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Whole School Worship- How to make an enjoyable lunchtime?
Our whole school worship today began with the signing of the Trinity by the Heads and Deputies. Mrs. Araujo then led the worship, introducing our new behaviour focus: creating a calmer and more enjoyable lunchtime experience, while continuing to practice the good manners we have already learned. Mrs. Ham highlighted the importance of feeling safe at school, emphasizing that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure a secure and supportive environment for all. To help improve lunchtimes, Mrs Araujo used a data logger to measure noise levels in the dining hall, which ranged from 79.5 to 80.5 decibels as loud as a truck! Many children noted that the high noise levels were overwhelming, made them want to cover their ears, and could prevent them from hearing important instructions in an emergency. During the worship, children worked with talk partners to discuss the question: If we use good table manners, how could this improve our lunchtimes? Through these discussions, they identified key areas for improvement, such as sitting properly at the table, using a knife and fork to eat, and avoiding walking while eating to reduce choking risks. The WOW group played a key role in visually demonstrating positive lunchtime behaviours. They were featured in photos and role-play scenarios, modelling both the correct and incorrect ways to behave in the dining hall. These demonstrations helped reinforce the importance of eating safely and respectfully. To support these changes, new posters have been placed around the school, reminding everyone to face the table while eating, lean over trays or lunchboxes to avoid spills, and wait until they have swallowed their food before getting up. These expectations will continue to be reinforced through modelling, praise, and reminders, ensuring that lunchtimes are a safe, calm, and enjoyable experience for everyone.
Year 1 Science- Floating and Sinking
Today in Science, Year one learnt about floating and sinking. They learnt that when something is floating, it can be described as buoyant and when something has gone beneath the surface of the water, it can be described as being submerged. Year 1 learnt that generally speaking lighter objects will float and heavier objects will sink. However, they also learnt for an item to float, it must contain trapped air. This was illustrated through the example of a submarine. When the submarine was filled with air, it floated on the water but when this air was replaced with water, the submarine sunk. We saw some examples of this in our own classroom too. When a glass bottle was empty and filled with air, it floated but when this air was replaced with water it sunk. Likewise, we experimented with some cotton wool which presented the same results. Year 1 also predicted and tested many other objects to see whether they would sink or float such as a feather, rock, paper clip, lolly stick and a metal spoon.
WOW Badge Design Winners
A huge well done to our seven WOW badge design winners! We had so many entries for the badges which made it very difficult to pick a winner from each class. Thank you to every child who created their designs and submitted them to the competition. We picked the top three from the age group winners which have been sent off to the national competition which closes this week so fingers crossed .
Year 4 Creating Batik Artwork Inspired by William Morris
In our art unit, we have been looking at the work of William Morris. We have spent time creating patterns on tracing paper and then transferring these onto paper and then onto fabric. Next we moved on to adding pva glue onto our fabric pieces, copying the patterns that we had created on paper. This week we used acrylic paint to cover the whole piece, including the pva markings. In our next session, we will soak the fabric in water to dissolve the glue and this will leave us with a finished batik design - we can’t wait to see the final result.
Year 3- Food Technology- Where does our food come from?
Today, Year 3 began their Food Technology unit by exploring how different foods grow in various climates. To remind ourselves, we explored the concept of climate zones, explaining that these describe the typical weather patterns of different parts of the world, including rainfall and temperature. The children discovered that the UK has a temperate climate, meaning it experiences four seasons, which affects the types of food that can be grown here. They also learned that different climates around the world allow different countries to grow specific foods. Using atlases, the children worked in pairs to locate countries where certain fruits and vegetables traditionally grow. This activity helped them understand the link between climate and food production. We also discussed how the UK’s temperate climate influences the food available to us and how this can impact our diets.
Year 2 - creating texture in artwork
Today in Art, Year 2 looked at different textures we can create with pastels. We discovered that by holding the pastel in different positions and using different edges of the pastel it creates different textures. We also used different amounts of pressure to create different effects. After practicing with different techniques, we had a go at creating our own picture using these techniques.
