Whole School Worship - Remembrance
Ahead of Remembrance Sunday, our collective worships this week are all about taking time to reflect on those that have sacrificed themselves to keep us all safe. We have been learning about what Remembrance Day means to our nation and also to us personally. Mrs Ham explained the significance of the poppy and she shared some stories of extreme bravery and self-sacrifice demonstrated by those in the services during the World Wars. We considered which Christian values these people showed and Mrs Ham invited some children to share how they will be remembering our service men and women, past and present, this Remembrance Day.
Whole School-Harvest Festival at the Church – Living Life in All Its Fullness
This morning, our school community came together at our church to celebrate our Harvest Festival, a joyful morning filled with song, prayer, and thanksgiving. The service began as Naomi and Martha signed The Trinity, followed by everyone joining in a rendition of our Harvest Samba song. We also heard about Bishop Philip’s inspiring challenge, pedalling to raise money for those in need, reminding us that even small acts of kindness can have a big impact. As part of the Bishop of Blackburn’s Harvest Appeal, we have been encouraging everyone to ‘Pedal Along’ and raise money for Christians in South Africa. Olivia shared a thoughtful talk, and Darcy reminded us to keep in our prayers families and countries around the world who are suffering. We also gave thanks for the work of DARE and reflected on people using their time and energy to support good causes. The reception and Year 2 class delighted everyone with their Harvest songs. Year 1 shared Thank You for Our Favourite Food, helping us reflect on gratitude. Lilly and Sofia led us in a thoughtful final prayer. We also said goodbye and good luck to Miss Norton, April, and Eve, and shared our thanks to Mrs Araujo, Mrs Ham, and our dedicated WOW Group for helping make this service so meaningful. Our Harvest celebration at the church was a wonderful reminder of our school vision, living life in all its fullness, through thankfulness, compassion, and community. Wishing all our families a restful and joy-filled half-term break!
FOSB Spooky Discos
A huge thank you to our Friends of St Barnabas (FOSB) volunteers and Mrs Wilkinson for planning and running our spooky discos tonight. What a great way to end a busy half term! The children had a great time dancing and playing games! The photos can be found here : https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/fosb-spooky-disco-1
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Whole School Worship & Farewell to Mrs Norton
It is with great sadness that we are saying goodbye to our school cook of 19 years, Mrs Norton, this week. In our whole school worship we celebrated all Mrs Norton has done for us by inviting some of our children to share memories and messages of thanks. Each class made Mrs Norton a special card and Mrs Ham presented her with some gifts from our school family. We wish her well as she embarks on a new chapter. Mrs Ham also shared an update about our Harvest collections for Dare and we practised our songs for the Harvest service.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we began our worship by reflecting on what has been a busy but thoroughly enjoyable week. Mrs Ham started by thanking everyone for their wonderful efforts in raising awareness for mental health during last Friday’s Hello Yellow Day. She also expressed her appreciation to all the children who attended the Harvest Church Service at St Barnabas Church on Sunday, accompanied by Mrs Araujo, Mrs Wilkinson, and Mrs Govan. The children sang beautifully and truly gave it their all. We also recognised the many children supporting Rotakids by donating winter coats and shoeboxes filled with essentials for DARE (Darwen Asylum Refuge). Mrs Ham reminded us that we can continue to support important causes by taking part in Bishop Phillip’s Pedalathon, raising funds for Christians in South Africa by getting out on our bikes and putting in some miles. We are also still collecting Harvest donations for the local food bank and DARE. We took time to congratulate our individual Value Award winners this week: Poppy, Olivia and Skye in EYFS and KS1, and Renee, Lyla, Walter and Ruby in KS2, for consistently following Barny’s 4Bs, working incredibly hard across the curriculum, and showing great growth and maturity during their first half-term in their new classes. Our congratulations also went to our Year 2 and Year 3 classes for being this week’s attendance winners. A big well done to India Mill, who were our weekly Value Award winners with an impressive 236 points, and also our overall Value Award winners for the half-term. As a reward, they will enjoy a non-uniform day and disco — with the date to be announced shortly. We were delighted to recognise a number of pupils for their achievements outside of school this week. Well done to Jonas for settling in so well after recently joining Squirrels, and to Phoebe for earning a badge at Rainbows and always bringing positivity and laughter. Callie has been an excellent role model at martial arts, while Elijah was awarded Beaver of the Week for his enthusiasm and willingness to get involved. James impressed with his fantastic fielding in cricket, Lyla performed beautifully in her lyrical dancing, and Sofia was named Star of the Week at acro while also earning several badges at Brownies. Charlie achieved 25 metres in all swimming strokes, Olivia received her Silver Award at Rainbows, Willow showed amazing gymnastics skills, Lydia earned her Gold Award at Rainbows, and Eleanor achieved her Amazing Helper badge. We also congratulated our Year 4 pupils for representing the school so well at the Cidari Earth Conference at Blackburn Cathedral yesterday, and praised our girls' football team for their continued efforts in the DPSSA league. Finally, a reminder that next week is a four-day week due to an INSET day on Friday. We also have our Halloween Spooky Disco on Wednesday evening, organised by FOSB, and our Harvest Church Service taking place on Thursday morning. Please check Class Dojo for more details. Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!
