Year 6 Class Worship
In Year 6's class worship this week, the theme was digital identity. The children learned about the government's plans to introduce digital identity cards in the UK, which inspired an interesting debate on what the pros and cons of these cards might be.
Year 3- Class Worship- Who am I?
Today in our class worship, we discussed the Christian Value of Wisdom by exploring what really makes us who we are. The main focus was on the news about the UK government's plans to introduce digital identity cards and whether everyone should have one. This led to a discussion about "Who am I?" and whether our identity is defined by what people see on the outside or what is in our hearts. Notably, all the children voted against the idea of digital identity cards and felt it was invading their privacy. The Bible tells us that God looks beyond our physical appearance to our inner character, things like being kind, honest, and forgiving (1 Samuel 16:7). We concluded that getting to know someone's true character is what matters most. We finished with a prayer led by Elijah for the wisdom to discover ourselves and celebrate the good in everyone we meet.
Whole School Worship & Farewell to Mrs Norton
It is with great sadness that we are saying goodbye to our school cook of 19 years, Mrs Norton, this week. In our whole school worship we celebrated all Mrs Norton has done for us by inviting some of our children to share memories and messages of thanks. Each class made Mrs Norton a special card and Mrs Ham presented her with some gifts from our school family. We wish her well as she embarks on a new chapter. Mrs Ham also shared an update about our Harvest collections for Dare and we practised our songs for the Harvest service.
Whole School singing Worship
This morning our children came together to learn about Diwali. We enjoyed some Hindi songs and spoke about the Hindu Festival of Light! We then sang together worshipping God through our Harvest festival songs ready to perform them to you during our Harvest Church Service on Thursday. We look forward to seeing you there.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we began our worship by reflecting on what has been a busy but thoroughly enjoyable week. Mrs Ham started by thanking everyone for their wonderful efforts in raising awareness for mental health during last Friday’s Hello Yellow Day. She also expressed her appreciation to all the children who attended the Harvest Church Service at St Barnabas Church on Sunday, accompanied by Mrs Araujo, Mrs Wilkinson, and Mrs Govan. The children sang beautifully and truly gave it their all. We also recognised the many children supporting Rotakids by donating winter coats and shoeboxes filled with essentials for DARE (Darwen Asylum Refuge). Mrs Ham reminded us that we can continue to support important causes by taking part in Bishop Phillip’s Pedalathon, raising funds for Christians in South Africa by getting out on our bikes and putting in some miles. We are also still collecting Harvest donations for the local food bank and DARE. We took time to congratulate our individual Value Award winners this week: Poppy, Olivia and Skye in EYFS and KS1, and Renee, Lyla, Walter and Ruby in KS2, for consistently following Barny’s 4Bs, working incredibly hard across the curriculum, and showing great growth and maturity during their first half-term in their new classes. Our congratulations also went to our Year 2 and Year 3 classes for being this week’s attendance winners. A big well done to India Mill, who were our weekly Value Award winners with an impressive 236 points, and also our overall Value Award winners for the half-term. As a reward, they will enjoy a non-uniform day and disco — with the date to be announced shortly. We were delighted to recognise a number of pupils for their achievements outside of school this week. Well done to Jonas for settling in so well after recently joining Squirrels, and to Phoebe for earning a badge at Rainbows and always bringing positivity and laughter. Callie has been an excellent role model at martial arts, while Elijah was awarded Beaver of the Week for his enthusiasm and willingness to get involved. James impressed with his fantastic fielding in cricket, Lyla performed beautifully in her lyrical dancing, and Sofia was named Star of the Week at acro while also earning several badges at Brownies. Charlie achieved 25 metres in all swimming strokes, Olivia received her Silver Award at Rainbows, Willow showed amazing gymnastics skills, Lydia earned her Gold Award at Rainbows, and Eleanor achieved her Amazing Helper badge. We also congratulated our Year 4 pupils for representing the school so well at the Cidari Earth Conference at Blackburn Cathedral yesterday, and praised our girls' football team for their continued efforts in the DPSSA league. Finally, a reminder that next week is a four-day week due to an INSET day on Friday. We also have our Halloween Spooky Disco on Wednesday evening, organised by FOSB, and our Harvest Church Service taking place on Thursday morning. Please check Class Dojo for more details. Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!
