Year 4 Adventure Art and Trail Quiz Walk
Year 4 have had a great day today taking part in the Advent Art and Trail Quiz Walk. We walked to the Rose Garden first where we did the Advent Trail Quiz and the children worked really well to follow the clues and answer the questions. Next we walked around the garden admiring the beautiful pieces of artwork that the children from St Barnabas had completed. After that we walked to Mrs Gardner's home to enjoy hot chocolate, marshmallows and cream or a hot vimto with a side of chocolate biscuits. Finally, we walked back to the park and went on the playground before heading back to school. The children were great at showing the 4 Bs both in and out of the classroom and it was lovely to watch them all with huge smiles on their faces too.
Year 3- Edstart Basketball taster session
Year 3 had a great basketball taster session with Marcus from Edstart this afternoon. The children practised key skills, including dribbling, chest passes, and passing the ball to teammates. Two standout stars were: Bindi, who won the bottle for her encouraging words to her peers, and Isaac, who received a certificate for his outstanding effort throughout the session. The children were also excited to hear about a new afterschool basketball club starting in the new year, and Year 3 can’t wait to sign up!
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November WOW Winners - Year 3
Congratulations to Year 3 who have gained the most badges for the month of November for either walking, parking and striding or taking part in the 1K a day in school. It’s the second time that Year 3 have been awarded with the trophy so it shows how committed they are to active travel - well done!
Year 4: How Do We Value Our Differences?
In our PSHE session today we looked at how we can develop our understanding of being reflective and value similarities and differences between people. We compared our identity with someone else’s, then looked at ten statements to reflect on. We were surprised by what we found and carefully considered moral, social, economic and cultural reasons. Finally we went on to identify three positive things about not everyone having the same ideas and values.
Year 1- Aladdin on Ice
Year 1 had a great time at Aladdin on Ice yesterday afternoon. They even got the added bonus of meeting lots of Christmas characters such as The Grinch and Santa Claus and also enjoyed high-fiving some of the Aladdin cast at the end of the performance. What a treat! All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/aladdin-on-ice
Aladdin on Ice
Our whole school family watched Aladdin on Ice this afternoon at Planet Ice. We all got involved in lots of singing and dancing at the beginning. Santa, a snowman and even the Grinch made an appearance! During the show it was wonderful to see so many talented ice dancers and actors. We enjoyed a bag of sweets as a treat and some of us even got to high five members of the cast. A well deserved Christmas treat for all of our children. All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/aladdin-on-ice
Year 4 Roman Britain - Did we guess what the artefact was?
Following on from last week’s lesson when the children attempted to identify various Roman artefacts, the children found out what each individual item actually was. Not many of us guessed that artefact 1 was an oil lamp as we actually thought it was either a vase or a toilet! Following on from this, we watched a Horrible Histories clip which highlighted what the Romans actually brought to Britain which included roads, walls, food including olives and wine as they didn’t like the beer that was most popular with tribes.
Year 5 - Litter Picking
As part of No Pens Day, Year 5 explored the local area, taking part in a litter-picking activity inspired by a suggestion from the Smart School Council. This act of kindness demonstrated fantastic teamwork, community spirit, and a shared commitment to protecting the environment. Back in class, the children reflected on what they had observed, noting the impact of litter on wildlife and natural spaces. They engaged in thoughtful discussions about how to make a positive difference, generating ideas such as increasing recycling efforts, designing impactful posters to raise awareness about the environmental damage caused by littering and making a habit of picking up litter whenever they see it. The activity not only built their understanding of environmental responsibility but also empowered them to be proactive change-makers within their community.
Sportshall Athletics Club
We had another brilliant Sportshall Athletics session this week with the children working hard to develop their speed, and agility on their given events. The children found it quite difficult to master the triple jump but with lots of perseverance they got there in the end.
Key Stage 1 Multi- Skills Festival
We have had a wonderful morning at the Key Stage 1 Multi- Skills Festival at St Bedes. The children took part in lots of activities which were based on fundamental skills. They tried extremely hard and thoroughly enjoyed every second. Our Sports Leaders also did a great job in supporting the younger children, guiding them through each activity and encouraging them all. We even came away with a gold medal! Go Team B!
Year 6 - Parliament Week
On Friday, Year 6 rounded off ‘Parliament Week’ with a meeting with Baroness Wilcox of Newport. Baroness Wilcox started the session with a presentation about the House of Lords before answering some questions that the children had prepared prior to the session. Some of the questions were fantastic and a big thank you to Baroness Wilcox for answering them so openly and honestly.
Year 4 Seasonal Stockings - Bringing our design to life
In this week’s DT session, the children tried to bring their design to life. They got their two felt stockings and separated them so they could start to sew on their extra pieces which included snow men, Christmas trees, love hearts and their initials. The children really persevered with quite complex skills which was great to see. We can’t wait until the next session to add even more appliqué and create wonderful vibrant Christmas stockings.
Sportshall Athletics Club
In club this week, the children focused on speed bounce, chest push and long jump. They all worked really hard on developing their speed and agility, particularly with the speed bounce. We also practiced effective takeoff in the long jump with driving our lead leg upward to generate power. Consistency is key and landing leaning forward or to one side prevents us from losing key inches.
KS2 - Fun in the Snow
Our classes in Years 3 to 6 had a whale of a time in the snow yesterday. They made snowmen and snow sculptures of varying sizes. We even had some Year 5s using a mould to create duckling sculptures.
Year 6 - Parliament Week
This week, year 6 have spent some time getting to grips with Parliament and how the country is run. They discovered that Parliament is split into two houses: House of Commons and the House of Lords, and this Friday the children will actually get the chance to put some questions to Baroness Wilcox, who sits in the House of Lords. They will have the chance to ask questions about her role and the House of Lords itself. This is a fantastic opportunity which will be enriched further when we actually visit the Houses of Parliament during our London trip in March.
Brilliant Bowling!
Mrs Ham had the privilege of taking a group of amazing children to a special Pantathlon Challenge bowling competition at Blackburn Bowling. She was so proud and impressed with the behaviour of all of the children and the way they encouraged each other and represented our school so brilliantly. They all did so well at improving their bowling skills so they got a medal and certificate each!
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Whole School Thursday Worship with Rev Ben and Pudsey
In our Thursday Whole School Worship,Christine Baldwin, Community Champion from Asda Bolton kindly brought Pudsey Bear to visit us and say a big THANK YOU for our fundraising for Children in Need. They are currently working on a Fuelling Food Programme so that no child will grow hungry in the school holidays. Asda Bolton have raised ver 34 million pounds for Children in Need. The children were very excited to hear all about the project as well as meeting Pudsey. Following on from the visit, Rev Ben took over and we all showed respect by putting ourselves in our reflective prayer place. We began with the Trinity and focused our first discussion on what does it mean to treat someone with respect. Our answers included: being kind, treating someone just as you would like to be treated,when you are ok with difference and treating people equally. Our Bible story today was - A Jar and A Jug. The story focused on Elijah - Gods special messenger and his struggle with the drought. He trusted God that he would get through it with help from the widow and her son. The widow who believed in another God, didn’t believe they would live until she trusted in Elijah and his promise. God saw the widow as someone important and gave her a special job- to look after Elijah. It means listening to others, caring for them and seeing them how God sees them. We then looked at the important message “ Do to others as you would have them do you” Luke 6;31 We finished our Thursday Whole School Worship with a prayer and then we sang ‘ I can make a difference’
Year 4- Why was the Roman army so successful ?
The focus of our history lesson today was to find out why the Roman army was so successful. We looked at why the Romans needed a powerful army, identifying the equipment of a Roman soldier and Roman fighting formations. We learnt lots of new things including; that the Romans had the largest fighting force in the ancient world, they were the best trained, had the best weapons and were so good that even when they fought against armies that were ten times their size, they still won!
Street Dance 3 in Year 4
In our third dance session we revised all of our previous dance moves and then added another which was called a top rock. We continued to build our group dance with step cross, step cross, scoop up the sweets, push, push, cross, cross. The moves were done at a quicker pace this week so the children found it quite challenging but everyone worked really hard to improve their ability to join the moves successfully.
Year 5 - Nightingale Farm
Year 5 had an exciting and educational day at Nightingale Farm! The children tackled a den-building challenge, carefully selecting materials and assessing their strength to withstand the outdoors. They evaluated thermal properties to keep the inside warm, making valuable science connections. They also visited and learned about the friendly farm animals—goats, pigs, and chickens—observing their habits and needs. To top it all off, everyone gathered around a fire to toast marshmallows and enjoyed experiencing life on a farm.
Year 4 PSHE - How do we treat each other with respect?
In our PSHE sessions we are focusing on ‘Valuing Difference’. This week we shared different scenarios about how we would deal with aggressive behaviour. The children learned how to recognise potential consequences of aggressive behaviour and suggested how to deal with someone who is displaying this. They showed super communication skillls and discussed conflict resolution and diversity.
Year 2 - Hinduism Workshop
Year 2 were very lucky to have an exciting visitor in school today. During our workshop, Prags shared her knowledge and experience of Hinduism. We discussed how Hindu’s prepare for worship and how their prayers are similar and different to Christians. We also joined in some classic Hindi dancing wearing very colourful skirts and jackets.
Year 4 - Science: Modelling the Digestive System
I’m sure that many of us found this lesson hard to stomach, but it was all in the name of science! The children have been learning about the parts of the digestive system and, this week they created a model digestive system in order to understand the functions of each organ and report on their findings. They acted out the process of digesting a cracker using a bowl and a knife and fork to chop the cracker into small pieces. They then transferred this to the oesophagus, which passed it down to the stomach (a ziplock bag containing water and washing up liquid. Here, the cracker pieces were churned up into a paste, which was then added to the small intestine (one leg from a pair of tights). The children even acted out peristalsis to squeeze the “nutrients” from the paste and push it down through the large intestine before the left over waste was pushed out through the anus (a small hole in the end of the tights. It was a messy but memorable activity, which produced some super explanations!
Year 5 - Hinduism Workshop
Year 5 had an enriching Hinduism workshop, diving into the teachings of sacred texts, discovering the significance of various Hindu gods, and exploring vibrant traditions and cultural practices. The children were captivated by the storytelling and symbolism, and they eagerly participated in traditional dancing, experiencing the joy and rhythm of Hindu culture firsthand. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to broaden their understanding and appreciation of diverse beliefs and traditions!
Year 6 - Hinduism Workshop
Year 6 welcomed Prags into our school today, who led them in a Hinduism workshop. She was very impressed by the children’s knowledge of pilgrimages and she then spoke in more detail about a Hinduism pilgrimage. She explained how the River Ganges is sacred to Hindus and that they believe the water washes sins away. When Prags first went on this pilgrimage, she expressed how it is an emotional event and one that she will never forget. Year 6 listened attentively and showed fantastic levels of respect.
Year 3- Guided Reading-A Poppy is to Remember
For our guided reading session today, Year 3 listened to a story "A Poppy is to Remember" by Heather Patterson and Ron Lightburn. This story helped the children understand the significance of Remembrance Day and the symbolism of the poppy. We reflected on the sacrifices made by soldiers for peace, listening to John McCrae's poem, In Flanders Fields.
Year 3- Interfaith Week- Prag's trip to India- Hinduism
Year 3 celebrated Interfaith Week by learning about Hinduism. Prags, who was born in East Africa, shared her experiences of visiting India. She showed pictures of both traditional and modern parts of the country, highlighting its diversity. Prags also discussed the importance of recycling and her love for visiting sacred sites like the River Ganges and the Golden Temple. The girls then wore colourful, sequined skirts while the boys wore jackets and they all learned a dance routine together. The children asked insightful questions about the language and clothing and enjoyed trying the vegetable samosas that Prags brought in. It was great to learn about the traditions and religious beliefs of Hinduism.
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Sportshall Athletics Club
Tonight we started our first Sportshall Athletics Club. We practised various events including lap sprints, javelin, long jump and specialist obstacle skills such as the tunnel. The children worked hard to develop their agility and speed.
Edstart Jag Tag Festival
What a fantastic opportunity we had today in taking part in the Edstart Jag Tag Festival at Soccerdome. In the morning session, the children developed their skills and game tactics and then this afternoon they played games against other schools that were attending the festival. Team B showed great respect, encouragement and passion in every game and came away with a MVP ( Most Valued Player) in every single game with super results : Game 1 - 18-0 WIN vs St Oswalds MVP - Freddy Game 2- 20-6 WIN vs St Matthew’s MVP - Matthew Game 3 - 18-2 WIN St Anthony’s MVP Brooke Huge thanks to all of the coaches from Edstart , the other schools and support staff.
Year 4 Street Dance
In PE this week we have started our new dance unit - Street dance. The children were so excited to have a specialist Dance Teacher from Rothwell Arts to lead their sessions. Every single child joined in so enthusiastically and it was lovely to see them having such fun as well as learning new dance terms such as a canon, Smurf and windmills. We can’t wait to continue to build on the piece next week and work towards an end showcase piece.
Reception: Diwali
Reception have been learning all about Diwali this week. Diwali will be celebrated by Hindus on Thursday and we are looking forward to teaching the school about it on Thursday. The children learnt about Rama and Sita and how Diwali is the festival of light. They have made Rangoli patterns, cards, Mendhi, diva lamps and cards. The children have also learnt a special song all about Diwali.
Year 4 - Science: Habitats at the Farm
We had a lovely walk up to Nightingales Farm on Monday to take part in some habitat activities. We recapped what we’d learned so far in science and then we learned about the many different habitats which can be found on the farm. We visited the sheep, pigs, goats and ducks and we talked about how the animals thrive in their habitats. We finished our trip by making bug houses using various natural materials. We will be adding these to our spiritual garden in order to encourage more wildlife to visit.
Barney’s Break Time Snack Rules
In our Wellbeing Warrior meeting today, the children discussed what should and what shouldn’t be included in our break time snacks as we have had quite a few questions about this from both parents and children. After looking at national guidance and a healthy balanced diet, the wellbeing warriors have decided that the following foods can be brought in for a break time snack: Fruit - fresh/dry Vegetables Frubes ( tube yoghurt) Cheese ( babybel or similar) Plain /yoghurt covered rice cakes Breadsticks Crackers/cracker bread Items that we would like children NOT to bring in: Any chocolate coated items Cereal bars Nuts Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive a free piece of fruit each day. Thank you for your support and understanding. This will begin on our return after half term. If there are any medical conditions that require other items, class teachers and staff will use their discretion. Have a lovely weekend. The Wellbeing Warriors
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Inter-House Sports Dodgeball led by Sports Leaders
A huge thank you to our new Sports Leaders who ran their very first Inter- house competition today. They chose to do dodgeball and every class thoroughly enjoyed it! The children showed each other respect, demonstrated the 4 B’s and encouraged each other every step of the way. We can’t wait to hear who the overall winners are next week
National Poetry Day in Year 4
As part of National Poetry Day, Year 4 have written their very own poems based on The Amazon Rainforest. They developed their use of both similes and metaphors to up level their examples. We recited the poems and gave peer evaluations. Once we had finished, we wrote the poems again for a poetry competition called Wonder Verse in which the best poems are selected and published in an actual poetry book. We can’t wait to hear if any of our poems make it to publication so we've got everything crossed. Happy National Poetry Day.!
Creating Optical Illusions - Year 4 Art
This week we have started to create optical illusions using a tropical rainforest theme. First the children selected two images such as toucans, macaws, tropical fish and tribes people. Working within a small group they then cut each of the pictures into 2cm strips. Following this they placed the strips down one side of a vertical fan and the same with the other picture. It is extremely difficult to place the strips in the correct place so that the image isn’t distorted, so we numbered the strips to help us. We are using a carousel of art activities so that each group can focus on their own optical illusion and ask for support where needed. We can’t wait to see everyone’s final piece which will go on to be displayed in the school hall.
Art Year 4 -Willow Patterns
In art this week we have been looking at designing our own willow pattern style plate based on an Amazon theme. We selected key features from our class novel ‘The Explorer’ and added these to our design, first in our sketch books and then on our plates. We drew the designs into our plates and then used diluted blue ink to highlight them. We used lots of different tones of blue by adding more or less water and the final pieces looked amazing.
Year 4 Geography - What is it like in a rainforest city?
In our geography lesson we are studying the Amazon Rainforest. Today we compared and contrasted Darwen with Manaus which is a city located with the Amazon. We highlighted physical and human features and then moved onto looking at climates within each continent across the world.
