Worship: Black History Month
Our Black History Month worship began by inviting the children to imagine a huge book containing the history of the entire world. We discussed how some pages would be familiar to us, while others would tell stories we had never heard before. The children were then challenged to identify significant historical figures, including Samuel Pepys, Neil Armstrong and Adolf Hitler. We then introduced a selection of influential Black individuals. The children recognised Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but were less familiar with the other figures. This provided an opportunity to reflect on whose stories we learn about and why it is important to celebrate and recognise the contributions of Black people throughout history. We watched a Newsround video explaining what Black History Month is, why it is celebrated and the importance of learning about Black history. Following this, we explained that each class would focus on a different significant individual each week, giving the children opportunities to discover new stories, learn about inspiring people and understand the impact they have had on the world. We concluded our worship by singing Make a Difference, encouraging the children to consider how they can make a positive difference in their own lives and communities. The worship provided an opportunity to celebrate Black history, broaden the children’s understanding of significant historical figures and encourage them to think about the importance of representation, equality and making a difference. A huge thank you to Miss Woods, our History subject leader for planning and leading the worship and follow up work.
Year 1 Black History Month: Mary Seacole
Year 1 focused on Mary Seacole for their influential person in Black History Month. They discovered that Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica and was taught by her mother in nursing. She wanted to help wounded soldiers in the war and set up a boarding house for them. Year 1 were inspired by her kindness, courage and bravery. They reflected on how they can help someone and be more like Mary Seacole.
Year 6 - Remembrance
Today, Year 6 visited Darwen Cemetery to care for the war graves that our school has proudly adopted. The children showed great respect as they cleaned and looked after the graves, taking time to reflect on the lives and sacrifices of those who served during times of conflict. The children then visited the Remembrance Memorial, where they reflected on the importance of remembrance and why it is so important that we continue to honour those who gave so much for others. This visit formed an important part of our preparation for our upcoming Remembrance Service and helped the children to understand the significance of the occasion in a meaningful and personal way, as well as deepening their knowledge of World War II.
Whole School Worship with Rev Matt
During our whole-school worship, Rev Matt explored the theme of ‘Life as a Journey’, sharing the story of Moses and how he led the Hebrew people through challenges and uncertainty towards freedom. The children reflected on how journeys can be filled with obstacles, difficult decisions and moments that test our faith, but also how perseverance, courage and trust can help us overcome these challenges. This encouraged the children to think about their own journeys through life and the importance of supporting one another along the way.
Welcome Back Worship
It was wonderful having all of the children back today in worship. Mrs Ham welcomed everybody back to school and reminded us of our Christian values. We linked them to our school rules and recapped how to show our best behaviour around school. We also learnt about our new class dojo behaviour system. Some of the children were invited to the front to demonstrate their favourite morning greetings, and we ended the worship with our much-loved school rules song.
Year 5 - RE
Our new topic in RE concerns the role that women played in the Bible. The first lesson was about Jochebed, the mother of Moses who saw that her baby was special and risked her own safety to save him despite the Pharaoh’s wish. We connected this story to important women of the modern world, such as artists, scientists, politicians and sports people.
Year 5 - Religious Education
This week, our Year 5 pupils showed great maturity exploring different perspectives on the nature of death. We compared the traditions of Christianity and Islam, noting how both often focus on the afterlife and the journey of the soul and how their actions are judged by God. We also looked at Humanism, where the focus is on the here and now. Many Humanists believe this is our one life, inspiring us to make a positive impact on the world today! It was wonderful to see the children discussing these deep topics with such empathy and respect. By comparing Christian, Muslim, and Humanist perspectives, we discussed the concepts of the soul and the afterlife versus a naturalistic, "one life" approach. We’re so proud of the children for their thoughtful reflections on how these beliefs shape the way people choose to live their lives. 🌟
Year 5 - World Down Syndrome Day
To celebrate World Down Syndrome day, we rocked out in our best socks. We learned about what Down Syndrome is, how it is caused and how it can impact people. Most importantly we learned that children with Down Syndrome are just the same as others. All children love eating cake, playing with their friends, spending time with their families and learning amazing things about the world.
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Whole School Worship with Rev Ben
Today's Collective Worship with Rev Ben started with a guessing game where half of a celebrity's face was covered and the children had to guess who it was. The last celebrity was Mrs Ham and we learnt that working out who people are is important, but not always easy! Our Bible story today told us something important about Jesus. Jesus could make sick people well. Jesus wanted to help the man in the story and he told him that his sins were forgiven but the man was lame. Jesus said this to show how he can help people with what’s wrong on the outside and the inside.
Whole School Worship - Preparing for Harvest Time
This week in worship it has been a time of reflection. We thought about some of the many injustices around the world with the aid of picture and video prompts. The children explored what they saw in the video and explained the injustice of each situation. Mrs Ham then talked about the causes we are supporting this Harvest and we celebrated the charitable efforts made so far by members of our school family. Then it was over to the children as they taught the teachers how to sing a Harvest song in Zulu. We’re all in for a treat at the Harvest service next Thursday.
Year 5 - RotaKids
Kathleen and Julia from Darwen Rotary Club visited Year 5 to help choose our RotoKids. The children elected a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer who will help organise our fund raising efforts this year. We will have events to support the school, our local community as well as making contributions to international relief efforts. Congratulations to Desmond, Olivia, Daisy and Miles!
Year 4 - Linking Schools: End of Year Celebration
What a brilliant way to finish our Linking Schools journey! We all had great fun in Year 4 on the Schools Linking Celebration Zoom. We reminisced about all the enriching activities we took part in this year and shared some of our favourite moments, such as playing the whiteboard game, meeting St Matthew’s and making new friends. We have learned so much about ourselves and who we are, as well as learning about our link class. Tolerance, respect and friendship were definitely key themes as we realised that, although we were different to our new friends in many ways, we also had so much in common. There is just one more step for us to complete, which is our social action project. After collating ideas about improving God’s world, we voted for the most popular idea and decided we would act on it - writing to residents of a care home. Look out for more news about our happy post soon.
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