Cidari Earth Conference
Seven Year 4 children represented our school family brilliantly at the Cidari Earth conference at Blackburn Cathedral. They participated in activities addressing environmental challenges like plastic pollution, war and conflict, and global warming. The children made new friends by working in groups with students from other schools in the Trust. Rev Ben led an opening worship about God's creation and our responsibility to care for it. After activities, they admired the "Gaia" Earth installation and listened to Bible stories like David & Goliath and Jesus calms the storm, which emphasised faith and courage in tackling these "insurmountable giants." Each group also created prayer stations, which will be displayed in The Temple Gallery at the Cathedral over half term. Families are encouraged to visit and see the Earth installation, photographs, and prayer stations. Some of the children said “It’s been the best day ever!” A huge thank you to Mrs Araujo for planning and leading one of the activities
Rev Matt’s Whole School Worship
Rev Matt led our Whole Worship today which focused on second chances. We started with a quick game in which we had eight items on a tray. Rev Matt then covered it over and removed some of the items and the children had to guess which were missing. The items included a duck, a bottle of cordial and tins. The children highlighted the fact that we were given second chances by Rev Matt to have a guess. Our Bible story had the actions for running, walking and watching. It was the story of Jacob. Jacob had cheated his brother in the story and his brother now wanted him dead. God watched and watched Jacob run away. When Jacob was tired he fell exhausted onto the desert floor. When he was ready to listen to God he had a dream with a ladder. At the top of the ladder was God and he promised Jacob that the land was his and his family’s and God would always protect Jacob. When he woke he said thanks to God and then he ran all the way to his friends and his mother told him he would be safe but also learnt a very important lesson. Jacob met a girl and after seven years she became his wife. On the day of his wedding, he pulled back the veil and realised that the girl was in fact the sister of the girl he thought he was marrying. He felt that he had been cheated. The cheater had been cheated. Eventually he could marry the correct sister and return home. On his return home, Jacob walked and walked eventually seeing his brother walking towards him. Jacob told his family to stay behind as he would face his brother alone. He believed that God would protect him. His brother forgave him and the two brothers were friends again just as God had promised. He had given Jacob a second chance. In our discussion we looked at why God gives us second chances even when we don’t deserve it . Rev Matt also asked us who we could give a second chance to? The children shared that they could have a second chance if they had made a mistake or done something wrong. We could given second chances to lots of people including our friends, family and people around us. We finished in prayer asking for God to give everyone a second chance .
Year 2 Class Worship- Picture News
This week in class worship, Year 2 caught up on last week’s Picture News and explored the inspiring story of 23-year-old Ellie Goldstein, a model and current contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. Some of the children recognised Ellie from the show, and we learned that she is the first person with Down’s Syndrome to take part in the full series. We discovered Ellie’s motivations for joining the show, including her desire to challenge herself and to prove that people can achieve incredible things—sometimes even surprising others with what they’re capable of. We reflected on the important messages we can take from Ellie’s story. The children shared some brilliant thoughts, such as the importance of facing our fears, ignoring negativity, being brave, and working hard to achieve our goals through perseverance and practice.
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.
Whole School Singing Worship
This morning our whole school family came together to discuss harvest, thinking of others in need and singing some harvest songs. This week we looked at a new song called Siyahamba from South Africa, looking at how others worship God through song and how we will be supporting Christians from South Africa during our Bishop's Harvest Appeal and Pedal Along with Bishop Philip. We are looking forward to performing Siyahamba /Marching in the light of God in our Harvest Church Service on Thursday 23rd October.
Bishop Philip’s Harvest Pedal Along
Mrs Ham and her husband took on a cycling challenge today to pedal along with Bishop Philip for this year’s Bishop’s Harvest Appeal. They cycled 30 miles from Fleetwood to Lytham and back. We would love to see our school family pedalling along on bikes or scooters throughout October to raise money for Christians in South Africa. Donations can be made on Parent Pay. How about getting family and friends to sponsor you £1.00 per mile! Please send in photos and distances to Mrs Ham or Mrs Wilkinson. Happy pedalling! ???? ????
St Barnabas Family Harvest Service
Thank you to all who attended our St. Barnabas Harvest family service. The children sang beautifully, and it was wonderful to see so many of them participate. We appreciate your efforts in bringing them. A special thank you to Rev Ben for inviting us, Mrs. Govan for helping to lead and to Mrs. Araujo for her support. Enjoy a beautiful Sunday, Mrs Wilkinson