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Year 4 Art - Soap Sculptures
Our art session this week focused on Soap sculptures. We looked at the work of Barbara Hepworth and how things can be sculpted from a variety of materials. We used bars of soap for our sculptures and decided to stick with our rainforest animal theme. We decided between a butterfly, fish or turtle and then selected various tools to create our design. The children soon realised the need for a calm and steady hand in order to make intricate designs especially with the fish scales. As you can see we had some wonderful examples by the end of the lesson.
Year 4 - Science: Researching Habitats
This week, our super scientists in Year 4 headed to Whitehall Park to research an urban woodland habitat. We noted down any animals and plants we saw and commented on the climate and conditions. The children found various micro habitats too. They were able to identify the fundamental characteristics of a habitat and they used their knowledge to build micro habitats for insects.
Year 4 PSHE - Team work
In our PSHE sessions we are looking at Me and My Relationships. This week we focused on teamwork and how we can show this both in and out of the classroom. We discussed how this links to our 4 B’s, Christian values and British Values too.
Netball Club
What a great start to our new year netball club. A super turn out, hard work, determination and encouragement all round. We had some new members and some old with everyone showing great respect towards each other.
Year 4 - RE: Rosh Hashana
We began our RE unit about Jesus by exploring a bit about who He was. We investigated some Jewish artefacts and talked about Jewish festivals that Jesus would have celebrated. We found out about the festival Rosh Hashana and how it is celebrated today. We lit candles, listened to the shofar and tasted apples dipped in honey whilst we talked about our hopes for a sweet year.
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Year 4 Picture News Big Celebration Assembly
This morning we got the chance to take part in a virtual Picture News Big Celebration Assembly. We started with a picture which we had previously looked at in our class worship on Wednesday which showed the volunteers that had come together to clean up after the recent riots. We linked this to how we serve our school community and discussed British values. We always make sure that we welcome our community by showing our 4 B’s. Following this we heard from Boston St Nicholas School in Lincolnshire who highlighted how we can shine our light in so many different ways . It was lovely to share this special time to reflect and pray and we look forward to highlighting how we really do matter within our special school community.
Sports Leaders 2024-2025
Our new Sports Leaders were presented with their new smart jackets this morning and are raring to go! We look forward to planning and supporting events both in and out of school for Inter and Intra school events. In today’s meeting we have already planned our first Inter- House Sports event for the whole school which is super exciting.
Year 4 Geography - Where is the Amazon Rainforest?
In our first geography lesson of the year we looked at where the Amazon rainforest is in terms of continent and where it sits with reference to the equator and both tropics. The children worked hard to establish which countries the Amazon covered and then they moved on to labelling all seven continents, equator and tropics on a world map. The children used the atlases confidently and worked well in pairs to label accurately.
Year 4 PE - Team Building and Problem Solving
To start off our new PE journey in Year 4 we had a one off lesson on team building and problem solving. We split the class into four equal groups which each group designated a “leader’. They then relayed a set of instructions to their team so that they could tackle various problems and work collaboratively. Each team actively encouraged each other and showed great will and determination to overcome each problem. It was great to see them discussing tactics and applying different approaches within groups. Next we look forward to starting our Boccia and Handball units and hope to build on the many successes of today's lesson.
Year 3- Rock and River-
Year 3 had an amazing day at Rock and River today, participating in various challenging activities, including the low ropes course, climbing tower, airbag jump, rafted canoes, sit-on-top kayaks, paddle boards, and mega paddle boards. Despite finding the water cold, nothing stopped them from jumping in and getting wet! They had an absolute blast, demonstrating our school's Christian values by being brave and showing courage, determination, and respect throughout the day. Their behaviour and manners were so impressive that even the instructors were in awe.
Year 3- Rock and River
Year 3 had an amazing day at Rock and River today, participating in various challenging activities, including the low ropes course, climbing tower, airbag jump, rafted canoes, sit-on-top kayaks, paddle boards, and mega paddle boards. Despite finding the water cold, nothing stopped them from jumping in and getting wet! They had an absolute blast, demonstrating our school's Christian values by being brave and showing courage, determination, and respect throughout the day. Their behaviour and manners were so impressive that even the instructors were in awe.
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Reception: Muddy Monday
Reception enjoyed our Muddy Monday session at Whitehall Park. After our growth mindset assembly today, we made sure we used our growth mindset instead of our fixed mindset to challenge ourselves and take risks. The children really engaged with this and it was wonderful to see how far they have come since they started with us. Well done!
Reception: Rev Ben Visit
A huge thank you to Rev Ben for visiting our class this week. Rev Ben read a story from the bible all about the Holy Spirit. He told us how if we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will live in us. Rev Ben asked 6 children to come to the front and dressed them in party hats. Pentecost is the birthday of the church. Christians believe that God’s present to us all to celebrate Pentecosts is the Holy Spirit. It is a superpower that lives inside of us all. Thank you to Rev Ben for giving up his time to teach our children.
Inter- House Sportshall Athletics with Years 3 & 4
Year 3 and 4 absolutely loved their inter-House Sportshall Athletics this morning. They did various events which included sack race, egg and Spoon, obstacle relay and sprints with a baton exchange. Thanks to the sports leaders for organising.
Cidari 10 Year Celebration
A huge thank you to the singing superstars who sang at the Cidari 10 Year Celebration last night at Blackburn Cathedral. Bishop Philip and Mr Ashworth, our CEO, praised the children for their fantastic enthusiastic singing. I’ve also been sent some lovely emails from members of our multi academy trust family saying how wonderful the children were and how they are a credit to our school. Thank you parents for your support and commitment to our school family.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Reception had a very busy forest school session today. They enjoyed exploring in the shaded area of Jacks Keys. They found a fox hole and enjoyed exploring and creating their own storylines. They made houses for different animals and roleplayed a story about a fox coming out during the night. Some of our children climbed trees and managed to climb higher than usual. We are so proud of the children and love seeing how far they have come. Super perseverance, challenge and determination was seen from them all!
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Year 4 PE Athletics in the sun
In our PE session yesterday we had our first athletics session. We worked in teams to develop our agility, speed and body awareness. We also practiced the events that we will do next week in our Sports Day such as sprint, egg and spoon, sack race and obstacle relay. We used batons for handovers and some of the children really pushed themselves out of their comfort zones.
Year 3- English- Zoom session from Tom Roberts-Author of the The Great Realisation poem and film. ·
Performance poet Tom Roberts also known as Tom Foolery shared his journey into poetry and explained his creative process during a Zoom session with Year 3 today. He emphasized the importance of focusing on subjects that matter to you at the moment, whether personal or universal, making the work more engaging. He shared valuable advice from a former teacher about structuring a poem. Instead of thinking of a poem as having a beginning, middle, and end, he approaches it as a progression from stability to instability, and finally to resolution. During the session, Tom delighted the children by reading two poems: "The Great Realisation" and "The World Awaits" – the latter from his second book. To make the experience even more special, he included the names of the children while performing. Year 3 loved it! Inspired by this session, the children will now use Tom's approach to structure their poems on the theme of refugees.
English- Year 3- Refugees from Sudan and Libya
Today in Year 3, we welcomed two refugees. Zinab from Libya and Samah from Sudan. They both had to leave their families because it was not safe in their countries. Zinab and Samah told us about their struggles and worries about fitting in here in the UK. They were very grateful to the UK for providing them with housing and support. They also reminded us to be thankful that we don't have wars, and that we have safe places to stay and food to eat. The question and answer session helped the children understand the challenges refugees face, which they could then portray in their writing.
Year 3- Class Worship- Refugees Welcome
During our class worship today, we learned about Milad from Syria, who had to flee his country because of the war. Milad was forced to leave his older brother behind and was separated from him for over a year, not knowing if he would ever see him again. We also examined the conditions of the refugee camps and the large number of people living in them. Additionally, we discussed the British value of individual liberty, recognising that everyone has the right to live somewhere safe and that we can choose to help refugees. We then thanked God for keeping us safe and prayed for all those who have to leave their homes because of war.
Reception: Refugee Worship
Today our Ducklings had a worship focussing on refugee week. We discussed what a refugee is and how they may feel. Harry said they may feel sad, Percy said they might be hungry, Callie said they might be worried and Phoebe said they might be scared. We remembered why we donate to DARE and how important it is to be kind and to help others. We discussed what we could do. Olivia said we could donate, Skye said we could buy them a present and Haydn said we could give them a hug to make them feel better. We are lucky to have such kind Ducklings, well done for all contributing to a very thoughtful worship. At the end we sang my lighthouse about how God will always look after us and guide us to safety.
WOW Badge Winners for May
Huge congratulations to all of the children who have managed to ‘Walk Once a Week’ or ‘Park and Stride’ once a week during the month of May. We saw so many children receiving their badges but we can only have one overall class winner and that went to Year 5 ….again! Well done to all involved and keep up the hard work.
Year 6 - Buzz Education
Year 6 had a session from Buzz Education. The children worked really hard creating digital media for their upcoming Jungle Book production. The children created some fantastic work inspired by real life media mixed with their own creative designs to inspire and appeal to their audiences.
Year 6- Islamophobia Workshop
This week, year 6 took part in an islamophobia workshop. They discovered what islamophobia is, why we have islamophobia and how we tackle the issue. The overriding theme from the workshop is that it exists from a lack of education around the Islamic faith and it can be tackled through education. This will allow the children to make informed choices as they go out into the world.
Year 4 Class Worship - Is it fair to judge others based on first impressions?
In our class worship this morning we used Picture News and looked at if it is fair to judge others based on first impressions? We discussed the all girls football team from Bournemouth who were undefeated all season in a league dominated by boys. We shared our ambitions and goals with each other and looked at how we can exceed expectations.
Year 4 History - Extracting and Interpreting information from Viking Artefacts
As part of our final history lesson, we looked at how we can make observations about artefacts and how to deduce information about Viking life. The children worked hard to complete knowledge tables on what the artefact was, what it was made from and what it could have been used for. We have really enjoyed our history unit on the Vikings and loved linking it to our fact files in our English lessons too.
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Year 2 & Year 4 - RE: The Church
Our pupils in Years 2 & 4 had a walk down to St Barnabas Church this week. Both classes are currently studying the church in RE and Rev Ben was kind enough to invite us into church to explore symbols within the church. For Year 2, this built on the children’s learning about important features found in a church, and for Year 4, this gave a starting point for comparisons with churches from other denominations of Christianity. The children were very knowledgeable and loved exploring the inside of St Barnabas Church.
Year 4 RSE - Time for Change
Today we have had Karen in from Coram Life Education. She covered our RSE unit - Time for Change. We covered lots of subjects and all things puberty. Everyone is unique and it’s normal to question - I’m growing up but am I different? We looked in greater detail at the reproductive system and genitals. The main thing to remember is to show empathy towards each other and each other's body changes and differences.
Year 5- PGL- Three day residential trip
Year 5 have been on a 3-day residential trip to Winmarleigh Hall, where they created lasting memories, and tackled challenging activities such as; Zip wire, abseiling, survivor skills, traverse, raft building, quizzes, sensory trail and vertical challenges demonstrating incredible teamwork. Well done Year 5! A huge thank you to Mr Bloomfield, Miss Kachwalla and Rev Ben for their amazing support!
Year 5 PGL- Raft Building
Year 5 are having lots of fun and are showing friendship and teamwork when building rafts on their PGL residential. Well done Year 5! For all of the PGL photos so far, click here: https://stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-5-pgl-to-winmarleigh-2024
Year 2 - Fire Service Visit
On Monday, the fire service visited year 2. However after 10 minutes they received a radio call saying there was an emergency so they were needed somewhere else in Darwen. Thankfully Firefighter Clough was keen to come back so on Tuesday morning we got to do it all again. We spoke about how we should react should we ever be in a fire. We also discussed ways to help reduce danger in scary situations. We also spoke about the importance of smoke alarms in our homes. All the children were asked to check their smoke alarms were working at home. We had water guns, wigs, hats and plenty of jokes to make this a memorable visit!
Year 5 PGL - Abseiling
Year 5, Mr Bloomfield, Miss Kachwalla and Rev Ben have arrived at Winmarleigh Hall for their two night PGL residential and have taken part in a number of outdoor and adventurous activities such as abseiling, survival, passport to the world and vertical climb. We hope you have an amazing time living life in all its fullness! All of the photos so far can be found here: https://stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-5-pgl-to-winmarleigh-2024
Reception visit from Nightingale Farm
Reception were very lucky to have a visit from Steph at Nightingale farm. They met Olly the lamb who was only 7 weeks old and learned about his wool and other sheep at the farm. They also looked at some runner ducks who were just 2 weeks old! The children were so excited to see the ducklings running around with their long necks and were so gentle when they stroked them. They learned that these ducks can’t fly and can only swim once they have grown their feathers. The children asked lots of questions about animals on the farm.
DPSSA Netball League
No team photo because we got carried away and were so focused on the task in hand, so a pile of bibs and ball with impressive wins on show. The children worked really well to develop their game play today. Our shooters were on point and we played across the whole of the court. Two games and two spectacular wins for Team B again! Super proud of you all.
Year 2 - Science trip to the garden centre
This week for science we visited Four Seasons Garden Centre. This was a brilliant trip out for the class as we were able to build on our existing knowledge of plants. Sonia at the Garden Centre was amazing and shared her knowledge with the children. We looked for flowers that we had written in poems in English. It was lovely to see the children excited about seeing their learning in the real world.
KS2- Science Show- Fantastic Forces
This afternoon, KS2 enjoyed a special Science show led by Adrian, a former primary school teacher. The kids had a blast learning about different types of forces and examples and discovering more about Isaac Newton. Some students were selected to come to the front and test which parachute would land first: one open and the other tied. They made predictions and discussed air resistance. The children were intrigued by the various types of magnets, including bar and ring magnets, and they learned about repelling and attracting forces. Adrian even showed them how static can keep bubbles in the air, which left the children in absolute amazement with many "wow" moments. They asked Adrian why he chose to leave teaching and do science shows instead. He explained that while he loved teaching, focusing solely on science was his passion, which wasn't always possible in primary school. Delivering science shows allows him to do just that, and he thoroughly enjoys it. What an outstanding show it was!
Year 4 Hop, Skip and Jump for East Lancs Hospice
This morning, Year 4 completed their Hop, Skip and Jump for The East Lancashire Hospice Challenge . The children all wore their decorated crowns whilst making their way around our 1k course in order to raise money for this wonderful cause. Donations can be made on parent pay for all those who took part and received their special chocolate treat.
Year 5 - Hop, Skip and Jump
Year 5 completed the Easter Hop, Skip and Jump around the 1k track to raise money for East Lancs Hospice. The children decorated Easter crowns and hopped, skipped and jumped our schools 1k track.
Y4 Class Worship - Can you learn to persevere?
As part of our class worship this week, we looked at if we can learn perseverance. We looked at how Jasmin Paris who became the first female runner to complete what is thought by many to be the world’s toughest race. She crossed the line in March with less than 100 seconds to spare. The main point that we discussed is how this will go on to inspire others and test the limits of people’s capabilities. We also looked at inspirational quotes from famous people and finally wrote our own.
Walk to School Summer Worship
As part of our new Walk to School initiative, we took part in a virtual worship this morning. It was to highlight events that will be taking place over the summer term. We also looked at how children travel to school in different countries and found that some children have to go to school in a boat and some children in China have to climb 2500 ft up a mountain side using a rope ladder! The schools that took part, shared why walking to school helped us and we said that it helps us to clear our mind, be with nature, how it helps to keeps us fit and de- stress. The events that are due to take place are Walk to School Week 20-24th May and the WOW Top Ten Challenge when schools try to increase their walks and gain a top ten place on the leader board which is 3-28th June. Our WOW ambassadors are looking forward to promoting these exciting events and will be planning something very exciting!
The Pupils’ RE Conference 2024
Mrs Araujo and two of our W.O.W. group members enjoyed a fun-packed day at the RE conference. They met the author of the story The Dove Stone and explored the prayer themes revealed in the book. They even had the opportunity to create their own prayer stones from clay. All in all, it was a fantastic day, and our children were fantastic ambassadors for St Barnabas.
Earth Day- EYFS and Key Stage 1 Lunchtime
The children enjoyed celebrating Earth day this lunchtime as a reminder to look after our planet by making their own Earth creation using collage materials.
WOW Badge and Class Winners for March 2024
A huge well done to all 120 of our WOW badge winners for March 2024. What a super effort everyone has made. We have all tried really hard to either walk or park and stride once a week in the month of March which was a little taster session as we did it over the 2 weeks! A big congratulations to Year 5 as they have the most badge winners. We look forward to seeing who has earned a badge for April in a couple of weeks.
