Junior and Senior Infant School Tour: Graune Pet Farm

On Wednesday of last week our Junior and Senior Infant Class went on their school tour to Graune Pet Farm. They had a great time feeding the animals in particular the goats and geese and petting the puppies and rabbits.

After spending time with the animals they enjoyed lots of play activities which included sand, giant slides, bouncy castles and a really fun zip wire. After they all had a lovely lunch before returning very tired to school! Well done to all the girls and boys who were so well behaved throughout the day. We hope they each had a great time!

Sports Day 2017

This afternoon we enjoyed our annual Sports Day. Thankfully the weather was very kind to us and as always it was a very special date on our school calendar.The children were very excited, in advance, about the day’s activities, and they didn’t fail to impress us with their enthusiasm, determination and sportsmanship.

Firstly, there was a Sports 4 All activity rotation, with teams of children from all classes getting the opportunity to practise and enjoy activities such as the obstacle courses, crossbar challenge, bench exercises, chair throw and basketball/rugby skills, hurdles (amongst many others!). Special mention must be given to the children in Fifth and Sixth Class for leading and helping with all teams. They proved themselves to be great leaders and role-models on the day.

After a much needed break for lunch, the children lined out for the wide range of events planned for the afternoon. We were joined by many grandparents, parents, siblings and friends, who cheered everyone on with great gusto!

Events on Sports Day ranged from the regular athletic sprints and relays to the fun egg & spoon, sack races and three legged races. The children, as ever, threw themselves into all activities with great spirit, displaying a strong sense of fair play and sportsmanship. All our younger students received a medal and there is no question they were all winners on the day!

We would like extend a big “Míle buíochas agus Comhghairdeachas Mór” to the children and their families for making this one our many days to remember.

Finally the children from 4th/5th and 6th enjoyed a swim in the beautiful Charlestown Swimming Pool to cool down after their active day. We thank the team and all involved at the pool for making us feel so welcome!

Fourth/Fifth and Fifth/Sixth Class School Tour to Delphi Adventure Centre

4th, 5th and 6th class had a fantastic day of fun and adventure on Tuesday last in Delphi Adventure Centre. Here the children got the opportunity to conquer their fears on completing the high ropes challenge and do a leap of faith.

They also took part in the bushcraft survival where they took on the role of Bear Grylls and learned how to do some basic survival skills including making a fire and a shelter from natural materials. There was great competition between the boys and the girls during this activity. The highlight of the day for everyone was the very fun, wet and thrilling kayaking activity. The children got ‘stuck’ into getting their wetsuits on, where there were lots of giggles and team work experienced.

On completing the kayaking the children got to jump off the pier into the water and have some free play. The best part of the day was getting to push Mr. Clarke into the water….some might call it pay back!! It was a brilliant day out enjoyed by all.

Art Exhibition in St.Attracta’s: Invitation

The children from our school would like to invite all parents, family members and people of the locality to visit the school in the coming days (Friday/Monday) to see their very first Art Exhibition.

Each child in the school has contributed a piece of artwork that they completed during the year and is displayed wonderfully in the school hall. You will be amazed at the beautiful display of colour, texture, crafts, imagination and talent in all the students of our school. Ms. Henry’s 4th and 5th also have their beautiful display of the clay pieces they produced during their CRAFTed project with Henri Hedou along with Mr. Clarkes 3D engineering construction pieces. It is an exhibition not to be missed!! We’re very much looking forward to meeting you all!

Finally a very special word of thanks to Ms Henry who has coordinated this wonderful event.

Reminder: Green School Flag Raising Ceremony on Friday at 12.30pm and Class Graduations on Monday at 1pm. All details in recent circulars.

First Class School Tour

Claremorris was the location of First Class’ school tour this year. Their first stop was Commons Clay Cafe for an art activity. They got a plate to paint with their favourite colours and designs. They have to be put into a special hot oven for 12 hours and they will receive them next week – they can’t wait to show everyone!!! They tucked into a delicious hot lunch, knowing they would need plenty of energy for their next activity.

The children were greeted by the ducks in McMahon Park where they began their walk around Clare Lake and The Land of the Giants. Clare and Morris are giants and the children looked out for clues that they lived there – they found lots!! It was a very enjoyable walk in the lovely dry weather.
We finished our day in the playground – there were roundabouts, swings, slides, see-saws and climbing frames to enjoy. We had a wonderful day!

Sonas & Spraoi School Tour

On Friday the 9th of June, the students from Mrs. McDonagh’s and Ms. Ruane’s Sonas and Spraoi classes went on their first school tour. What an exciting day it was…

First, our bus picked us up to bring us to our first destination, Funster in Castlebar. We sang songs and rhymes and read stories on the bus. Before we knew it, we had arrived! Funster is a play centre with ball pits, soft play, trampolines, spinners, bridges, slides, football, basketball and much more. We had so much fun running, jumping and playing.

Then we moved to the party area for our lunch. We had nuggets, sausages, chips, drinks and ice-cream. It was really yummy and it gave us time to get our energy up for more play.

When our time was up, we packed up and got back on the bus to go to the next fun activity.

We headed off to Swinford for swimming fun and water play. There was a big kayak for us to have rides in, sinkers, floaties, ball games and noodles. Everyone had a ball!

After we had gotten dressed, it was time to return to school to meet our mums and dads and go home. We were all happy and tired after a super day.

Thank you sincerely to all the staff in Funster Castlebar, Trevor in Arás Attracta and our bus driver, Sean for making us feel so comfortable and welcome, and giving us a fun-filled day. We are already so looking forward to next year!!

Foróige Presentation to 5th/6th Class JEP Project

A very special word of thanks to our past pupils Erica and Holly who visited our school earlier supporting our 5th and 6th Class Junior Entrepreneur project ‘Don’t Judge’.

We are very grateful to the girls and indeed Charlestown Foróige Club for their very kind words about this project and in particular for their generous support. We are delighted that this important message is very much to the fore even amongst our older siblings and friends.

Many thanks again to all involved in the Foróige Club. This gesture was very much appreciated. All here in St.Attracta’s wish it continued success.

‘Don’t Judge’ Students of the Week Friday June 2nd

We had a special Don’t Judge assembly in the sun this afternoon resulting in a very positive end to our school week. We discussed the importance of our 5th and 6th Class JEP project and the key messages that were reinforced by it. Many of our students dressed for the occasion all in the hope that the key message not to be judged would be observed.5th and 6th Class sincerely support the wonderful they received throughout the project from all our students and families. It was very much appreciated.

When discussing our students of the week what stood out was our pupils work ethic when asked to perform a task. We all have things that are difficult for us, but some of our pupils have shown amazing perseverance in achieving goals that they had previously thought were out of their reach. A message that was reinforced by all the teachers was that we all need help along the way, and it’s okay to get help.

We heard of children who are very helpful to their teacher daily in the classroom. Again this week teachers told us that they have children in their classrooms who could earn this award every week. It was heartening to hear all the positive things that were describing our children today. Our schoolyard was hopping with positivity. Maith sibh go léir.

Finally a special word of thanks to all who donated books and helped out with our Bookfair this afternoon. As always we sincerely appreciated your support.

Reminder:

School will be closed Bank Holiday Monday June 5th and re-open Tuesday morning at the usual time.

Tuesday: Our school photographer will visit on Tuesday June 6th. All details can be found in our most recent circular.

Have a great weekend everyone!
 

Rang 4/5 Present CRAFTed Project

Ms. Henry and her 4th and 5th class got the wonderful opportunity to work with ceramists Henri and Fiona Hedou from Terrybaun Pottery, Bofeenaun, Ballina, Co Mayo, through the very educational, creative and fun, CRAFTed programme run by the Mayo Education Centre and the Design and Craft Council of Ireland.

It was a fantastic opportunity where the children got to explore art through the medium of clay. As part of the project, they got to make pinch pots, hanging masks and an overall group project “The story of the Aztecs” which was made from 32 individual tiles that were decorated with symbols and designs from the Aztec period in history. When they were put together it created a beautiful picture.

While completing the project, the children worked on many skills and brought so much to the project. Some skills quite evident were their social, group work, team work and collaborative skills along with exploring their creativity and integrating the study of the Aztecs across the curriculum.

Today, in the Mayo Education Centre, Ms. Henry’s class showcased their beautiful work with a wonderful presentation and creative display of their project completed over the past number of weeks. It was a wonderful day for all the children involved and they should be very proud of their work.

Ms. Henry and her class would like to extend a very big thank you to Henri and Fiona for their help, guidance and expertise throughout the project. At a later date, the children’s work will be exhibited in the school…..so watch this space!!