Comhghairdeachas to our most recent ‘Students of the Week’ winners.

As we gathered online to award our students of the week, we were consistently reminded of students who could get this award every day of every week. This is as a result of caring and kindness towards others and a conscientious attitude to their class work.
We also learned of students who are continuously positive. They refuse, despite obstacles, to be anything but optimistic in their outlook making significant progress throughout this year and their teachers have enjoyed tracking this.

Finally to see how our students interact with each other and observe the levels of respect they have for each other and our school is very rewarding for us as teachers.

Maith sibh go léir! Keep us this wonderful work.

Seachtain iontach speisíalta a bhí againn anseo i Scoil Áthracht Naofa ag céiliuradh Seachtain na Gaeilge. Chun chriochnú mhaith a chur leis, bhí lá Gaelach, lá lán de spórt agus craic againne inniú.

Bhí gach duine páirteach ins an lá go léir ó na Sonas, Spraoi, Sásta, Súgradh, Saolta agus na Naonáin go dtí a rang a sé. Bhí rannta le gníomhaíochtaí ann. Bhí amhráin ann freisin le guthanna laidre binn.

Bhí na Naonáin go léir ag damhsa gan feadbh ar bith. Ghlac na ranganna eile pairt fresin le rinceanna eile pairt freisin le rinceanna céilí sa chlos. Táimid fior-bhuíoch don na muinteoirí go mór-mhór Ms.Sloyan as ucht a buanna. Bhainimid an-taitneamh as ceiliúradh chuile rud Éireannach agus a bheith bródúil as.

What a special week we had here in St.Attracta’s celebrating ‘Seachtain na Gaeilge’. We had a fantastic end to it today with lots of spórt agus spraoí sa chlós.

This year, in particular, it was very special that we could all enjoy this together here in school. We were privileged to see our student’s talents in our schoolyard. We had lovely performances from all classes. A very sincere thank you to all our teachers and in particular, to Ms.Sloyan who for her help and hard work in the background. Míle buíochas!

Comhghairdeachas to Tom (5th Class), Robert (6th Class), Alaistair (6th Class), Mikey (6th Class) and Matthew (Third Class) who will represent our school at The Irish Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge National Finals at Maynooth University on Saturday, April 20th.

This is an outstanding achievement to have reached the National Finals and we are so proud of the boys who have been shortlisted. We hope they all enjoy this wonderful experience.

The Bebras Computing Challenge introduces computational thinking to students, by allowing them to solve interactive tasks online. It is run in over 40 countries and takes place every November. The tasks can be answered without prior knowledge about computational thinking or information and communication technology. Bebras aims to get students all over the world excited about computing.

Well done to all our students from Second to Sixth Class who took part and thank you to our teachers who have supported and promoted this challenge in our school.

Ghlac Rang a Ceathair agus Rang a Sé páirt sa Féile Dramaíochta i gCill Mobhí inne sna Dramaí Rumplestilskin agus Fear Draíochta Oz. D’eirigh go hiontach leo agus bhí an craic againn.

Tá súil againn go mbainfidh na paistí go léir taitneamh as an lá. Táimid an bhrodúil as na páistí mar go n-oibríonn siad go crua agus go ndéanann gach duine a ndícheall agus iad ag foghlaim agus ag labhairt gaeilge.

Buíochas mór le gach duine a chabhraigh linn chun na dramaí a chur ar siúl go háirithe na múinteoirí. We really appreciated Ms.Delaney’s and Ms.Tierney’s hard work, interest and enthusiasm in putting these dramas together and to all who helped in the background. Thank you also to Ms.Munelly and Ms.Kenny who helped out on the day.

Bhí na paistí ar fheabhas agus tá Rang a cathair ag dul tríd na Féile Scoldrámaíochta Chonnacht. Beidh Féile Scoldrámaíochta Chonnacht ar siúl i Seanscoil Sailearna in Indreabhán (Invern Co Galway), Co. na Gaillimhe ar an 20ú lá de mhí Márta 20/03 . Ádh mhór do na bpáistí go léir.

Sincere thanks to the parents who travelled to see the children on stage in Kilmovee, we really appreciated your patience and as always your support!

Last evening, we heard the wonderful news that Ms.Delaney’s play was selected to go forward to the Connaught Finals which will take place in Galway on Wednesday, March 20th at 11.30 am.

To top this news off we learned that Rang a Ceathair had been selected as the Best Drama of the day. Finally, Luke McDermott from our Fourth Class was awarded best actor of the day, maith thú Luke!
Well done to all the children who were fantastic on stage yesterday. You can be so proud of all your effort and performance. Bhí sibh thar barr. We are all very proud of you. Maith sibh go léir!

5th Class have spent the past month predicting, researching, investigating, experimenting and recording their question for this year’s Science Blast. The question was “How often is Once in a Blue Moon?” Yesterday, was the culmination of their studies, when they went to the RDS to showcase their project. 

The children were buzzing with excitement this morning ahead of their trip to Dublin. The bus journey flew as they all chatted, laughed and sang their way to the Big Smoke! Once we arrived, we set up our project display at stall number 59. Immediately, visitors called to view the investigation, and everyone commented about the visual representation of the project and the wonderful knowledge of the children. It certainly looked fabulous on the stand!

