Whole School Worship with Rev Matt
Rev Matt led our Whole School Worship today and we started by lighting the Advent Wreath. We have already lit the candles that represent Hope, Peace and Joy and we signed the name of The Trinity. Next we had our weekly challenge. Rev Matt put various items in a stocking and as we removed items Theo, Jacob, Mason and Harry had to guess which ones had gone missing. One of the items was a birthday candle which represents the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. Our Bible story this week was The Birth of Jesus. An angel told Mary she would have a special baby, Jesus, the Savior. Due to a Roman census, Mary and her husband Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in a stable (barn) and laid in a manger. Angels announced the news to shepherds, who then visited Jesus, and later, Wise Men followed a star to find and worship the baby, bringing gifts. The story is about how Jesus is a surprise gift of compassion from God. The children then reflected on what would be the best thing that they could give this Christmas. We had love, a smile and kindness which were all beautiful examples.
Church Carol Service
A huge thank you to the children who came to our church Carol Service on Sunday evening. Your lovely singing has helped to get everyone in the festive mood. Thank you St Barnabas Church. Darwen. for inviting us to take part in the special service. Thank you for the chocolates too, the children loved those on Monday morning.
Whole Class Worship - Joy
This week of advent, our focus is Joy. We began by recounting the advent themes we have explored so far: Hope and Peace. Mrs Ham chose Lyla from Year 4 to come to the front to light the three advent candles and she highlighted some of the ways our school family have brought joy to others over the past few weeks. It was heartwarming to hear about some of these, including the Reception class nativity, Year 1 and Year 2’s Christmas Cracker, the choir singing at Acer Lodge care home, and Year 4 writing letters to the residents, plus all of those who have been supporting our latest charity campaigns. We reflected on what true joy looks like and how we can sometimes forget about the simple things when our minds are preoccupied with expensive gifts and the hustle and bustle of the season. Our focus was brought back to the gift God sent - his only son - and how Jesus’ incarnation was the joyous gift that changed our world forever.
Whole School Worship - The Big Announcement
We have started our week singing our favourite Christmas songs and enjoying, The Big Announcement’ Story where Angel Gabriel came to Mary to say that she would carry the son of God. Mary was then referred to as Blessed Mary as God had bestowed this blessing upon her. We also lit our third advent candle that symbolises joy.
Year 3 - Class Worship- A Journey of Reflection and Joy
In our class worship today, Year 3 explored the life of John the Baptist and the responsibility he was given to prepare the way for Jesus. We talked about how John had to make some big choices, turning away from his own "wants" to focus on exactly what he "needed" to be ready for the King’s arrival. To bring this into our own lives, the children shared some of the exciting things from their own Christmas wish lists. We then had a really thoughtful discussion about human needs vs. wants. This led us to a discussion about how we can prepare ourselves for the future. Instead of just thinking about money, the children suggested that being a "grown-up" means sharing kindness every day, being a helpful friend, and spreading joy to those who might be lonely. We decided that by practicing these small acts of love now, we are preparing ourselves to be the best people we can be as we grow.
Worship - Second Week of Advent
As we start our second Week of advent together we lit our candle of peace, thinking about how we can find and share peace throughout our week together. We then sang some of our Christmas songs together and shared a payer of peace. Wishing our whole school family a peaceful week among the busy preparations to make this time of year so special.
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Year 4 - Class Worship: John the Baptist
In this week's class worship, we heard the story of John the Baptist’s and how he was given the special job of preparing for the arrival of Jesus. The speakers talked about how John had to turn away from what he wanted and focus on what he needed in order to be ready for the arrival of the king. Following this, we spent some time thinking about our Christmas lists. The children wrote down one thing they’ve asked for on their Christmas lists. We then made a class list of human needs. We checked our lists to see if anyone had asked for any of these things for Christmas. The children noted that they didn’t ask for water or shelter (etc.) because those things are already provided for them by their parents or the world around them. We finished by talking about how the children can prepare for when they are adults, for example, by doing chores, working hard or saving money.
