Barney’s Got Talent
This morning, we had an extra special Friday celebration. Our amazing school family showcased their fabulous talents in the annual ‘Barney’s Got Talent Show.’ Our performers included ‘The Frozen Friends’ of Luna and Martha, ‘Rocket Reggie’ with his super speedy skipping, The APT, The Stars & The Sassy Girls, Percy, The Joker, The Baby Sharks featuring Lydia, Lenny and Olivia, The Gymnast Monkeys featuring Callie, Mollie and Hollie, Barney’s Song and Dance Group featuring Harry, Ella, Evie and Heidi singing ‘Beautiful Things, The JW Band featuring Carter, James, Elijah, Charlie and Seb singing ‘Green Green Grass,’ The Swifites featuring Naomi and Luna, Dramatic Darcy singing ‘Pink Pony Club,’ The Terrible Two featuring Sonny and Walter with their own version of ‘I’m a Teenage Dirt Bag Baby,’ Sassy Lilly with ‘Our Song’ by Taylor Swift, Star Sofia singing ‘Titanium,’ Graceful Grace showcasing her phenomenal tap skills, Omazing Oscar playing the Cello and last but not least our fabulous Year 6 children gave us a snippet of their performance to come next week and sang ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life.’ Well done to all of our performers for their amazing courage getting up on the stage in front of our huge audience of parents. Also, a huge well done to our heads and deputies (Hamza, Rosie, Daisy and Harry) for leading the whole show with great humour and confidence and finally, Mrs Ham for all of her enthusiasm and organisation. We have more of this to come with our Year 6 Performance of Annie on Tuesday, our Rocksteady Concert on Wednesday, our End of Year Award Ceremony on Thursday and our Year 6 Leavers next Friday. Thank you to the parents and carers who came along to support on such a hot day!
Scrumptious Production- KS2- Message of change and friendship
This afternoon, KS2 enjoyed a delightful end-of-year summer treat with the charming and magical production of 'SCRUMPTIOUS!' This gently interactive musical play told the sweet story of Sylvie, a sweetshop owner who loves her routine but learns to embrace change when a mysterious stranger arrives. The show beautifully conveyed the moral of the story: that while change can be daunting, it often leads to wonderful new experiences and friendships, encouraging us all to live life to its fullest. It was particularly fitting for the children as they prepare for big transitions, like moving from primary to secondary school or into a new class. The story was great with delightful descriptions of ice creams and different sweets, and even a magical book that played a key role. Getting the children involved in the narrative helped Sylvie be brave and adapt to her changing world, making for a truly memorable, funny, hopeful, and charming performance, the perfect treat to round off the summer term!
Whole School Worship - St Paul: Amazing Grace
In Rev Ben's collective worship this week, he started by asking us all to think of the most important thing someone ever said to us. The children shared examples of words of wisdom and good news, such as being told about a new sibling. Rev Ben shared some of the most important words St Paul ever said about the grace of God and being justified by Jesus's death, resurrection and ascension. He used role play to explain the complicated concept of grace and that God's grace isn't something which can be earned. The children acted out scenarios in which someone received something by working for it, and someone received the same thing just because the person chose to give it to them. Rev Ben went on to say that God's love is given to us all; we don't have to earn it. He reminded us that friendship with God develops from faith in Jesus.
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Year 5 - Striking and Fielding
Today, Year 5 continued their unit on striking and fielding, focusing more closely on striking the ball with accuracy and exploring tactics to use effectively during gameplay. The children worked on improving their hand-eye coordination, positioning and decision-making skills, applying these in small team games to develop a deeper understanding of both attacking and defensive strategies.
