Friday Celebration Worship
Today, we started our celebration worship by reflecting on another busy week in school. This week, our school staff have had some Makaton training which was wonderful and we can’t wait to roll some of the key signs out across school. We’ve also enjoyed some fantastic Life Education sessions led by Karen and Harold the Giraffe and Reception, Year 1, 2 and 4 have continued with their wonderful dance and gymnastics sessions led by Rothwell Arts. We then congratulated Hadi, Samuel and Eve in EYFS and KS1 and Joshua, Layla, Millie and Will in KS2 for demonstrating an outstanding attitude to learning, pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and always showing our Christian Values of respect, friendship and courage. Furthermore, we congratulated Reception and Year 6 on being our amazing attendance winners this week, River Darwen as our overall value award winners this week with 304 points and our Year 5/6 football team who represented our school amazingly well last night in the DPSSA football league winning 6-2 in their first game and 7-1 in their second game and achieving 2nd place overall- well done boys! We then congratulated Ava for being awarded ‘Star of the Day’ at Multi-Sports Club, Olly for swimming an incredible 50m, Samuel for developing his confidence in swimming and swimming with only a one-arm disc, Grace for achieving a distinction in her ballet exam and a platinum award for scoring 90 or marks in her classical ballet exam, Eliza for being a phenomenal horse rider, Sofia for achieving ‘Star of the Week’ at musical theatre and Millie for being awarded with her a Stage 1 swimming certificate. We then heard from our well-being warriors who launched a competition. They are inviting our whole school to design a badge for our ‘WOW’ campaign. The theme for this is ‘Walk With Joy’ and the designs must be big, bold and colourful. There will be a winner in each year group (Rec-Year 6) who will receive a special prize from Mrs Gardener and the well-being warriors and the overall top 5 designs will be sent off, printed and made into one of the ‘WOW’ badges for the 2025/2026 ‘Walking to School’ campaign. Examples of badge designs could include wildlife or pets, local buildings or landmarks and hobbies. We also heard from our Rotakids in Year 5 who told us about a non-uniform day that we will be having next Friday 31st January to raise funds for food, shelter and first aid supplies for those in America who are being affected by the LA wildfires. Please make a minimum donation of £1 for this worthy cause. To end our worship, we had some beautiful prayers from Archie, Max and Phoebe who prayed for those less fortunate than ourselves, including those in America who are amidst the wildfires and having to live through fear and heartbreak. We then sang our 'Life in all its fullness' song and thanked those who could attend celebration worship. We thank the rest of our school family for all of your continued support. We wish you all a lovely weekend.
Choir - Let’s Go Sing Workshop
Today our Choir took part in their final workshop with Gaynor in preparation for the Let’s Go Sing concert in March. The children are working really hard on the lyrics to each song and Gaynor was super impressed with their confidence, enthusiasm and actions. As we’ve said before, we are certainly a small but mighty choir! I’m sure they are going to blow us all away when they perform on the second biggest stage in the world at Blackpool Winter Gardens, and we can’t wait to watch them singing their hearts out.
Year 3- English- Identifying features of a playscript
In English, Year 3 looked at what makes a playscript and how it’s different from a regular story. To get ready for writing their own playscripts based on the film Soar, they worked with familiar stories like Jack and the Beanstalk, The Gingerbread Man, and Little Red Riding Hood. There were plenty of giggles as they acted out different parts, which really helped them think about how to make things exciting for an audience, use stage directions, and figure out timing and scenes.
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Rotakids Non-uniform day to support those affected by the LA fires.
As part of Year 5 RotaKids, we are determined to make a difference and support the 180,000 people who have been affected and forced to flee their homes due to the devastating LA wildfires. On Friday, 31st January, RotaKids will be hosting a non-uniform day to raise money for those impacted by this tragic event. We encourage everyone to get involved by wearing their favourite clothes and contributing to this important cause. We kindly ask for a minimum donation of £1, but any additional contributions will be greatly appreciated. This will be available on parent pay next week. Every penny raised will go towards helping families rebuild their lives and providing essential supplies to those in need. This is a wonderful opportunity to teach our children the value of helping others and making a positive impact on the world around us. Thank you for your generosity and support, Year 5 RotaKids
DPSSA Schools Football League
Today, our incredible football team showcased their talent and determination, winning their final two games and securing an impressive second place in the Darwen Primary Schools Football League. The boys played brilliantly and should be extremely proud of their hard work and achievements!
Reception Street Dance
This week we have been revisiting the moves we have learned so far in our sessions with Jess. We have been practising our bounce and rock, cool dude faces and the Smurf. The children are really starting to understand how to put the moves together to create longer sequences. We can’t wait to see the finished result in a few weeks!
Wellbeing Warriors Badge Design Meeting
Today our Wellbeing Warriors had a working lunch, so that we could prepare for the WOW design a badge competition. The children will be launching this in Celebration Worship tomorrow. This years theme is ‘Walk with Joy’ and every child in school will get to design their very own badge for the competition. We want them to be big, bold and colourful. Diversity and originality are key to stand out from the crowd. WOW badges are only 3cm, so simple designs without small details will work best. The Wellbeing Warriors can’t wait to receive and judge the entries, so let’s get cracking!
Year 6 Life Education Session
Year 6 had their Life Education session, this week. The focus was on decisions and choices, friendships, being assertive, drugs and body impact. The children watched and discussed scenarios and thought about what they would do in these situations. They talked about drugs and their impact on our bodies and how to deal with peer-pressure. The children learned a lot and really enjoyed the session.
Year 1 Presentation of Learning
Last week, Year 1 performed ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ to the whole school. They have been focusing on story mapping and reciting this story by heart in their English lessons before they take it one step further and write their own innovated versions of the story. Well done Year 1 for using your clear, rhythmic voices and having brilliant accompanying actions. It was wonderful to see so many other children remembering the story from when they were in the infants.
Year 4 - Life Education
Our Life Education session today was called ‘It’s Great To Be Me’. In Year 4, the children learned about the importance of looking after their bodies and not putting harmful substances in them. They learned about drugs, including medicines and how they must only be taken by the intended person and in the dose advised. The children were particularly excited to see Harold the Giraffe again. They saw a short film with Harold and his friends resolving conflict and celebrating each others’ differences.
Worship with Rev. Ben
Today’s worship with Rev. Ben began with a lively game of Captain’s Orders. In the game, forgiveness was straightforward—a simple cue to face the window—but in real life, forgiving someone is often much harder. Rev. Ben explained that one of the things Jesus taught us is that forgiveness can be challenging because we may not always have the right perspective. The children then listened to The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which highlighted that true forgiveness comes from the heart. Through this parable, Jesus illustrated the importance of showing others the same grace and forgiveness that we receive. Afterward, the children engaged in a thoughtful discussion, exploring key questions such as: What did Jesus want people to learn about forgiveness from the parable? and How could this story help you in situations where you need to forgive others? The discussion encouraged the children to reflect on the value of forgiveness and how it can bring peace to their lives and relationships.
Year 4 - PE: Acro Session 2
The Year 4s have been focusing on perfecting their rolls and their bridges this week. It was fantastic to see the determination shown by each child to achieve their personal goals. Some children were able to perfect their front walkovers (handstand into bridge). All this and it’s only week two!