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Our Whole School Worship-Palm Sunday and Serving Others
Our whole school worship began with signing the Trinity, bringing the whole school together in reflection. To explore the theme of our new Kindness Kite, Jack (Y5), Eliza (Y5), and Olivia (Y4) shared the Fairness Kite, which explained the biblical perspective on justice and treating others equitably. Mrs Ham asked the children to take a moment to reflect on everything we have done as a school to serve others who don't have as much as us. We looked back on our collective efforts to help those in need: Donating clothes, coats for the homeless, and teddies, which were organised by Year 5 Rotakids. Collecting food for Harvest and supporting the Darwen Enterprise Easter Egg appeal. Filling shoe boxes and raising money through sponsored walks. Worship continued with Mrs Ham reading a rhyming Palm Sunday Bible story about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, which the children and staff acted out brilliantly. Jesus and his friends were played by Charlie G, Peyton, and Mr Bloomfield. Zac (Year 1) played the donkey that carried Jesus into the city. Iris, Ava, and many other children acted as the crowd, waving palm leaves to welcome the King. Mrs Araujo and Mr Mealor played the Pharisees, representing the religious leaders who disagreed with Jesus and watched the parade with concern. To end our worship, we sang, 'We Have a King Who Rides a Donkey.' We left worship thinking about the example Jesus set and how we can continue to give in service to those around us.
Year 2 RE - Retelling the Easter Story using a timeline of events
In Year 2, we have been learning more about the key events of Easter. We placed the key events in order and then retold the parts in our own words.
Year 5 - RE
In RE, we compared the stories of Jesus’ death in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. We found that there are many similarities between the two stories, with both authors writing that Jesus died on the cross at noon with followers offering to ease his suffering with sour wine. Differences between the Gospels include Matthew writing that an earthquake struck at the moment of his death. The children then wrote their own version of the story, choosing which details to add.
Craft Club
For St. Patrick’s Day at Craft Club, we created rainbow scenes with pots of gold! The children painted a background, created their own pot of gold and then used strips of paper to create a rainbow. Some children even used heart shaped paper punches to create four leaf clovers. Next week at Craft Club: Easter crafts.
Year 6 - Orienteering
Our Year 6 class have been developing their orienteering and map reading skills this week. During the session, the children worked brilliantly to complete the course, using maps to navigate their way around a series of checkpoints. The children demonstrated excellent teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills; supporting one another, discussing the best routes to take and adapting when things did not go to plan. It was great to see their resilience and determination, particularly when faced with more challenging sections of the course. As the session progressed, many children began to think more strategically, choosing more efficient routes and improving their time. The children also reflected on their performance afterwards, considering what went well and what they would do differently next time.
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Reception: Muddy Monday
Our Reception explorers had a fantastic time during today’s session at Whitehall Park. It was a joy to see them immersing themselves in nature and building so much confidence in the great outdoors. Today, we took a moment to ask the children what they love most about their woodland adventures, and their answers perfectly captured the spirit of the morning. Chester told us that he loves climbing trees and collecting twigs to create fires, while Coban shared that he really enjoys the process of making fires too. In the heart of the trees, Bowen explained that he just enjoys playing in the woodland, while Max was busy building dens and Poppy told us she enjoys making bug houses for the little creatures. The session was also a wonderful chance for discovery; Erin mentioned how much she enjoys finding all the different leaves, and Alfie told us he loves to dig for treasure that nobody can find. Luna highlighted the social side of our trips, saying, "We love to talk about what we can see outside with our friends." Of course, it wouldn't be a true session without a bit of mess—Indie happily told us she simply enjoys getting muddy! It is wonderful to see our class growing so much through these outdoor experiences.
Year 1 PE: Rolling A Ball
In PE, Year 1 have been practising rolling a ball. We worked in groups of 3 and started by rolling a dodgeball to our partner, through another child’s legs. Then, the person in the middle had to jump over the moving ball. We also added a hoop so that the ball had to roll through the hoop. To make it more challenging, we swapped from a dodgeball to a tennis ball. This was tricker as they are a smaller and bouncy.
Year 1 Provision: Creating Castles
Last week, Year 1 loved creating castles using toilet rolls in provision. We saw them use lots of different skills and imagination, such as adding flags, turrets and backgrounds.
Year 3- Science- Weathering: How Rocks Break!
This week, the Year 3 scientists recapped on the previous lesson learning all about rocks. They started by talking with their peers about different rock groups: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The main part of the lesson was about weathering, which is how rocks get broken or worn away over time. They looked at physical weathering (like freezing water), chemical weathering (like acid rain), and biological weathering (like tree roots growing through cracks). There was lots of "talk time" for the children to use their oracy skills, especially when discussing which rocks make the strongest walls. By the end, they could explain how weathering changes rocks and pick the best ones for different jobs.
Year 5 - Science
We started our new topic of Forces by considering the relationship between gravity and mass. We defined mass as the ‘stuff’ that makes up objects and weight as the force pulled by gravity. We tested whether mass affected the speed that objects fall by replicating Galileo’s famous thought experiment of dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We discovered that balls with different mass fell at the same rate.
Mothering Sunday Worship
We wanted to send a huge thank you to the children who joined us for our special Mothering Sunday worship today. They were a true credit to our community and represented St Barnabas beautifully. It was a joy to hear their voices fill the church as they performed: • Jesus Strong and Kind • The Butterfly Song • Give me oil in my lamp We are so grateful to you, our families, for bringing them along and allowing them to be such an integral part of our service. Their energy and participation made the morning truly special. Wishing a wonderful Mothering Sunday to all our Mums and Grandmas—we hope you have a relaxing day filled with love.
Year 6 - Building Bridges
Year 6 have begun their new Design and Technology unit on building bridges. The children started by exploring different types of bridges and discussing how their structures help them stay strong. The children looked at examples such as arched bridges and corrugated designs, learning how shapes and materials can make a structure more stable. After investigating these designs, the children created their own bridges using card. The children then tested their models to see how much weight each bridge could withstand, helping them understand which designs were the strongest and why.