Image of Year 5 - Presentation of Learning
22 Apr

Year 5 - Presentation of Learning

On Tuesday Year 5 hosted a special worship to share their Presentation of Learning all about Earth Day 2025. This year’s theme, ‘Our Power, Our Planet’, encouraged our children to reflect on how individuals and communities can work together to make a positive impact on the environment. Their worship was both informative and inspiring, reminding us all that we have the power to protect our planet and God's creations through the choices we make every day. The children led a whole-school diagnostic quiz to test everyone’s knowledge about Earth Day and share what they had learned throughout their presentation. We then said a special Earth Day prayer written by Pope Francis and took a few moments to think about him as he sadly passed away earlier in the week. We finished with singing 'I can make a difference in this world of ours'

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
1 Apr

Reception: Muddy Monday

The children explored Jack Keys for their Muddy Monday session. They enjoyed a walk, built sculptures, built a den, balanced on natural materials and collectively walked 58km to add to our CAFOD Big Lent Walk. Well done!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
24 Mar

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today our Reception children explored a different area of Whitehall Park. The children created bug houses and dens together. They also found some sticks and pretended to create fires and also used them as drum sticks. Some of the children tried to climb trees and it was lovely to see how brave they were all being whilst developing their fundamental skills. In addition, the children collectively walked 75km to contribute to our Lent Challenge. Well done!

Image of Year 5 - Structure of the Earth
21 Mar

Year 5 - Structure of the Earth

Year 5 used boiled eggs to explore the structure of the Earth, using the shell, egg white and yolk to represent the crust, mantle and core. This hands-on activity helped them visualise the Earth’s layers and understand their composition in a fun and engaging way. As they carefully peeled the shell, they discussed how the Earth’s crust is thin and fragile, just like the eggshell. They then examined the egg white, comparing it to the mantle, which is semi-solid and moves slowly over time. Finally, the yolk represented the core, helping the children grasp the concept of the Earth’s hot, dense center. The activity sparked curiosity and led to great discussions about plate tectonics, volcanic activity and the role of the Earth’s layers in shaping our planet.

Image of Reception Firefighter visit
20 Mar

Reception Firefighter visit

Today the Fire Service visited our Reception classroom to talk about how they help to keep us and the community safe. Lee reminded us that we must check our smoke alarms as they are the best way to keep us safe at home. He also told us about the different ways they help in emergencies, from putting out fires to rescuing trapped animals. He showed us their special uniform and the tools they need to perform their jobs. We then had a look at the fire engine and even experienced a quick shower from the very powerful fire hose. A big thank you to Darwen Fire Service for a brilliant morning.

Image of Year 6- Natural History Museum
19 Mar

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 went into the earthquake simulator shop and also enjoyed visiting the gift shop. For all of the Year 6 London trip photos, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
17 Mar

Reception: Muddy Monday

The children in Reception walked 3.5km each this week to contribute further to our Big Lent Walk in aid of CAFOD. They walked to Whitehall Park and continued with their outdoor learning. This week the children found pine cones, climbed trees and found minibeasts. They also enjoyed creating dens and roleplaying around a camp fire!

Image of Year 3 - Geography
13 Mar

Year 3 - Geography

Today in Year 3, we explored lines of latitude and longitude and how they help us locate places on a map or globe. The children learned that latitude lines run horizontally, measuring how far a place is north or south of the equator, while longitude lines run vertically, measuring how far a place is east or west of the Prime Meridian. Thanks Mr Bloomfield, our Geography subject leader, for a brilliant lesson!

Image of Year 6 P.E - Orienteering
11 Mar

Year 6 P.E - Orienteering

Year 6 are really enjoying their new P.E unit on orienteering! The children have been learning how to re-set their map as they move around the school grounds, so that they can locate certain landmarks. Working co-operatively with a partner, the children had to navigate their way around school, retrieving information. It was a lot of fun!

Image of Year 4 - P.E. : Orienteering
5 Mar

Year 4 - P.E. : Orienteering

This week, our Year 4s have been learning to read maps with a key in P.E. The character development focus is teamwork, and the teams that were the most successful were those that planned out what they would do, shared out roles and listened to each other. They read the funny face maps really well and so we had time to work on understanding common symbols in a key through a symbol and word card matching game. Next, they will be heading outdoors to familiarise themselves with the map of the school grounds.

Image of Reception: Police Visit
4 Mar

Reception: Police Visit

Our Reception class loved their visit from the Police Community Support Officers today called Annie and Reece. They learnt about their jobs, who to call in an emergency and the different police vehicles. The children also listened to the police siren, saw the flashing lights and were all able to sit in the police car.

Image of Year 4 Art- Batik - Final stage Washing Process
4 Mar

Year 4 Art- Batik - Final stage Washing Process

In our final art lesson we completed the washing process of batik. The children each had a tray in which they washed their fabric which had both acrylic paint and pva glue covering it. We then placed each piece of fabric on the drying rack which once dry will be the final article. The children have really enjoyed the whole process and we are all looking forward to displaying these wonderful pieces of artwork.