Category: Junior/Senior Infants

-  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!

-  General School Information

Junior Infants receive a Letter from Santa Claus !

There was great excitement this week as our Junior Infant Class received a very special delivery from Joe our Postman. This delivery came all the way from the North Pole.

Please follow the link below to the link to Ms.Duffy’s class blog below for further details.

https://misskduffy.blogspot.ie/

Well done to Ms.Duffy and her wonderful Junior Infants who have made such a great start to their time in our school! We’re certain they all have lots to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Maith sibh go léir.

-  General School Information

Junior and Senior Infant School Tour: Wetland Park / Maghu’s Castle / Tír na nÓg

Our Junior and Senior Infant children boarded the bus excitedly this morning for Kiltimagh. The first stop was a nature walk in the Wetlands Park. Here the children took part in activities such as bug hunting, pond dipping, tree & bird watching. The sun shone and it was a beautiful morning to be outdoors.

Next, they arrived at Maghu’s Castle and Tír na nÓg Fun Park. They began with some outdoor fun including zip wires, swings, slides, climbing frames and a roundabout. After a tasty hot lunch, they were excited to get to the indoor play area. There were all sorts of play activities. They played in the ball pond, climbed the frames, whizzed down the slide and crawled through tunnels. They used the play houses and kitchens for roleplay and used the giant Lego bricks for building. One of the favourite areas was the shooting area where they shot foam balls from a cannon.
Everybody played nicely together, behaved brilliantly and had great fun.

We all arrived home tired after our fun school tour. Thank you to Ms.Delaney, Ms.Sloyan and Mrs Sweeney for taking great care of us today!

-  General School Information

Summer Concert 2016

Our students have taken part in Speech and Drama lessons this term and yesterday Tuesday was their chance to show off all their hard work in performing for their school friends. Mrs Niland has been fantastic in bringing out the best in all the children with her enthusiasm and fun.

Junior Infants took to the stage first to tell the story of Billy No Buzz and entertained us with their acting and songs. Their story had a very important message about being kind to everyone including those who are different. We saw bees and dragonflies buzzing and flying around the stage and beautiful smiling flowers.

Chicken Licken is a familiar story to all and one that Senior Infants told through narration, drama and song. We heard an array of animal noises as Chicken Licken and her friends made their journey but ended up in Foxy Loxy’s den!

First and Second Class were super in portraying their drama ‘Edwina the Penguin’ and a very important message about the environment and global warming. We thought the stage might fall when the polar bears arrived pounding their feet. As always, the children sang and performed beautifully as a group.

We were taken to the courtroom for Rang a 3’s performance – Goldilocks trial. It was great to see the contrasting sides – the prosecution and defence. The children developed the skill of debating through their roles. The audience got many laughs too especially when Goldilocks was being chased!

Fourth Class went into role to tell us the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. They got the audience involved, tempting to sell us their goods at the market. We all got a fright when we heard the ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ . When the children burst into song with ‘Hit the Diff’, the whole hall couldn’t help but join in!!

The senior pupils brought a tear to Mrs. Niland’s eye in their portrayal of the 1916 Rising, a drama very apt for the centenary celebrations. They created the mood of that time so well – the happy and the sad times. Their rendition of ‘Grace’ was very moving also.

It was a fantastic day for all. Mrs. Niland put all the children at ease, encouraging everyone to have fun and try their best. And that they did…what a talented energetic group of children!!

-  General School Information

Maths for Fun in our Junior Infants class!

Ms.Henry’s Fourth class joined Ms.Quinn’s Junior Infants today for a game of “Face Off”. This is a counting and number recognition game for our younger students. This game is available for all to print at mathwire.com

Well done to Rang a Ceathair for their great work with our wonderful infant class. This was a lovely way to wind down after a very busy end to our week!

-  Junior/Senior Infants

Cahir Wins ‘Story box ‘ Writing Competition.

At our final assembly on Friday last Cahir Vesey from our departing 6th Class was announced as winner of the Helena McDonagh Story box Writing Competition.
Ms.Connaghan who adjudicated, praised all the entries, mentioning how high the standard was this year. She was delighted to announce Cahir’s entry ‘The School Tour’ as the winner. It is a gripping composition one that Ms. Connaghan found very hard to leave down!
Cahir is the first boy to win this competition and is a very popular choice. We really hope you enjoy reading his entry. We are very proud of Cahir’s efforts.

