On Friday last we remembered our first assembly in September and we’re reminded of the progress that has been made by each child. As always, we learned of students who consistently put themselves forward week after week. We appreciate this effort and acknowledge this hard work. We heard of pupils who have made a huge effort to help others who they see having difficulty with a task. We listened to descriptions of both the collective and individual effort that is put into making days more enjoyable for others. We impact each other’s lives as a community here in St. Attracta’ and it is important to make that impact positive.

Our teachers spoke of children who did not always find things easy but who are now able to do the task that was so hard at the beginning. At this time of the year, we see how our children are becoming more independent and that is our aim. We help, we motivate and we nurture this independence, and we are thrilled when we can see it. We were reminded by our teachers that small differences made over a period of time make a big change. We know from our discussions in parent-teacher meetings in recent weeks, that you are also seeing these subtle changes at home. Maith sibh go léir!!

Dates for your Diaries:

On Tueday, December 19th at 7 pm in the CBD Complex we will have our Christmas Musical – The Peace Child. Preparations are advanced in school and we are very much looking forward to this special evening. We hope you can join us!

We had a lovely end to a very busy week on Friday last, as always we as teachers were reminded of all that we should be grateful for. We are privileged to work with so many students who are great examples of all that we aspire to be. Every week it is difficult for us to pick out just one pupil as so many of them show maturity and kindness in their everyday school lives.

We learned of pupils who have been trying so hard to accomplish things that they find difficult. However, for many this hard work and determination is paying off. We were also reminded that even when we are not at our best we can make an effort to push ourselves a little further to achieve our goals. We were told of pupils who daily show care and consideration for others and are always trying to help others out and make things easier for the class and their teacher. 

So much to be proud of. Maith sibh go léir!

We hope you all had a lovely weekend!

On Friday last, we learned of our most recent Students of the Week, all of whom are putting their very best feet forward in advance of this week’s Parent-Teacher Meetings.

We learned of excellent engagement with our new whole school theme Africa, wonderful projects, and of many students who are working so hard in class.

There were similar themes as our teachers commended our Students of the Week. Students who work very hard, try their best, who are going over and above in class and showing great commitment and interest in their work. We heard of students who are team workers, problem solvers and of those who enjoy collaborating with their peers. We also learned of a student who enjoys researching the many topics of interest that arise during the school day. We are very proud of you all and hope that you keep up this great start to the second part of our term!

Finally, well done to Ms.Sloyan, Ms.Peyton and our 5th Class students who led us on Friday morning in a Mass of Remembrance for the departed members of our school community. A special thank you also to Fr. Gerry for his kind words. Ms.Connaghan and Ms.Quinn for leading us in song and to all our students from 1st to 6th who supported 5th Class so well on the morning. Maith sibh go léir!

We had a fabulous night last evening celebrating the amazing talents of our students through the creative project Samhain Lights Walk. This was a project funded by Mayo County Arts Council and led by the talented and enthusiastic Tom Meskell who has been a wonderful friend to our school. We were delighted to get the opportunity to work with Tom again on yet another fantastic project, here the children experienced working with different materials, learned new skills that were creative and showcased their wonderful gifts and talents. Tom was accompanied by the Mayo Art Squad to assemble the beautiful display we witnessed last night. This project was supported also by Mayo County Council.

We would like to sincerely thank Tom and his team for such a beautiful evening. Thank you to Ms.Henry who coordinated the project here in school and to all our parents, students, teachers and community as a whole for coming out and supporting the project in such great numbers. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did!

Commiserations to our Girls Mini 7’s team who were narrowly defeated in a thrilling game on Wednesday morning after extra time in their County Quarter Final against Carramore NS on a scoreline of 7-3 to 6-3 at Swinford Amenity Park.

Our girls gave a fantastic account of themselves. They played with great heart and spirit as the game ebbed and flowed and can be very proud of their efforts. Unfortunately, they came up just short as extra time concluded.

We were very proud of each of the girls and look forward to preparing for the Cumann na mBunscol competitions later in this school year.

Finally, a special word of thanks to Carramore NS for a very enjoyable and sporting game. We wish them every success as they progress towards their semi-final after the mid-term break.

Thank you to all who so generously supported our recent Superhero Day in support of the East Mayo Special Olympic Club. The final amount came to a fantastic €450. All monies raised will go towards the work that Special Olympics do to support children with an intellectual disability to help realise their dreams

We had many creative and novel interpretations, favourite superheroes from sporting contexts, book characters, TV and film, etc however we were reminded that not all heroes wear capes and many of us have hidden special talents!

Thanks again to all our Mums/Dads and family members for their support. We wish the East Mayo Special Olympic Club every success with their wonderful work!

Huge Congrats to our 3rd and 4th Class Boys team who earlier this afternoon placed 1st in the 3rd and 4th Class Boys Connacht Cross Country Finals at the Palace Grounds in Tuam. This was a fantastic achievement. We are so proud of each of the boys for their efforts, determination and hard work not only today but as they progressed through East Mayo, Mayo and Connacht.

We were led home by Frank who had an unbelievable run finishing 3rd, followed by Luke, Ted, Kalem, Ollie and Matthew and supported by Conor. Each of the boys’ finishing positions contributed significantly to securing a wonderful first place in the team event.

Finally, a very special word of thanks to Gemma and all at East Mayo Athletic Club for all their hard work with these boys. Today’s result is a recognition of this!

On Friday last we had our weekly Student of the Week awards. We moved online for an interactive assembly and it was as always a very positive end to a busy week.

We learned of students presenting with great focus and determination, working well collaboratively with their peers and independently when required. We heard of those who had made great strides in presenting their work and trying their very best in all activities.

We learned how many of our older and younger students are setting a great example and in particular taking great care of others in class and on yard. As always, we heard of students who are making great strides and of those who perform each week consistently well.

Finally, it was great to hear of the wonderful work that is ongoing with our latest theme Space. We look forward to classroom visits to share this work and the latest learning in the coming weeks.

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

Finally, as we mentioned to our students at recent assemblies and communications, on Friday of next week we will have our ‘Superheroes Day’ to help launch the East Mayo Athletic Club. On this day we’re asking all children to dress up as their favourite superhero, sports star, book character or whomever they think is the best superhero! Or maybe they can be creative and showcase their own hidden super power as not all heroes wear capes. You don’t need to buy a costume but the children can wear one you already have, or they can wear their own clothes and describe what their superpower is. Some of the suggestions from the children themselves today were SUPERfriend, SUPERfunny, SUPERclever, SUPERorganised, SUPERreader, SUPERfast.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we had a very special assembly to mark Mr.Rushe’s departure from our school on Friday last. However, alongside this, we still made time for ‘Student of the Week’.

All of our teachers spoke so positively of the fantastic attitude and enthusiasm displayed in classrooms over the past week. Once again, our selected students of the week were chosen for going the extra mile and being strong role models within their classes. We heard of students who were very considerate and helpful to others around them in school, of students who make a huge effort ‘as Gaeilge’ while in school, of students who delivered beautifully presented samples of work time and time again and those who displayed a ‘can do approach to tasks they may have found challenging in the past.

It is wonderful to see lovely manners, kind nature, and strong work ethic are characteristics that are celebrated on a weekly basis here in St. Attracta’s. As always the teachers noted that there were multiple contenders for the award in every class and praised the combined effort of all of our students. We hope you all keep up this great work!