bekan NS team who had earlier defeated our White team. Again, each of the girls played their hearts out and can be so proud of their efforts. Maith sibh a chailiní.

Finally a special word of thanks to Ms.Sweeney for all her support this morning and to Paul Byrne of the FAI who organising the competition here in Mayo. Despite the weather conditions it was a really enjoyable day for us all!

Next up on Monday of next week will see our Boys team take part in their qualifiers. We wish them well!

-  General School Information

Spikeball National Finals 2018

What a day we had in Limerick! Our Girls advanced from the very difficult pool stages to reach the last eight at the National Finals. This was a fantastic achievement from our team who displayed such courage, determination and never say die attitude throughout the day. To say we are very proud of their efforts is almost an understatement.

We qualified with three victories from three in our group before unfortunately going down to Glenville NS from Cork in a gripping Quarter Final on count back after the game ended one set each. The girls played so well collectively throughout despite often being up against taller and physically stronger teams. They should be delighted with how well they performed and it certainly was no disgrace to be beaten by an excellent team.

As always a short word of thanks to Geraldine Finn who coached our team and year on year puts so much into Spikeball in our school. We are so fortunate to have her expertise, enthusiasm and support always. We really appreciate her work with us throughout this past year.

Well done again to all the players involved this year. It was fantastic to watch this progression and improvement as our year unfolded. Our teams this year were excellent role models for our younger students who hopefully in time will continue this great tradition we have in our school.

-  General School Information

St. Patricks Day / Family Fun Quiz : Míle Buíochas!

St.Patrick’s Day Parade

Our entry this year was based on the theme of ‘reading’ and it’s continued importance in this digital age, a mind without books is like a house without windows. We were delighted with this theme as it set a great example for all of our students.

Firstly a big thank you to all who helped in any way to organise this year’s parade, it was great fun to be part of. A sincere word of thanks to all our students/parents/guardians and families for all their wonderful support. Well done and thank you for the fantastic effort you made with your wonderful costumes. As always this is/was very much appreciated.

A huge thank you to our Parent’s Association for their fantastic work behind the scenes particularly on our ‘book’. We are so grateful for your continued hard work, effort and time invested on our behalf. Thank you also to all who helped with our float/props on the day.

A sincere thank you to Helen and Joseph McCafferty for wonderful work with the boards and a very special thank you to Cyril McHale who created our book which was central to our entry. Cyril’s wonderful talent was very much in evidence and we sincerely appreciate his time and effort on our behalf.

Thank you to Ms.Sloyan who organised and prepared our students for marching and a final thank you to Ms.Henry who coordinated our entry, we very much appreciate her vision, hard work, attention to detail and the time she invested on this years entry. Míle buíochas!

Family Fun Quiz

Our busy Bank Holiday weekend finished with a ‘Family Fun Quiz in the CBD Complex on Bank Holiday Monday. This fundraiser was a most enjoyable afternoon. A sincere thank you to all who attended and supported the quiz and to our Parent’s Association for all their hard work in preparation. It was a great success.