The School Tour

Mathew clinged on for dear life, he clinged on to the last few pieces of grass that were uprooting from the ground. He realised that it was either him or his best friend Fergus. Mathew just had a grip of his petrified friend’s hand. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to get back up onto the ledge if he kept hold of his best friends hand. He thought of it once then looked at his friend. He thought that if he was going to live then he was going to have to let go of his best friends hand……….

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It was Wednesday morning, the day of 12 year old Mathew’s school tour. He got dressed, went downstairs, got a bowl and a box of coco pops from the cupboard, some milk from the fridge and put it all into the bowl. He put his bowl in to the microwave and set it for 1 minute and 20 seconds. While he was waiting for his breakfast to heat up, he went outside and fed his German shepherd, Bonzo. By the time he got inside the microwave was finished. So Mathew washed his hands, retrieved his bowl of coco pops from the microwave and ate up as fast as he could knowing that he had to be at school for 8:45 for the school tour bus. When he was finished he put his lunchbox into his bag, zipped it up, put it on his back and rushed out the door to school.

As he struggled to climb up the hill to his school, he saw his also 12 year old best friend Fergus entering the school gates. He put all of his panting and spluttering aside and managed to roar out his best friend’s name. Fergus hesitated as he was walking up the steps to the school door. He peered around to try and find the person who roared his name from a distance. Then he saw Mathew stumbling up the hill. He raised his hand and shook it side to side and Mathew did the same. Just as Mathew caught up with Fergus the principal and their teacher exited the school building and had a look at what all the children outside the school were doing. “Get on to the bus and no messing,” said Mr Kelly. So we all lined up with no messing and got onto the bus because if they did mess then they all knew they wouldn’t go on any school tour at all. Mr Kelly was the strictest of all the teachers in the school. Nobody liked him, not even the teachers. He was a rough looking man in his thirties. He was never nice to anyone. It would actually kill him if he had to do something nice. He was bald, single, had loads of fillings and really dirty teeth because he never brushed them and the only good looking part about him was his tidy little ginger moustache.
No student knew where they were going on the school tour because the teacher never told them. On the 1 hour long journey that it took to where ever it was that they were going, it was a very long journey and although it was only 1 hour long it seemed a whole lot longer. After they all got there they all jumped out of the bus and had a nice look around for themselves but no one knew where they were, they were all puzzled. They all waited for Mr. Kelly to get out of the bus so he could tell them where they all were and what they were going doing. The principal hopped out of the bus and stared at everybody rather joyfully. “We’re at Death-trap Mountain and as you have probably already figured out we’re going mountain climbing”. Everyone stared at him but he didn’t even hesitate, he just turned around and walked off. The children had no other choice but to follow him.

They were quarter of the way up the mountain and Fergus and Mathew were a little bit behind. Mathew didn’t want to fall too far behind or they might get a little too far from the group and get lost. It was unlikely but it was a possibility. “Hold up,” panted Fergus “what’s wrong,” asked Mathew “I think I’m getting a cramp,” answered Fergus. “Can I have a sip of your drink” asked Fergus – “sure but where’s yours” replied Mathew. “Even though we didn’t know that we were going mountain climbing you should have still brought a drink with you” – “I forgot my drink, it’s not like I forgot it on purpose” said Fergus sarcastically. —————-

It was 3 minutes before Fergus’s cramp had gone away. When they looked up the group had gone just over a really steep hill. The two boys looked at each other and then sprinted up the steep hill. When they had gotten to the top of the hill the rest of the road was flat but the road had also split in two. Neither of them had any idea on which way their school group had taken and randomly they had chosen to take the left road hoping that it was the right one. The two boys sprinted as fast as they could, hoping to catch up with their school group and also fearing that they had taken the incorrect road. They were both so distracted on trying to catch up with the group they never noticed that they were sprinting on a very thin ledge. Mathew was the one to notice that they were on a very thin ledge. When he grabbed Fergus’s arm he said “look at what we’ve been running on all this time”. Fergus looked down and then grabbed Mathew by the arm as tight as he could. They didn’t even need to think about it they both turned around as careful and as slow as they possibly could.

