Friday Celebration Worship
What a fantastic week we’ve had in school, there is so much to celebrate! We are really looking forward to next week’s drama club's Heroes of Troy performance on Tuesday, and we are so proud of our choir who represented us beautifully at Let’s Go Sing. A special well done to Grace for her performance in Les Misérables, what an incredible achievement! A big thank you to our WOW Group for creating poo bag dispenser posters to help keep our local area clean, such a thoughtful and responsible project. We’ve also been busy improving our school environment, with tree planting in our grounds to begin creating our very own orchards. Year 4 have been absolute stars on their residential, showing excellent behaviour and representing the school brilliantly. Year 5 have also impressed us with how sensible and responsible they were during Bikeability. Thank you as well for all of the generous Easter egg donations, we really appreciate your support. This week’s values awards go to James in Reception, Ava and Tommy-Joe in Year 1, Harry in Year 2, all of Year 4, Darcy in Year 5, and Talia in Year 6, well done for consistently demonstrating our school values. A huge congratulations to our TT Rockstars certificate winners: Charlie D, Elijah, Freddie, Eddie, Emily, Olivia, Isaac, Joshua, Ella Grace, Alexis and Ivy, fantastic effort and dedication to your times tables practice! In our team values this week, Darwen Tower came 4th, Whitehall Park 3rd, River Darwen 2nd, and India Mill took 1st place, well done everyone! We are incredibly proud of all of our sporting achievements this week. Well done to Beau for achieving a superstar gymnastics certificate for walking on the big beam, and to Thea for earning her Stage 2 gymnastics certificate. Charlie G and Olivia were both awarded Player of the Week in football, while Charlie G was recognised for excellent defending. Ava achieved badges in Squirrels and Beavers and was also named Beaver of the Week, fantastic commitment! Congratulations to Eleanor, Olivia, Annie, Evie and Phoebe for earning multiple Rainbows certificates, and to Lydia, Skye and Chester for their swimming certificates. Phoebe also received a rosette in dancing, while Scarlett was named trainer of the week in netball. A special mention to Annabel, who not only completed a 500m swim for Cancer Research UK but also raised an incredible £341, what an amazing achievement! Callie performed brilliantly as Peter Pan in her recent show and received a certificate, and James achieved his red belt in Ju Jitsu, well done! Olivia also received a certificate for effort in gymnastics, great perseverance! Our swimming team performed brilliantly at the gala against Blackburn and Darwen schools. James won a bronze medal for backstroke, Jenson placed second in breaststroke and Desmond got two silvers, an amazing effort. Our cross country team also showed great determination competing against other local schools, well done to everyone involved. Well done to Year 2 and Year 5 for achieving the best attendance this week, fantastic effort! Looking ahead, we have lots of exciting events coming up including the FOSB Easter Egg Bingo on Tuesday, the Rocksteady concert on Wednesday, our Heroes of Troy performance after school, Hop, Skip and Jump for East Lancashire Hospice, our Easter Service on Thursday, and a special visit from Spring Chicken. A reminder that we break up early at 2.00pm on Thursday. We finished our worship with lovely prayers from Darcy and Charlie D, thank you both for such a thoughtful contribution. What a wonderful week, well done everyone!
Year 5 - Bikeability
Braving freezing winds and bitter hail, Year 5 spent Wednesday developing their cycling skills with the assistance of the instructors from Bikeability. They worked towards their Level 1 certificate and also displayed their skills in listening and team work. I was so impressed by their resilience and commitment working in such challenging conditions.
Year 2 - DT Preparing and sampling food
In Year 2, we prepared some healthy foods by chopping, spreading and grating. We then tried the foods to see which combinations we will select to make our healthy wraps.
Year 2 - Computing
Year 2 have been busy animating objects to create a Lego movie.
