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Cre8ability Session 4
This week we continued with our learning on emotional regulation. We focussed on how music can affect our emotions. We listened to lots of music and discussed how we felt after it. Music works the left and right side of the brain so it is really therapeutic. We then explored and had the opportunity to play some African drums. Carol taught us how to play the drums. We learnt bass, tone and slap and how to do a rumble on the drum. The children all created their own rhythm and we did a call and response. We then drummed along to ‘we will rock you’. We finished our session with some mindfulness colouring.
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Cre8ability- Session 3
Our Cre8ability group met again yesterday. The session focused on managing strong emotions and returning to a calm "Green Zone" for effective communication. The session explored how different brain parts control emotions and trigger fight/flight/freeze responses. Key to the learning was the "3 Ts" strategy: time (for a 90-second cool-down), talk (to discuss what happened), and think (about solutions). Practical activities included making calming glitter bottles to aid regulation, and crafting dream catchers and "Worry Warrior" dolls to help express worries. The workshop provided valuable tools for families to navigate emotional challenges more effectively. It was a wonderful session and they made some beautiful crafts to take home with them too, thank you Carol and Maria.
The Great Live Assembly- World Refugee Day 2025
This morning in Year 4, we took part in The Great Live Assembly for World Refugee Week. 43 million young people and children have had to leave their country for various reasons including persecution and war. We met two children from Kenya - Ajok wanted to be a teacher and had to flee due to civil war. He had to walk over 500 miles to reach his final destination. We then watched an interview with the author Michael Rosen who has recently written On the Move, which uses poetry to highlight the struggles of a refugee. This teaches us that ‘Home is where the Heart is’ and we should really appreciate and support the sacrifices that the refugees across the world have to endure.
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Year 3-Exploring Spirituality Through Refugee Week
Today, as part of Refugee Week, 12 children from Year 3 visited a local church where they had the wonderful opportunity to meet refugees from 17 countries, such as Iraq, Palestine, Greece, South Africa, Afghanistan and Sudan. They listened to powerful, real-life stories of resilience, hope, and strength, gaining insight into these individuals' journeys and the challenges they have overcome. The experience helped to build empathy and deepen the children’s understanding of what it means to seek safety and rebuild a life in a new place. We ate food from Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Italy, Greece and drank Arabic coffee. The children sang songs for the refugees. Reverend Gilbert spoke to the children about how our donations to DARE - Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise have helped refugees and ensured they are always welcomed, and they encourage more donations, etc. This visit linked beautifully with our Spirituality school model of Windows, Mirrors, and Doors. Through Windows, the children looked out and learned from the lives of others, seeing the world through different perspectives. Mirrors encouraged them to look inward, reflect on their own lives, and think about how they might feel in similar situations. Finally, Doors inspired them to step out and consider how they can live more compassionately, supporting others and making positive choices in their own lives. The visit was a meaningful extension of our R.E. learning but also connected closely with Mrs Ham’s worship this week, which focused on raising awareness and showing solidarity with people in need. It encouraged our students to reflect on how they can contribute to a more welcoming and understanding world. Overall, today’s experience supported our whole-school aim of helping children to live life in all its fullness, by inspiring them to be open-hearted, thoughtful, and active in making a difference. #RefugeeWeek
Reception: Prayer in RE
For this week's outdoor learning session, Reception class focused on their RE prayer unit. We discussed how we can pray through song, words and actions too. This week we focused on the concept of prayer not just through words, but through an appreciation of the beautiful world around us – a world we believe is God's wonderful creation. It was a fantastic opportunity to foster a sense of awe and wonder in even our youngest learners. During our outdoor walk, we encouraged the children to stop, look closely, and truly see what was around them. We talked about how everything we observed, from the tiniest ant to the tallest tree, was something God made. We paused frequently, and at each stop, we invited the children to say "Thank you, God," and then to share something specific they loved about what they were seeing. It was wonderful to hear their unique observations –Eleanor thanked God for the grass; Annie thanked God for the animals; Minnie thanked God for India Mill; Thea thanked God for Darwen tower; Reggie thanked God for the flowers and Minnie thanked God for the water.. These simple acts of gratitude helped them connect their feelings of wonder directly to prayer. What was particularly heartwarming was how this experience naturally led us to talk about how we can look after God's world. The children, in their own words, came up with some fantastic ideas about being good "caretakers" of nature. We discussed how important it is not to throw litter and how we can help by picking up any rubbish we see. Their enthusiasm really shone through when we brainstormed even more creative ways to care for animals, such as making bird feeders for our feathered friends and even building "bug hotels" to provide cozy homes for insects! This outdoor RE lesson was a fantastic way to introduce concepts of spirituality, gratitude, and responsibility in a way that was accessible and engaging for our Reception children. They learned that prayer can be about thanking God for all the amazing things He has created, and that looking after our world is also a way of showing our appreciation.
Forest school club- week 1
This afternoon the children have been foraging for natural treasures to make their natural paint brushes. We then used water colours to create a picture using our paintbrushes. The children then went exploring, engaging in child initiated play either experimenting with water, funnels jugs and pipes or exploring our outdoor area to make dens or find minibeasts. We have had a great time living life in all its fullness!
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Cre8ability Session 2
A selection of our children and parents had their second Cre8ability session. They explored their feelings using a fun and hands-on approach. Participants learned to sort emotions into red (negative), amber (neutral), and green (positive) zones, giving them a simple way to talk about how they feel. They also discussed how feelings can vary in intensity, from "a bit upset" to "miserable." The session also encouraged children to think about their favourite things and the positive emotions these bring. A highlight was clay modelling, where children and parents crafted figures representing themselves and their favourite items. This creative activity provided a fantastic way to express emotions without words. We are looking forward to our next Cre8ability session next Tuesday, thank you Carol and Maria!
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Cre8ability- Session 1
What a fantastic start to our "Nurturing Emotional Wellbeing in Creative Spaces" group today, expertly guided by Cre8ability! We saw parents and children connecting and expressing themselves through Picasso-esque art in a wonderfully calming atmosphere. Beyond the creative process, they discovered how colors can represent feelings and practiced calming techniques. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Carol and Maria for making it such a success – we can't wait for more next week!
Donuts for Dads Event
Good afternoon, Thank you so much to everybody who came to our Donuts for Dads and for making the event a huge success. We haven't got an official total but it is around £300 so thank you so much for your kind donations. Further pictures will be available on our gallery on our website. https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/donuts-for-dads We do have plenty of doughnuts available so there will be a doughnut sale after school tomorrow to sell the remaining doughnuts for a donation. All of the money will be spent to benefit our children in school. Thank you to our FOSB and to our staff for helping to set up, for running and for tidying up after the event too. I will post the raffle draw results shortly. Thank you, Mrs Wilkinson
Reception- Forest School
This afternoon we have enjoyed a forest school session. We have had fun bug hunting, habitat building, role playing, and den building. The children learnt about different flowers and trees in our environment and had a great time exploring.