Year 5 - RotaKids - Christmas Cards for Care Homes
Building on from our Worship earlier in the week about spreading joy this Advent, our Year 5 Rotakids decided to take action. Today, they spread festive cheer in the community by creating thoughtful Christmas cards to send to East Lancs Hospice and care homes around Darwen. The children poured their creativity and kindness into each card, adding heartfelt messages and festive designs. These cards will soon be delivered, bringing warmth, joy and a sense of connection to residents who may need it most this Christmas season. It’s a wonderful way to show that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference. Well done, RotaKids, for embodying the true spirit of the holidays!
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Whole School Celebration Worship
During this week’s celebration worship, we reflected on the theme of joy this Advent, alongside the lighting of the peace and hope candles as part of our preparations for Christmas. We discussed how joy can be found in simple moments and acts of kindness, and the children were reminded of the many wonderful events that brought happiness throughout the week. These included the Rocksteady concert, where children showcased their musical talents, the magical pantomime Aladdin on Ice, the school Pantivity Production and the festive fun of the Christmas Fair. Our Values Award winners were celebrated with great applause: Harry in Reception, Molly in Year 1, Evie in Year 2, Chay in Year 3, Sofia in Year 4, Elsie in Year 5, and Poppy in Year 6. Their contributions to school life have been amazing and have been reflected in their awards. Year 1 and Year 4 were also recognised as the winners of this week’s attendance award for their commitment to being present and ready to learn. A heartfelt special thank you was given to all the children who contributed their creative talents to produce the stunning Christmas artwork now proudly displayed in the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. This beautiful display adds a festive touch to the community and each class will now take a trip to the park to admire all the children’s artwork. Prayers were shared during the worship, led by the children, who asked for peace in countries experiencing conflict and war, kindness to those without food or shelter, and blessings for everyone to have a safe, warm, and joyful Christmas. The Team Values Points results were eagerly awaited, with Darwen Tower placing fourth, India Mill third, River Darwen second, and Whitehall Park taking first place for the week. In addition, India Mill was announced as the overall half-term winner, earning a well-deserved non-uniform day and disco celebration as a reward for their hard work and teamwork throughout the term. This will take place on the last Thursday of the term. We proudly acknowledged the remarkable achievements of our children. Lydia was recognised for earning her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder badge and for taking action to make a difference, while Naomi received her Christmas badge for Brownies. Isabella celebrated swimming 5 meters, and Lyla earned a Medal with Rothwell Arts for her dedication to ballet. Marnie May was applauded for her accomplishments in tap dancing and gymnastics and Grace achieved her Bronze Award for earning multiple badges at Brownies. Olivia was named Star of the Week for her excellent performance in gymnastics and Tristen celebrated earning his blue belt in kickboxing. Scarlett shone with her Netball Shooting Award, while Oliver achieved a swimming award for swimming 5 meters. Elana was recognised for her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder and taking action and Luna was honored as Dancer of the Day. Alice and Evie were recognised as they performed beautifully in Over the Bridge and Leonora and Desmond proudly represented their swimming competition in the regionals. Well done to all for these incredible accomplishments! The worship concluded on a high note, with everyone coming together to sing joyful Christmas songs, filling the room with festive cheer.
PSHE -Valuing Difference Part 2 in Year 4
In today’s PSHE session the children started by discussing how we celebrate difference and treat each other with respect and fairness. We then moved on to identifying different celebrities and finding how they are different from one another and what are their attributes contribute to who they are as a whole person.
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November WOW Winners - Year 3
Congratulations to Year 3 who have gained the most badges for the month of November for either walking, parking and striding or taking part in the 1K a day in school. It’s the second time that Year 3 have been awarded with the trophy so it shows how committed they are to active travel - well done!
Reception - climbing in PE
Reception have been taking risks in PE and showing lots of courage using the climbing equipment. They have been developing their climbing skills to get on and off the equipment safely and developing their upper body strength.
Year 1- Aladdin on Ice
Year 1 had a great time at Aladdin on Ice yesterday afternoon. They even got the added bonus of meeting lots of Christmas characters such as The Grinch and Santa Claus and also enjoyed high-fiving some of the Aladdin cast at the end of the performance. What a treat! All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/aladdin-on-ice
Whitehall Park Rose Garden Art Trail
Thank you to all the children who created fantastic Art work for our ADVENTure trail at the Whitehall Park. A selection of the Art work is now on display in the Rose Garden for everyone to see. All classes will be visiting next week to look at the Art work, talk about the Nativity story and sing some Christmas carols to get us all in the festive spirit!
Not Getting Inn!
Our whole school was treated to a modern day version of the Nativity story. 4Front Theatre put on a wonderful production for our children. There was lots of laughter, singing and chanting throughout. Most importantly, there was a wonderful heartfelt message at the end of hope and joy. The photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/not-getting-inn-1
The W.O.W. Group - Preparing Ribbon Prayers
Our WOW group had some preparing to do this week, showing the Christian value of service. Each week for the Year of Prayer, it is their job to be equip each class for the theme and introduce it in Monday worship. Next week, the theme is ribbon prayers, so the children were making sure that each class receives a selection of ribbon to use in their prayers.
Year 4 - Linking Schools: Who Are We?
In Year 4, we have been spending some time exploring what makes us who we are. We started creating identity maps ready to send to our link class at St Matthew’s. We can’t wait to receive some work back and find out more about our new friends.
Worship with Rev. Ben
During worship with Rev. Ben, the children began by playing a game of "Spot the Difference," where they had to identify which picture was missing from a selection of displayed images. Following this, Rev. Ben shared the story of Daniel and the Lions' Den. The children learned how Daniel, despite knowing that following God and continuing to pray would put him in danger, trusted in God and was unharmed by the lions. This led to a thoughtful discussion about Daniel's courage and faith. The children then reflected on how they could show courage in their own lives, drawing inspiration from Daniel’s example.
Christmas Fair 2024
Thank you so much for your fantastic support in donating items for our Christmas Fair, purchasing our DT products and coming to show your support at our Christmas Fair. Thank you also to our FOSB and staff team for their support in organising and running the Fair. Thank you to Mrs Govan and her choir for all getting us in the festive mood. We are still awaiting the final total that has been raised that will be used to purchase new chrome books and repair the trim trails.