International Students:

There is a great variety of nationalities in Coláiste an Átha at the moment, with exchange students from as far fetched as South America and others from continental Europe. I gathered opinions from some of these students on the school and how it compares to their school in their home country.

Diego Gallardo Diaz from Seville in Spain had this to say about Coláiste an Átha.

“The people in this school have been very helpful to me when I didn’t understand something. The teachers are helpful and the students are friendly. This is a good experience for me.”

Swantje Luhn comes from Oldenburg in Germany and found the school to be a vibrant learning centre.

“Everyone is very friendly and social. It is more relaxing here than in my school in Germany, there is less stress from the teachers. The walls are colourful and have a lot of pictures made by students hanging on them, which I like.”

Yasmin Daipre is our only South American student, hailing from Sau Paulo, Brazil, but this has not caused her any difficulty in making new friends.

“Everyone I talk to is helpful and the people here are happy. There is a good atmosphere in the school. It is positive. Also I like the uniform of the school. I think having uniform is a good idea.”

Viva Il Talento

On a separate note the 4th school talent show, “Viva Il Talento IV”, took place on the 5th of December 2014 and was once again a big hit. With participants from across every year group and 95 of the schools students taking part in total the success and support of the show really stands as a testament to the hard work of Ms. Kirwan and the music department. Music was only brought in 5 years ago as a subject in Coláiste an Átha and the fact that a third of the school’s students are now actively involved in the music department is truly astonishing and tells us a great deal about the students and staff and all those otherwise involved in the school and how hard we work as a community to develop the school in all aspects of school life. I would like to wish congratulations to the first year music class who were the overall winners on the night.