Image of KS2- Author Visit-R.K. Alker
5 Mar

KS2- Author Visit-R.K. Alker

To celebrate World Book Day and foster a love for reading, we welcomed children's book author RK Alker today. He shared insights into his journey before becoming an author, recounting experiences such as growing chillies and collaborating with celebrities like Gordon Ramsay. Before pursuing writing, RK worked as an ambulance man until a leg injury led him to reconsider his career path. Inspired by his daughters, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of writing a book. During his talk, RK emphasised the importance of creative writing prompts and utilising the five senses to enhance writing. He introduced the children to his character Stretch the Dragon by reading chapter 7 from his current best-selling book 'My Grandad Vs the Fanga Zoo,' leaving it on a cliffhanger. RK hopes to get a word he made up, 'oopositollogy' (which means the opposite of opposite), into a dictionary one day. To end the visit, RK told funny jokes that had the children laughing their socks off.

Image of Year 4 DT - Electrical Systems
5 Mar

Year 4 DT - Electrical Systems

In our first DT session this half term, we have started to explore electrical systems. This week we focused on what electricity is and where it comes from. We then moved onto making simple circuits with a bulb , batteries and a switch using split pins and a paper clip. Some groups were really tested as they needed to exchange their components a few times but we all got there in the end.

Image of Rev Ben’s Worship- Jesus welcomes the children
4 Mar

Rev Ben’s Worship- Jesus welcomes the children

This morning in Collective Worship Rev Ben started with a fun game where we all had to touch our nose, then stand on one leg, then whilst hopping, then whilst turning around and finally whilst shouting 'Good morning Mrs Ham'. We discussed how the busier you get, the harder it can be to do things. He then read us a story from the Bible about how everyone wanted to see Jesus and how his disciples thought he was too busy and important to see the children. However, they were wrong as Jesus welcomed the children and said that adults could learn from the example of children and that he is never too busy. We reflected on how we are sometimes so busy but it helps us to know that Jesus is never too busy to listen to us. We finished by singing Jesus strong and kind and My God's the King of Giants. Thank you Rev Ben for another brilliant Worship!

Image of Big Lent Walk: both targets achieved!
4 Mar

Big Lent Walk: both targets achieved!

Wow! We have achieved both of our targets already for the Big Lent Walk. A huge thank you to our wonderful children and families for taking part to help us to travel 385.4km (so far!!) Thank you to everyone who has sponsored us so far- our families, friends and the community. Your generosity means so much. We still have just under 4 weeks of Lent left so I am sure we can continue to add more km to our distance travelled and raise more money for this wonderful cause. You are not too late to get involved so please send your pictures and total km walked to either myself or Mrs Ham. Donations can still be made here: https://schools.walk.cafod.org.uk/fundraising/st-barnabas-big-lent-walk?utm_medium=email&utm_source=PostOffice&utm_campaign=DS_EVENTS-LFC_Trans_NthDonation Thank you for your kindness and generosity,

Image of Mad Science After- School Club- Optical illusion
4 Mar

Mad Science After- School Club- Optical illusion

Today, the children in the science club observed changing images firsthand through a camera obscura while delving into the fascinating realms of optics, reflection, and sight.

