Rev Ben’s Ash Wednesday Worship
This morning Rev Ben led our Worship. First he lit our special candle and we had a moment's silence to pray for the families in Turkey and Syria who have been affected by the devastating earthquakes. Rev Ben asked us who was the greatest out of four celebrities, Marcus Rashford, Taylor Swift, Princess Kate and Rishi Sunak. The children had a discussion with a partner about who was the greatest and why. We had some super answers and several reasons why each one was the greatest. We then watched a video about the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee which was a story that Jesus told to some people who thought they were great and looked down on others. The Pharisee thought he was the greatest and looked down on others but the tax collector was actually great in God's eyes as he asked for help and forgiveness. Rev Ben explained that Ash Wednesday is when Christian's ask for help and for their sins to be forgiven by God. Rev Ben then talked to us about Christian greatness and we had some time to reflect and discuss what Christians think being great is all about and how we can put that greatness into practice. Again we had some brilliant answers such as showing kindness, friendship, generosity and service to others. We finished our worship with a special prayer led by Rev Ben and sang and danced to My Lighthouse, to symbolise that God is always there to hear our prayers of help and forgiveness.
Reception- Shrove Tuesday
The children in Reception have tried some pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. All the children tried the pancakes and enjoyed them. We discussed that Pancake Day is also called Shrove Tuesday. We talked about how Jesus went to the desert for forty days and forty nights with no food or water.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Today the children explored the changes of weather and different areas of Whitehall park. The children commented on how the weather can be sunny, cloudy, rainy, foggy and windy. The children explored the waterfall and other forest schools sections. They showed the Christian value of courage as we had to walk up a steep hill and walked a long way around the park.
Forest school sessions for KS2
Dear parents and carers of children in Years 3,4,5 and 6, we are always looking at ways to keep our children physically fit and also to support their mental health and wellbeing. Therefore, starting from next week, 10 children from each class will take part in Forest School sessions at lunch time with Mrs Thompson, our accredited Forest School leader. Year 6 will be on Mondays, Year 5 on Tuesdays, Year 4 on Thursdays and Year 3 on Fridays. Children will still have their MUGA sports sessions with Miss Baxendale too each week. Please see the timetable on class dojo to see which weeks your child will have their two forest school sessions this half term. I will inform you nearer the time of sessions for the rest of the year. The infant children will also be given the opportunity to attend forest school sessions too later in the year. On the day of your child's session, they need to bring in a named carrier bag containing wellies or old trainers plus an old coat, top and jogging bottoms to wear for the session, as they will get muddy. Their first project will be transforming our garden at the front of school. If anybody has or knows of anyone with any spare gardening tools, gardening gloves, seeds, log seats, plant pots etc, please send them into school as we would be very appreciative of any donations. We are sure that the children will love the forest school sessions as they are also a great way to develop children's social skills, teamwork and cooperation whilst having fun.
Year 1- Traditional rhymes
In English we are now looking at traditional rhymes. This morning we’ve used a rhyme time bag and different props to help us remember and sing some traditional rhymes.
Year 1- R.E
In R.E we had a discussion about what makes Jesus special. We created some valentines hearts to give to someone who is special to us.
Whole School Worship: Shrove Tuesday and Lent
To begin our worship, we lit a special candle and prayed for everyone in Turkey and Syria. As we entered worship, we watched a video all about when Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Tomorrow it is Shrove Tuesday. On Wednesday, our altar will change to the colour of purple as we enter Lent and prepare for Easter. Mrs Ham asked the children ‘what makes you you?’ Neve said her freckles, Oscar said playing the piano and cello, Jake said his fingerprints and Grace said her flexibility. Our personality, emotions, behaviour, clothes, family and belongings all make us unique. Mrs Ham then asked ‘what made Jesus Jesus?’ Eliza said he was the son of God, Grace said his abilities to perform miracles, Ella said that he came down from heaven, Finn said his kindness and Leonora said when he rose from the dead. On Wednesday, Lent beings where we remember how Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. We watched a video all about this time. Jesus was tempted by the devil during his time but he trusted in God and didn’t give in to temptation. Jesus knew there was a plan for him. He knew that he was going to die on the cross so that all of our sins can be forgiven. During our reflection, we had a think about what we could do or give up to help us to feel closer to God. Eva said she is going to give up chocolate, Elsa said sweets, Carter said fizzy drinks, Isaac said he will give some of his toys to charity and Declan said his clothes to the charity shop. We also thought about how we could show kindness and which Christian values we could show during Lent. We finished our worship by singing ‘our God is a great big God’.
Happy half term holidays!
Wow, what another busy half term! All of the children have been working so hard so they are ready for a well-deserved break. Wishing you all a wonderful half term holiday! For all of this week's news, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/news For our most recent photos, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-gallery-category/our-gallery For our upcoming events, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/events Thank you so much for your continued support. I hope you all have a lovely half term holiday with your loved ones. See you all on Monday 20th February. Take care and God bless, Mrs Ham
Reception - Children’s Mental Health Week
We have really enjoyed children’s mental health week. The well-being warriors visited our class and told us a story about being kind to ourselves and each other. We then designed our own kindness jars. We also created pictures of ourselves and discussed how we are similar and how we are different and what makes us special and unique. On Friday, it was Express yourself day. We all chose clothes and accessories that represented our personalities and interests.
Year 5- Dress to Express
This week, the Year 5 class have carried out multiple activities to celebrate 'Mental Health Awareness Week'. Today, the children wore their favourite clothes to express how they're feeling inside.
Whole School- Celebration Worship
Wow! We had lots to celebrate today. During our Celebration Worship this morning, the class teachers celebrated by presenting a value award to the children who have been demonstrating our Christian Values. This week, our overall house values point winner was Darwen tower with 258 points. We also celebrated Years 3 and 4 for their winning at sportshall athletics. Well done to the reception class and Year 3 for this week's best attendance. We also celebrated the children that have taken part in extracurricular activities, well done to everyone! We finished our worship with Rev Ben leading a prayer.
Year 4 Art - Analysing and Interpreting Abstract paintings
In our art lesson today, we have been looking at abstract art by Fiona Rae. We looked at how she organised her paints, what types of paint she used and how she develops her ideas. We also identified what formal elements of art that she incorporates in her paintings.