Whole School Celebration Worship
This week has been full of joy, community and Christmas spirit across our school! We started our celebration worship by lighting our first Advent candle together. Mrs Ham also thanked all the children and staff for decorating Christmas trees across school and highlighted a special moment when Phoebe, our youngest child in school, put the star on top of the tree in the school hall. We also said a huge well done to Reception who did an incredible Nativity performance. We also celebrated a couple of children who proudly represented our school at a local care home, singing for the residents and spreading Christmas cheer. We also had a fantastic time at the pantomime this week so a big thanks to Mrs Wilkinson for organising it. This week, our Values Awards were presented to the following children: all of Reception for their fantastic performance, Eleanor in Year 1, Teddy in Year 2, James in Year 3, Arabelle in Year 4, Sophia in Year 5 and Isabelle in Year 6. These children have been working so hard, following our 4’Bs and demonstrating Christian values. Mr Mealor also awarded Alexis, Miles, James, Harriet and Charlie with pen licenses for excellent progress in their handwriting. We also celebrated our Team Values Points with India Mill finishing in fourth place, River Darwen in third place, Whitehall Park in second place and Darwen Tower in first place! Mr Bloomfield also announced our first Times Table Rock Stars Winners: Charlie in Year 3, James in Year 4, Ivy in Year 5 and Charlie in Year 6. Our overall winners were Year 6! Well done. We are very proud of all the children who received special sports awards this week. Ava received Squirrel of the Week for her kindness. Zachary achieved his Stage 2 swimming certificate. Charlie was named Player of the Week for his excellent goal scoring. Desmond and Iris both competed in swimming events and placed in the top three, earning several medals. Thea was recognised for her fantastic balancing skills in gymnastics. Olivia was awarded the Olivia doll at Rainbows for her hard work. Vienna achieved her Stage 5 swimming certificate for completing 400m. Finn was named Player of the Week for his good passing skills. Willow achieved an impressive 19 skills in gymnastics. Luna earned the red belt in kickboxing. James received the Wilson Cup Trophy after finishing second with fewer players and also swam an impressive 50 metres. Grace was celebrated for helping others and persevering. Mollie was awarded the Claire doll for being helpful. Jack earned Captain of the Month for his encouragement, discipline and leadership. Tristan earned both his blue and purple belts in kickboxing and completed three minutes of continuous punching. Harriet was praised for her amazing progress in MMA. Lilly achieved a distinction in her Grade 1 acting school exam. Lila reached the finals of a dance competition, placing first in improv, first in commercial and second in lyrical. Our KS2 football team also showed great resilience this week. After losing their first match 7-0, they came back stronger to draw 2-2 in their next game. The winners of the Walk to School Challenge was also won by Reception, well done! We also celebrated our attendance winners this week which are Year 2 and Year 3. We have several exciting events coming up. The Lantern Parade will take place this Saturday in Whitehall Park. Our Christmas Fayre will be held next Wednesday in the school hall. The Christmas Carol Service will take place next Sunday. We also have an Advent Art competition with submissions open until Wednesday. Year 1 and Year 2 are performing their Christmas Cracker Show on Thursday and Friday. Year 1 are continuing to collect Christmas Hamper donations for the Darwen Asylum Refugee Enterprise. We are so proud of our wonderful children and look forward to another week of joy and celebration through our Advent journey.
Whole School Worship - The Story of Queen Esther
This morning our whole school came together to worship with Rev Ben. Here we enjoyed a story about Queen Esther who came to power for her beauty and saved her people from the king by showing courage and compassion. We then thought about how we can show courage and compassion to others and ourselves.
Whole School Worship - The First Day of Advent
The whole school family came together to celebrate the start of Advent. We heard from Lisa, Sam and Bishop Joe that through his messengers the prophets, God told his people that Jesus was coming 100's of years before he arrived.
Year 4 - Class Worship: Togetherness
In our class worship time this week we learned about the Princess of Wales’ annual carol service and the work she does to bring people from different walks of life together. We spent some time considering groups that we belong to and we used our oracy skills to share our thoughts on feeling a sense of belonging. There were some excellent points about sharing interests and feeling loved, and also about recognising when we feel ostracised or unsafe in a group, such as an online community.
Year 3- Class Worship-The Importance of Togetherness
Today in our class worship, we discussed the importance of togetherness and the Princess of Wales's Carol Service, which aims to bring people together to celebrate kindness and community. We learned that togetherness means noticing others, caring, listening, and showing kindness. This helps create a sense of belonging for everyone. Charlie read the prayer out.