Year 4 Go on Residential to The Anderton Centre
Well that’s a wrap! What an amazing adventure we have had at The Anderton Centre. The children have loved tree climbing, archery, fairy den building, night line guide line, bushcraft, marshmallow toasting, team building, XL stand up paddle boarding, midnight feasts, sleepovers (with not much sleep) and AI food. The children have really challenged themselves, attempting things that have really pushed them out of their comfort zones. Team Gardner, Team Araujo andTeam Lyon’s were a pleasure to take and conducted themselves in true St Barnabas style, showing our four Bs along the way at all times. A huge thanks to the parents and carers for allowing us to share such a magical experience with them, labelling every item under the sun and all with the packing skills of a scout leader! We now have very tired children but they have made memories that will last a lifetime! For all of the photos, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-4-anderton-centre-residential
Year 4 - Big Lent Walk & Easter Trail
We had a great time clocking up a few miles between us on our walk to the Rose Garden this morning. Once we arrived we completed an Easter quiz and explored the lovely artwork created by our school friends. The children knew so much about the events of the Easter story and really understood the symbolism too. We finished our visit with a walking gallery, deciding on our favourite pieces of art.
Reception: Easter Artwork
Our Ducklings enjoyed viewing the artwork in the Rose Garden. They looked at the Easter story and tried to describe each picture.
Reception: Forest Schools
Our Reception children explored a different area of Whitehall park today. They made fairy houses, balanced on beams, built dens and climbed trees.
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Year 5 - Fairtrade Letters
This week Year 5 received a special letter on behalf of the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street in recognition of their persuasive writing to purchase more Fairtrade products. The children wrote a letter detailing the worldwide benefits of Fairtrade and they have been writing to persuade the Prime Minister to promote the purchasing of Fairtrade. Our letter states that our letters have been forwarded to the Department for Business and Trade to make them aware of our views and options. Well done Year 5 for making a stand and trying to make a difference!
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Year 5 - Trout Release
This week, Year 5 RotaKids said goodbye to the trout that they have been looking after. The class has raised them since they were eggs and carefully helped them starting their life journey. We released the trout in our local river stream and learned all about the life cycle and what benefits we have brought to the life cycle. The children also explored a variety of wildlife; classifying many different insects. The children also had a lesson in water safety to ensure that when dealing with water, they understand and know how to remain safe.
Year 2 - Whitehall Park
This afternoon we visited the Rose Garden in Whitehall Park. As a school, we have turned the rose garden into an art exhibition full of the whole school’s Easter artwork. The children loved seeing all their art being displayed for the public to see. It is definitely worth a visit to the Rose Garden this Easter.
Easter Artwork Trail in the Rose Garden
The St Barnabas Easter trail is now ready for visitors! Our whole school family has worked hard to represent a different part of the Easter story through art and we have selected some for our community to enjoy when they visit the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. Our pictures have brought a lovely splash of colour to the garden to celebrate this joyous time in the Christian calendar. We hope that they will bring joy to all visitors.
Inter House Dodgeball Event
The Inter House Dodgeball competition was a huge success. Every single child across school took part and represented their house teams. It was fantastic to see the children getting involved, working as a team and having lots of fun. A massive thank you to the Sports leaders who ran the event and congratulations to both of our winning houses which were the yellow and green team - Whitehall Park and Darwen Tower
Mrs Ham’s Weekly Message
Good evening parents and carers, well what a busy week it has been at St Barnabas and we sure have been living life in all its fullness! The highlights have been: *The Year 6 London trip *Odd Socks day for Down Syndrome Awareness Day *Year 5 class releasing the trout they have grown into River Darwen *Reception class visits from a firefighter and two dentists *Year 1 Victorian history walk *Inter-house dodgeball led by our Sports Leaders today Each class has been busy creating wonderful Easter artwork and a selection of it will be displayed in the Rose Garden in Whitehall Park. Each class will have the opportunity to visit it and it will be there over the Easter holidays if you would like to visit it as a family. For all of this week’s news from each class, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/news On Sunday everyone is welcome to Rev Ben’s Palm Sunday service at 11.00am and our choir will be singing. Any of our school children can also join in too. Next week we will be celebrating Holy Week in school and everyone is welcome to our Easter Church Service on Thursday morning at 9.15am. We break up early for the Easter holidays on Thursday at 2.00pm. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend with your loved ones and I hope our Year 6 children rest and recharge after a busy couple of days in London, Mrs Ham
Year 4 History - King Alfred the Great
In our History lesson today we looked at various interpretations of Alfred the Great . We started in 793AD when the Vikings sailed down from Scandinavian lands to the North East coast to Lindisfarne. Here they savagely attacked the monks and robbed them of their treasures. 50 years on over 3000 Vikings arrived but King Alfred had something to say about that! He gathered his army and they fought a gruesome battle and this is when Alfred gained his King Alfred the Great title. One that no other king has ever received.
Year 4: Down Syndrome Awareness Day 2024
In our Class Worship and PSHE sessions today, we focused on Down Syndrome Awareness Day. World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), 21 March, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes, chromosome 21. We also looked at how we are all unique and have very special qualities. This is why we are supporting this day by wearing our odd socks.
Well-being Club
For our final session, we walked to Jack Keys and enjoyed a nature walk! It was lots of fun and it was lovely to enjoy the outdoors with everyone.
Reception: Firefighter visit
Reception had a special visit from firefighter Andy this afternoon to teach us about the very important job of a firefighter. First we watched a video about Francis the firefly with a very important message about not playing with matches. We then looked at a uniform a firefighter wears when they attend a fire - we thought it was very funny when Mrs Govan tried it on! Mrs Govan said it was very heavy and smelt of smoke! Andy talked about other types of incidents the fire team help with, such as car accidents, rescuing people from tricky places and animals too!
Year 6- Imperial War Museum Visit
In History this term, Year 6 have been learning all about the Second World War and the part that Darwen played in it. It has been wonderful to visit the Imperial War Museum to learn more about the Second World War and the part that London played in it and contrast this to Darwen’s involvement. All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/imperial-war-museum
Year 6- Graffiti Tunnel
We have just had a great time creating some graffiti art in Leake Street tunnel and we got to join a free tour with an artistic called Mark who spends lots of time creating artwork in the tunnel. Earlier on this year we looked at graffiti art in our Art unit so it was great to be able to apply the skills we learnt. All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/london-graffiti-tunnel
Year 6- Thames River Cruise
Our Year 6 children enjoyed seeing some of the famous sights of London from the River Thames. They also learnt about the history of the buildings from our tour guide. Can you spot any you know? For all of the photos, click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/thames-river-sightseeing-cruise
Year 6- London Sightseeing
Year 6 saw lots of London's famous sights such as Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament , the Tower of London and we watched the changing of the guard. For all of the photos, click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/london-sightseeing
Year 6 - Jubilee Gardens and St James's Park
Year 6 had a fantastic time playing on the adventure play areas in Jubilee Gardens underneath the London Eye and in St James's Park. It was wonderful to see everyone getting along and playing with their friends. For all of the photos, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/london-jubilee-gardens-and-st-james-s-park
Year 6 London Trip 2024
Our Year 6 children are off on their exciting visit to London!
Year 6- Houses of Parliament Visit
Our Year 6 class enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Houses of Parliament. They went on a special guided tour and got to go into the House of Lords. They finished the visit in Westminster Hall and looked at where the late Queen Elizabeth II was laid in state. All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/houses-of-parliament-visit-1
Year 6- Natural History Museum
Our Year 6 class had a wonderful time exploring the Natural History Museum in London. They saw dinosaur and animal bones and fossils and lots of stuffed animals. They also enjoyed visiting the gift shop. Click here for all of the photos: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/natural-history-museum
Year 6- Matilda in the West End
Year 6 watched Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in the West End. We had seats in the stalls so we had a great view. The children’s faces were priceless as they were so mesmerised by the production and in particular the child actors and actresses. We hope it’s given them some ideas and confidence for their end of year Jungle Book production.
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Year 4 DT - Designing a product to fit a set of specific user needs
In our third DT session we have been looking at how we can design a product (torch) to fit a set of specific user needs. We looked at how to factor in who our product is for and how our design must follow a success criteria. The children designed some amazing torches with lots of thought and effort. We can’t wait to start making them next week.
WOW Ambassador Training
In our very first WOW Ambassador meeting today, we met to discuss the children’s role and how they will promote this walk to school initiative throughout school. We also completed training on how to access the travel tracker and monitor each class on a weekly basis. The children can’t wait for the launch of this exciting new walking to school initiative next week!
Values Points House Team Winners - Spring 1 2024
A huge well done to our Values Awards Winners for Spring Term 1 2024 - Team Whitehall Park. Today they celebrated their win with a special non- uniform day, sweet treats and a disco. It was lovely to see each and every one of them dancing and having lots of fun! Well done Team Whitehall Park on another successful half term win!
WOW Initiative Assembly Launch
Today we had our WOW assembly in which we learned all about our new walk to school challenge and how we need to try to walk to school (or find an active way) at least once a week. We met Dan who is from Living Streets. He told us how we can earn badges every month by taking part. It’s so important to walk to improve our mental wellbeing, get fit and decrease pollution. We look forward to practising with the Travel Tracker next week with our newly appointed WOW Ambassadors.
Biggest Ever Girls Football Session
Today, our KS2 girls all took part in the biggest ever girls football session in celebration of International Women’s Day. Our girls all played a football tournament to encourage more girls to play and take up football. The girls participated in a tournament style session building on teamwork and spirit within the game and then finished off with a penalty shootout at the end. All the girls had an amazing time and showed lots of talent and potential. Well done girls!
World Book Day- Dress as a word
Happy world book day! The children have loved seeing all of our staff team dressed as different words and have had great fun guessing their lords. We have had some brilliant challenging vocabulary from onomatopoeia to metamorphosis! Can you guess the words?
Year 3- World Book Day- Dress as a word.
Year 3 are dressed as words to celebrate 'World Book Day'. We have seen costumes depicting scientists, courageous, confident individuals, heroes, exhausted characters, and even camouflaged.
Reception World Book Day
Reception have loved taking part in lots of World Book Day activities. They enjoyed playing a quiz in Miss Flynn’s special assembly, winning lots of prizes. They have also been drawing book covers of their favourite stories, can you guess some of them?
The Big Lent Walk in Year 4
This afternoon, Year 4 went on their Big Lent Walk around our local area. We walked past both Mrs Gardner’s and Mrs Singleton's houses on our journey. The children loved being out in the fresh air and working together to add more km to our whole school total. We are so proud of them as we were also in our World Book Day outfits which included onesies, dresses and dressing gowns. Collectively we walked 92.8k - WELL DONE Year 4
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World Book Day in Year 4
What a wonderful World Book Day! We have had a day packed full of enjoyment and the opportunity to showcase our love of books and reading. From reading our new class novel to book tasting to hearing Miss Flynn sharing one of her favourite stories with us, we have loved every second. Thank you to Miss Flynn for organising and the librarians for making the World Book Day Assembly so interactive and fun! Also a special mention for Annabelle who won the WBD bookmark competition for Key Stage 2.
Year 1- Mrs Ham Reads to Year One on World Book Day
Year One loved listening to Mrs Ham, our headteacher, read them stories today as part of our World Book Day celebrations. Mrs Ham read, ‘When Cookie Crumbled’ and ‘When Jelly Had a Wobble.’ We talked about times when we have felt anxious or nervous like Jelly and how we can show kindness to our friends to reassure them if they feeling anxious or worried. We also reflected on how it is great to be unique and express ourselves however we like, just like the cookie.
World Book Day in Year 1
Year 1 made a fantastic effort for World Book Day. They all dressed as a word of their choice such as palaeontologist, scientist, energetic, artistic, athletic, heroic, fairytale and confused. We had a vocabulary parade where each of the children came into the middle of the circle and the rest of the class had three guesses to try to figure out the word that the person was representing. Well done Year 1!
KS2 World Book Day Assembly
Thank you to our wonderful KS2 children for their fantastic engagement with this morning’s World Book Day assembly. Mrs Ham introduced the assembly by telling the children all about the word that she had come dressed as which was ‘onomatopoeia.’ The children then watched a video published by the literacy trust which gave them some top tips for choosing an appropriate book such as deciding if the genre is of interest to them, reading the blurb and ensuring that there are no more than 5 words that they can’t understand on the first page. They then joined in with a three part quiz. During the first round, the children had to identify the title of a book by looking at the front cover. This included book titles such as The Naughtiest Unicorn, Grimwood, Mac B Kid Spy, The Storey Treehouse collection, The Accidental Prime Minister, The Babysitters Club, Loki and Breakfast Club Adventures. The second round consisted of guessing the authors of certain books such as J.K. Rowling, Andy Stanton and Francesca Simon and the third round consisted of playing emoji Pictionary with books such as Goldfish Boy, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom, Ninja Kid and Daisy and the Trouble With. All of the books that were on the quiz are books that we have in our library so we are hoping that our children now feel inspired to sample a book that they haven’t yet read. The librarians also awarded Annabelle and Miley with their book token as they were the KS2 winners of our ‘Design a Bookmark with Your Favourite Book Title’ competition. Annabelle‘s bookmark showed her love of the ‘The 13 Storey Treehouse’ collection of books and Miley’s showed her love of the ‘Daisy and the Trouble With’ collection of books.
KS1 World Book Day Assembly
Thank you to our wonderful KS1 children for their fantastic enthusiasm and excitement in this morning’s World Book Day assembly. Mrs Ham introduced the worship by telling the children all about the word that she had come dressed as which was ‘onomatopoeia.’ The children then joined in with a picture book quiz. During the first round, the children had to identify the title of a book by looking at the front cover. This included book titles such as The The Smartest Giant in Town, Elmer, The Squirrels Who Squabbled, Who Pooed in my Loo, My Dad is a Grizzly Bear and The Highway Rat. The second round consisted of playing emoji Pictionary with books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Giraffes Can’t Dance, The Gruffalo and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. All of the books that were on the quiz were books that we have in our library so we are hoping that our children now feel inspired to sample a book that they haven’t yet read. Our librarians also awarded Emily and Molly with their book tokens as they were the KS1 winners of our ‘Design a Bookmark with Your Favourite Book Title’ competition.Molly’s bookmark showed her love of the ‘Who Pooed in my Loo?’ picture book and Emily’s showed her love of ‘Stickman.’
Year 2 - World Book Day
We had an action packed World Book Day. Here we are enjoying our book tasting towards the end of the day. This was a nice opportunity to relax and enjoy a good book. We had a selection of books for the children to choose from whilst enjoying juice and biscuits. Any books the children liked, were added to their book shelf of favourite books.
KS2 Author Visit
Yesterday, the children in KS2 were lucky enough to have a visit from Richard Alker. Richard is the author of the book ‘My Grandad vs the Fangazoo’. The children were truly immersed in his session and had many questions to ask Richard about his life and how he became an author. During the session, he discussed various things: what inspired him to write, character development, simple strategies he uses when writing and finally the children had the chance to listen to a book reading. Thank you Richard!
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Year 5&6 Big Lent Walk
Today, Year 5&6 completed their big lent walk. The children walked through Jacks Key and around the local area and completed 4.5km each so that's 265.5km towards the school's 2000km target.
Let’s Go Sing concert 2024
Wow, we are so proud of our school choir for their amazing singing and enthusiastic actions this evening at the Let’s go sing concert at King George’s Hall. I’ve loaded some videos onto class dojo and the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/let-s-go-sing-concert-2024 A huge thank you to Mrs Govan for her wonderful leadership of our choir and to Mrs Wilkinson for her support this afternoon. Thank you to all of our choir parents for their support in helping the children learn their words and for supporting them this evening. We are hoping to have more choir members next year and will be opening choir open to more KS2 children in the next few weeks. If your child is interested in joining, they are welcome to come along on Thursday lunchtimes to give it a try. It was an absolute pleasure to watch our children sing their hearts out. They will be performing their favourite song in worship on Friday. You are very welcome to join us.
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Year 3- Food Technology- Bake with Jessica Sharp
Year 3 had the best time meeting Jessica this afternoon. Jessica is a professional baker/ chef who runs a bakery business from home. She shared her passion for baking, inspired by her grandmother. The children made a scrumptious fruit crumble, from chopping apples, weighing flour, to layering the pastry and creating the crumble topping. They also had the opportunity to look at pictures of some of the wonderful cakes Jessica has made over the years.
