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Year 2 Class Worship: The Great Big Live Assembly
This morning, Year 2 tuned into The Great Big Live Assembly: Black History Month 2025. We only managed to watch the first five minutes because we got into a lengthy conversation about the symbolism of the St George’s flag — how it can be used to celebrate our amazing country, but also how, sadly, it can sometimes be misused to intimidate or threaten. This idea was linked to the image of a brick: in the hands of a builder, a brick is a tool for good — used to construct homes, schools, hospitals, and other places that serve and support communities. But in a different context — for example, someone walking down the street holding a brick with harmful intent — it can take on a much more negative meaning. In the same way, the St George’s Cross can represent national pride and unity through culture and sport, yet it can also be misused to exclude or intimidate, particularly towards immigrants. The assembly then posed a question: How can we make sure everyone feels welcome in our schools — no matter where they come from, what they look like, or the colour of their skin? Our class had some thoughtful and compassionate suggestions: helping new people find their way around, smiling to make them feel included, offering help if they’re lost or hurt, and using kind words. It was wonderful to hear the children speak proudly about their own diverse backgrounds. Many shared that they have family members from different nationalities such as China and New Zealand and friendships with children from places such as Pakistan. We’re looking forward to watching the rest of the assembly in the coming days and learning more about the inspirational people of colour who have helped shape our country as part of Black History Month.
Whole School Worship with Rev Matt
Today our whole school worship was led by Rev. Matt. We started Worship with a challenge. The challenge involved trust. Elsie and Grace took part in the challenge. Elsie was blindfolded and Grace had to guide Elsie around cups that Rev Matt had placed on the floor by giving verbal instructions only. They were super quick but the reason the activity took place was to link it to today’s story which was all about trust and how Abraham trusted God. Abraham was a rich man who had servants and lots of money but he trusted God. One day god asked Abraham leave his home and trust that it would be the right decision. God led Abraham to Canaan. Abraham didn’t have children but God asked him to look at the sky and count the stars. God told him that one day he would have more children than stars in the sky. Abraham had three visitors sent by God who he fed and looked after. Sarah, Abraham's wife then became pregnant with Isaac and this was because they trusted God's word and this led to good things. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way” We then went on to discuss who do we trust and what is something generous that we could do for them? We shared that we trust our families, God, friends and teachers. Something generous could be that we give them a gift, trust them with all of our heart and treat them with respect. We finished today's worship with a prayer to reflect on how we may show kindness and generosity to everyone around us.
Year 4 - Class Worship: God’s Smuggler
This week in class worship, the Year 4 class heard the story of Brother Andrew, the Dutch Christian missionary who risked his life to smuggle Bibles into communist countries. We considered the Christian values he showed and how he lived out God’s Big Story by helping persecuted Christians to practise their faith. In class, we reflected on our we spread God’s love in our school and some children acted their ideas out for the rest of the class. Their ideas included, helping people up when they have fallen, holding the door for people, saying thank you and welcoming others.
Reception: Class Worship
Today during our class worship, we listened to Mark tell the story of Brother Andrew. Bishop Joe told us about the story. Andrew knew there were other countries in Europe who didn't like Christians. He shared the Bible with them because he was so enthusiastic that other people should read God's word. It shows us how much God loves us. We thought about how we could be just like brother Andrew by telling people how much God loves us all and by being kind and loving to everybody. We ended our worship by learning a new song and singing 'Our God is a great big God'.
Year 2 Class Worship- The Story of Andrew
This morning, Year 2 listened to the inspiring story of Andrew in class worship. Andrew was a man who believed deeply in God and showed great bravery by travelling all around the world to deliver Bibles to people who didn’t have any. In some countries, Bibles were banned or very limited, and Andrew knew he could get into serious trouble for what he was doing. But because of his strong faith and his belief that everyone should have the chance to worship God, he overcame his fear and carried on. We were amazed at how courageous Andrew was. He didn’t give up, even when things were difficult or dangerous. His actions reminded us of other brave people like Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks, who stood up for what was right, even when it was risky or scary. We also thought about Mary Jones, the girl who walked many miles and saved up for years just to get her own Bible, as this is a story we have recently learnt in our RE lessons. We talked about how her story led to big changes and helped many more people to get Bibles too. We saw how both Mary and Andrew were driven by their love for God and their desire to help others grow in their faith. Andrew’s story helped us think about the importance of courage, faith, and standing up for what is right, and so we had some beautiful prayers to reflect this to end our worship.
Harvest Singing Worship
Another joyous start to the week by singing songs of thanks ready for our upcoming Harvest church services on Sunday 12th October and Thursday 23rd October. Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6 led our actions this week and we were super impressed with how well our Reception class had remembered the actions from last week.
