We had a fabulous night last evening celebrating the amazing talents of our students through the creative project Samhain Lights Walk. This was a project funded by Mayo County Arts Council and led by the talented and enthusiastic Tom Meskell who has been a wonderful friend to our school. We were delighted to get the opportunity to work with Tom again on yet another fantastic project, here the children experienced working with different materials, learned new skills that were creative and showcased their wonderful gifts and talents. Tom was accompanied by the Mayo Art Squad to assemble the beautiful display we witnessed last night. This project was supported also by Mayo County Council.

We would like to sincerely thank Tom and his team for such a beautiful evening. Thank you to Ms.Henry who coordinated the project here in school and to all our parents, students, teachers and community as a whole for coming out and supporting the project in such great numbers. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did!

Commiserations to our Girls Mini 7’s team who were narrowly defeated in a thrilling game on Wednesday morning after extra time in their County Quarter Final against Carramore NS on a scoreline of 7-3 to 6-3 at Swinford Amenity Park.

Our girls gave a fantastic account of themselves. They played with great heart and spirit as the game ebbed and flowed and can be very proud of their efforts. Unfortunately, they came up just short as extra time concluded.

We were very proud of each of the girls and look forward to preparing for the Cumann na mBunscol competitions later in this school year.

Finally, a special word of thanks to Carramore NS for a very enjoyable and sporting game. We wish them every success as they progress towards their semi-final after the mid-term break.

Thank you to all who so generously supported our recent Superhero Day in support of the East Mayo Special Olympic Club. The final amount came to a fantastic €450. All monies raised will go towards the work that Special Olympics do to support children with an intellectual disability to help realise their dreams

We had many creative and novel interpretations, favourite superheroes from sporting contexts, book characters, TV and film, etc however we were reminded that not all heroes wear capes and many of us have hidden special talents!

Thanks again to all our Mums/Dads and family members for their support. We wish the East Mayo Special Olympic Club every success with their wonderful work!

Huge Congrats to our 3rd and 4th Class Boys team who earlier this afternoon placed 1st in the 3rd and 4th Class Boys Connacht Cross Country Finals at the Palace Grounds in Tuam. This was a fantastic achievement. We are so proud of each of the boys for their efforts, determination and hard work not only today but as they progressed through East Mayo, Mayo and Connacht.

We were led home by Frank who had an unbelievable run finishing 3rd, followed by Luke, Ted, Kalem, Ollie and Matthew and supported by Conor. Each of the boys’ finishing positions contributed significantly to securing a wonderful first place in the team event.

Finally, a very special word of thanks to Gemma and all at East Mayo Athletic Club for all their hard work with these boys. Today’s result is a recognition of this!

On Friday last we had our weekly Student of the Week awards. We moved online for an interactive assembly and it was as always a very positive end to a busy week.

We learned of students presenting with great focus and determination, working well collaboratively with their peers and independently when required. We heard of those who had made great strides in presenting their work and trying their very best in all activities.

We learned how many of our older and younger students are setting a great example and in particular taking great care of others in class and on yard. As always, we heard of students who are making great strides and of those who perform each week consistently well.

Finally, it was great to hear of the wonderful work that is ongoing with our latest theme Space. We look forward to classroom visits to share this work and the latest learning in the coming weeks.

Well done to all the students chosen this week, we’re really proud of the great effort that you’ve made. Maith sibh!

Finally, as we mentioned to our students at recent assemblies and communications, on Friday of next week we will have our ‘Superheroes Day’ to help launch the East Mayo Athletic Club. On this day we’re asking all children to dress up as their favourite superhero, sports star, book character or whomever they think is the best superhero! Or maybe they can be creative and showcase their own hidden super power as not all heroes wear capes. You don’t need to buy a costume but the children can wear one you already have, or they can wear their own clothes and describe what their superpower is. Some of the suggestions from the children themselves today were SUPERfriend, SUPERfunny, SUPERclever, SUPERorganised, SUPERreader, SUPERfast.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we had a very special assembly to mark Mr.Rushe’s departure from our school on Friday last. However, alongside this, we still made time for ‘Student of the Week’.