Amazing Art Displays
We have some amazing Artwork up on display around school as Reception, Year 1, Year 5 and Year 6 have completed their Art units for this half-term. We can really see the different Art skills the children have developed in their units and how hard they have worked to create a fantastic final piece.
Friday Celebration Worship
Our celebration worship today began with the signing of the Trinity by the Heads and Deputies. Moving onto expressing our gratitude to everyone who supported the school's Valentine's Disco, which promoted love and kindness. We also acknowledged Safer Internet Day, which classes have been focusing on this week. The whole school also enjoyed a fantastic science show presented by Mad Science. The children were buzzing with excitement as we witnessed multiple experiments involving, an egg, fire and a red cabbage. The children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 shared their thanks for wonderful dance and gymnastics sessions led by Rothwell Arts. We've also had a great half term of extra-curricular clubs, including Foodie Friends Club, Craft Club, Basketball, SATS and Multi-Sports. Next half term's clubs include Mad Science Club, Edstart Dodgeball and Gymnastics, Craft Club, Performing Arts, SATs Club, Choir, Cross Country, and Netball. Sign up soon, as spaces are limited! All class teachers presented value awards to children in their class that received the most value points this week, Luna, Joey, Lyla, Chloe, Lilly, Isabelle, and Daisy for demonstrating our 4 Bs: being respectful, kind, safe, and ready along with our Christian Values. Well done to these children for their excellent attitude and commitment to learning. The WOW group announced the ‘Wow Badge Winners’ for their amazing badge creations: Reception: Eva, Year 1: Elsie, Year 2: Renee, Year 3: Cassidy, Year 4: Alexis, Year 5: Bella, and Year 6: Daisy. They all received a big bar of chocolate for their entries. Well done to Year 2 and Year 5 for their amazing attendance this week! We also celebrated our out-of-school achievers: Hayden (good tackling), Hendrix (key game at Squirrels), Maggie (Rainbows badges), Olivia (gymnastics), Annabel (Rainbows badges for healthy mind), Grace (song and dance), Molly (swimming), Jack (swimming, Stage 7), Olivia (player of the match), and Tristan (imaginary green belt for kickboxing). Our Sports Hall Athletics team came 3rd in the final! Well done to the whole squad! Our house teams with the highest points will be rewarded with a house points disco and non-uniform day after the holiday. Congratulations to the Green (Whitehall Park) and Red (India Mill) teams tied with an overall score of 11 points for the half term. This week Darwen Tower placed 4th, India Mill came 3rd place , 2nd place Whitehall Park and 1st place River Darwen. Mrs Ham read out a special prayer called the Lord is my Shepherd which focuses on Jesus being like a shepherd by guiding us and always being there for us and Lydia placed the “ Year of Prayer” sticker on our special chart. We thank all those who attended the celebration worship and wish our school family a lovely, restful half-term break. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Sportshall Athletics in Year 4
In our PE session today we did Sportshall athletics. We practised our baton exchange in relays and incorporated speed bounce, hurdles and tunnels. The children worked hard to develop their speed, focusing on form and technique. We are excited for the Year 3/4 Sportshall Athletics competition on Wednesday 26th March on the first week back after the half term holidays.
Year 1 PE- Inter-House Bench Ball
This afternoon, Year 1 took part in the inter- house bench ball which was led by our super sports leaders. The children thoroughly enjoyed playing with their house team and it was fantastic to see everyone joining in and being amazing St Barnabas encouragers.
Year 1 English- Nursery Rhymes
Over the last few days, Year 1 have been exploring nursery rhymes. They understand that nursery rhymes tell a story, include repetition to make them easy to learn and often contain rhyming words to make them enjoyable and fun to join in with. They recited and performed various poems such as ‘Little Bo-Peep’ and ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’. They will now look at the nursery rhyme ‘The Magic Porridge Pot’ and create their own version of this poem.
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Inter - House Bench Ball in Year 4
This morning we took part in the inter- house bench ball which was led by our super sports leaders. The children were playing with their house team; River Darwen, India Mill, Whitehall Park and Darwen Tower. It was fantastic to see everyone joining in and being amazing St Barnabas encouragers. What a super way to end the half term and huge thanks to the sports leaders for organising this opportunity.