Athenry Boys National School is a Catholic, boys only primary school operating in the parish of Athenry. The school is situated in the medieval town of Athenry, close to the Medieval town walls, King John’s Castle, Dominican Abbey and St. Mary’s Church. The school can be found in Knockaunglas on the Athenry/Esker Road. It was offically opened on 26/02/1990. The classes range from 2nd to 6th Class. Pupils come from the town and the adjacent rural areas.
The school is built on a two and a half acre site which includes front lawn, basketball court, prefab, shelter, car park and at the rear of the school is a playing pitch 80 x 40 metres approx. There is also access to the handball alley in the town and GAA pitches.
The school takes part in many programmes, some of which are outlined below:
- Green Schools programme, 3 flages awarded by An Taisce
- Heritage in Schools Scheme, visits by Gordon Darcy
- K’nex project, Science and Technology Festival winners 2010
- Atlantiquaria, school has an aquarium
- European Mobility Week, run by the Road Safety Authority
- Food Dudes, Healthy Eating 2009
- Art competitions, such as those run by local Credit Union or Tidy Towns
- I.N.T.O. Handwriting Competition
- Annual Sale of Work for Kenya, the school has been organising this for over 20 years
- Union of Voices, school choir performed in this in the local church
- Carol Service, for parents and visitors every Christmas
- Gaelic Leagues, run by the local Garda Association
- Organic Vegetable Garden, for the last two years we have grown vegetables
- Tidy towns, Best Kept Public Building winners for the last 3 years
- Lidl Fit Factor, 4th Class entered this and recorded their project last year
- I.N.T.O. Write a Book competition
- E.S.B. Sport, 5th Class participated and won prizes for the school
- Fire Safety Programme, 3rd Class participated in this with the local Fire Brigade
- The teachers also had First Aid Training with the local Fire Brigade
- The school also takes part in the competitions run by Cumann na Bunscoil such as Handball, Gaelic Football and hurling, as well as the Mini-Sevens in both codes
- Last year the pupils from 6th and 4th Class staged the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”
- Each year we have an Annual Book week which includes an Author visit, Book Fair, Design a Book Cover competitions and Book Reviews
- For the Jack and Jill Foundation we have collected old mobile phones
- Incredible Edibles was undertaken by 5th and 6th Classes and involved the planting of poitatoes and fruit
- Tráth na gCeist, Seachtain na Gaeilge
- Primary School Quiz Competitions, our school has had much success at local, county and national levels in Credit Union, Cadburys, Pioneer and Community Games quizzes
- Photo stories were done by each class this year
- 3rd Class are involved in a Global Learning Project with schools in New York
- Buddy Reading and Buddy Writing with all Classes mixed together
- Recorder recitals for parents
