Year 5 - RotaKids
Darwen Rotary Club visited us again to inspire us for our next project in the new year. We talked about how our shoebox collections helped refugees in Darwen and further ideas on how to support our school and international communities. The children were inspired by the principles and ideals of the Rotary Club and are already full of ideas for the future. We also received badges and certificates confirming our role as RotaKids.
Year 5 - Geography
We started our geography unit on mountains by revisiting past knowledge of the topic. The children’s mind maps included names of famous mountains, their height, their climate and where they are found. Then we moved onto defining a mountain as a steep landform 600m above the ground before using atlases to find the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents (the seven summits).
Year 1 Maths: subtraction using play dough
Year 1 had so much fun in maths today using play dough to help them with subtraction. For example, for 8-2=6, they had to roll 8 balls of play dough as this is the whole, then squash 2 (a part) to find out how many were left over (6 as a part). They found this helpful as they could physically change the play dough and use it as a visual. Well done Year 1!
Year 3- Science-Investigating the Body's Framework
Today, as expert scientists, we investigated the human skeleton and its vital roles, a framework shared by humans and some other animals. Our scientific mission was to understand that bones and muscles work together to provide support, protection, and movement. The skeleton gives our bodies support and shape, allowing us to stand upright. It also protects by encasing delicate organs; for instance, the skull protects the brain, and the ribcage protects the heart and lungs. Finally, our muscles attach to the bones, creating a system of levers that allows us to move so we can run, jump, and play. We successfully identified key bones, including the humerus, femur, tibia, and fibula.
Year 3- Class Worship- The Spread of Christianity
Today, during our class worship, we explored the fascinating story of The Spread of Christianity and how the faith journeyed from its beginnings to our very own local area (our Diocese). We learned that after Jesus left, his first followers were given the special job, known as the Great Commission, to share his message of love and hope with everyone. Key stories, like the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and the incredible journeys of figures like the Apostle Paul, showed us how the Church grew and traveled across the world, eventually leading to the formation of the network of churches we belong to today. This movement is why we can gather together right here to worship. After learning about the growth of the Church, we took part in our own special way of spreading something good: thankfulness. Instead of using paper or screens, we used the power of our voices and our actions to share what we were grateful for. Each person was encouraged to verbally share something they were thankful for with the person next to them, creating a "chain" or "ripple" of gratitude that spread across the room, showing how quickly and easily good words can travel when we speak them aloud.
Reception PE - Climbing & Jumping
This week we have been continuing to develop our jumping skills, but also introduced climbing. We have been building our resilience and courage to take safe risks when climbing. This helps us to build our upper body strength so we can develop our stamina for writing.
Year 1 Christmas Tree Decorating
Year 1 had such a fun time decorating our Christmas tree. They carefully picked two baubles each to put on the tree. We made sure we covered as many branches as possible from top to bottom. They absolutely loved doing this together and we are definitely feeling the Christmas Spirit. It also makes for a lovely Reading Corner.
KS2 DPSSA Football League
Tonight, the boys played brilliantly in this week’s DPSSA league fixtures. They showed great teamwork and determination throughout both matches. Although they narrowly lost 2–1 to St Joseph’s, they demonstrated resilience and bounced back with an outstanding 9–0 victory against St Edward’s. It was a fantastic effort from the whole team.
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Year 6 - Animals including humans
During today’s science experiment, Year 6 explored how restricted arteries can affect the human body. The children carried out an investigation using cups with different sized holes to model how blood flows through arteries. They poured water into each cup and timed how quickly it passed through, recording their results and comparing the differences. The cups with smaller holes represented restricted or clogged arteries, showing how blockages can slow down or even prevent the flow altogether. This hands on activity helped the children clearly visualise the impact of unhealthy arteries and deepen their understanding of the circulatory system.
Year 6 - Smart School Council
This week’s Smart School Council meeting focused on the idea of who children would like to sit next to in class. The discussion explored different options, including sitting next to a friend, sitting near a celebrity or choosing to sit independently. Pupils shared their opinions, considered the benefits of each choice and reflected on how seating arrangements can affect their learning and wellbeing.
Year 1 Science: using our sense of taste
Today in Science, we used our sense of taste to identify, describe and rate different flavours. Firstly, we looked at each other’s tongues to spot the tiny bumps, which are our taste buds. Then, we discussed that foods have different flavours, such as sweet, spicy, bitter, sour and salty. Year 1 had to use their scientific skills to identify which flavour matched the food. They tried banana, lemon, dark chocolate, ginger biscuits and salted popcorn. They then rated the food out of 10 depending on how much they liked the flavour. It was great to see that all the children tried the foods, even if they knew that they didn’t like them. Well done Year 1!
Whole School Worship led by Rev Matt
In our Whole School Thursday Worship this week, Rev Matt shared the Bible story - Ruth Finds a New Home We started with our challenge which involved being good at charades. The children acted out a feeling and the other children sat down had to guess what it was. We had sad, angry, happy, excited and worried. We have been thinking about compassion. The Bible story - Ruth Finds a New home is about Ruth, a woman from Moab, chose to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi and move to Bethlehem after her husband died. There, she worked hard gleaning barley in the fields of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Boaz was impressed by her kindness and loyalty, and he eventually married her, providing a new home and a place in God's family for both Ruth and Naomi. The story is filled with compassion so it led us to our questions - Who shows us the most compassion and who do we show it to. We had answers such as family, friends, trusted adults, teachers and God. The children have showed compassion to everyone that they have come across, including their pets. Rev Matt finished with a lovely prayer about compassion and asked the children sto think how they could show this more around school this week.