Friday Celebration Worship and Hello Yellow Day
This morning, we enjoyed an extra special celebration worship to mark ‘Hello Yellow’ Day for World Mental Health Day. We began by exploring the range of emotions we all experience and discussed ways to lift our spirits when we're feeling down, with thoughtful suggestions like listening to favourite music, taking deep breaths, watching a funny film, reading a book, singing wholeheartedly, having a cuddle, or counting to ten. To boost our mood even further, we had a joyful singalong to Golden by K-pop and lit candles to pray for those facing mental health challenges. We then celebrated our Value Award winners across the school—well done to Coban, Reggie, Olly and Percy in EYFS and KS1, and to Harry, Olivia, Carter and Jenson in KS2—for their outstanding attitudes to learning and for consistently demonstrating our Barney’s 4Bs. Congratulations also to India Mill for being our overall Value Award winners with an impressive 979 points, as well as to EYFS and Year 2 for 100% attendance in the infants and Year 3 for an excellent 99.3% in the juniors. Mrs Ham shared the fantastic news that we had 100% attendance across the whole school on Tuesday. We also celebrated the achievements of our pupils beyond the classroom—well done to Mason for swimming 5m, Chester for earning ‘Player of the Week’ as a goalkeeper at Darwen FC, Phoebe for her wonderful dancing, Callie for her gymnastics skills, Callie and Alice for completing the Summer Reading Challenge, Grace for excelling in a recent dance competition with acro, song and dance, classical and her own choreography, Harry for achieving his yellow belt in kickboxing, Thea for being named Star of the Week in gymnastics, Scarlett for being a superstar netballer and earning Player of the Match, Willow for achieving her Puffin award in swimming and Star of the Week in gymnastics, and Eleanor for earning her Stage 4 in swimming, her recycling badge at Rainbows and completing the Summer Reading Challenge. A huge congratulations also went to our brilliant Year 4/5 Girls Football Squad for their outstanding performance in the Girls DPSSA Football League, and to the group of eight Year 2 children who represented our school so brilliantly in the Key Stage 1 Multi Skills Festival. To finish our worship, Mrs Ham reminded us of the upcoming Harvest Family Service at St Barnabas Church this Sunday at 11am, and how we hope to see as many of our children there as possible for a joyful Harvest singalong. We are also proud to be supporting Year 5 and the Rotakids in their campaign to collect as many shoeboxes as possible filled with essentials for local refugees and The Bishop's Harvest Appeal 2025—please see Class Dojo for further information.
Harvest Appeal
This morning we launched our Harvest Appeal for this year by hearing from Bishop Philip about his Pedalathon on 17th October where he will be cycling to visit and pray at a school or church in all 14 deaneries across the Diocese. We will be supporting Bishop Philip's Harvest Appeal for Christians in South Africa by joining in with his pedalathon over the next few weeks, including half term. We are encouraging our school family to cycle on bikes or scooters just like we did for the Big Lent Walk and we would love for you to send your photos in and the distance. Donations can be made on parent pay shortly. Our RotaKids are also supporting Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise (DARE) and Darwen Rotary this Harvest by creating Winter Warmer boxes filled with toiletries, packets or tins of food and warm clothing for DARE families, the elderly, isolated, poor and vulnerable people in our community . They are also collecting winter coats for the homeless and poor through Darwen Rotary club. Please send in any donations and thank you in advance for your generosity. We then sang some of our Harvest songs for our Church Harvest Festival this Sunday 12th October at 11.00am- all welcome and our school Harvest Festival on Thursday 23rd October led by our WOW group and Reception, Years 1 and 2. All welcome.
Whole School Worship - Agent Ananias
We learned about a very special mission given by God this week in worship. God directed Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to heal Saul of his blindness and baptise him. Despite Ananias's fear due to Saul's reputation as a persecutor of Christians, he obeyed the Lord's assurance that Saul was a "chosen instrument". Ananias laid hands on Saul, restoring his sight, and then baptised him, marking his dramatic conversion from persecutor to the apostle Paul, a key figure in spreading Christianity. We reflected on what we learned from the story and the children shared their thoughts, including that we should trust God’s choices, and that everyone has the ability to change.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we took a moment to reflect on what has been a busy and wonderful third week of school. Our week began with a focus on God’s Big Story in Whole School Worships, where we came together to deepen our understanding. Year 6 had a fantastic time creating artwork in the Darwen Town Centre, while Years 3, 4, and 6 took part in a Let’s Go Sing Choir workshop, which has inspired even more children to sign up for our school choir. Year 5 enjoyed a Move and Learn session with BwD, and our entire school embraced the excitement of the new clubs that started this week, including Foodie Friends, Football, Fred & Pearl Craft Club, Choir, Netball, and Forest Schools. We also took time to celebrate our individual value award winners, with a huge well done to Zachary and Hollie in KS1, and Eva, