What a fantastic day in school to finish our half term, we would like to say well done to our students who went to great trouble for our annual Fancy Dress Day here in school. We were amazed at the many creative and imaginative designs.

As always, this would not happen without our parents and this is an opportunity for all of us here in school to say a very special word of thanks, to our Mums/Dads/Guardians who played such a pivotal role in the background. We sincerely appreciate your effort, hard work and support!

We hope you all have a lovely, fun-filled Halloween break and we look forward to welcoming you back to school on Monday, November 4th.

Finally, comhghairdeachas to our wonderful Students of the Week who finished the last fortnight of the half term on a high! Themes included hard work, enthusiasm, excellent teamwork and leadership skills, positive role models and displaying a kind and caring disposition to young and old. Maith sibh a phaistí!

Comghairdeachas to our Boys’ team who were in action yesterday in the Mini 7’s finals in the Dome at the Connacht Centre of Excellence.

First up was a thrilling semi-final against the West Mayo Champions, St.Peter and Paul NS Snugboro Castlebar. Unfortunately on this occasion, we were on the wrong side of the scoreline, however, the boys can be so proud of their performance against an excellent team who later became county champions.

Next up was a third and fourth-place playoff against the South Mayo Champions, Tourmakeady. This was again a great battle where our boys delivered an excellent performance.

As always, we are so proud of our team. Each of the boys played their part and contributed to the journey throughout the autumn to the final. This was a brilliant achievement to reach and play so well at this stage. Maith sibh go léir a bhuchaillí!

Please note that there are two Samhain Lights ‘Lantern Exhibitions’ in the coming days, where we will showcase the work of our students and the students of our neighbouring schools. 

The first ‘The Sleeping Giant’ takes place on the school grounds tomorrow, Thursday 24th from 6.30 pm to 8 pm and we ask that you enter the school grounds through the Swimming Pool gate / Colm Horkan Walkway to the rear of the school. 

The second ‘Samhain Lights’ exhibition will be held in the Charlestown Arts Centre opening times are Friday 25th (2-7 pm), Saturday 26th (2-7 pm) and Sunday 27th(2-5 pm).

We sincerely thank Tom Mescall and The Mayo Art Squad for their vision, and hard work while allowing our students to be so creative, considering our futures and the environment.  We look forward to what promises to be a wonderful evening/weekend.

Huge Congrats to our 5th and 6th Class Boys team who on Saturday last placed 1st in the 5th and 6th Class Boys Connacht Cross Country Finals at Mohill Community College. This was a fantastic achievement.

We were led home by Daithi who had an unbelievable run finishing 6th, followed by Frank, Luke, Ted, Tom and Senan. Each of the boys’ finishing positions contributed significantly to securing a wonderful first place in the team event.

Well done also to Lucy and Matt who both secured individual top fifteen finishes in their respective 3rd and 4th class races. What an achievement this was also.

We are so proud of each of our young athletes for their efforts, determination and hard work not only today but as they progressed through East Mayo, Mayo and Connacht.

Finally, a very special word of thanks to Gemma and all at East Mayo Athletic Club for all their hard work. These results are a recognition of this!

Our weekly assemblies are a very positive end to our school week where we learn about the many nice things that happen throughout our school.

In recent weeks, we learned how many of our students are setting a great example to others, displaying great leadership skills at a young age. Teachers spoke of the importance of positivity, catching people doing good things and taking time to compliment others!

We learned of students who have made a hugely positive start to the school year by working very hard, sharing, showing patience, always well-behaved and in great form! We heard that some students have learned to wait their turn when answering questions and others who in the past loved to talk/chat have become more patient and understanding.

We heard of students who have faced challenges and others who are now working to their full potential.

Finally, our week ended by hearing of students who are engaging so well with our whole school theme ‘History through the Ages’ and of others who throughout the week displayed a very positive attitude to ‘Gaeilge’ and the presentation in their copies and handwriting’. They have made great progress in recent times setting the bar very high in their classroom. An example for all.

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

Well done to our Girls and Boys teams who on Friday last were victorious in their Area 8 Mini 7’s Blitz against a combined Brusna/Derrinabroc NS team and Ballaghaderreen team respectively.

Next up are County Quarter Finals on Friday, October 18th at 11am on the Colm Horkan Memorial Pitch here in Charlestown. Our Girls playing Meelick and our Boys Bohola NS. We wish both teams well as they prepare for this.

Finally, míle buíochas to Mr Bracken in Carracastle who organised the Area 8 Blitz and to all at Charlestown GAA for having their excellent facilities available to us.

Comhghairdeachas to the Girls and Boys from our 3rd to 6th Classes, who in the last week participated at the East Mayo and Mayo Cross Country Championships at a very challenging Mellet’s Hill, Swinford and Belleek, Ballina.

All four teams progressed from East Mayo each winning their respective category. This was a just reward for many wonderful individual and team performances on the day.

Our East Mayo success led us to Ballina where Lucy Duffy and Matthew Naughton secured individual medals alongside Daithi Gethins who was second in the 5th and 6th Class Boys event after a fantastic run. We were also thrilled to learn that our 5th and 6th Class Boys team of the aforementioned Daithi, Luke McDermott, Frank Muldoon, Senan Tiernan, Ted Munnelly, Tom Naughton and supported by Kalem Higgins had secured a silver medal in the team event, all finishing very strongly with great performances. These Athletes now progress to the Connacht Finals in Mohill on October 12th.

A final word of thanks to all the boys and girls who have given so much in preparation for these events. It was amazing to see the children progress at all levels and show great determination and eagerness to represent their school. Thank you to all our students who have trained for Cross Country. It was great to see your enthusiasm. Long may it last!

To finish a very special word of thanks to all the members of Swinford AC and Moy Valley AC who organised these recent events and to our wonderful Mums and Dads for their great support.

Finally, a very sincere thank you to Gemma and to all at East Mayo AC for their fantastic support and help training of our young runners.

Welcome back everyone to a new school year! We hope you all had a great summer break.

A very special welcome to all our new pupils in Junior Infants and Súgradh who have joined our school and indeed to all other pupils who are with us for the first time this year. We trust you will have a happy and long association with our school and hope that you have enjoyed your first eight days!

We would also like to welcome Ms.Ryan, Mr. Kelly and Mr.Neary who join our teaching staff. We hope that our new staff members feel very welcome here at St. Attracta’s. We are delighted they have joined us.

As always, we have many exciting and enjoyable projects planned for all classes throughout this year. We have lots to look forward to. We hope you all enjoy tracking our progress on these pages!

On Tuesday evening we celebrated the graduation of five wonderful students in our Sonas Class. It was an evening tinged with sadness as we bade farewell to children that have made an enormous impact on our school.

Sonas was our first Autism class and paved the way for the development of 4 further classes since their beginning in Junior Infants. They have educated the whole school community and made St. Attractas a happier and more divergent place for all students. We could not be prouder of the journey they have taken over the past eight years and we wish them well in their new schools in September.

They have been a stand-out class who have awoken our school and the wider community. We thank them, and their families for their trust, bravery and support at every point of their school career. The children’s personal achievements and resilience is something that can only be applauded. These students have changed our world by being themselves and we are eternally grateful for the wonderful imprint they have left here in school. There are no goodbyes as wherever they are, they are always in our St. Attracta’s family and in our hearts.

Thank you to Ms.Horkan, Claire, Fiona and Gemma for all their kindness to Sonas in their final years and to all the staff members who contributed so much to their growth and development in their time with us.