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Collective Worship- Love at Advent
This morning in our collective worship we walked in to the song 'Wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas' which is from one of Mrs Ham's favourite Christmas films, The Muppets Christmas Carol. We then signed and lit our trinity candles and then lit our advent candles of hope, peace and joy. We then learnt about the fourth candle, which represents love. We watched a special video called from God with love which told God's big story and how he loves us so much that he sent his special son, Jesus. We then reflected on how we can show love to others this Christmas and we had some wonderful ideas such as smiling, giving our time, hugs, food for the homeless, giving presents and showing gratitude for everything we have. We thought about all of the lovely ways we have shown love to others over the last week through singing in care homes, delivering Christmas cards to East Lancs Hospice and bringing joy to others with our Nativity and Christmas Cracker Concerts. We then said a special prayer thanking God for his most amazing gift of Jesus and sang some Christmas carols. Whilst we were singing, Mrs Ham gave every single child in our school family a special gift of a small wooden heart with love engraved on it to remind us that God loves us, she loves us, all the teachers love us and our friends and family love us. She explained that everytime we look at it we can remember how loved we are and it can encourage us to show love to others in all the fantastic ways we thought of earlier.
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Autumn Amazing Attendance Alert
A huge congratulations to all of our children who were awarded with an amazing attendance award for having over 96% attendance, for the whole of this Autumn term! We are so proud of you all! There have been quite a few winter bugs doing the rounds so if you didn't manage to get a certificate this time due to being off poorly, we are hopeful that you will achieve one at the end of the Spring term, if you continue to have good attendance.
India Mill Winners Disco
Well done to our children who are in India Mill House Team. Their team won the most Values points this half term and were rewarded with a non-uniform day and a disco. The children enjoyed some sweets, danced lots and played musical bumps too.
FOSB Fundraiser Thank you
Good morning, A huge thank you to you all for your support with our recent fundraisers. Our total profit from our spooky disco was £426.89. Our total profit from our Christmas gifts and cards fundraiser was £222.12. Our total profit from our Christmas Fayre was £810.08. This means we have raised £1459.09 Thank you to our FOSB for all of their support and help with planning and running our fundraisers. The money will help us to purchase chrome books and repair our trim trail. Thank you, Mrs Wilkinson
Year 4 PE - Using the Climbing Frame and new Gym Equipment
For our PE session today we incorporated all of the skills that we have learned over the past few weeks and transferred these into the new gym equipment. We also got the multi use climbing frame out to give the children more ways to explore travelling, changing position and direction, jumping and landing. It was a great session and all of the children loved it!
Year 4 Adventure Art and Trail Quiz Walk
Year 4 have had a great day today taking part in the Advent Art and Trail Quiz Walk. We walked to the Rose Garden first where we did the Advent Trail Quiz and the children worked really well to follow the clues and answer the questions. Next we walked around the garden admiring the beautiful pieces of artwork that the children from St Barnabas had completed. After that we walked to Mrs Gardner's home to enjoy hot chocolate, marshmallows and cream or a hot vimto with a side of chocolate biscuits. Finally, we walked back to the park and went on the playground before heading back to school. The children were great at showing the 4 Bs both in and out of the classroom and it was lovely to watch them all with huge smiles on their faces too.
Years 4, 5 and 6 Christmas Party
It was party day today and the children in Years 4, 5 and 6 came together to play games and show off their best dance moves. They enjoyed a round of pass the parcel and a couple of games of corners, but their highlight was definitely dancing in their flashing glasses to an array of nineties and noughties pop classics.
Year 4 - RE: Christingle
We completed our Year 4 Christmas unit this week, learning about Christingle and what each part of the Christingle candle represents. The children then made their own Christingle candles out of satsumas, cocktail sticks, birthday candles and sweets. We spent some time thinking about those who may not always have their basic needs met whilst we held our candles.
Year 4 - PE: Basketball with Edstart
Ahead of the basketball club starting in January, Edstart came in to lead a basketball skills session this week. The children thoroughly enjoyed practising dribbling and demonstrating chest passes and bounce passes. They showed great sportsmanship and fantastic teamwork. Well done Year 4!
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Whole School Celebration Worship
During this week’s celebration worship, we reflected on the theme of joy this Advent, alongside the lighting of the peace and hope candles as part of our preparations for Christmas. We discussed how joy can be found in simple moments and acts of kindness, and the children were reminded of the many wonderful events that brought happiness throughout the week. These included the Rocksteady concert, where children showcased their musical talents, the magical pantomime Aladdin on Ice, the school Pantivity Production and the festive fun of the Christmas Fair. Our Values Award winners were celebrated with great applause: Harry in Reception, Molly in Year 1, Evie in Year 2, Chay in Year 3, Sofia in Year 4, Elsie in Year 5, and Poppy in Year 6. Their contributions to school life have been amazing and have been reflected in their awards. Year 1 and Year 4 were also recognised as the winners of this week’s attendance award for their commitment to being present and ready to learn. A heartfelt special thank you was given to all the children who contributed their creative talents to produce the stunning Christmas artwork now proudly displayed in the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. This beautiful display adds a festive touch to the community and each class will now take a trip to the park to admire all the children’s artwork. Prayers were shared during the worship, led by the children, who asked for peace in countries experiencing conflict and war, kindness to those without food or shelter, and blessings for everyone to have a safe, warm, and joyful Christmas. The Team Values Points results were eagerly awaited, with Darwen Tower placing fourth, India Mill third, River Darwen second, and Whitehall Park taking first place for the week. In addition, India Mill was announced as the overall half-term winner, earning a well-deserved non-uniform day and disco celebration as a reward for their hard work and teamwork throughout the term. This will take place on the last Thursday of the term. We proudly acknowledged the remarkable achievements of our children. Lydia was recognised for earning her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder badge and for taking action to make a difference, while Naomi received her Christmas badge for Brownies. Isabella celebrated swimming 5 meters, and Lyla earned a Medal with Rothwell Arts for her dedication to ballet. Marnie May was applauded for her accomplishments in tap dancing and gymnastics and Grace achieved her Bronze Award for earning multiple badges at Brownies. Olivia was named Star of the Week for her excellent performance in gymnastics and Tristen celebrated earning his blue belt in kickboxing. Scarlett shone with her Netball Shooting Award, while Oliver achieved a swimming award for swimming 5 meters. Elana was recognised for her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder and taking action and Luna was honored as Dancer of the Day. Alice and Evie were recognised as they performed beautifully in Over the Bridge and Leonora and Desmond proudly represented their swimming competition in the regionals. Well done to all for these incredible accomplishments! The worship concluded on a high note, with everyone coming together to sing joyful Christmas songs, filling the room with festive cheer.
PSHE -Valuing Difference Part 2 in Year 4
In today’s PSHE session the children started by discussing how we celebrate difference and treat each other with respect and fairness. We then moved on to identifying different celebrities and finding how they are different from one another and what are their attributes contribute to who they are as a whole person.
Whitehall Park Rose Garden Art Trail
Thank you to all the children who created fantastic Art work for our ADVENTure trail at the Whitehall Park. A selection of the Art work is now on display in the Rose Garden for everyone to see. All classes will be visiting next week to look at the Art work, talk about the Nativity story and sing some Christmas carols to get us all in the festive spirit!