KS2- Author Visit-R.K. Alker
To celebrate World Book Day and foster a love for reading, we welcomed children's book author RK Alker today. He shared insights into his journey before becoming an author, recounting experiences such as growing chillies and collaborating with celebrities like Gordon Ramsay. Before pursuing writing, RK worked as an ambulance man until a leg injury led him to reconsider his career path. Inspired by his daughters, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of writing a book. During his talk, RK emphasised the importance of creative writing prompts and utilising the five senses to enhance writing. He introduced the children to his character Stretch the Dragon by reading chapter 7 from his current best-selling book 'My Grandad Vs the Fanga Zoo,' leaving it on a cliffhanger. RK hopes to get a word he made up, 'oopositollogy' (which means the opposite of opposite), into a dictionary one day. To end the visit, RK told funny jokes that had the children laughing their socks off.
Year 2 - Big Lent Walk
This afternoon, Year 2 set off to Whitehall Park to do our bit for the Big Lent Walk. We added 2.5 kilometres to the school total.
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Year 3- Big Lent Walk
This afternoon, Year 3 went on the 'Big Lent Walk', covering a distance of 2.8 km. A small donation has been made to CAFOD to help fight poverty worldwide. We also had fun being Geologists exploring different kind of rocks.
Year 6 School Nurse Visit
Year 6 had a visit from the school nurse as a follow-up session to the health questionnaires they recently filled out. The children acted extremely maturely and gave some fantastic responses. However, they were clearly shocked by some of the facts (especially around sugar content) regarding their favourite foods and drinks. Did you know that one milkshake contains nearly a week’s worth of a child’s sugar intake?
Year 4 Art - Creating Batik Fabric
We have finally finished the process of developing our Batik artwork. As part of our final stage, we washed the glue off in the trays to leave just the patterns that we created with the acrylic paints. The children and adults alike are amazed by the final result which is so impressive! We look forward to showcasing these in our Year 4 Gallery for everyone to see.
Year 4 PSHE - Rights and Respect
In our PSHE lesson we have moved onto a new unit which focuses on ‘Rights and Respect’. During the lesson we looked at who helps us to stay healthy and safe. We developed our understanding of the roles that particular job roles had including; doctors, teachers, firefighters, office administrators and site managers. The children collaborated on a mind map to demonstrate these similarities and differences then discussed which role they thought helped us the most and why.
Year 5 - Trout
As part of Year 5 RotaKids, the children in year 5 have been learning about and looking after trout. This initiative is support by the River Ribble Trust who have been supporting our class throughout our journey. The children have been looking after the trout from the first day when the eggs were planted in the class tank. Throughout their life cycle the trout are now at the fry stage in which the children feed them on a regular basis. Once at a suitable size, the trout will be released into our local river to support and aid the life cycle process.
Reception: Imagine That Educational Visit
Wow, what a fantastic day our Ducklings had today. We visited Imagine That in Liverpool and had lots of fun! The children did lots of experiments with dry ice, made magical snow and made slime too. They used their imaginations in the roleplay area, painted a car, explored the creative area and made their own magnets. They were well behaved and represented the school beautifully!
Reception: Muddy Monday
Our Ducklings enjoyed our Muddy Monday session today at Whitehall park. They were super explorers! They found pine cones, natural resources for their dens and also different minibeasts.
Year 3- Collective Worship- Should we learn sign language at school?
Today in Year 3's class worship, we explored different ways of communicating, including prayer to connect with God and the importance of British Sign Language. The children feel learning sign language at school is vital to support the deaf community, break down barriers, and promote understanding between different communities. They also discussed the importance of respect and celebrate difference. We ended our worship by thanking God for creating each of us uniquely different.
The Big Debate Club - Should all children receive pocket money?
This morning we took part in Smart Schools Council Big Debate. It asked us to discuss whether children should all be given pocket money or not? We found that the average pocket money for 11-16 year old is on average £16.30 per week which seems an awful lot, especially with the cost of living crisis! The children debated confidently and used their speaking and listening skills to get their points across. As a class we decided that not all children should receive pocket money for a variety of reasons and if children are old enough they should earn their own money by getting a part time job which will benefit them greatly.
Year 6 Fire Service Visit
At the end of last half term, year 6 were visited by the fire service. They did a recap with the children on what they covered in year 2, and delivered some new content. Two of the most important takeaways from the session would be to test that your smoke alarms work each month; this could be done on your birthdate to avoid forgetting. Secondly, make sure you have a fire plan in place at home and that everyone living in the property understand this.
Reception: Police Visit
Wow! What a special treat! The children had a visit from PC Uzair and PCSO Debbie. It was fantastic and the children were able to take turns in the police car. We even got to press the horn to make the siren work! We learnt about their job and how they make sure everybody is safe. We also got to see some of their equipment and found out about their special numbers. I’m sure this is a memory the children will never forget.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Our Reception class really enjoyed our Muddy Monday session at Whitehall park. We looked at some habitats for different minibeasts that we found and also enjoyed creating dens and continued to take risks climbing trees. They walked 3.84km and enjoyed contributing to the Big Lent Walk!
Year 3- Food Technology- Making Japanese Skewers
This afternoon, we kicked off our Food and Technology unit, exploring the diverse climates where fruits and vegetables grow. We then followed a recipe to create delicious Japanese skewers. We had some very eager children who enjoyed them right away while others took them home.
St Barnabas Big Lent Walk
Good morning, Next Wednesday 14th February, is the start of Lent. During Lent, our school will be fundraising for CAFOD. We will be taking part in the big Lent walk where we will collectively try and walk 200km. Please help us to raise as much money as possible by sponsoring our whole school family. If you have been on a walk, please either sponsor and leave a message with how many km you have walked or send me a message and I can update our page. We will also be walking during the school day in our classes to achieve our target so any sponsorship will be greatly appreciated. Your sponsorship can change lives. Every £1 raised through the Big Lent Walk will help fight poverty globally in countries like Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. This year, CAFOD’s Lent Appeal is helping fishing communities feed their families in Liberia, and SCIAF’s Wee Box Appeal is focused on women and girls in Rwanda facing gender-based violence. Also in Ethiopia, CAFOD and SCIAF are working together to respond to the devastating food crisis there. Years of drought caused by the climate crisis means families are no longer able to cope, but your support means we are working with people right now, providing them with water, emergency food and healthcare. With your hard work and sponsorship this Lent, we can change families’ lives for good and tell poverty to take a hike. Please access our page here where you can sponsor your child: https://schools.walk.cafod.org.uk/fundraising/st-barnabas-big-lent-walk Thank you for your kindness, Mrs Wilkinson
Let’s Go Sing Worship
Our choir took part in a workshop with Rachel from Let’s Go Sing. Rachel was amazed at their wonderful singing. Please come and watch our wonderful choir perform at King George’s Hall on 6th March 2024.
Year 3/4 Key Steps Gymnastics Competition
What a fantastic afternoon we have had at St Bedes taking part in the Key Steps Gymnastics competition. We entered the individual competition plus the girls and the mixed teams. The children have worked incredibly hard to memorise three routines both at home and in school. Today when they performed all three routines, they all had a huge smile and did it with pure Barney’s determination and perseverance. We are so proud of all nine of them for representing our school in such a great way! Also a huge WELL DONE to our girls team who came away with a bronze medal!
Reception: Muddy Monday
Our Ducklings enjoyed exploring the forest schools area in Whitehall park. Their imaginations were really flowing. We found dinosaur shaped claw leaves, eggs, some of our children created a roleplay restaurant and we had squirrels climbing up the trees!
Online Safety Rap Prep in Year 4
In preparation for Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 6th February, we have been looking at developing a rap linked to Online Safety. We rehearsed rhyming couplets and looked at pairs of words that we could use such as click and trick, share and beware, friend and send. The children did really well and pushed themselves completely out of their comfort zones! We can’t wait to hear the finished article next week in the special Safer Internet Day Worship.
Year 4 English - Debating Deforestation
We started our new English unit today which focuses on Debate. The debate will be all about the deforestation of the rainforest. In today’s lesson, we watched clips about deforestation and made notes on our whiteboards. Then we worked in groups to mind map what deforestation is and the impact it has on planet earth. Next we will highlight the points ‘for’ and ‘against’
Mad Science Assembly - Year 4
This morning, we welcomed Mad Science Sarah in our assembly. Scientific Sarah explored static energy using balloons, electric energy using people power where our very own Annabelle lit the plasma ball by creating energy by turning the pedals. Sarah then went on to making chemical energy in a jar. We loved every second of it and Year 4 can’t wait to try out some new experiments in our Science lesson on Monday.
Year 5 - Money Matters - Module 2
Year 5 have completed their module 2 Money Matters. The children discussed various aspects of money such as: needs vs wants, budgeting, examples of spending, how to spend wisely and learnt from real life situations.
Year 4 - Science: Investigating Air Pollution
Our super scientists in Year 4 have been busy learning about air pollution and the main causes. We went out into the local area and put up cards smeared with Vaseline at specific locations to see what debris we could catch. We also measured the sound level to see if there were any correlations between the level of noise and the amount of debris. We had great fun using magnifiers to observe the results too.
Reception- Exploring our outdoor area
We have had a lovely time exploring the outdoors this afternoon. We went for a windy walk around our school grounds and then we had lots of fun on our new outdoor gym, which the children were so excited to use.
Year 5 - National River Trust
Today, Year 5 were treated to a 1-1 session with The National River Trust to discuss the food chains and predictors our trout will encounter when they are released into the wild. The children saw and got to see a real life pike skull. We discussed all its features including what makes the pike an apex predator. The children were fascinated with the skull and asked some really interesting questions which resulted in the children gaining some incredible facts.
Year 4 Art - One picture, four views
As part of our topic on rainforests, we have been looking at the flora and fauna. In today’s session we chose an animal or insect and then used a view finder to select four different parts of the picture to draw. We explored different techniques to develop imagery and observed the artwork of Ruth Daniel’s and Senaka Senanayake.
Year 5&6 County Football
As a result of winning the Darwen Schools Football League, our year 5 and 6 football team went on to represent our town in the county football finals held in Thornton, Cleveleys near Blackpool. Our team topped the group stages not losing a game and went into the quarter finals. Our team won the quarter finals on penalties but unfortunately lost in the semi finals. A huge achievement for our football team competing at such a high standard with a total of 14 teams who also finished top of their league within their own towns. A huge congratulations. You have done yourself and our school really proud!
Reception: Muddy Monday
Our Ducklings enjoyed exploring a different forest schools area of Whitehall park. They created dens, roleplayed in a restaurant, searched for hedgehogs and loved climbing trees.
Martin Luther King Jr Worship
Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day and the 15th January was actually his birthday. In Worship we learnt about how unfair it used to be in America as black people didn't have as many rights as white people and they were segregated. Martin Luther King wanted to make a difference and we watched a video all about the dream he had and what he did to stand up for what he believed in. He did this in a peaceful way and encouraged people to spread love, not hate and judge people by their character, not their appearance. We thought about how Jesus taught us that God wants us to love our neighbours. We reflected on how we can spread kindness and love to our neighbours and discussed our dreams for the world. We had some brilliant ideas such as no wars, world peace, everyone to treat others with kindness and respect etc We finished with a prayer thanking God for Martin Luther King Jr and for the difference he made to the world. We then sang 'I can make a difference' and reflected on how we can make a difference to the lives of others.
Year 4 English - identifying and discussing dilemmas
In our English session we have started our new unit - Stories with Dilemmas but first we needed to identify what a dilemma was! We looked at moral dilemmas based on the clip ‘French Roast’ and then highlighted consequences. Afterwards we looked at poems that each have a dilemma and tried to identify these. It was great to see the children fully engaged and immersed in speaking and listening activities too.
Year 5 - Trout Exploration
Today, Year 5 had a visit from Ribble Rivers Trust who delivered the session on the release of the eggs to the class tank. The children discussed the life cycle of trout and all the obstacles that they face when being released into the wild such as predators, pollution and other external factors. The children took part in many scientific tasks, games and fact finding to enhance their knowledge when looking after trout.
Year 4 - RE: Hanukkah
To finish our Year 4 Christmas RE unit, we learned about the significance of light in the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. We discussed the story and how the Jews felt about their sacred temple being destroyed and the miracle of the oil lasting longer than it should have. We also made our own Dreidels and played a few games.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Our Ducklings visited the forest schools area of Whitehall Park today for the first time. They enjoyed exploring and also had a go at making camp fires and bug houses.
Year 4 - Visit to the Rose Garden
Year 4 class had a great time in the Rose Garden. They chose their top 3 card designs and then we all sang some of our favourite carols. Merry Christmas to you all!
Thank you from DARE ( Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise)
Thank you so much to our staff team and our Year 1 kindness elves for donating Christmas items to Darwen Asylum and Refuger Enterprise. The donations have been used to create Christmas hampers for families in need. They were distributed at the DARE Christmas party and were gratefully received.
Year 1 and 2 visit to Whitehall Park
Yesterday, Years 1 and 2 went to the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park to admire the Christmas artwork created by some of our children as part of the Home Bargains competition. We then had a play on the playground equipment as an end of term treat.
Reception: Christmas Artwork visit to the Rose Garden
Our Ducklings really enjoyed looking at all of the artwork at the rose garden in Whitehall Park. They looked in detail at the children’s drawings and have all said they’d love to show their families over the Christmas holidays. We also enjoyed singing some Christmas songs.
Year 3- Whitehall Park- Singing Christmas songs and admiring the Artwork
This morning, Year 3 have been out admiring the wonderful artwork created by some of the children from our school. During the visit, they sang Christmas songs, spreading festive cheer to the members of the gardening club. They were amazed by how well they sang their hearts out. They also had the opportunity to have a play in the park before heading back to school.
Year 3- Whitehall Park- Singing Christmas songs and admiring the Artwork
This morning, Year 3 have been out admiring the wonderful artwork created by some of the children from our school. During the visit, they sang Christmas songs, spreading festive cheer to the members of the gardening club. They were amazed by how well they sang their hearts out. They also had the opportunity to have a play in the park before heading back to school.
RotaKids and Smart School Council - Toy collection
The RotaKids, Smart School Council of Years 5 and 6 and the rest of the school family at St Barnabas would like to say a massive thank you for your generosity. In just over two weeks, we have been overwhelmed with donations of toys for families in need. The donations will now be distributed amongst families and refugees of Darwen. This will definitely make this time extra special for so many families and that is because of you.
Choir Christmas Carols at Darwen Market
A huge well done to our amazing choir and Year 6 singers for a wonderful performance today! Thank you to Darwen Market for inviting us. Thanks to everyone who came to watch. We hope we spread some festive cheer and joy to you all!
Reception: Rev Ben Visit
Our Ducklings had a visit from Rev Ben today. Rev Ben brought in some figures to tell us about the Christmas story. Christians believe that Jesus is the star of the story. We need to really think about Jesus and if we listen really carefully to the story, it can change us from the inside out if we let it. Rev Ben finished his visit with a special thank you prayer. Thank you Rev Ben for visiting our class, we always enjoy your visits.
Y4 English - The Diary of a Roman Soldier
Over the past few weeks, the children have been working hard on sentence stacking to develop their diary writing skills. We focused on the life of a Roman soldier and our success criteria included using personification, adverbs, fronted adverbials and inverted commas. They have now published these on the chrome books and we look forward to passing them on to another class to read and evaluate.
Year 6 Debt Awareness
This week, year 6 had a visit from the debt awareness team and carried on with their learning from last year. This time, they discussed jobs and working life. They looked at reasons why people choose their occupation; the average income of various jobs and potential careers that they may like to pursue.
Year 5 - Christmas Cards
Today RotaKids in year 5 took part in an initiative to bring joy to the residents in local nursing homes by sending them Christmas cards. The children all created Christmas cards with lovely messages to those who are feeling lonely this Christmas. They included lots of positive affirmations to remind them we all care.
Year 4 - Our No Pens Day Show & Tell
On Wednesday Year 4 marked No Pens Day with a bit of show and tell. The children were invited to bring an object or photo in to represent a hobby they enjoy doing out of school. They all had one minute to talk about their hobby, and then accept three questions. The children showed great preparation and oracy skills when presenting about their hobbies. We had some fantastic questions too, demonstrating super listening skills.
Year 4 Smart School Council
In our Smart School Council session we discussed if we should be able to buy healthy snacks at break time. The vote was a unanimous yes as everyone thought that this was a great idea and we can pay on parent pay beforehand to help things run smoothly.
Roman Battle Formations in Year 4
In our history lesson this week we discussed why the Roman army was so successful. We looked at why they were so powerful and disciplined. We then looked at how they used manoeuvres and drills to create various formations so that they could protect themselves from every angle in battle. We finished with a real life drill to see if Mrs Gardner could get through the children’s wedge formation that they created with their own shields. Not one boulder (ping pong ball) got through so well done Year 4 - it was a huge success!
