We had a lovely end to a busy school week this afternoon with a virtual assembly and the return of our Student of the Week awards.

In recent times, our Student Council presented a very strong case for this to happen and our teachers were very happy to oblige. While many things may have changed in school over the past two years, it was heartwarming to come together to celebrate the many wonderful things that have happened inside of and outside our classrooms throughout the past week.

At the outset, all teachers were at pains to say that many students in their respective classrooms could have been chosen this week, however, we’re confident that everyone’s time will come in the weeks ahead.

This afternoon we learned how many of our older students are setting a great example to our younger students, showing great maturity inside of and outside class whilst taking part wholeheartedly in all school activities. We heard of students who are making great strides and of those who perform each week consistently well.

We learned of students who consistently work very hard and of those who have learned to wait their turn when answering questions and others who in the past loved to talk/chat have become more understanding and patient.

One of our students this week has also displayed a very positive attitude to ‘Gaeilge’ and another making great progress with reading, both setting the bar very high in their classrooms. Finally, we heard glowing tributes to one of this week’s students which highlighted that they are always nice to everyone and of an excellent student who has settled into his new school with ease! We cannot ask any more than that!

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

Colm Horkan Memorial Run

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all at East Mayo AC and Charlestown Sarsfields the very best of luck with the Colm Horkan Memorial Run tomorrow.

It is heartwarming to see so many of our pupils, parents and staff signed up. We wish everyone who is taking part a safe and enjoyable race.

Staff Development Primary Language

Finally a gentle reminder that we finish at 12.30pm on Monday afternoon for a Primary Language Curriculum Staff Development.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

We are now accepting enrolments for the new school year 2022/23.

Our Enrolment Application Form is available in the Parents and Quicklinks sections on the homepage of our website www.stattractasns.ie  (Parents & Quicklinks section).

We would be very grateful if you could download this form and send it back by email (scanned copy) to office@stattractasns.ie or by hard copy and post to our school.

We would also appreciate it if you could fill in a short pre-enrolment form by using the following link https://www.aladdin.ie/i/5142428197584896 

Thank you to all who have done so to date.

Should you have any queries or questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact by email at office@stattractasns.ie or by telephone at (094)9254905.

As part of our countdown to Christmas, yesterday we had a lovely morning, singing Christmas carols and seasonal tunes. Under Ms.Burke’s lead, young and old entered into the spirit, enjoying this lovely time to come together.

We sincerely hope that we can return to carol singing and our long-standing tradition of visiting St.Attracta’s and St.Anne’s Nursing homes at Christmas again in the very near future.

A very special word of thanks to the very talented Ms.Burke who organised this event for us all to enjoy.

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

Santa visited the very excited boys and girls of St.Attracta’s this morning. He arrived in style with the Charlestown Unit of the Mayo County Fire Service.

Santa imparted many wise words to all our excited students for the build-up to Christmas! It was a lovely way to finish the term.

A special word of thanks to Paul and of course to Daidí na Nollag for taking time out at this extremely busy time to visit our school.

Our students from 2nd to 6th Class completed a six-week drumming workshop recently as part of the Creative Schools Initiative Project.

This initiative is led by the Arts Council and provides opportunities for children in schools to build their artistic and creative skills. We were thrilled to have an application accepted alongside our partner school’s St.Angela’s Castlebar GNS and St.Patrick’s BNS Castlebar.

Skilled percussionist, freelance drummer, and music teacher Anthony McNamee has worked with our students throughout this block. It has been a fantastic learning experience for the students with many new talents emerging. The sense of joy and fun at each workshop was a privilege to witness alongside progression through the age groups. We are most grateful to Anthony for his energy, hard work, and interest in all of our students. This ensured each workshop was memorable for the boys and girls.

It was hoped at the end of this block that our students would perform for their parents and family members. Unfortunately, this was not to be given the current climate. However, in order to share with you this wonderful work, we recorded their final performances, as each class performed for a younger class group.

These are now available to view from the Creative Schools Project in the quick links section on the homepage of our website.

At present, Anthony is working with our Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First Class, and Sonas/Spraoi/Sásta and Súgradh. We look forward to sharing their performances with you in the coming weeks.

Finally, a very special word of thanks to Ms.Henry who has co-ordinated this wonderful project in our school. We are most grateful for her time, hard work, and talents. Young and old are thoroughly enjoying this creative project!

We were delighted to welcome our past pupil Alisha Towey Gallagher to school recently to present her with a Certificate of Commendation Award from the Texaco Art Competition.

This award was for her wonderful entry in last year’s competition. Alisha is a very creative and talented artist and we were delighted and proud to see this recognition at a national level.

Well done Alisha, we look forward to learning about many more achievements in the years to come.

We wish Siofra McGuinness from Ms. Tierney’s Sixth Class the very best this weekend as she represents Mayo U-13 Girls Soccer team in the Gaynor Shield.

Siofra has had a very busy autumn, starring in a number of codes. Firstly for her club Charlestown Athletic/Mayo U13’S Girls (Soccer), Charlestown (GAA), and on the Cross Country tracks (Athletics) for her club (East Mayo AC) and school.

We are very proud of Siofra’s achievements and wish her well this weekend in Castlebar, where her U-13 team faces Galway. Ádh mór Siofra!

Comhghairdeachas to our past pupils now in First Year who received the sacrament of Confirmation in St.James’ Church on Friday evening.

Míle buíochas to the student’s parents, family members, and sponsors who played such an important role in the lead-up and during the ceremony. A very special word of thanks also to Ms.Tierney for her help in the preparation, guidance, and support of this wonderful group in such unprecedented times.

A very sincere thank you to Bishop Paul Dempsey who confirmed the children. It was our privilege to have Bishop Paul officiate and share this special celebration in the children’s lives. We thank him for a lovely ceremony. Thank you also to Fr. Johnston and to Fr. Doherty who assisted and again added so much to Friday evening’s celebration.
Finally, it was really lovely to share this special day with siblings and friends from other schools. We hope everyone had a lovely evening!

We were delighted to begin our Creative Cluster project earlier. This is an initiative led by and in partnership with the Association of Teacher Education Centres Ireland. As part of the Creative Cluster, we have come together with two other schools St. Patrick’s BNS (Castlebar) and St. Angela’s NS (Castlebar).

The three schools have collaborated on the design and implementation of a creative plan with the assistance of our Creative Cluster Facilitator Tom Meskell.

Earlier, we commenced a percussion project through drumming with percussionist, Anthony McNamee. Anthony is a freelance drummer and music educator experienced in a wide range of musical styles and settings.

The project is being split into two blocks of six weeks to cater for all the children in our school. As alluded it started earlier for the students of 2nd to 6th Class. The second block of six weeks will commence after Halloween and this will include all children from Junior to First Class, Sonas, Spraoi, Sásta, and Súgradh.

This is a very exciting project and we are looking forward to seeing and hearing the new skills that the children learn from this experience.