But suddenly Fergus’s foot slipped and he fell. Fergus was so scared that he was going to fall down he grabbed Mathews leg and Mathew fell down with him. Mathew just managed to get a grip of the side of the ledge. Mathew kept trying to pull himself back up onto the side of the ledge but to no avail. Mathew felt like giving up, he felt like just letting go, he thought that it was hopeless but he gave one last pull and he was nearly up but a part of the ledge crumbled so he quickly stopped. Then Mathew thought if he could let go. He wondered if it was a long way down so he looked down but it was longer than long. If he or Fergus fell then they would be dead instantly. ———————–
Mathew clinged on for dear life, he clinged on to the last few pieces of grass that were uprooting from the ground. He realised that it was either him or his best friend Fergus. Mathew just had a grip of his petrified friend’s hand. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to get back up onto the ledge if he kept hold of his best friends hand. He thought of it once then looked at his petrified friend. He thought that if he was going to live then he was going to have to let go of his best friends hand……….

Mathew closed his eyes and began to shake the leg that Fergus was holding on to. After realising what Mathew was trying to do Fergus started to shout at Mathew “WHAT ARE YOU DOING….ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?”
Mathew didn’t want to be a coward. He kept thinking to himself that he wasn’t going to give up but he already knew that he wasn’t going to get back up onto that ledge. His hand was getting sore. He was going to let go. He let one finger off the ledge then another when he could hold on no longer………… When suddenly something or someone grabbed a hold of his arm. He looked up and looking into his eyes was a bald man with dirty fillings and a perfectly combed ginger moustache. It was Mr. Kelly who grabbed Mathews arm and was trying to pull him up. Mathew had to give Mr. Kelly his second arm to get back onto the ledge but he refused to give his arm to Mr. Kelly and offered it to Fergus. Fergus knew that if he grabbed Mathew’s arm then Fergus would fall and bring Mathew with him. Fergus said “I’m sorry” to Mathew “what for” Mathew replied……….

And Fergus let go. He kept falling with the wind blowing on his back. Mr. Kelly pulled Mathew up, unaware that Fergus had let go. They both looked over the edge to search for Fergus but when he caught sight of him he couldn’t bear it. He burped and then gagged and a bit of sick came up. Mr. Kelly put his arm on Mathew’s back and walked him back to the bus. When they got back to the bus Mr Kelly called the ambulance, Mathew was still throwing up and all of the children were wondering where Fergus was but by seeing Mathew’s reaction they had figured out that something was wrong. The ambulance arrived within ten minutes to remove the body. Mathew was sitting on some rocks by himself when Mr. Kelly walked over to him. Mathew looked up “thank you” he said. Mr Kelly didn’t know what to say so he just said “your welcome”. Mr Kelly signalled to the group to board the bus and with that Mathew followed.
It was a long bus ride home but eventually they got there. Mathew was the last person to get dropped off. Mathew dashed in the door and ran upstairs to his room. Then there was a knock on the door and Mathew’s mother answered it. It was Mr. Kelly “may I come in”, he asked “of course Mathew’s mother answered.
Mathew was upstairs in his room listening to the conversation of his mother and Mr. Kelly

He turned around in his bed and looked at the picture on his locker of him and his best friend………

He just lay there and fell asleep, wishing it was all just a nightmare hoping that he would wake up

THE END !

-  Junior/Senior Infants

Cillian O’Connor Opens School Pitch

We were delighted on Wednesday morning to welcome Cillian O’Connor to our school to open our new school pitch.

Cillian visited all of the classrooms chatting with the children about the demands of being an inter county footballer – the preparation, nutrition , hydration and even the sport’s psychology! He passed on top tips (which we will return to later in this post) and asked the children about their own playing experiences to date. While he was asked excellent questions in all the classrooms, it was lovely to see some of the children lost for words in the presence of their hero!

Upon completion of his classroom visits we assembled to open our new pitch. Cillian spoke of how fortunate we were to have this wonderful resource at our disposal and he hoped that in time many footballers who play on it would develop and get the opportunity to wear the Charlestown and Mayo colours.

