Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we took a moment to reflect on what has been a busy and wonderful third week of school. Our week began with a focus on God’s Big Story in Whole School Worships, where we came together to deepen our understanding. Year 6 had a fantastic time creating artwork in the Darwen Town Centre, while Years 3, 4, and 6 took part in a Let’s Go Sing Choir workshop, which has inspired even more children to sign up for our school choir. Year 5 enjoyed a Move and Learn session with BwD, and our entire school embraced the excitement of the new clubs that started this week, including Foodie Friends, Football, Fred & Pearl Craft Club, Choir, Netball, and Forest Schools. We also took time to celebrate our individual value award winners, with a huge well done to Zachary and Hollie in KS1, and Eva, Emily, Jack, and Elsie in KS2, for their dedication across the curriculum, their embodiment of our Barney’s 4Bs and Christian Values, and for spreading joy throughout the school. In addition, we were pleased to award India Mill as our Value Award winners for the second consecutive week, and Year 6 as the winners in KS2 with 100% attendance, while Reception and Year 1 in EYFS and KS1 earned recognition with a fantastic 99.3% attendance. Next, we celebrated our out-of-school achievers, including Albie for earning his 5m and 10m swimming certificates, Evie for her bravery in attending Rainbows for the first time, Alice for being awarded Cheerleader of the Week, Peyton for winning Star of the Week at gymnastics, Grace for achieving a highly commended in her recent acro exam, Charlie for being named Student of the Week at Junior Dragons Martial Arts Club, Ava for being awarded Squirrel of the Week, Mason for being runner-up in a recent darts tournament, Lyla for receiving a certificate of excellence for her gymnastics and acro talent, and Annabel for being named Star of the Week at her dance school. Finally, we ended our worship with some heartfelt prayers from Mason, Ella, and Zachary, who prayed for those affected by war and conflict, for those suffering from illnesses, and for those who don’t have enough food—especially as Harvest approaches. We also sang “Our God is a Great Big God.” A quick reminder from Mrs. Ham: Next Friday, September 26th, we’ll be hosting the Macmillan Coffee Morning. All donations will be greatly appreciated.
Reception - PE Outdoor Gym
For PE, Reception explored our outdoor gym for the first time. They worked on exercising different parts of their bodies using the equipment safely. They said it was so much fun!
Year 6 - Striking and Fielding
Today, Year 6 took part in an exciting game of Quick Cricket as part of their PE striking and fielding unit. The children enjoyed practising their batting, bowling and fielding skills, while also learning the importance of teamwork, communication, and fair play. Everyone showed great enthusiasm and developed their confidence through active participation.
Rev Ben’s Whole School Worship
Our Whole School Worship was lead by Rev Ben this morning. We started by playing Rev Ben says which the children loved. The game was all about listening carefully,which led us nicely into the story of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were told not to touch the tree in the middle of the garden as it would make God unhappy. Then one day the serpent came to visit and told Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree. They both ate from the tree and became I’ll as they has gone against Gods wishes. He asked them to leave the garden so sadly they left the garden as they had changed Gods will forever. This helps us to understand why the world is the way it is. Christians believe Jesus is Gods Ultimate Rescuer and he sacrificed Himself so that those who follow Him can know they are God’s friends. Following the story, Rev Ben asked the children what went wrong and how was God still generous? The children shared their ideas by answering that they are the fruit and this created badness to enter the world but God promised to send a rescuer. Then we discussed who. Might God be asking you to show sacrificial generosity tot his week? The children suggested teachers, parents, friends and people that don’t have much. For our time of prayer we took time to say sorry to God asking him for forgiveness for things that we have done wrong.
Reception’s Marvellous Marks - Wax Rubbings
This week, Reception have been looking at different ways we can use tools to make marks. We have been ‘Artists’ using the chunky side of wax crayons to rub over the top of different textures such as shells and leaves to create effective patterns on paper. The finished results look fantastic!
Year 3- R.E- How do people celebrate harvest around the world?
Today in R.E., Year 3 investigated how people around the world celebrate the harvest. We began with a class discussion to share our own experiences and understanding. Following this, the children wrote in their R.E. books, noting down some of the wonderful traditions we discovered. The children were particularly fascinated to learn about the different ways people show gratitude for the harvest. In the United States and Canada, Thanksgiving is a major national holiday celebrating the harvest and blessings of the past year. It is celebrated with a large family feast, which traditionally includes a roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. It is a time for people to gather and express gratitude for what they have. The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is one of the most important holidays in China. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest. Families gather to give thanks for a bountiful harvest and to pray for a good future. A key tradition is eating mooncakes and lighting colourful lanterns.
Year 3- Art- Drawing Like the Egyptians
Today in art, Year 3 Artists travelled back in time to ancient Egypt. Before drawing their egyptian patterns and shapes, they prepared their sketchbooks by creating interesting surfaces to work on. Just like the ancient Egyptians who drew on papyrus, they transformed their white paper using chalk pastels last week to give it that special, papyrus-like texture. With the surfaces ready, they put pencil to paper today to draw beautiful Egyptian patterns, all while listening to some traditional Egyptian music in the background. The children's drawings have turned out absolutely amazing and they should be very proud of the surfaces and patterns they created.
Year 1 PSHE- Feelings
Today in our PSHE lesson we identified different feelings. We acted out how we might look when feeling happy, sad, angry etc. We also discussed how our body reacts when feeling emotions- when we are happy we smile, when we are sad we may cry, when we are angry we can feel hot. Year 1 then suggested different people we can talk to when we are feeling emotions such as parents, siblings, teachers, grandparents, aunties and uncles and our friends.
Blessed with beautiful views in Year 4
Today, Year 4 took some time to admire what beautiful views we have from our classroom window, especially when rainbows appear! A rainbow is often a sign of hope, the beauty after the storm or good fortune and this led us wonderfully into our lunchtime prayers.
Year 2 RE- How Does the Bible Tell Us About God’s Big Story?
Today in our RE lesson, Year 2 explored how God’s Big Story is told in the Bible. They learned about the seven key elements of God’s Big Story, beginning with Creation and ending with the Kingdom of God. They then placed a variety of Bible stories into the correct part of the story, demonstrating a great understanding of a complex concept. Year 2 also delved into the key messages within these stories. They reflected on Jesus’ compassion and power through the miracle of feeding 5,000 people, understood the birth of Jesus as God’s way of offering help to the world, and explored the theme of second chances in stories like Jonah and the Whale. They also discussed how God does good in the world for those who trust in Him, as seen in Noah’s Ark and David and Goliath. Well done, Year 2! Keep up the great work!
Year 6 Darwen Art Project
This morning Year 6 took part in the Darwen Art Project, going on the "Shop Darwen Heritage Trail" and also working with local artist Lucie Cooke to create a set of vibrant seasonal window displays in Darwen town centre. This was an absolutely fantastic activity to take part in and the children created some truly stunning artwork! St. Barnabas was the only school to brave the rain and attend, so the artwork on display is purely that of our wonderful Year 6s. Make sure to take a look at the windows of No.14 Market Street next time you walk through town!