Year 4 History - Why was the Roman army so successful?
In today’s history lesson we focused on why the Roman army was so successful. We investigated how the army was broken down into units with a legion having 5000 men, Cohorts then had 480 men and Century’s had 80 men in each group. Finally this was broken down into 10 groups of 8 soldiers who lived, ate and slept in tents together. We also looked at tactical Roman manoeuvres such as the Wedge and Testudo formations. The children can’t wait to finish their shield designs so we can try out the formations to see which would have worked the best in keeping the enemy at bay!
Year 5 - Debt Awareness Visit
Today in Year 5 we had a visitor who discussed the important issues regarding debt awareness. The children worked really hard looking at the difficulties people go through regarding money and ways in which we can save money. The children looked at debt in lots of detail and discussed the difference between good and bad debt. Year 5 discussed each of them in great detail and completed module one on debt awareness.
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SPAR Lancashire School Games Launch
Our Sports Leaders and PE lead Mrs Gardner have been lucky enough to represent Blackburn with Darwen at the launch of the Lancashire School Games today at SPAR Headquarters. We also met the Olympic Athlete Holly Bradshaw who won Bronze for pole vault at the last Olympic Games. Our Sports Leaders did both the borough and Team B proud!
Year 4 Visit the Book Fair
Today Year 4 were given the opportunity to visit the book fair in order to complete their wish lists. The children really enjoyed looking at the blurbs to get a good idea of what each book was about. It was lovely for them to engage with their peers and discuss why they had made certain choices about books.
Year 6 R.E.- Judaism Workshop
This week in R.E. year 6 were visited by Samantha Hambling who led a Judaism workshop all about pilgrimage. Year 6 asked some impressive and mature questions and realised how religions are very similar, but also have some notable differences.
Year 4 - Judaism Workshop
We had a special visitor in school on Tuesday. Samantha came to teach Year 4 a bit about the Jewish day of rest: Shabbat. The children were fantastic! They listened with interest and asked some insightful questions. They enjoyed trying on the traditional garments and looking at artefacts, and they particularly loved tasting some challah bread.
Year 3- Interfaith week- Rules of living session by a Jewish visitor
As part of Interfaith week, we had a special visitor in our classroom who shared insights into Jewish traditions and the rules of living. The children learnt about the different rules that Jewish people follow. We learnt about the prayers, the Torah and the clothing that men and women wear. The children also got to taste Challah, a delicious and traditional Jewish bread commonly served on the Sabbath.
Year 5 - Interfaith Week
Today, as part of interfaith week, Year 5 had a Jewish visitor who explained her religious beliefs and lifestyle. She focused on the story of Purim which is the Jewish holiday in which Jews commemorate being saved from persecution in the ancient Persian Empire. The children explored the story and began to contextualise the true meaning of the story and what it means to the Jewish community. The children explored the huge celebrations that take place and the various ways that Jewish people celebrate Purim. The children loved listening to the story and learning how other religions feed into their own religion.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Today our Ducklings visited the war memorial at Whitehall park. We had a look at the photographs and pictures of soldiers, their uniform and their armour. We noticed that there were only boy names so we discussed why. A few of our children found their forenames too! We then walked back to school through Jack Keys so we could get a little muddy!
Year 5 - Installation Art
This week Year 5 have created their own piece of installation art work. They have been able to change the perception of a space by using everyday materials to create a message. The children have been exploring the impact of social media and plastic pollution within their creations and have created hidden messages to convey and tackle these pressing issues. The children could explain clearly the messages they were trying to convey and have created many exciting pieces of art.
Year 5 - Anti-Bullying Week
This week St Barnabas have launched anti-bullying week. To mark this occasion the children have come dressed with odd socks and shoes to show that we are all special and unique. During worship time the children discussed what bullying is? What we can do to stop it? If we see bullying, what can be done about it? The children all showed their individuality and personality through their odd socks and shoes.
Y4 English - Escape from Pompeii
In our English session this morning we have been looking at how the characters may have felt whilst observing Mount Vesuvius erupting and thinking of metaphors to describe the monster. We up levelled our sentences with physical and emotional vocabulary, fronted adverbials and synonyms for watched.
Year 6- Remembrance Service
Some of our Year 6 children took part in a special service of Remembrance this morning at Whitehall Cemetery. We are so proud of the way they joined in the service showing their respects and thanks to those who lost their lives during the world wars. After the service they had to find our adopted war graves plus two others and laid special poppy crosses on them. We took a few moments to pray for all of those who gave up their lives for us and also remembered loved ones that might have passed away who are laid to rest in the cemetery.
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Sports Leaders Event - Whole School Inter House Sports
Our Sports Leaders led our Inter House Sports event today and what a huge success it was! Every single year group from Reception all the way up to Year 6 took part. The Sports Leaders decided to start with a bench ball event and organised the timetable and refereed each game. We can’t wait to hear who the overall winning house team is next week in Celebration Worship!
Year 5&6 War Memorial Visit
Today in their class Worship Year 5 and Year 6 took a special trip to the war memorial to pay their respects to those people who gave their lives up for our freedom. The children held a two minute silence to consider all those people and all those who have been affected by the wars. The children all wrote prayers on poppies and decorated them. They placed their poppies next to the memorial for all visitors to read. Year 5&6 also placed their amazing prayers outside of our school to show their respect to make others think about all those who have been affected.
Year 5 - Parliament Week
This week Year 5 have been exploring the role of MP’s as part of parliament week. The children learned all about the different Houses of Parliament and discussed their role within society and the importance of the decisions that they make. The children explored the variety of processes that take place within the Houses of Commons and the benefits of our democratic system. The children then had the opportunity to discuss and choose an issue that they care strongly about and what they would change to make their issue better for society. The children came up with some excellent ideas about little changes that can have a huge impact on issues such as: global warming, NHS, homeless and many more. Year 5 then acted out a parliamentary debate and debated on many issues arguing back and forth about issues that they feel strongly about.
Year 4 Science
Our Year 4 scientists had a rather messy time acting out the role of different organs in the digestive system this week. They used a bowl and cutlery to act out the chewing in the mouth. They added their 'chewed' crackers to a ziplock bag filled with water and washing up liquid to churn up the mixture like the stomach. They then passed the mixture through a pair of tights to act like the small intestines. They squeezed the water out of the mixture as they pushed it down. And finally they had to push the mixture out of the end of the tights (the anus). There was certainly a lot of laughter!
Reception: Vicars are special!
Today, our Ducklings had a lovely visit from Rev Ben and Rev Matt as part of their RE unit. They told us all about their special job. Rev Matt showed us his special garments and Rev Ben showed us his special collar. Rev Ben explained how being a vicar is all about showing how we love, know and follow Jesus. We watched a video about how Jesus chose his special followers called disciples. Rev Ben explained that the disciples were ordinary people just like vicars are! Rev Ben showed us how vicars celebrate holy communion and we held the special chalice and plate. Rev Matt then explained how vicars invite people to be part of the church through baptism. We all enjoyed our visit, thank you so much!
Year 5 - RotaKids
As part of Year 5’s pledge to supporting Darwen Rotary, Year 5 have sorted and organised books to be donated to children and families that are less fortunate than ourselves. They have come up with some amazing and fantastic ideas of how they can support their local community and work as a team to make their community a better place.
Poppy Appeal 2023
From Monday our Heads and Deputies will be selling Poppy Appeal merchandise at break times. The suggested donation for zip ties and reflectors is 50p, standard wristbands £1.00 and slap bands £1.50. Poppies will also be available to purchase for a small donation. Next week we will be focusing on Remembrance Day in our Worships and our Year 6 Heads and Deputies plus some of our WOW group members will be taking part in a special Remembrance Service in Darwen Cemetery. We will remember them.
Music with Junior Jam in Year 4 - Steel pans
This week we have started to learn how to use the steel pans in our Junior Jam music session. We looked at how to create various sounds and then evaluated each others examples.
Jake Berry Visit- Parliament Week
Year 5 and 6 welcomed our local MP, Jake Berry, into school on Monday and he led an engaging workshop and Q&A session. During the session, he spoke about how laws are created and the various traditions that are upheld in parliament. Year 5 and 6 represented the school superbly and asked some very mature questions, that were kindly answered open and honestly by Mr Berry. What a great way to launch Parliament week next week!
Year 5 - Darwen Rotary Visit
This week Darwen Rotary visited Year 5 to gain an insight into the work that they have been doing as part of RotaKids. The children discussed their international protect which was raising money for the devastating earthquakes that happened in Morocco. The children then discussed their plans and ideas for their community project which is donating books, toys and coats to local charities to help people who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Year 3 - Darwen Library-Librarian Detectives
Year 3 had another exciting visit to the library, where the children had the opportunity to explore and discover the collection of books and audiobooks the library has to offer. They were in absolute awe with the range of books the library had. They particularly enjoyed the role of detecting and becoming a member of the library.
Year 3 - Smart School Council - Recycling
For our Smart School Council this week we discussed what would make us recycle more. Our leader this week was Isabelle and our note taker was Daisy. Out of the four options the highest vote was for having all our products recyclable.
Year 5 - Darwen Library Visit
Today, Year 5 visited Darwen library. The children explored a variety of book genres and delved deeper into books they wouldn’t normally read. The children learnt and understood the many benefits of the library and how it operates. The library promoted a love for reading and the children loved reading and enjoyed time talking about their favourite books and authors.
Year 6 Library Visit
Yesterday, year 6 visited Darwen library to take part in a session with the author of the ‘Loki’ books, Louie Stowell. During the session, the children were made aware of the author’s inspiration and had the chance to create some illustrations from the book. Year 6 were an absolute credit to the school and asked some amazing questions. A special mention to Jay who won some original illustrations from the author.
Year 5 - Library visit
Today year 5 got to experience a workshop that was being hosted by Louie Stowell. She explained and promoted her series of books - Loki and engaged with all the children answering questions about her achievements. The children took part in creating their own god’s while replicating the main characters from her book series.
Year 3- Children's Literature Festival
Today, the Year 3 class walked down to Darwen Library to join in the celebration of the Children's Literature Festival. They had the pleasure of meeting Christina Gambita, an author known for her diverse range of books covering topics such as pollination, healthy eating, plastic pollution, teamwork, mathematical concepts, history, and safeguarding. Ms. Gambita read her book 'Roo and Sarge' to the class which the children thoroughly enjoyed. She also talked about the importance of kindness and how we should be kind to everyone. The children also learnt how to say their names using sign language, which was a wonderful experience.
Year 4 - Children’s Literature Festival
After a blustery walk to Darwen Library, Year 4 enjoyed a great afternoon meeting Louie Stowell, author of the popular children’s book series, Loki. They had great fun learning about the characters, taking part in the ‘which character are you’ quiz, drawing the main character and asking the author questions.
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Play Leader Training
We have now had our first practical session in play leading. The children took part in various activities throughout the afternoon to enable them to establish what makes a great Play Leader. They cooperated well and demonstrated great leadership skills but also showing empathy and understanding. We can’t wait to trial our new skills now in next week's final session!
Year 4 - Exploring Habitats
We loved getting out and exploring an urban woodland habitat in science this week. Our Year 4 scientists investigated the plants, animals, climate and conditions in the area. Unfortunately , we didn't see many animals but we could use our prior knowledge to say which animals we would expect to find there.
Football Club
This week, football practice started for all KS2 children. The sessions were divided and the children played a variety of football matches with many restrictions placed upon their game in order to target a particular skill set. The children took part in: a two touch passing zone game to target skill within an opposed setting, 1v1 mini games to target and look at attacking and being positive with the ball and finally a game whereby the children had to complete a certain number of passes before being able to score. This worked on space awareness, moving forward with the ball and inclusivity within the game. All the children had an amazing time and showed an amazing attitude towards the game.
Year 3- Make a Splash in Their First Swimming Lesson
Year 3 had an incredible start to their swimming lessons today. The instructors divided the children into two groups, taking into consideration their prior swimming experience. We were immensely proud of their confidence and dedication. We look forward to witnessing their continued progress in the water over the coming weeks.
Year 3- Be Internet Legends Back to School Assembly
Today, the Year 3 class joined the live assembly delivered by 'Be Internet Legends'. During the assembly, the children learned about online safety, how to protect themselves and using strong passwords. Five key points that were highlighted throughout the session were; Sharp, Alert, Secure, Kind and Brave — these are designed to equip children with the key skills needed to stay safe online including critical thinking and empathy.
Year 5 - RotaKids
This week, year 5 were visited by the Darwen Rotary Club and were introduced to RotaKids. During this visit the club discussed all the amazing objectives they meet each year and how their unbelievable work contributes to their local area and worldwide issues. They discussed the objectives that we must meet as a class to meet the expectations of The Rotary Club. As a class, we did a democratic vote for the four offices of RotaKids. A huge congratulations to: President - Hamza Vice President - Will Secretary - Daisy Treasurer - Ezmae
Year 3- Swimming- What to expect?
This afternoon Year 3 had a talk with one of the swimming instructors at Darwen Leisure Centre, ready for our first swimming session on Friday, 15th SEPTEMBER. The instructor answered any questions the children had about swimming lessons and explained what to expect. We also had a good chat about pool safety and we shared some of our thoughts and worries about going swimming. The children are super excited about their first swimming lesson next week.
Year 5 - Move and Learn
Year 5 have taken part and completed the Blackburn Rovers move and learn session. During the day the children took place in both classroom based and physical activities. Classroom based activities included: learning about balanced diets and why it is important to have a balanced diet, importance of hydration, body and mind and all the benefits of physical activities. The practical elements included team games and ball activities that led nicely into each classroom based session. The children worked really hard and enjoyed the competitive nature of the games and thrived in the teamwork elements of the games.
Y4 Geography - The Amazon
Today we have started our new geography unit on The Amazon. We looked at which continent the Amazon is, country and area coverage. Using atlases we added various information to a world map including tropics, equator and other continents.
Jungle Book Performance
The whole school enjoyed a performance of the Jungle Book today by the talented individuals from M&M Theatrical Productions. The children had such a good time and year 6 were lucky enough to take part in a workshop with the cast. The children were taught about what goes into making a successful performance and even had the opportunity to carry out some acting for themselves.
D.T Club- Lion King Props
The Year 4, 5, and 6 students have worked really hard to create props for our end-of-year performance, inspired by The Lion King. They used cardboard to make masks, giving them special designs and paying attention to the little details. They also used paper mache to make African fruits and Pumba's prop. African fruits have been tied to a stick, which they found in our forest school grounds. It adds a realistic touch to the show. They have made caps for Zazu using real feathers from birds. They also used garlands to create a grassy environment using green ribbons. Together, we have created an environment that encourages creativity, teamwork, and doing our best. The children's fulfilment in creating props with a real purpose is evident, and their hard work is truly commendable.
D.T Club- Lion King props
The Year 4, 5, and 6 students have worked really hard to create props for our end-of-year performance, inspired by The Lion King. They used cardboard to make masks, giving them special designs and paying attention to the little details. They also used paper mache to make African fruits and Pumba's prop. African fruits have been tied to a stick, which they found in our forest school grounds. It adds a realistic touch to the show. They have made caps for Zazu using real feathers from birds. They also used garlands to create a grassy environment using green ribbons. Together, we have created an environment that encourages creativity, teamwork, and doing our best. The children's fulfilment in creating props with a real purpose is evident, and their hard work is truly commendable.
Year 3 Rock and River
Yeah 3 have had a fun filled day at rock and river outdoor pursuits! The aim of the trip was for the pupils to challenge themselves and push themselves outside of their comfort zone, whilst learning to work as a team. We started the morning off with some high ropes, rock climbing and zip lining finishing with the air bag jump before lunch. In the afternoon we had a fantastic session on the lake, taking part in rafted canoeing, paddle boarding and swimming! The class represented St Barnabas superbly and we hope the children have created life long memories!
Year 3 Low Ropes and Zip Lining
The class particularly enjoyed the low ropes course this morning, as part of their rock and river trip! We had some extra time, so the instructors opened up the zip line for the class to complete! It was great to see the pupils grow in confidence and encourage others, whilst completing the low ropes course!
Year 5 Engineers- D.T- Disassembling and Reassembling tools
WOW! In today's lesson, the Year 5 engineers were engaged in an exciting hands-on activity as they worked together in pairs to disassemble and reassemble turbine tools. Before moving on to the practical task, they watched an instructive video that served as their guide. As they carefully followed the step-by-step instructions, the children learned the intricacies of each tool and examined their purpose. After completing the activity, they compared the two devices and determined how one improved the other.