Image of Friday Celebration Worship
1 Mar

Friday Celebration Worship

Today, we started our celebration worship discussing the ‘Big Lent Walk’ challenge that we are currently participating in as a school to fundraise for CAFOD to help to fight poverty globally and boost our mental health and well-being. At present, we have exceeded our 200km target and we are confident that we can double and maybe even triple it so please get involved and send your pictures through to Mrs Ham or Mrs Wilkinson. We also thought about how we’ve lived life in all its fullness this week with the help of our amazing science, running, well-being and messy church clubs and all the wonderful learning in our classes. We then presented Olivia, Renee, Roman, Penelope, Isaac, April, Luca, Ella, Joshua and Oliver as our value award winners this week. Well done to those children for consistently following the 4Bs and demonstrating a wonderful attitude to learning. We also congratulated Year 1 and Year 4 on being our amazing attendance winners this week, River Darwen who are our overall value award winners this week and Tristen, Daisy and Desmond for achieving their pen licenses. We also said a huge well done to Carter, Ivy, Rio, Molly, Luca, Daisy, Charlie and Matthew for participating in our SIG5 times tables competition and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. We then congratulated our out of school achievers. Well done to Eliza and Carmen for showing commitment and achievement in their keyboard lessons, Eliza for demonstrating fantastic skill in her football, Tristen for a achieving his yellow belt in kickboxing, Mila for getting Olivia at Rainbows for showing lots of kindness and being both helpful and creative, Marley and Maggie for achieving their ‘World Thinking Day’ and some other badges for their commitment to Rainbows, Elsie, Eden and Grace for completing their promise at Brownies and achieving lots of badges for attending Brownie camp and completing several challenges and also to Elsie for working exceptionally hard at her English tuition lessons. We then ended our worship by saying the grace altogether and listening to a song called ‘You’ve Got to Sing’ by the choir that they will be performing at KGH next week. Just a reminder that it is the Mother’s Day Breakfast run by FOSB next Wednesday 6th March at 8.15am-8.45am. The cut off for purchasing tickets will be Monday. It is also World Book Day next Thursday 7th March and we have asked the children to dress up as a word for example courageous, athletic, mythical and disciplined. We can’t wait to see what you come up with. We thank all those who attended celebration worship and we wish the the rest of our school family a lovely restful weekend and thank you for your ongoing support too.

Image of Our School Art Gallery
29 Feb

Our School Art Gallery

Take a look at our amazing school Art Gallery! The children have worked really hard on their final pieces which are proudly showcased in our KS1 corridor and school hall. We can really see the progress children are making in Art across school and how hard they are working to master new and different skills.

Image of Year 4 PE - Basketball
29 Feb

Year 4 PE - Basketball

On our second PE session this week we have been focusing on Invasion Games - Basketball. Today we developed how to dribble with a basketball along how to pass the ball accurately to a team mate using a chest and bounce pass. We then moved on to small sided track v’s defence and the children adapted well in their groups applying tactics.

Image of Year 4 Class Worship - Jesus and the Taxman
29 Feb

Year 4 Class Worship - Jesus and the Taxman

In our Class Worship this morning, we looked at the story of Jesus and the Taxman and how your life can be transformed by loving Jesus. We found the story in the New Testament in The Gospels. Zacchaeus was a hated taxman who at first hid from Jesus. He hid in a tree until Jesus invited him for tea. Jesus chose Zacchaeus for a reason. He learnt that Jesus loves you just as you are so go and invite him into your hearts. After realising his wrongs Zacchaeus said that he would pay back everyone that he had stolen from x4 and he would sell half of what he owned and give this to the poor. He remembered that whatever you trust and rely on is probably your God and God shares his love with everyone.

Image of Year 4 PSHE - Rights and Respect
28 Feb

Year 4 PSHE - Rights and Respect

In our PSHE lesson we have moved onto a new unit which focuses on ‘Rights and Respect’. During the lesson we looked at who helps us to stay healthy and safe. We developed our understanding of the roles that particular job roles had including; doctors, teachers, firefighters, office administrators and site managers. The children collaborated on a mind map to demonstrate these similarities and differences then discussed which role they thought helped us the most and why.

Image of Year 4 Art - Creating Batik Fabric
28 Feb

Year 4 Art - Creating Batik Fabric

We have finally finished the process of developing our Batik artwork. As part of our final stage, we washed the glue off in the trays to leave just the patterns that we created with the acrylic paints. The children and adults alike are amazed by the final result which is so impressive! We look forward to showcasing these in our Year 4 Gallery for everyone to see.

Image of The W.O.W. Group - Messy Church: Faith in Action part 2
28 Feb

The W.O.W. Group - Messy Church: Faith in Action part 2

The WOW Group Messy Church activities continued this week with the final KS2 Faith in Action session. Participants watched the story of David and Goliath and talked about how David believed in God and himself. They then chose an affirmation bookmark to decorate and take home. Next week the WOW Group will be moving on to the KS1 sessions, with a focus on creation.