Year 4 Picture News - Primary Park Run
In our class worship we shared Picture News which introduced the new initiative of a ‘Primary Parkrun’ which aims to bring junior running events closer to primary schools. It is inclusive and not just about fitness, but also about helping children build friendships, confidence and life skills in their local community. We then moved onto looking at community and what the bible tells us about the importance of getting together as a community. Christians believe service to others is very important, because it helps demonstrate love for God and others. We loved really like the quote from Phil Jackson who is an NBA coach as we really believe it to be true. ‘The strength of. Team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team’
Year 6 Class Worship
Following on from this week's worship theme, today's class worship looked again at the story of Ananias and Saul. The children heard about how God has agents, to whom he gives the courage to complete important jobs for him. They discussed why God chose Saul to spread the word about Jesus, especially since Saul had been persecuting Christians. We learned about how Saul went on to become Paul and write many important sections of the Bible.
Whole School Worship - Agent Ananias
We learned about a very special mission given by God this week in worship. God directed Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to heal Saul of his blindness and baptise him. Despite Ananias's fear due to Saul's reputation as a persecutor of Christians, he obeyed the Lord's assurance that Saul was a "chosen instrument". Ananias laid hands on Saul, restoring his sight, and then baptised him, marking his dramatic conversion from persecutor to the apostle Paul, a key figure in spreading Christianity. We reflected on what we learned from the story and the children shared their thoughts, including that we should trust God’s choices, and that everyone has the ability to change.
Year 4 - Class Worship
In order to support the children’s understanding of this week’s worship theme, the Year 4s listened to the story of Ananias and Saul again. They discussed why God chose Saul to spread the word about Jesus, especially after spending a lot of time persecuting Christians. The children thought about the benefits and dangers of giving someone unexpected an important job. They recognised that the message meant more coming from a former non-believer. The Year 4s were then chosen for a special mission of their own: to be agents of respect. Their job will be to look out for anyone treating our spiritual garden with respect and nominate them for some extra value points. They are looking forward to announcing their nominations next week.
Harvest Singing Worship
What a joyous way to start a glorious Monday morning with our Harvest singing worship. It was the first time that our new Reception class had joined us for collective worship and they were little superstars. They joined in with our Harvest songs with enthusiasm. A huge thank you to our Year 5 and 6 children for modelling the actions to our Reception children. We are looking forward to singing these special songs of praise in our school Harvest Church Service on Thursday 23rd October and we have been invited to sing in our church for a special Harvest Sunday service on Sunday 12th October. All welcome.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we took a moment to reflect on what has been a busy and wonderful third week of school. Our week began with a focus on God’s Big Story in Whole School Worships, where we came together to deepen our understanding. Year 6 had a fantastic time creating artwork in the Darwen Town Centre, while Years 3, 4, and 6 took part in a Let’s Go Sing Choir workshop, which has inspired even more children to sign up for our school choir. Year 5 enjoyed a Move and Learn session with BwD, and our entire school embraced the excitement of the new clubs that started this week, including Foodie Friends, Football, Fred & Pearl Craft Club, Choir, Netball, and Forest Schools. We also took time to celebrate our individual value award winners, with a huge well done to Zachary and Hollie in KS1, and Eva, Emily, Jack, and Elsie in KS2, for their dedication across the curriculum, their embodiment of our Barney’s 4Bs and Christian Values, and for spreading joy throughout the school. In addition, we were pleased to award India Mill as our Value Award winners for the second consecutive week, and Year 6 as the winners in KS2 with 100% attendance, while Reception and Year 1 in EYFS and KS1 earned recognition with a fantastic 99.3% attendance. Next, we celebrated our out-of-school achievers, including Albie for earning his 5m and 10m swimming certificates, Evie for her bravery in attending Rainbows for the first time, Alice for being awarded Cheerleader of the Week, Peyton for winning Star of the Week at gymnastics, Grace for achieving a highly commended in her recent acro exam, Charlie for being named Student of the Week at Junior Dragons Martial Arts Club, Ava for being awarded Squirrel of the Week, Mason for being runner-up in a recent darts tournament, Lyla for receiving a certificate of excellence for her gymnastics and acro talent, and Annabel for being named Star of the Week at her dance school. Finally, we ended our worship with some heartfelt prayers from Mason, Ella, and Zachary, who prayed for those affected by war and conflict, for those suffering from illnesses, and for those who don’t have enough food—especially as Harvest approaches. We also sang “Our God is a Great Big God.” A quick reminder from Mrs. Ham: Next Friday, September 26th, we’ll be hosting the Macmillan Coffee Morning. All donations will be greatly appreciated.