Year 1 Brockholes Nature Reserve Trip
Year 1 have had an amazing time on their school trip at Brockholes Nature Reserve this week. They went pond dipping, bird watching and went on an amazing outdoor adventure playground in two smaller groups. Then after lunch in the lookout together, the whole class went into the Viking Woods to learn about different types of plants and trees. We played lots of games and went on a scavenger hunt too. It was an amazing day and we all absolutely loved learning about nature in such an exciting and fun way.
Year 1 Pond dipping at Brockholes
Year 1 were in three different groups to carry out this super activity at Brockholes Nature Reserve on their trip. They found different types of interesting creatures such as water snails, beetles, bugs, shrimps and nymphs when participating in the pond dipping activities. They used a classification sheet to help them identify creatures and magnifying glasses too as some creatures were very small.
Year 1 Brockholes Adventure Playground PE on our School Trip
Year 1 really enjoyed doing PE within the different areas of the outdoor adventure playground at Brockholes Nature Reserve whilst on their trip this week. They had to climb, run, swing, push, pull, hang, hold on and balance on different equipment. A super time was had by everyone!
Forest Schools in Reception
We saw lots of teamwork during our forest schools session today. The children enjoyed collecting resources to build bug houses and log fires. They also enjoyed creating dens and climbing trees!
Year 2 - Reading wish list for year 3
Year 2 have created their wish list of library books for Year 3. The children have selected their favourite books and designed their own poster and explained why they would like to read that book.
Year 2 - Explanation Texts
As part of our English unit the children wrote amazing explanation texts on hot and cold places around the world (linking with our geography unit) The children chose to compare the climate and tourist attractions of both Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Reykjavík in Iceland. The children loved comparing these locations and wrote explanation texts comparing the climates.
Bikeability Cycle Training- Year 5 and 6
Today, our Years 5 and 6 participated in the Bikeability cycle training program. This program focuses on teaching practical skills and knowledge for cycling on today's roads. The aim was to give our children the confidence to ride their bikes and enjoy the many advantages that cycling offers. They had the opportunity to learn about safety and other important aspects of cycling from four experienced coaches.
Year 5- Reading Music
In Year 5, the children explored pulse and rhythm by listening and responding to a range of different film music.
St Barnabas represent the district in The Lancashire School Games 2023
What an honour it has been for our children to go through and represent the district at The Lancashire Schools Games at Stanley Park , Blackpool. After winning the BwD Finals they got the chance to attend the games in Bee Stinger Netball against all of the other districts across Lancashire. We drew one game and won three making it to the quarter finals, which unfortunately didn’t go our way. The children represented both school and district perfectly showing true sportsmanship, determination and encouragement. For such a small school you have achieved great things and all done so with a huge smile on your faces! Go Team B and Go Team BwD!
Year 1 History Walk in Darwen High Street
Year 1 have really enjoyed walking around Darwen High Street identifying different types of shops and finding out which type of shops used to be around many years ago. With the help of an expert from the Darwen Heritage Centre, they were shown different places that used to be bakers, butchers, grocery stores, pharmacies, shoe shops or different types of clothes shops (such as hat shops). They also walked through Darwen Market Place and found some placards explaining which shops used to exist in the 1800s.
Year 1 Local History Lesson in Darwen Heritage Centre
Year 1 had a super history lesson learning about the changes that have happened within Darwen Town Centre in the past couple of centuries. Our expert (Albert) from the Darwen Heritage centre showed the children a range of different historical images and photographs of the town centre many years ago and was able to explain what is in place of them geographically today. The children couldn’t believe that a few live bears and their keepers roamed the streets of Darwen for entertainment purposes years ago, or that the butchers hung their meat outside their shops! They got to handle and see artefacts including olden day money and a wooden cash register too.
Year 1 History Challenge in the Darwen Heritage Centre
After their super history lesson at the Darwen Heritage Centre, Year 1 were challenged to find the words for different types of shops around the two rooms inside the centre and also the corridor linking them. They were looking for these particular words: baker, boots & shoes, butcher, chemist and clothes. They had to tick how many words they could find on a worksheet. The exact amount of shops in Darwen from the olden days had been put around the rooms. The children found that they all had the most ticks for the clothes shops. They also really enjoyed looking at the giant models of Darwen Tower and all the unique historical artefacts that the heritage centre has within in.
Darwen Primary Cross Country Finals Night
What a fantastic turnout for the final race night for DPSSA Cross Country! Team B pushed themselves so hard and showed true determination even with a few falls along the way. We worked brilliantly as a team and managed to secure second place overall. We also had success with Sophie coming second place overall in the girls Y5/6 races and also a second place overall for our Y5/6 Girls squad: Sophie, Charlotte, Aisha and Lucy. Well done to everyone involved!
Year 5- English- A visit from Salma (Sudanese refugee)
Today, Year 5 had a special guest, a Sudanese refugee visitor who shared her remarkable journey and life experiences with us. She spoke about the journey she undertook with her four young children when they were forced to flee their home country due to injustice and an oppressive regime. She spoke about the challenges she and her family have faced while adapting to life in the UK. The weather, the food, and the language barrier have posed significant adjustments for them. However, it was inspiring to witness the resilience and determination with which they have approached these challenges. The children were incredibly engaged and displayed remarkable curiosity. They asked numerous insightful questions, delving into the details of her experiences and seeking to understand the impact of her journey on her life and her children's lives. We want to say a big thank you to our visitor for sharing her story with us. It was an important lesson for all of us about how strong people can be, even when things are tough. We also want to thank John East for helping to arrange this visit.
Year 4 Football Festival
Huge congratulations to our Year 4 football team who played at the Blackburn and Darwen schools festival at Witton Park. The team represented the school extremely well and played some incredible football. The team won all of their 6 games comfortably and showcased their determination and resilience to win.
Year 4 - Linking Schools Visit Day 1
Last week, we welcomed our friends from St Matthew’s to join us for a day of team building. We had a fantastic day building towers and taking part in team games. We are so excited to visit our link class at their school next week.
Year 1 Visit to St Barnabas Church
Today Year 1 went to St Barnabas Church as part of their RE unit: Our world, Jesus’ World. Rev Ben helped us to learn more about Jesus’ world and let us think and discuss how it is different living on Earth today compared to when Jesus was alive. The children really enjoyed listening to the story of the prodigal son and either watching others act out the story or being actors and actresses themselves. They looked for images of Jesus within the church and we looked at the clothes and signs of different lifestyles people would have had back then. Year 1 have certainly enjoyed having their RE lesson with Rev Ben in church today.
Year 3&4 Multi Sports Club
Years 3&4 have been taking part in after school multi sports club. This week the children have been focusing on invasion games, developing their technique, skills and tactical movements within a competitive game.
Reception: Muddy Monday
We continued our learning by comparing two local environments, Knowsley Road and Jack Keys reservoir. Seb said there are lots of animal habitats at Jack Keys. Albie said there are lots of trees at Jack Keys. Fletcher said it is much quieter at Jack Keys. Piper-Jo said there are more children at Knowsley Road. Heidi said there are more cars at Knowsley Road. Super comparison. We finished exploring by enjoying a short forest schools session.
Science Club Aqua Sand Experiments
Today our Year 5/6 Science Club children carried out some different experiments using different coloured aqua sand. They were amazed at how this sand is actually waterproof and loved adding different ingredients to the sand to see what happened.
Year 3 Worship: Refugee Week
This morning, we had a very special class worship. We took part in the ‘Great Big Live Assembly’ where we went live to a refugee camp in Jordan. We learnt about the daily life in a refugee camp and listened to a Q and A, where pupils around the country asked Mohammed and Seedra questions about their lives as a refugee.
KS1 Forest schools- Week 2
What fun we have all had in Forest school this week! We walked up to Jacks Key, gathering sticks, leaves and grass as we went. Once we found a nice sheltered area the children started to create their nature pictures and faces. Once our art was finished we explored, climbed trees, jumped into lovely mud and washed our wellies in puddles.
Year 5- Class Worship- Refugee Week 2023
Today, Year 5 took part in the Great Big Live Assembly for Refugee Week. During the assembly, we learned about the journeys of refugees from different parts of the world. We had the privilege of hearing from Mohammed and Sidra, two incredible individuals who have had to flee their countries and start anew at the Za'atari refugee camp. Mohammed and Sidra shared their inspiring stories of resilience and courage with us. They spoke about the challenges they faced, but also about their determination to rebuild their lives despite the hardships. Let us continue to foster empathy, understanding, and support for refugees within our school community and beyond.
Year 2 RE Church Observations
As part of our RE unit, year 2 have been down to our local church, St Barnabas, to explore and to see what makes a church a church. The children were tasked with a scavenger hunt to find all the objects that are most symbolic to a church and to write down why they exist within the church.
QUAD kids Athletics at Witton Athletics Track BwD Schools
On Tuesday we went down to Witton Athletics track to take part in the BwD schools quad kids event. The children were exceptionally well behaved, especially in the heat and represented school brilliantly. One of our squad members even managed to throw the vortex further than any other school and 17 took part on the day. We have just received confirmation that we have been awarded with silver medal place - a great result! Well done to our Quad kids Squad!
DPSSA Netball Finals
A huge well done to our netball superstars who represented the school this evening at the DPSSA Netball Finals at Darwen Vale. The children worked hard over three games in this boiling weather. The children have showed so much commitment in attending netball club, developing skills and tactics in order to grow as players. We came away with silver medals and we are really proud of each and every one of them! Go Team B!
Year 5- Food Technology- Serve a Greek Salad
A few weeks ago, the children learned three important food skills: the bridge hold, claw grip, and grating. Today, they put their skills to use and prepared a Greek salad for a friend to take home and enjoy as a side dish with their tea. They washed their hands and gathered the ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese, and lettuce. The children are excited to share their creations, and tomorrow, we will evaluate our salad to see how well we did.
Year 5/6 Cricket Team
Huge congratulations to our year 5/6 cricket team who played in the Darwen schools cricket competition. They won 2/3 games in their heat and narrowly missed out on the finals. Well done to all the players who have represented the school well and played some outstanding cricket.
Year 2 - Blackpool Zoo Trip
Year 2 went to Blackpool Zoo to look at all the amazing animals and habitats. They were treated to an incredible Sea Lion display that showcased all their brilliant tricks and demonstrated how clever they are. We explored the big cats exhibit, giraffes and elephants. We also explored the world of the dinosaurs and learnt all about their existence and habits they used to live in. This fed nicely in with our new science unit - animals survival and growth and in many of the exhibits we learnt about the different stages of animal life.
Year 2 - Blackpool Zoo Trip
Year 2 went to Blackpool Zoo to look at all the amazing animals and habitats. They were treated to an incredible Sea Lion display that showcased all their brilliant tricks and demonstrated how clever they are. We explored the big cats exhibit, giraffes and elephants. We also explored the world of the dinosaurs and learnt all about their existence and habits they used to live in. This fed nicely in with our new science unit - animals survival and growth and in many of the exhibits we learnt about the different stages of animal life.
Reception: Blackpool Zoo
Reception class had a brilliant time at Blackpool Zoo. They saw Orangutans, gorillas, penguins, sea lions, elephants, lions, flamingoes, aardvarks, camels, tortoises, giraffes and we also went on a dinosaur safari! The children’s behaviour was exemplary and it was lovely to put our learning into context.
Year 5- English- Refugees
In English today, we studied refugees. We watched videos and saw pictures of people who had to leave their homes because of war. We shared our feelings and thoughts about it. In the next two weeks, we'll be writing a debate on this topic.
Celebration Worship
This week during celebration worship we discussed and reflected over the week of Pentecost. The children enjoyed listening to what each class has been doing over the week and celebrated their achievements and successes during the week. We also had a visit from one of our Cidari Trustees, Jo Venn and it was lovely to show her the great things we have been achieving. A huge well done to all of our values award winners, you are a credit to yourselves and our St Barnabas family.
Sports Stars
A huge congratulations to all of our sports stars this week. Many children participate in a variety of sports and events outside of school. A massive well done to our school's netball team who won the high 5’s netball final this week and our cross country team who worked extremely hard and showed huge amounts of determination to complete the course. Other sporting achievements included, gymnastics, dancing, performing arts, skiing and many more.
Year 1 Geography and Science Walk
Year 1 have been learning about their local area and have been making key observations about where they live ready to create a map of the local area after the half term. We have been learning about different types of plants in science and spotting different deciduous and evergreen trees as well as wild flowers. There has also been lots of opportunities to discuss the changes from Winter to Spring and to think about the changes that will be happening soon as we move from Spring to Summer.
Year 4 - Recreating Church
After writing an extensive list of what all churches “need”, the children realised that actually very little was needed once we headed up to Whitehall Park to have our outdoor worship. We created a cross from fallen twigs, found a tree stump for a lectern and spent time marvelling at God’s creations all around us. We had some bible readings about Pentecost and the beginnings of the church and some lovely impromptu prayers. A very peaceful morning.
Reception - Farms
On Thursday afternoon, Reception class went for a walk to Jacks Key to see if we could spot different animals in the farmer’s fields. We saw horses and cows and the children did some observational drawings. The children loved looking at the farmer's tractors too!
Mad Science Club
Today was the last session of Mad Science Club and the children all really enjoyed learning about the density of different liquids today. They carried out group experiments and watched our science expert carry out an experiment too, whilst learning about how different liquids in our seas and rivers can affect the environment. They experienced first-hand, how difficult it is to get oil out of water and got to take home a little souvenir from the lesson at the end of it too.
Year 1 Human and Physical Features in our Local Area
Year 1 have been exploring our local area and finding different human and physical features in their house colour teams. Their team leaders have recorded this information as we have walked around our local area. We also got the opportunity to talk about the seasonal changes happening from Spring to Summer and identified different wild flowers that we have been learning about within our plants science topic.
Reception: Den building
The children enjoyed creating a den on our school grounds today. They all worked together and had a brilliant time. They then roleplayed camping and enjoyed making a camp fire.
Reception: Muddy Monday
The children in Reception visited Whitehall park for their Muddy Monday session. They climbed trees, built bug houses, found creatures and discussed their habitats and created their own games. The children enjoyed looking under logs to discover minibeasts. They have all been super explorers.
Year 3 Prehistoric Art: Mark Making
Year 3 have had a fantastic afternoon, using the natural materials collected on our walk earlier this week to experiment with mark making. This term, we have been focusing on prehistoric art and the class will be creating a cave wall painting! We thought about how during Prehistoric times, humans did not have paint and brushes like we do now, so instead would have used natural materials to create their artwork, like we have done today!
Year 3 Art: Collecting Natural Materials
On Tuesday afternoon, Year Three went on a walk to Whitehall Park, where we collected some natural materials to use in our next Art lesson. The children will be experimenting with using natural materials for mark making. We collected a variety of different materials, such as acorns, bark, sticks, leaves, conkers and moss!
Celebration Worship: King Charles III
This morning during celebration worship, we learnt all about the coronation of King Charles III, which will be happening this weekend. We spoke about some of the important things to look out for during the coronation and what it will be like when King Charles is coronated. We also spoke about some of the celebrations that are happening in Darwen this weekend, such as a street party on Monday in the town centre and a party in Whitehall Park on Sunday! We also celebrated all of our successes and achievements in school this week, such as TriKidz and our coronation picnic lunch! We finished our Worship by singing the National Anthem to the new King whilst waving our special coronation flags that our school have bought us. Our Trust have also bought us some special gifts of a commemorative coronation coin, a bookmark and sticker. Thank you Cidari Multi Academy Trust!
Year 6 Red, white and blue day
Year 6 really enjoyed the red, white and blue day that we held in preparation for the king’s coronation. At lunchtime, all of the children ate their dinner on the field during our Coronation picnic.
Year 1- The Coronation photo booth!
We had a super worship this morning all about the King's Coronation followed lots of activities linked to the Coronation. Wishing you all a super weekend celebrating!
Year 3 Tri Kidz
Year 3 had a great time taking part in the Tri Kidz session! The class learnt about the different stages that make up a triathlon and were given the chance to cycle, run and swim. We then had a race at the end of the session, where we took part in a whole class triathlon! The children showed so much respect to the instructors and will hopefully be inspired to one day take part in a triathlon race!
Year 5- Food Technology- Visiting the Herb Garden at Whitehall Park
We visited the herb garden at Whitehall Park to give us some inspiration for our salad. The children were amazed by the variety of seeds planted. Some of The things the children saw were spuds, garlic, ginger, spring onions, fenugreek, mint, strawberries, and spring onions and garlic.