The children were divided into groups, and each group spent 30-40 minutes “on duty” showcasing the wonderful work they had done. Everyone got ample opportunities to wander the main arena and see all of the exhibition area, as well as attend both shows “The Science of the Circus” and “Limitless” with Mark the Science Guy. The shows were brilliant scientific experiences and great fun. Three of our students had their recommendations noted as possible upcoming storm names….Abby, Jenna & Olivia! Olivia also got a chance to be a scientific helper in the Limitless show, and James won the propeller challenge of the day, generating a whopping 224 KWH of electricity with his design! Ky’rah made some huge noise with a wind instrument, and Ryan excelled at explaining Python coding to RDS Staff! In fact, all of the children made a big impact on the RDS today.

Our judge, Dr. Leeanne Hinch from Dublin City University was blown away by the knowledge and input of all the children and commented on the teamwork that was evident in abundance. 

Her feedback was:

“ I really enjoyed this project! Students had a very clear question that they wanted an answer for. They gathered the information they needed to answer their question, and they figured out a lot about the moon at the same time! They demonstrated their findings in numerous ways, including some lovely hands-on experiments at the stand, and some very impressive Python coding. If students had unlimited resources, they would go straight to the moon to find out more…but without an astronaut, they did very well!! 

Students said that one of the problems they had was that there was not much information to find about a Blue Moon, but they clearly expanded their project to inform us about several moon-related topics. 

The students chose this topic after learning about the moon, so they used the knowledge that they had, and built upon it. The students were very creative in their display and their findings- particularly the models and the quiz!

Students very clearly worked well together and all had aspects of the project they were responsible for. This was really impressive to see!  

Students communicated their findings BRILLIANTLY!! They did so well when answering questions and in how they had displayed their project. I was really impressed. 

This was a brilliant project. The students did so well and it’s clear they had great support from their teacher.”

Super praise indeed for our children in 5th Class….and well deserved! We are so proud of them and the effort, energy and enthusiasm they brought to this project, and everything else they do! They were a pleasure to take away to a big day out like Science Blast, and made their teachers and families proud. We are very lucky to be able to enjoy challenging and fun initiatives with respectful, mannerly, kind, brave and great students. Maith sibh go léir.

Finally, a very special word of thanks to Ms.Sloyan, Ms.Peyton, Ms.McDonagh and Sarah for all their hard work and enthusiasm in preparing the children so well, this was a wonderful learning experience for all.

Well done to our Girls’ and Boys’ teams who this week participated in the FAI Soccer 5’s at Kiltimagh and Knock United. Our teams were very competitive and performed so well in their respective groups. We were very proud of their efforts and progress.

Well done in particular to those playing soccer for the first time, it was great to see their development throughout the group stages. Maith sibh go léir! Finally, thank you to Ms.Tierney, Ms.Sloyan, Ms.Peyton and Gemma for all their support with the soccer 5’s this year.

It was with great excitement that Second class learned this week that they have been chosen to participate as Junior Jurors in the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards for 2024. The books are winging their way to us for our perusal before we will join with thousands of other children nationwide to give OUR verdict on the shortlisted titles for this year.

To find out more please visit www.childrensbooksireland.ie. We look forward to sharing our book journey with you all over the coming months.

Recent assemblies provided a very positive conclusion to busy school weeks as we celebrated the many achievements, deeds, hard work and effort of our wonderful students.

We learned of the fantastic work over the past weeks in all classes as we explored the theme of Architecture. It has been a learning experience and a joy to visit our rooms and see this at first-hand. Maith sibh!

We were reminded of wonderful projects ongoing in our classrooms and of the preparation for Féile Dramaíochta and Science Blast Project alongside the trojan work of the Amber Flag committees. Well done to all we are very grateful this fantastic work.

Finally, in the past week, we’ve also celebrated ‘Wellbeing Week’. Throughout our school year, we endeavour to promote mental health in the classroom, to teach children about wellbeing and to instil positive attitudes towards their mental health. While wellbeing activities are integrated into the school day throughout the year during wellbeing week we took extra time to highlight the importance of well-being for young and old. Thank you so much to Ms.Durkin, Ms.Breen and to our Amber Flag Committee for all their hard work ensuring it was a great success.

Dates for your Diaries:

5^th Class will present a project at the RDS Science Blast in Dublin on Wednesday, March 6th. We look forward to sharing the details of this fantastic project with you.

World Book Day Thursday, March 7th we will all celebrate World Book Day here in school. All students are encouraged to come to school dressed as a character of their choice from their favourite book.

FAI Soccer 5’s will take place this coming week on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th for our Girls and Boys teams from our 5th and 6th Classes.

St.Patrick’s Day: We look forward to participating in the town’s Parade on St. Patrick’s Day March 17^th at 1pm. Further details will follow.

Féile Drámaíochta will take place on Wednesday, March 6th for Rang 4 and Rang 6 in Kilmovee Community Centre. We are still awaiting details of the arrangements. However,

In the past week, we celebrated ‘Wellbeing Week’. Throughout our school year, we endeavour to promote mental health in the classroom, to teach children about wellbeing and to instil positive attitudes towards their mental health.

While wellbeing activities are integrated into the school day throughout the year during wellbeing week we took extra time to highlight the importance of well-being for young and old. Thank you so much to Ms.Durkin, Ms.Breen and to our Amber Flag Committee for all their hard work ensuring it was a great success.

Please see above the first edition of our newsletter outlining some of the wonderful activities that we all enjoyed during Wellbeing Week.