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Year 5 - Year of Prayer
As part of this week’s Year of Prayer reflections, the children took time to think about their personal and collective achievements over the past year. They each cut out shapes to represent something they were proud of—whether it was a goal they had reached, a skill they had developed or a moment that made them feel proud. These shapes were then displayed on the classroom windows, coming together to form a vibrant and meaningful collage that celebrates all we have accomplished as a class community.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning's worship reflected on a very busy, yet rewarding week. all of our children got the opportunity to transition into their new year groups, we welcomed our new Reception starters into school, our Year 2 and Year 4 students enjoyed their visit to St Barnabas Church and many children also participated in another engaging Cre8ability session. Mrs. Govan thanked all entrants for the recent Rota Kids Art Competition, congratulating Luna, Beau, Olivia, Skye, Alayna, Lyla in EYFS/KS1 and Naomi and Edward in KS2, whose artwork will be displayed at the Darwen Heritage Centre over the Summer holidays. Our athletes achieved great success: Our Year 3 ,4 5 & 6 Athletics squad were winners at Witton Athletics on Monday evening, and a group of Year 3 and 4 children excelled in the Quad Kids competition, qualifying for the Lancashire School Games at UCLAN next Tuesday! We also celebrated our individual value award winners: Annie, Hendrix, Oliver, Noah and Carter in EYFS/KS1 and Lana, Isabelle and Grace in KS2 for consistently following Barny’s 4Bs and showing growth. Additionally, Year 1 and Year 3 were attendance winners, India Mill was the overall Value Award Winner, and Olivia, Leo, Lilly earned their pen licenses. We then congratulated our out of school achievers. Well done to Beau, Thea, Annie and Olivia for achieving their Explorers badge at Rainbows and Annie for being awarded Olivia at Rainbows, Thea for being a super gymnast, Willow for achieving backwards flip on the bars at gymfinity and for showing extreme kindness by donating her beautiful long hair to the Princess Trust, Reggie for achieving 20m in his swimming, Marley for ‘Star of the Day’ at the Edstart Multi-Sports Club for super listening and demonstrating outstanding dodgeball skill, Harry for showing super skill and teamwork in a football tournament and Mason for working towards the purple stage at The Darts Academy. To finish our worship, we had some beautiful prayers from Harry, Lilly and Callie who prayed for those in the midst of conflict and war, homeless people and those in Heaven. Mrs Ham wished us all a lovely restful weekend and we had a singalong to ‘The School Rules Song’.
Marvellous move up day!
We have had a super ‘move up day’ today and all of the children have met their new teachers and took part in lots of different transition activities. It was wonderful to welcome our new Reception class and their parents into our school family too this morning.
Whole School Worship with Rev.Matt
Today’s worship began with an exciting race, where three pairs of children took part — each child carrying a partner on their back. This fun activity led us into our Bible story: “Was Paul worried?” In the story, we saw how Paul remained strong — not just for himself, but for others too. Even in difficult times, he encouraged and supported those around him. We reflected on the idea that sometimes, we are called to look after others, especially in important or challenging situations. The children then discussed the questions: How are others strong for you? How can you be strong for someone else this week? To conclude our worship, we were reminded that being strong doesn’t always mean being the loudest or the fastest — sometimes, true strength is shown through kindness, patience and standing by someone when they need us most. We left worship thinking about how we can be a source of strength and support for others in the week ahead.
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Year 5-6 Transition Day
Today, Year 5 enjoyed their transition day as they prepare to move into Year 6. The day was filled with creative and reflective activities to help the children begin thinking about the exciting journey ahead. They started by creating self-portraits, celebrating their individuality and recognising the unique qualities they will bring to Year 6. Next, they designed their own personalised hoodies — a fun and expressive way to mark the beginning of their final year at primary school. Each design reflected their personality, interests and the confidence they’re developing as they grow. Finally, the children designed their own Achievement Jars, filling them with hopes, goals and things they want to accomplish in the coming year — both personal and academic. This thoughtful activity encouraged them to set intentions and aim high, reminding them that Year 6 is not only a time to shine, but also a chance to grow.
Year 5 - Human Life Cycle
During this science lesson on the human life cycle, the children explored the stages of growth from birth to adulthood, with a particular focus on the rapid development that occurs during infancy. After discussing key milestones in a baby’s first year—such as weight gain, increasing height and motor skill development—the class worked collaboratively to interpret a set of data showing the monthly growth of a baby. Using this information, they constructed line graphs to visually represent changes in height and weight over time. The activity helped reinforce their understanding of how humans change and grow during the early stages of life.
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Darwen Primary Schools Athletics Winners 2025
We are so immensely proud of our amazing athletics squad for winning the Darwen Primary School Athletics at Witton Park tonight! They showed so much determination and put in a great deal of effort, as well as showing fantastic encouragement to each other. A huge thank you to Mrs Gardner for her coaching and organising all of the paperwork. Thanks also to Mrs Araujo, Miss Kachwalla and Mr Prescott for their support and for being great marshals. Thank you to our parents and carers for your support and for transporting your child. I am one proud Headteacher tonight! We might be small, but we are mighty! All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/witton-athletics-winners-2025
KS2 Racket Sports Club
As part of the KS2 Racket Sports Club, the children focused on table tennis. They developed essential skills such as hand-eye coordination, agility and quick reflexes. Through a range of fun and competitive activities, the children learned how to serve, rally and score. The children gradually improved their technique and confidence. The club also encouraged teamwork, sportsmanship and resilience, as they supported each other in developing their gameplay and understanding of the sport.