King's Coronation Picnic
We had a wonderful time at our King's Coronation Picnic. It was lovely to have our whole school family eating and playing together on the top field.
Red, white and blue day for the King's Coronation
We had a special red, white and blue day to celebrate the King's Coronation this Saturday. We have really enjoyed learning all about King Charles and the Coronation this week in school. We hope that everyone enjoys celebrating this weekend.
Rev Ben Worship: Kings Coronation
Today, we thought about the kings coronation. We began our worship by playing a game. The teams from years 5 and 6 had to get their captains ready for the kings coronation. The children voted for their favourite and it was an even split. Well done to all of the children for being great sports! Rev Ben asked the children to think about what makes a good king. The children said the king has to be kind, generous, honest, dedicated, responsible and respectful. In the bible, Jesus explained how a king is a servant. King Charles needs to serve by showing justice and mercy just like Jesus did. Thank you to Rev Ben for leading our worship today. We are looking forward to our coronation celebrations in school this week.
Year 2 - TRIKIDZ
Year 2 participated in the TRIKIDZ and competed in a triathlon. The children really enjoyed the swimming activity on the resistance bands, bike work and running laps of the track. All of year 2 did brilliantly and demonstrated teamwork, determination and encouraged each other well.
Year 1 Planting Seeds
This afternoon, with the help of one of our year 5 science club team, Year 1 planted four different types of seed as part of our science curriculum where we are learning about different plants. We bought these seeds from the garden centre we visited last half term and now we are going to be able to water them regularly and watch them grow. Hopefully in a few weeks we will have some runner beans, tomatoes, cornflowers and sunflowers. We can’t wait to see what happens.
Mad Science Club Forces
Today Mad Science Club were learning about forces with Scientific Sarah. The children got to investigate forces using different equipment such as metal spinning tops and large coin machine spinners. They have really enjoyed themselves and can’t wait for next week!
Year 2 - Fire Safety
Year 2 had their fire safety talk by the local fire brigade. They explained and demonstrated the importance of fire safety inside and outside of the home. They explained how to deal with dangerous situations and what you would do if a fire broke out in the home. The children participated and tried on the fire safety gear and were really enthusiastic about wearing it. Year 2 completed the fire safety quiz at the end of the day and scored full marks.
Year 5 - Smart School Council - Movie Choices
This morning for our class meeting the children were able to vote on what genre of movie they would like to watch at movie night. We had the choice of action, Disney, comedy and sport. The majority vote in class was a sports film but let’s wait and see what the rest of the school vote for.
Year 1- Hop, skip and jump!
Year 1 took part in the hop, skip and jump challenge in order to help raise money for the East Lancashire Hospice, which the children have been learning about today during their class worship. They have really enjoyed the activity and wearing their Easter crowns!
Year 6 English
In English, year 6 have been working hard on identifying features of writing a formal review. They have been analysing the structure of the text, the use of cohesive devices and the use of persuasive language. All of these skills will prove beneficial when they come to writing their own formal review of ‘The Lion King’ that they watched during their trip to London.
Charlotte from Elektec visit: EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2
Charlotte from Elektec came to visit Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 today. The children watched a video to show how electricity is made. The children found out how electricity is made in a power station and the pylons help to carry the electricity to our houses. Charlotte asked the children what happens if you touch electricity. James said that you could get electrocuted which is absolutely right. Charlotte showed a photograph and the children had to guess what it was. Well done to Eliza who explained they are solar panels. Charlotte explained how they work and how sunlight heats the solar panels to make electricity. Charlotte also showed an electric car and showed a charging point. Charlotte explained that we will need to have a lot of electricians to help install the charging points and solar panels. Charlotte explained that Elektec is managed by herself and her husband. Charlotte and Carl’s children also work for the company and create videos. Charlotte shared a video of her Electots explaining what their company does. The Prince’s trust has helped set the company up and Charlotte has even met the king! Tristen, Sofia, Ella-Grace and Harry helped Charlotte to show how electricians keep safe. Glasses protect our eyes, a hard hat protects our head, a high vis jacket is worn so that everybody can see the electrician and a warning sign is used when an electrician is working on site to keep everybody safe. Charlotte showed a picture of the electricians that work in her company who are all men! This makes Charlotte sad and she explained to the children that girls can be just as good as boys and girls can be electricians too. Charlotte explained that to be an electrician you have to be good at Maths, be friendly, be good at puzzles, be able to follow the rules and be able to stay safe. Charlotte discussed what construction meant and she showed how a new house is built and the people who are involved from architects to decorators. Again, there aren’t many girls who work in construction. Charlotte shared her book called ‘When I grow up’ which explains how you can be anything that you want to be. Thank you so much to Charlotte for visiting, we had a wonderful time and left feeling inspired.
Charlotte from Elektec- D.T- Year 6, Year 5, Year 4 and Year 3
Charlotte from Eeltkec delivered a great talk about the importance of encouraging women to become electricians and the various types of jobs that electricians can do. She also highlighted the importance of safety when working on construction sites, as well as the value of education in becoming a successful engineer, plasterer, architect, or electrician. It was also great to hear about efforts to promote gender diversity in traditionally male-dominated fields. The children were actively engaged in the assembly and asked lots of great questions. Charlotte shared that meeting the King is definitely a noteworthy achievement. It's great that Charlotte was able to share her success story with the children and motivate them to strive for their own achievements and goals.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Reception went to Whitehall park today to find lots of different minibeasts. They lifted up logs to see what they could find. They used magnifying glasses to investigate. We then went and continued our forest schools session climbing trees, making dens, building bug houses and making camp fires!
Year 5- R.E- Easter- A visit from Rev Adam
We invited Rev Adam to our class worship today. He shared the life of Jesus which was represented on a cube. Each picture on the shape demonstrated the life of Jesus. The children were able to ask questions that they had prepared earlier. Before leaving, Rev Adam read the 'Ascension Day' which celebrates Jesus's ascension to heaven after he was resurrected on Easter Day.
Year 2 - Class Worship
During our class worship we have been looking at the new alarms that are coming to every phone in the UK to warn people of any emergencies that may be occurring in their local area. We discussed many positives and negatives and agreed that it will save lives.
Forest Schools
We have had a brilliant first half term of forest schools. We can’t wait for more memories to be made next half term.
Year 4 - Easter Artwork Walk
Our Year 4 class, loved visiting the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park yesterday. And what lovely weather we’ve had for it. The children really enjoyed viewing the Easter art created in school, saying prayers and singing songs with the children from Reception class. They even came back to the classroom to write some Easter scavenger hunt clues for the other classes. We hope you and your families have a chance to visit too.
Easter Eggs for DARE (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise)
A huge thank you to everyone who donated an Easter egg as part of our Lent challenge of showing generosity and kindness to others. On Wednesday they will be given to families in need in our community.
Year 6 Class Worship
In class worship this week, year 6 looked in more detail at the impact of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. We focused on how communities come together in times of hardship and looked in more depth at the tent schools that have been set up in the affected countries. We looked at how this story links to British Values. We discussed that British Values are like a chain and help us to become better citizens and that if everyone stuck by them, the world would be a better place; however, when the chain is broken, issues can arise.
Year 5 - Dogs Trust visit
Today we had our workshop with The Dogs Trust. The class were fantastic and really took on board what was said and asked some fantastic questions. We learnt that we cannot judge a dog just by its breed and that all dogs have their own personalities.
Year 1 DT Healthy and unhealthy foods Walk to Sainsburys
Today Year 1 walked to a local supermarket to look at different types of foods that are unhealthy and healthy for breakfast. In design and technology lessons we are looking at different types of breakfast foods and where foods come from. The children enjoyed finding different types of food in the aisles in Sainsburys and seeing the variation of products on offer. They had a super walk in their wellies where we got a better look at India Mill chimney and even got to go down the slide in the park on the way home too.
Dogs Trust Visit in Year 4
Today we were lucky enough to have a visit from The Dogs Trust. We had a whole school worship and then a workshop in our classroom. In the workshop, we were ‘Dog Detectives’ looking for clues and evidence. We looked at various scenarios with different dogs including Stan the Staffie, Cassy the Cockapoo and Hector the Husky. What a fantastic way to learn about dogs!
Year 2 - Dogs Trust workshop
In year 2, we had a visitor from the Dogs Trust who taught our class about the five happy dog rules. The children discussed all the ways we can look after dogs, keep them happy and how to stay safe around dogs. All the children loved learning all the actions to the rules and understood the rules really well.
Inter-House Magic Catch in Year 4
We had a fantastic time taking part in The Inter-House magic Catch session led by Year 6 Sports Leaders. What a great opportunity to take part in an inter house event with our house team. Well done to the runners up - Darwen Tower and The WINNERS - River Darwen.
Year 6 History trip to Darwen Heritage Centre
This week, year 6 visited Darwen Heritage Centre to find out a little bit more about the impact WW2 had on the town of Darwen.
Year 6- London Science Museum
Year 6 also visited the London Science Museum and took part in an interactive gallery called Wonderlab:The Equinor Gallery. The interactive experience ignited their curiosity, fuelled their imagination, and inspired them to see the world around them in new and exciting ways. They enjoyed lots of hands on experiments, live science demonstrations and revealed the beauty of the science and maths that shape our everyday lives. They particularly enjoyed the friction experiment using slides with different surfaces that they could zoom down and see which one had the most friction! Kaylen said he felt like he was in heaven as he loves science!
Year 6- The Lion King in the West End
Our Year 6 class and other members of our performing arts club, will be performing their own version of the Lion King at the end of the year. What better way to get some inspiration and tips than to watch The Lion King in the West End at the Lyceum Theatre. All of the children and staff thoroughly enjoyed the performance and were fascinated by the imaginative set changes, amazing costumes and fabulous acting, dancing and singing. We are full of ideas and inspiration for our Lion along production now and can’t wait to perform it.
Year 6- The Houses of Parliament
Our Year 6 class were so fortunate to be able to visit the Houses of Parliament to learn all about our British Values and in particular, democracy and the rule of law. We had a tour and watched a live debate in the House of Commons. Some of our group saw our current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, previous PM’s Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Teresa May, as well as Matt Hancock, who the children recognised from ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’! The Foreign Secretary of State, James Cleverly, also stopped to speak to us and asked us where we were from and if we were enjoying our visit. We visited Westminster Hall, which we recognised from seeing on the news when the Queen was lying in State after her sad death. We then took part in a workshop about how laws are created and we learnt all about Parliament and the houses of Commons and Lords through a fun quiz. We also got to explore democracy through voting and debating. Finally we were visited by our local Member of Parliament, Jake Berry, and had a great question and answer session. We are so proud of the thoughtful questions the children asked him and how they stood up to ask their questions, just like they do in the House of Commons. We are sure that we have a few future MPs amongst our Year 6 class!
Year 6- Food, glorious food!
Our Year 6 children have enjoyed sampling a variety of food whilst in London and have focused on their table manners and etiquette. They have had a buffet meal at Pizza Hut, a breakfast buffet at our Premier Inn Hotel, a meal at McDonalds and two picnics. We are so proud of the way they respected the members of the public, who were also dining alongside them. They also showed great independence skills by helping themselves to some of their buffet meals and clearing away their rubbish. Well done Year 6!
Year 6- London Sightseeing
Whilst in London, our Year 6 class have seen many famous sights. These included Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and the River Thames. Most of our children had never been to London before so we hope this has given them a taster of London and hope they choose to visit again with their family.
London 2023
We are off! Our Year 6 children, Mrs Ham, Mrs Price, Mr Prescott and Mr Tierney are so excited for their trip to London. We can’t wait to visit the Natural History Museum, Houses of Parliament tour and workshop, Lion King Musical, Science Museum, Imperial War Museum and a tour of London sights.
Year 4 Picture News - Should we all be entitled to an opinion?
In our class worship this week we have focused on Picture News. We looked at the news article about Gary Lineker and how his Tweet led him to be dismissed from Match of the Day. We had some great conversations and came to the decision that we should all be entitled to our own opinion, but we need to choose our words very careful as these could be hurtful.
Year 4 - Junction 4 Scooter and BMX Opportunity
Year 4 had the amazing opportunity to take part in a scooter and bike festival at Junction 4. The children enjoyed experiments and trying out new skills and tricks and being taught by the mentors that were at the skatepark. The children had an amazing time with lots of children being challenged and going beyond their comfort zone.
Natural History Museum
Our Year 6 class had a brilliant time exploring the Natural History Museum in London. They saw dinosaur and animal bones and fossils and lots of stuffed animals. They learnt about evolution, earthquakes and volcanoes and extinction.
Year 6- Going underground!
Our Year 6 children have loved travelling around London on the underground tube and escalators. We were so impressed with the way they sensibly and safely walked through the hoards of people commuting to work or sightseeing. They loved it when the tubes set off and stopped and they made sure they held on tight or else they would have gone flying through the carriage! They showed lots of respect to members of the public and used wonderful manners to the guards who let us through the gates.
Year 6- Imperial War Museum
In History this term, Year 6 have been learning all about the Second World War and the part that Darwen played in it. It has been wonderful to visit the Imperial War Museum to learn more about the Second World War and the part that London played in it and contrast this to Darwen’s involvement. We also visited some other galleries including one about the war in Ukraine to highlight that war is still happening. We will shortly be having some Ukrainian refugees visit our school to talk to us about their experience of war and to thank us for the fundraising we have done for DARE (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise). We also visited a gallery about online gaming that showed that children have always been fascinated by war, good stories always have conflict and children have always played war games.
Year 2: Class Worship
During class worship, we had a look the impact that Roald Dahl’s books have on the modern day world. We discussed whether these books should be rewritten to fit in with new rules and regulations in today's society. Children were of the opinion that they: represent a time period, are historical and are still very funny and appealing. Therefore we agreed that they should not be rewritten.
Year 2: Taking Rubbings
During our art lessons we have been experimenting with the formal elements of art. We looked at creating at through rubbings of many different materials. We went around out local area taking rubbings of: trees, benches, rocks and walls to create a variety of patterns.
Year 1- Garden Centre Visit
On Tuesday morning we walked down to ‘Four Seasons Garden Centre’ in preparation for our next science topic about plants. We found out lots of information about plants and the seasons they grow in. At the end of our tour around the garden centre we purchased some seeds to bring back to school to watch them grow.
Year 1: Garden Centre Visit Thank you!
We would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at “Four Seasons Garden Centre” for making us all feel welcome. Sonia said she was really pleased with how we respected the garden centre and how well they represented our school. Sonia gave us some free gifts to bring back to school (Planters, soil and flowers) we can’t wait to plant these.
North West Ski Federation Schools Race 2023
A huge well done to Isaac P for representing St Barnabas in the North West Ski Federation Schools Race 2023 this weekend. He came first in the boys junior individual category. Well done Isaac, we are super proud of you!
Reception - Doctor Visit
Today Reception class welcomed Dr.Chloe who came from Blackburn Hospital to talk to us all about her job. She explained how she loves to help people and even told us about her therapy dogs, Alfie and Patrick. The children asked some fantastic questions all about what is inside her doctors bag and Dr.Chloe showed us her stethoscope and showed us how it works. Thank you Dr.Chloe, we had a wonderful time!
Celebration Worship Value Points Winners
In our Celebration Worship this morning we spent time reflecting on why we came to school in non- uniform- our school council chose to raise funds for families who have been affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. We also celebrated our Value Ponts Winners across both Key Stages and it’s so lovely to see how our values are being shown by the children and how they are working hard both in and out of the classroom. We had so many other things to celebrate this morning such as Let Girls Play Football Event, Let’s Go Sing and the verse speaking competition. The list of Super Sports Stars was never ending this week which is so great to see! Attendance Winners were Years 2 & 6 and Value Points Winning house team was River Darwen.
Celebration Worship -Sports Stars
The list of Super Sports Stars was never ending this week which is so great to see! We had children receiving awards for a number of out of school sports such as swimming, martial arts, horse riding, dancing, rugby and gymnastics. We hope that the children are inspired to take part in different sports after hearing from our worthy winners.
Reception - British Sign Language
This morning, Reception children enjoyed a British Sign Language session. We discussed when we might need to use sign language. Some children remembered signs that they used in nursery, at home or in Worship. We learned the BSL signs for hello, how are you, good morning, good afternoon and good evening. The children enjoyed practising signing to each other.
Reception- Police Officer Visit
This morning we had a visit from our local PCSO’s Gail and John and ‘Darren’ the police teddy bear. We were ready with lots of questions to ask them and we also answered some amazing questions they had for us. We were taught all about ‘stranger danger’ and how to keep ourselves safe. We also got to hear the police officers on their radios and we got the opportunity to try on some of their uniform, which we found out was very heavy. We all really enjoyed our visit.
