Year 1 English: We’re Going On A Bear Hunt
Today we started our new story “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt”. To help us to understand this story we went on a bear hunt around our classroom. The children used drama to act out different scenes such as swimming through the deep cold river and being stuck in the thick oozy mud. They also enjoyed saying sounds such as “splash splosh”. The children then had to sequence pictures into their books and write short sentences using time conjunctions.
Foodie Friends Club: Shortcrust Pizzas
We kicked off our first Foodie Club of the half-term with a fantastic session making shortcrust pastry pizzas. Our "Great Chefs" were in their element, skillfully rolling the pastry into their own unique shapes before smothering them in sauce and loading them with a rainbow of toppings, including peppers, onions, olives, sweetcorn, and tuna. It was a joy to see the children so deeply engaged, mastering new culinary skills and exploring different flavours with such enthusiasm. By providing these hands-on opportunities to create and learn, we are helping our students build confidence and truly live life to its fullest.
Year 3- science - Comparing and grouping animals by their diet.
In Science today, our Scientists have been exploring the fascinating world of biological classification. The children took on the role of taxonomists, carefully grouping animals based on their specific categories, habitats, and dietary requirements. By comparing various species, they investigated how different creatures have adapted to their environments, specifically looking at the contrast between carnivores and omnivores.
Whole School Singing Worship - Monday
We welcomed our children back into school on Monday with a special story read to us from Bob Hartman, who also wrote the rhyming Bible that we use a lot in our worships. Jesus told us that children are important and should be treated with kindness and understanding and that the rich people of the world are not better than the poor, encouraging them to share their wealth. This turned the way people of the time thought upside down. We then celebrated together through some of our beautiful songs and children were welcomed to perform at the front. A lovely start to our week together.
100 Years of Blackburn Diocese
In order to celebrate 100 years of Blackburn diocese, we took part in a whole-school virtual assembly that focused on the many successes and achievements of the diocese over the past century. Bishop Philip welcomed schools from across the diocese and shared an engaging story about the travels of the Wise Men, linking these to themes of faith, journey and community. The children greatly enjoyed seeing and feeling connected to other schools within the diocese and were excited to take part in a shared celebration. The assembly provided a valuable opportunity for pupils to reflect on their place within the wider diocesan family, strengthening their sense of belonging and understanding of our shared faith. The event was engaging, inclusive, meaningful and it helped bring the history and mission of the diocese to life for the whole school community. We are looking forward to taking part in a variety of centenary 'All for Jesus' activities and worships over the year.
Friday Celebration Worship
What a brilliant first week back! We are so proud of all the children for settling back into school so sensibly, even with the excitement of the snow. We started by celebrating our values awards winners: Elara in Reception, Max in Year 1, Vienna in Year 2, Mila in Year 3, Lottie in Year 4, Carmen in Year 5 and Luca in Year 6. These children are always doing the right thing and working hard, well done! We also celebrated Olivia and Jacob in Year 4 who were awarded their pen licenses this week. A huge well done to all of our house teams this week for earning lots of value points. Darwen Tower came in 4th place, Whitehall Park came in 3rd place, River Darwen came in 2nd place and India Mill in 1st place. We had lots of Sports Awards this week. Well done to Callie for 25m in backstroke, Ralphi was awarded a swimming medal for 5m and a football certificate for courage against older players, Elijah was awarded a 200m swimming certificate, James was awarded a 100m swimming certificate, Renee was awarded a 5m swimming certificate and Carmen won a student of the year trophy in kickboxing and a swimming certificate for 100m and 50m. Additionally, Phoebe was awarded the Olivia doll from Rainbows for excellent colouring, Thea was awarded a gymnastics certificate for backwards and forwards on the bars, Reggie won player of the week in football for scoring 10 goals and finally Scarlett won player of the match in netball. Well done everyone! Our Year 5 and 6 football team also shared that they lost to St Paul’s 2-1 in their most recent football game, but still placed 5th out of 13 schools. This is a brilliant placement! Also, well done to Year 1 and 2 who the best attendance in Key Stage 1 and Year 4 in Key Stage 2. Mrs Ham also reminded us of our upcoming events: Let’s Go Sing, Stay and Play, NSPCC Speak Out and our visit from Harold the Giraffe. Finally, Charlie, Lilly and James said some beautiful prayers to end our worship. Have a restful weekend and please stay safe in the turbulent weather conditions.
KS2 DPSSA Football League
A huge well done to our St.Barnabas football team, who have competed brilliantly over the past few weeks. Finishing 5th out of 13 schools in a very competitive league is a fantastic achievement and they should be hugely proud of themselves. A huge thank you to Me Bloomfield for his coaching and to the parents and carers who came along to support!
Year 6 - Geography
Today in Geography, the children began the lesson with a diagnostic question exploring why people might choose to live in London. Using talk tokens, they practised their oracy skills by sharing ideas, listening carefully to one another and building on responses within their groups. This supported thoughtful discussion and helped pupils justify their opinions. The lesson then moved on to exploring how human activity has shaped and changed the landscape. The children examined key concepts such as urbanisation, agriculture and erosion management, considering both the positive and negative impacts humans can have on the environment. They used examples to deepen their understanding and made links to real-life locations, developing their geographical vocabulary and critical thinking skills throughout the session.
Gifted and Talented Gymnastics Club
Our Gifted and Talented Key Steps Gymnastics club started last night and the children loved their first session. Our specialist coaches went through parts of the routine covering both body management and floor exercise. We can’t wait to see how the children progress over the next few weeks and establish their routines.
Year 1 Maths - Identifying 3D Shapes
In our maths session this morning we were looking at recognising and naming 3D shapes. The children first learnt a new song which focused on cylinders ,cones, cube and sphere which they absolutely loved! Next we used the 3D shapes to work on identifying how many vertices, faces and edges each of the shapes had. The children worked extremely hard to develop their understanding especially with the sphere and cylinders which were super tricky!
Reception Maths - Subitising Pairs
This week in Maths, we have been revisiting our subitising skills to 5. We have moved onto looking at different frames and arrangements to help us subitise quickly, e.g. fingers on our hand, spots on a dice and numicon pieces. The children then took turns to play a game of 'pairs' where they had to turn over different cards to see if they could subitise and find a matching pair. They were brilliant at spotting the equal amounts!
Worship with Rev Matt- Courage
This morning, we were delighted to welcome Rev. Matt for our whole school worship. We spent time exploring our current Christian value of Courage, using the story of Epiphany as our inspiration. Through the journey of the Wise Men, we discussed how they demonstrated incredible bravery. It wasn't just the long journey that required strength, but their decision to listen to God’s warning and defy King Herod’s orders. They showed us that courage often means doing what is right, even when it feels difficult or uncertain. We reflected on how God can provide us with the inner strength to face our fears. And how courage isn't something we have to find alone; we can encourage and support each other to be brave in our daily lives. Like the Wise Men, we can choose to do the right thing, even when faced with pressure.