All of our teachers spoke so positively of the fantastic attitude and enthusiasm displayed in classrooms over the past week. Once again, our selected students of the week were chosen for going the extra mile and being strong role models within their classes. We heard of students who were very considerate and helpful to others around them in school, of students who make a huge effort ‘as Gaeilge’ while in school, of students who delivered beautifully presented samples of work time and time again and those who displayed a ‘can do approach to tasks they may have found challenging in the past.

It is wonderful to see lovely manners, kind nature, and strong work ethic are characteristics that are celebrated on a weekly basis here in St. Attracta’s. As always the teachers noted that there were multiple contenders for the award in every class and praised the combined effort of all of our students. We hope you all keep up this great work!

It was with great sadness on Friday afternoon that we said goodbye to Mr.Karol Rushe who departed our school to become the Principal of Lisacul NS Co. Roscommon.

As with our recent retirees Karol gave so much to our school. Sixteen years of kindness, hard work, commitment, and professionalism. A loyal and trusted colleague who was a great friend to young and old in our school. He began each day with a smile. His good humour and sense of fun always shining through. Karol embraced new projects and change with ease. This is to his credit as he played an important part in the recent growth and development of our school.

He promoted and led many extracurricular activities from Active Schools to Féile Dramaíochta and for this, we are so grateful for his interest, enthusiasm and time. However, above all what was most apparent was the special relationship he had with the pupils fortunate to be in his care.

I’m certain, I’m speaking for all when I wish Karol the very best in his new role and health and happiness in the future. We’re certain here in St.Attracta’s that he will be a great success and look forward to welcoming him back to us very soon.

Another busy week has just passed by with all classes settled back and working very hard. As a result, the teachers found the selection of ‘Students of the Week very difficult, as many students have again put themselves forward.

At the outset, it is important to say well done to our younger classes who are all doing so well. We were delighted at how well you’ve all settled back and for some into our school. We hope you have had a good rest over the weekend and look forward to another busy week.

A common theme last week among those selected was kindness to others, alongside being very helpful to classmates/teachers and always working very hard. Two of the ‘Students of the Week’ were also recommended for working very quietly, giving 100% to everything that they do while displaying a great attitude. We learned of students who have settled so well into new classes and indeed a new school and of students who are making a special effort in areas that perhaps last year they found difficult and are now making great progress. It was also fantastic to hear of a student whose work is always presented to the highest standard. Well done again to all those selected. You all have worked very well throughout the past week.

Assembly concluded by wishing the Charlestown ladies well in their Championship fixture and our runners well in the Mayo Cross Country Finals in Belleek, Ballina on Thursday next.

Please find a letter below from our Parents Association in relation to the Family Fun Day planned for this Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, having considered the forecast, a collective decision has been made to postpone this event to a later date.

We are most grateful to the members of our Parents Association for their time, hard work and wonderful support of our school. Thank you also for many generous and kind offers of help and support to ensure this day would be a great success. We are so appreciative of this.

As mentioned in the letter below, this event is not cancelled but postponed. We look forward to a new date in late Spring/ early Summer when we can all celebrate all that is good in our school community.

Dear Parents,

We are writing in relation to the Family Fun Day event. Firstly, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported the event, either by offering to share their skills, resources or time. Your willingness to volunteer and make this event special means the world to us.

Unfortunately, the weather is conspiring against us. Having considered the forecast for Sunday it is with heavy hearts that we have taken the difficult decision to postpone the event. We understand that this news may come as a disappointment, and we share in that disappointment ourselves. However, rest assured that this event is not cancelled but postponed. We are actively working to reschedule the Family Fun Day to a date where we can gather in dryer conditions and enjoy the activities and festivities that were planned.

Once again, we extend our sincere gratitude to all the volunteers within and outside of our school community who generously offered their time and effort to making the day a success.

We will keep you updated on the rescheduled date as soon as it is confirmed. We are looking towards the Spring/Summertime.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We look forward to celebrating our Family Fun Day together in the near future with brighter skies and better weather!

Warm Regards,

Joanne O’Hara.

On behalf of St. Attracta’s National School Parents Association.