Numberfit Fun in Year 4
As part of our mental maths sessions we are taking part in the Numberfit sessions linked to the #Globalchallenge2023. The children complete fun challenges linked to multiplication and fitness in order to take part in the challenge.
Year 1 Police Safety Talk
Today Year 1 met PCSO Gail, PCSO John and PCSO Darren the bear to talk about what the police do, stranger danger and how to stay safe in our community. They asked some super questions, tried on a police vest and were shown the equipment the police wear to communicate and capture evidence whilst working. We looked at how the police get around and the different vehicles they might use. We also all got a photo and cuddle with Darren the bear.
Year 2 - Creative Writing
In year 2, we have been focusing on the wordless book, The Journey written by Aaron Becker. We have been focusing mainly on using our senses to create a description for the forest image. The children explored the school grounds in the woodland areas and used all their senses to influence their creative writing.
Year 4 Design & Technology - Designing an alarm
In DT today, we have been designing our very own alarm system with a push to make it a push to break switch. The children thought really carefully about their design, what it could be made for and how their circuit would look. We also looked at a book called ‘ When I grow up’ which has been written by some local business owners called Elektec, who we will be having into school in the next few weeks to discuss all things electrical and construction.
British Science Week Assembly
This week is British Science Week and the theme is ‘Connections’. The children have enjoyed an exciting assembly explaining about the events for the week and also saw some live experiments take place in the hall, as well as some amazing videos of simple experiments they can carry out at home with the help of an adult. They will be voting for their favourite experiment in their classes this week, which will be carried out next week with their class teachers. There is a national poster competition to enter, lunchtime experiments and fun with our year 5 and 6 Science Club team and live online science lessons to take part in.
Year 5- Rotakids- Discussing our next project
This afternoon, the Year 5 class received a certificate for the outstanding work that they are doing. The children could discuss the work they have already done for the local community and the international project. The children were keen to share their next project, a movie night for KS1 and KS2 to raise money for our school minibus.
Reception- Firefighter Visit
Today the children in reception had a visit from Firefighter Foy! He told us all about his job and fire safety. The children asked lots of brilliant questions and they were really excited to try on the firefighter helmet! Lots of children have decided that they want to be firefighters when they grow up, because they want to help people. Thank you so much to Firefighter Foy for an amazing talk and for the firefighter goodies! We hope to see you again!
Let Girls Play Campaign
Today to celebrate International Women’s Day we supported the FA’s campaign to ‘Let Girls Play’ by wearing sports kits in school, fun football sessions and 8 girls attended the biggest EVER football session at St Bede’s. It was absolutely freezing but the girls didn’t let that stop them and they really got stuck into the football sessions. We are hopeful to have some future lionesses in our school. Well done girls, we are so proud of you all! ⚽️
Verse speaking competition
This afternoon some of our super talented children took part in a verse speaking competition at QEGS, with other local schools in our school improvement group. They each had to perform a poem in front of a large audition and a judge called Paul Jenkins, who is a poet. We are so proud of them as they showed lots of courage and performed with confidence. A huge well done to Freya for winning her category. We really enjoyed listening to Paul perform his poems and it was wonderful to watch the other children perform too.
Forest School- Lunchtime Club
What a brilliant first week of Forest School we’ve had! We’ve had an introduction to forest school and some time to get to know each other and our likes and dislikes. The children have been so enthusiastic and excited to give ideas on how they want our new forest school area to look and what they would like to focus on. We have some children who are fountains of knowledge when it comes to mini beasts and wildlife, these children are really excited to create bug houses, bird feeders and bird boxes. We have some children who are keen gardeners who would like to plant some new flowers and vegetables. We are looking forward to seeing what next week has in store for us.
Scrooge by Charles Dickens
This morning all of the children enjoyed watching a theatrical production of Scrooge, which is a stage adaptation of the classic story 'A Christmas Carol', which was written by Charles Dickens. We were so proud of how well they joined in and the performers said they were a fantastic audience and couldn’t praise our school enough for the warm welcome they received. The children said 'It was even better than the film', 'It was amazing', 'I loved the songs' 'Everyone needs to show kindness' and our Year 6 children said this had made them even more excited to go and see the Lion King in London with school in a couple of weeks! The classic story highlighted our school focus on kindness as mean Scrooge learnt to be kind after being visited by three spirits who showed him the error of his ways. A huge well done to Daisy for showing lots of courage when she was chosen to join the actors on stage. Thank you so much FOSB for paying for the performance. It was a delight to see the childrens' faces as they were a picture and made several of our staff team, including myself, rather emotional watching them. What a great end to world book day week!
Year 5- Design and Technology- Electrical System
This term in D.T. the Year 5 class has been applying knowledge of circuits to practical activities. The children worked in small groups to create a moving toy vehicle using a battery-powered electric car that is able to move forward and reverse as well as having lights that can be switched on and off, they have made an air conditioning unit, a windmill, floating boat, and a floating ball. The children took inspiration from a parent engineer, who left a set of materials for us to work with, including a battery, a DVD motor with a connector, and a propeller. The children were thrilled with the outcome.
Year 3 World Book Day - Stories that fill our Happy Tank
To celebrate World Book Day, Year 3 have been sharing their favourite bedtime stories and thinking about the stories that fill up their Happy Tank. Each child has created a book review, for their favourite book. We then shared our book reviews with the rest of the class, to give each other recommendations of books and authors!
World Book Day 2023
Today we celebrated world book day to show how amazing books are and the theme of this year’s celebration is bedtime stories and stories that fill our happy tank. During worship, Mrs Wilkinson, our reading leader, shared a variety of books through ‘the masked book’ quiz. Our school librarians shared clues from their favourite bedtime stories and asked the school to guess their book. Mrs Ham showed us one of her favourite stories, Oliver Twist, and read a 'Little people, big dreams' book about the author Charles Dickens. We learnt how he developed his love of books and became a successful author, writing stories with powerful messages. We are looking forward to a production of one of Charles Dickens famous stories tomorrow, A Christmas Carol, but in a special adaptation called Scrooge. Charles Dickens wanted everyone to know that everyday can feel like Christmas, if we show kindness and fill up each other's happy tanks. Children enjoyed stories from other teachers across the school who shared their favourite bedtime stories or stories that fill their happy tank. A special author came into school to read her latest book. The lion who lost its mane. She shared her amazing story and the message behind the story and her inspiration for making her book. Throughout the day children completed many activities to celebrate this year's themes for world book day, favourite bedtime stories or stories that fill your happy tank. This included: competitions for creating the best book cover, creating art work and reading their favourite stories to each other. Thank you to Mrs Speak, our English link Governor for joining us in our special World Book Day Worship. Happy World Book Day 2023!
Year 2 World Book Day
Today year 2 celebrated work book day by dressing in our pyjamas. We enjoyed collective worship with children sharing their favourite bedtime stories. In class, we completed many activities and shared all of our favourite bedtime stories that fill our happy tanks. We enjoyed listening to stories being read to us from other teachers across the school and enjoyed all the fun activities we completed today. Happy World Book Day!
EYFS & KS1: Author visit
EYFS and Key Stage 1 enjoyed an author visit this afternoon. Raysa Farah came into school to read her story, ‘A cub without a mane’. She explained how her son has leukaemia and lost his hair. Whilst in hospital, she decided to write her book. Raysa explained that no matter how you look, you are still special and a wonderful person. Our children had the opportunity to ask questions. Darcy asked if she had written any other books. Raysa said she had written one other book and it is awaiting approval to be published. Raysa is also a florist so Daisy asked if she liked making flowers. Lyla asked how long it took for Raysa to write her story. Raysa explained it took around a month to write. Eliza asked if Raysa drew the pictures. Raysa explained the role of an illustrator. Her publisher found an illustrator. Raysa then asked the children to draw anything that makes them happy and feel good. We loved your visit and the children left feeling inspired- thank you so much. Raysa’s book will be available to buy on parent pay for a discounted price. Further information to follow.
Reception - World Book Day
Reception class loved celebrating World Book Day! We dressed in our pyjamas and discussed our favourite bedtime stories. We made stick men inspired by Julia Donaldson’s book 'Stick Man' and created Hungry Caterpillar collages using natural materials we found around our school grounds. We met the author of ‘The cub without a mane’ and listened to her read the book. We then got a chance to ask questions about the illustrations and why she wanted to write her very first book. We have also had the chance to enter the school competition by designing our own book covers. We have had a fantastic day celebrating reading and our love of stories!
Years 3 & 4: Author Visit
Years 3 and 4 enjoyed an author visit this afternoon. Raysa Farah came into school to read her story, ‘A cub without a mane’. She explained how her son has leukaemia and lost his hair. Whilst in hospital, she decided to write her book. Raysa explained that no matter how you look, you are still special and a wonderful person. Our children had the opportunity to ask questions. Mason asked how old her little boy is who is poorly. Raysa told the children that he is aged 3. Hamza asked what happens when you have leukaemia. Raysa explained that you are given medication. When Raysa’s little boy was in hospital, that was the time that she wrote her story. Leonora asked how did her older boy feel. Raysa said that he was angry and upset but once everything was explained, he was happy and really looked after his younger brother. Alice asked if Raysa has written any other books. Raysa explained that she had written a story about a mouse that has lost its squeak which is about speech difficulties. Year 4 told Raysa about a story that they have been reading about speech difficulties and explained how there are 4 different adults who sometimes help or hinder children with speech impairments! Finn told Raysa that he had cut his hair off to raise money to create a wig for cancer. We loved your visit and the children left feeling inspired- thank you so much. Raysa’s book will be available to buy on parent pay for a discounted price. Further information to follow.
World Book Day in Year 4
What an amazing World Book Day 2023 we have had in Year 4. Designing book covers, author visits, looking at a new class novel - The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, role play and even a special read from Mrs Lyons who shared her favourite short stories. We have packed so much into one day and Year 4 have had a fantastic time sharing all things WBD2023
Reception - People Who Help Us
This week Reception children have learned about people who help us, specifically doctors. We discussed the jobs of doctors and nurses and when we may need to go to hospital. We practised putting plasters and bandages on and designed a doctors bag thinking about what they may need inside it! We loved exploring the doctors equipment in the role play area including stethoscopes and thermometers. We are excited to meet a real life radiologist in a few weeks time.
Years 5 & 6: Author visit
Years 5 and 6 enjoyed an author visit this afternoon. Raysa Farah came into school to read her story, ‘A cub without a mane’. She explained how her son has leukaemia and lost his hair. Whilst in hospital, she decided to write her book. Raysa explained that no matter how you look, you are still special and a wonderful person. Our children had the opportunity to ask questions. Jake asked if her little boy’s hair was growing back. Raysa said that it was. It is very short but it is growing back. It’s not as curly but it is wavy. Lucy asked Raysa if her children liked her book. Raysa said that her eldest, Adam absolutely loves it- he is in reception. Kaylen asked ‘what inspired you to be a florist?’ Raysa explained that she wanted to be a florist since she was 4. Her Mum and Dad loved gardening and she remembered being in the garden from childhood. Raysa went to university first to study psychology but still wanted to be a florist. When she met her husband, she told him her dream and within a month, he created the business and from social media, it became a huge success. We loved your visit and the children left feeling inspired- thank you so much. Raysa’s book will be available to buy on parent pay for a discounted price. Further information to follow.
Year 1 World Book Day
A super start to the day in Year 1 for World Book Day! The children were all wearing their pyjamas and bought their own books in to celebrate their love of reading bedtime stories and to share with the class. They enjoyed being read to by Mrs Pendlebury and they helped retell the Gruffalo story as a whole class. It was super to look back at this book and for them to retell and remember the words from our story writing in Autumn 2. They then had a chocolate snack (thank you FOSB) whilst listening to another favourite book by Julia Donaldson: Stickman.
Sharing Our Love Of Reading in Year 1
During World Book Day, Year 1 read and shared their books from home and our school library with great enthusiasm. They each stood up in front of the whole class to show their chosen book that either ‘fills their happy tank’ or is a great bedtime read. The children read and shared their books with their friends and designed a book cover for their favourite book too as part of a competition. In the afternoon an author came in to read their new children’s story to them and they were able to ask questions and take part in an activity celebrating their uniqueness in their house groups. We also made book buddies that they have taken home with them today amongst other activities.
World Book Day Year 6
Year 6 have celebrated World Book Day by having a story read to them by Mrs Hegarty; taking part in a book cover competition; producing an outstanding piece of writing based on our English unit and topped it off by showing amazing respect and asking thoughtful questions during our author visit. A huge well done year 6!
Year 5- World Book Day- Happy Reading
The Year 5 students have had an absolute blast celebrating 'World Book Day'. The children came dressed in their pyjamas which linked to the theme 'Bedtime Stories'. We carried out a series of fun activities to inspire everyone to pick up a book and read. We started the day with the whole school worship, we played guess the book and listened to Mrs. Ham read about her favourite author Charles Dickens. We also joined BBC live to listen to stories read by Michael Rosen and Kevin Tsang. We also had a visit from an author Raysa Farah who read her story, 'A cub without a mane'. The children had the opportunity to ask the author questions related to the book and her life. In the afternoon, we had a blind date with a book. The children were all given a book to unwrap and discuss the cover and blurb of the book with their partners. We then gathered what the children thought of the cover and blurb, some of the children said they would never pick the book based on the cover and blurb. However, after 10 minutes of reading the book the children wanted to know what happens next. The moral of the activity was to never judge a book by its cover. We also got creative and drew pictures of our favourite characters. Finally, we started to write a story together as a class which demonstrates the power and joy of reading.
Reception: Rhyme time and Story time
We enjoyed our first rhyme and story time since half term. The children enjoyed singing a variety of nursery rhymes and we listened to ‘The tiger who came to tea’. Thank you to all of the grown ups who came and it was lovely to see some of our preschool children too. Rhyme time and story time continues next Wednesday at 9am and reception families and preschool children are welcome to join us.
Year 6 History
This week, in history, year 6 used eye witness accounts to help them describe the impact that air raids had on the town and people of Darwen during World War Two. They found out that businesses and homes were destroyed, 7 people lost their lives and that generally people were in a state of shock. Despite this terrible event, it also brought out the good in people and everyone did their bit to help. One example of this was an injured man being transported to the infirmary on the back of a milk truck.
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Year 6 London Trip Information Meeting
Dear Year 6 parents and carers, thank you so much to everyone who attended the London meeting this evening. I hope you found it informative and it's great to see how excited the children are. If you weren't able to attend, please see the powerpoint and letter on class dojo for further information. I will also send home a printed copy with your child tomorrow. If your child has medical needs and/or needs medication whilst in London,please complete the following google form. https://forms.gle/NYfrcLW56bhGrWvH6 If you haven’t done so already, please complete the google consent form ASAP so that we have emergency contact numbers, information on allergies etc https://forms.gle/3X7NzNskihd1dX4y8 If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. This trip is a great way to develop their independence and resilience before they go off to high school, as well as having lots of fun with their friends. We are sure that all of the children will have a wonderful time and will make memories that will last a lifetime.
Year 5&6 Police Football Tournament
Our Year 5&6 football team entered a police ran football tournament at the soccer dome. The team played extremely well to get through to the group stages and into the final, where they came up against Shadsworth. After a very close final, unfortunately our team lost and placed second place. A huge well to the football team who showed: team spirit, resilience, determination and amazing talent. Well done St Barnabas Football Team!
Year 2 - Junior Jam - French
During year 2 junior jam sessions in french, we have been learning all about fruit and vegetables linking it with our previous work on colours. All children have worked extremely hard with their french work and have enjoyed the collaborative engaging sessions.
Year 5- Art- Space Imagery
In Art, Year 5 have been thinking about what the future might look like. They created their own futuristic artworks and printed a background using marble ink to create a galaxy effect. They have taken inspiration from Teis Albers's piece 'Moonwalk' and Andy Warhols’ ‘Moonwalk’ artwork. They have used their art sketchbooks to record their observations and to review and revise their ideas. They have looked at illustrations from the ‘Space Race’ era: exploring how imagery was used and how it influenced art and design and evaluated images using knowledge of the formal elements. They have generated, developed, modelled, and communicated their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, and cross-sectional and exploded diagrams.
Reception: Muddy Monday
As part of our learning all about caring for our environment, we went on a litter pick around our local area. We used our fine motor skills to collect the litter using the litter pickers. We collected lots of litter and all received a certificate and sticker for being great litter picking superheroes. Thank you to Blackburn with Darwen Council for providing all of the resources we needed for our litter pick.