A special word of thanks to Cillian for taking the time to visit and for the wonderful way he spoke to and engaged with the children who really enjoyed his visit. We often speak in our school about role models and Cillian is most certainly an excellent role model for someone so young. Finally a sincere thank you as always to Kieran Durkin for all his hard work and interest in developing our pitch. It is unrecognisable from how it was when we closed last summer. We hope all our children continue to enjoy using it for years to come!

Cillian’s Top Tips

1. Practice – Practice – Practice !
Strong and weak side , handpassing and kicking .
2. Have fun , make sure each time you go out to play, you enjoy yourself and have lots of fun.
3. Be confident and believe in yourself. It’s ok to make a mistake.
4. Listen to your coaches. Work with your teammates. Respect your opponents but have no fear!
5. As in class you must work hard to achieve on the sports field. Similar to tip 1, you must keep focusing on improving your skills!

-  General School Information

Students of the Week Friday June 6th

Even though we had a day less, we had another extremely busy week here in St.Attracta’s.

Speech and Drama is ongoing in all our classrooms and we’re really delighted with the progress the children are making in preparation for their performances at our graduation day at the end of term!

We’re also looking forward to our end of year school tours which we all hope to enjoy:
Jnr/Snr/1st will travel to Tullyboy Farm outside Boyle on 24th June.
2nd/3rd/4th have another exciting tour planned for Monday June 16th when they will visit Bodaborg in Lough Key Forest Park and the Arigna Mining Experience.
5th/6th Class will visit Delphi Adventure Centre on Thursday June 19th for what promises to be a memorable end to their school year!

We could not forget also the wonderful evening we had in McHale Park on Wednesday last, our children played their hearts out. We were so proud of each of them and very appreciative of the great support we received from our fantastic school community. It certainly was an evening that will remain with us.

As always also we had many of our students in class determined to finish this year on the right note and this week the wonderful students chosen for students of the week have really set an excellent example in class and indeed right throughout the school. A popular comment this week was how well these students get along with everyone, great team players who always work so well in groups and with others. Some have made huge improvements in class becoming more confident with the English and Irish Curricula while others always tackle every task with enthusiasm and interest.

We also had a student rewarded who is so talented in her favourite sport swimming and works so hard in preparation for school competitions. Despite being tired after her training she never lets it affect her positive outlook on life! A great example for us all !

Well done as always to these students and indeed all our excellent students on a very positive week.

-  General School Information

Beannachtaí na Casca!

Beannachtaí na Cásca oraibh go léir.

Tá an t-am ag imeacht agus tá laethanta saoire na Cásca beagnach taghta!. The time is flying by and already the Easter season is upon us!

Term Two concluded on Friday afternoon and all our students and teachers can have a well earned and deserved break after a long term of very hard work.

To end our term we had Stations of the Cross in the school hall and also our Easter Raffle. Again we sincerely appreciate the extremely generous donation of four beautiful Easter Hampers we received in the past number of weeks. We raffled two of the hampers among all of the children at assembly.

There was great excitement in the hall as Fr.Johnston picked the winning tickets. The winners came from opposite ends of the school: Ciarán Honeyman of Rang 6 and Patick Sitek in Junior Infants. Well done to both of the boys !

Throughout the week there has been great activity in all the classrooms preparing for Easter, We hope you really enjoy a selection of photos on our corridors and in our rooms that best capture our preparation for Easter.

Junior and Senior Infants created some beautiful Easter Chicks which looked so lovely on our school corridor. Both Miss Sloyan’s and Mrs Reilly’s students produced lovely bunny ears which looked great on the children and on their classroom windows! Also Rang a haon’s pictures of their Egg Rolling. Egg rolling is an old Easter custom. People rolled eggs eggs down a grassy hill. The person whose egg reached the bottom first was the winner. Did you know that an egg rolling competition is held in the gardens of the White House – home of President Obama in Washington DC every year.
First class had great fun trying it out !

Rang 3/4 created some beautiful clay pots for Easter Chicks and their yummy Eggs. Well done to all the boys and girls they turned out so well!

Finally we wish all our parents and children a very Happy Easter!

Beannachtaí na Cásca oraibh!