Half Term Netball & Fitness Camp
Yesterday we held our very first half term netball and fitness camp. The children worked so hard over the course of the day. We started the day focusing on netball drills and skills then moved towards small sided games. Next we worked on our fitness and attempted the dreaded ‘ Bleep Test’. All of the children really pushed themselves to their limits and we ended up with three super fit heroes with Neve, Joshua and Carter completing all 18 levels! After a little rest we then moved onto applying our skills into a game of bench ball which was pretty intense. Following lunch we moved back to netball games with children swapping in and out of positions and then finally moving into a mini tournament. What a fab day we had!
Small but mighty girls’ football team!
We are so proud of our girls’ football team for their brilliant performances and teamwork over the last four weeks, ending on an 11-0 win against Ashleigh. They came 4th overall out of 12 schools across Blackburn with Darwen. In their words, they might be small but they are mighty! Our team is made up of girls in Years 3, 4 and 5 this year so we are so proud of them for stepping up as it is the Years 5 & 6 league. We are sure they will improve year on year! A huge thank you to Mr Bloomfield for giving up his time to coach the team on Tuesdays and referee the matches. Thanks also to our parents for their support at the matches and helping to transport the girls.
Reception PSHE - Helping Others
This week in PSHE, we have been thinking about feelings and ways we can help others if they are feeling sad, scared or worried. We talked about the choices we could make to cheer up our friends and family when they need it, such as giving them a hug, making them something, asking if they are OK or giving them a small gift. We then made our own rice crispie cakes with the intention of giving these to someone we know to make them feel happy and loved. Although we’re not sure if many of the cakes made it home - they looked rather delicious!
Whole School-Harvest Festival at the Church – Living Life in All Its Fullness
This morning, our school community came together at our church to celebrate our Harvest Festival, a joyful morning filled with song, prayer, and thanksgiving. The service began as Naomi and Martha signed The Trinity, followed by everyone joining in a rendition of our Harvest Samba song. We also heard about Bishop Philip’s inspiring challenge, pedalling to raise money for those in need, reminding us that even small acts of kindness can have a big impact. As part of the Bishop of Blackburn’s Harvest Appeal, we have been encouraging everyone to ‘Pedal Along’ and raise money for Christians in South Africa. Olivia shared a thoughtful talk, and Darcy reminded us to keep in our prayers families and countries around the world who are suffering. We also gave thanks for the work of DARE and reflected on people using their time and energy to support good causes. The reception and Year 2 class delighted everyone with their Harvest songs. Year 1 shared Thank You for Our Favourite Food, helping us reflect on gratitude. Lilly and Sofia led us in a thoughtful final prayer. We also said goodbye and good luck to Miss Norton, April, and Eve, and shared our thanks to Mrs Araujo, Mrs Ham, and our dedicated WOW Group for helping make this service so meaningful. Our Harvest celebration at the church was a wonderful reminder of our school vision, living life in all its fullness, through thankfulness, compassion, and community. Wishing all our families a restful and joy-filled half-term break!
Rotakids Harvest Collection
A huge thank you from our RotaKids to everyone who has donated shoe boxes filled with toiletries and warm clothing for DARE - Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise over the last few weeks. They are still collecting warm coats, hats and scarfs for Darwen Rotary to help those who are homeless or are in need. Perhaps you could sort through any old coats during the holidays. Thanks for your generosity!
FOSB Spooky Discos
A huge thank you to our Friends of St Barnabas (FOSB) volunteers and Mrs Wilkinson for planning and running our spooky discos tonight. What a great way to end a busy half term! The children had a great time dancing and playing games! The photos can be found here : https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/fosb-spooky-disco-1
Year 5 - Online Safety
Over the last two weeks, Year 5 have considered the risks of age inappropriate content and the role that social media, gaming, streaming and adverts can play in exposing children to unsuitable and upsetting content. We have also explored horror video games in relation to Halloween and how children should be aware of jump scares, violent content and potential online interactions while experiencing such content.
Year 1 fun on the outdoor gym
Year 1 loved using the outdoor gym today to exercise all different parts of their body. It was lovely to see them sharing equipment, taking turns and having fun together.
Year 1: non-chronological reports
I am so proud of all the Year 1 children for writing their non-chronological reports about Emperor Penguins this week. They made sure to include a title, headings as questions, facts, using the conjunction ‘and’ in their sentences, as well as pictures with captions. They worked really hard to remember the facts, capital letters and full stops in their writing. The final reports look brilliant. Well done Year 1
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Whole School Worship & Farewell to Mrs Norton
It is with great sadness that we are saying goodbye to our school cook of 19 years, Mrs Norton, this week. In our whole school worship we celebrated all Mrs Norton has done for us by inviting some of our children to share memories and messages of thanks. Each class made Mrs Norton a special card and Mrs Ham presented her with some gifts from our school family. We wish her well as she embarks on a new chapter. Mrs Ham also shared an update about our Harvest collections for Dare and we practised our songs for the Harvest service.
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Year 4 - English: Subordinate Clauses
In Year 4, we started our work on clauses this week. The children learned that clauses contain a subject and verb, and they began differentiating between main and subordinate clauses. In pairs, children wrote a main and a subordinate clause on their whiteboards and formed human sentences. They practised reading the clauses in different orders to see the effect.
Year 4 - PE: Battleships
It was our final dodgeball session and so the children had the opportunity to use the dodgeball skills they have learned over this half term in a game of battleships. The teams used overarm throws, aimed at targets, defended by blocking the ball and talked strategies to try and be the first to knock over all of the opposition's cones.