WHEN YOU ENTER OUR SCHOOL
As you come inside either of our entrances and view our main school building sitting on Gallows Hill / Rathbawn Road we think you will be very impressed with what our school has to offer you and your child. This is just a quick snapshot of SOME of the activities that take place in our school. We hope you enjoy your short visit....
OUR PLAYGROUND
We think you will particularly like our playground. It is completely secure and for the use of infant classes only during break times. Other junior classes are timetabled to use the playground during regular school hours. Several of our school staff worked really hard to generate very substantial funding for the equipment in the yard and we are very proud of the way it now looks. Pre-school Curious Minds is located beside the playground - we are great neighbours and we are delighted to have this excellent service on our campus.
SPORT
Sport is very important in our school. We have a top-class sports pitch which is completely secure and with a running track around it. We have a purpose-built dressing room for the boys to "tog out" for matches. Junior and Senior football leagues take place during lunchtime before Hallowe'en and after Easter when the weather is usually more suitable for outdoor activities. We participate in football primary school leagues (A division) and have won many titles. We also participate in county hurling and all-Ireland Chess competitions. Senior and Junior lunch time table tennis leagues take place during the winter months. Basketball leagues for senior classes are held after school.
Our annual sports day is held in June each year and allows all pupils to participate in as many events as they wish - some of which are quite unusual!
MUSIC
Our school has a long tradition in music and it's one we are very proud of. All our boys are taught an instrument: we have a varied stock of instruments available to pupils . There are many opportunities to perform during the year - St. Patrick's Day, church masses and celebrations e.g. First Holy Communion and Confirmation. We work closely with Music Generation Mayo and currently have many pupils are learning the ukulele - we played for former Taoiseach Enda Kenny T.D. at an important launch event.
All pupils are encouraged to take part in our school choir which performs for church ceremonies throughout the school year. We participate in the National Children's Choir and some of pupils have sung in the National Concert Hall in Dublin.
SCHOOL PROJECTS
Our school is currently involved in several very interesting projects.....
We have been awarded eight green flags to date for our continued work on helping children become aware of the importance of looking after our environment. Pat Shortt, Paul O'Connell and Cillian O'Connor have raised flags for us in the past.
We took part some time ago in a cross-border project called Dissolving Boundaries. We were very proud of our link with Omagh County Primary School and worked with them on a local history project using video conferencing, email and Moodle.
We recently were successful in applying for an Active School Flag which has been added to our Digital Flag of Distinction and multiple Green Flags. So many successful projects!!!
We are delighted to be chosen by the Dept. of Education to participate in the Digital Schools Excellence programme . Our school is a member of a schools' cluster which includes Gortskehy N.S. and Meelickmore N.S. This is a three-year project during which we work as a team to enhance our teaching and your child’s learning using digital technologies. For more information check out our cluster schools shared website.
We are also currently involved with St. Angela's GNS (Castlebar) and St. Attracta's NS (Charlestown) in a Creative Cluster Project in partnership with the Arts Council and Mayo Education Centre.
We also featured on RTE television's Creative Kids programme last May. Here's a snippet...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGjcR2krD98
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
We like our children to experience as much hands-on activities as possible. Apart from our own art and craft classes, our pupils regularly go to the Linenhall Arts Centre nearby for art workshops. We fully utilize the facilities of the National Museum of Country Life outside Castlebar to link with its schools' learning programmes.
AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Our school has many after school activities available to choose from. We have computer clubs for third to sixth class on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Chess club is available for classes from second to sixth on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Drama Club takes place on Thursday evenings. Table tennis club is available on Thursdays for senior classes.
CHARITY WORK
We like to encourage our pupils to always be aware that there are always people in need and that we can do our share to help - especially at Christmas. Two of the charities we support are: Rock Rose House (Cancer Support) and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Come hear us sing at SuperValu at Christmas and donate what you can.