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Whole School Worship: The Last Supper
Today’s worship was a deeply moving and thought-provoking session led by Rev. Ben, as he helped the children explore the complex meaning of Good Friday. The morning began with a lighthearted but meaningful game where Rev. Ben asked Eliza some very tricky questions while giving Luna much easier ones. Just as it looked like the game might end poorly, an intervention changed everything, which Rev. Ben used to illustrate the core message: Christians believe Good Friday is all about how God steps in to help us when we need it most. Rev. Ben then shared the story of the crucifixion, describing it as a "dreadful day" that naturally makes us feel sad. However, he explained that Christians call it "Good" Friday because it represents the moment Jesus stepped in to save humanity, choosing to take the punishment himself so that all who trust in him can be set free. This sacrifice transforms a day of mourning into a time of profound joy. The children showed wonderful engagement as they recounted details of the story; Hollie and Isabella spoke of the physical suffering Jesus endured, while Percy remembered the crown of thorns placed on his head. Elijah also noted the moment Peter tried to defend Jesus, only to be told to put his sword away. The worship concluded with a beautiful reflection on how these events make us feel. While Sofia acknowledged the sadness of the cross, she looked forward to the "something good" coming on Easter Sunday. Mollie, Olivia, and Mason all expressed feelings of happiness and gratitude, recognising that Jesus’ actions were a "favour to us all" that took away their sins. To close our time together, Rev. Ben led a thank you prayer, and we joined our voices to sing Jesus, Strong and Kind.
Kids with Bricks Lego Club
This week's "Kids with Bricks" Lego club theme was on shoes. We watched our weekly video, which gave us lots of interesting facts about how shoe designs have changed over time. We also saw some futuristic shoes that designers are working on! The children were tasked with creating their own shoe - we had trainers with laces, roller skates, and even shoes that can fly! A special well done to our Builder of the Week: Frankie!
The Anderton Centre - Paddle Boarding
So we woke up to completely different weather this morning! The sun was beaming and after we had a delicious full English breakfast we descended on the lake to take part in XL paddle boarding. The children paddled for miles, played games and even managed ‘ Body Part Bingo’. We had a few slip ups and a few of the children ended up in the water. What a great way to finish our residential to The Anderton Centre. Big thanks to Mrs Araujo, Mrs Gardner and Mrs Singleton for their support and also to the parents, carers and children .
Year 3- R.E- The Pharisees and the Disciples: A Story of Mixed Emotions
Building on our work from last week, we spent this afternoon diving deeper into the "Pathway of Emotions" within the Easter story by first reflecting on the range of feelings we experience in our own lives, from the excitement of a birthday to the frustration of a broken toy. We used these personal connections to explore the complex emotional layers of Holy Week, specifically identifying the tension and opposition shown by the Pharisees. The children noted how the presence of the Pharisees added an atmosphere of conflict, suspicion, and anger to otherwise celebratory scenes like the Triumphant Entry. We concluded that the Easter story is much more than just "happy or sad," It is a mix of many feelings: the disciples were afraid, the Pharisees did not approve, and there was a strange but hopeful mystery to it all.
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Grace & Isaac star in Les Miserables
Super proud of Grace and Isaac for their amazing performances in Les Miserables this evening at their opening night! It took so much courage to sing solos in front of a packed theatre audience and you both smashed it! Huge congratulations to the whole cast, you were sensational! It’s still Mrs Ham’s favourite musical and I think it’s now Mr Bloomfield’s!
Year 5 - Science
After exploring gravity last week, we today considered how the air around us pushes against objects as they move through it. We defined air resistance as an oppositional force and carried out experiments using parachutes made of paper and string. We found that the larger the parachute, the slower it fell to the ground because its greater surface area encounters more drag.
Year 6 - Easter Art
For our Easter service, Year 6 created an Austrian cross inspired by Aboriginal designs. The children used warm-coloured tissue paper to add vibrancy, alongside black tissue paper to form striking outlines and patterns. This creative piece reflects both the significance of Easter and the rich artistic inspiration behind their work.
Year 1 DT: Healthy Breakfast Pots
Year 1 created their healthy breakfast pots for their partners. They made sure that they added yogurt, cereal and fruits in layers for a better taste. They worked really collaboratively in their partners to create a pot that they would enjoy.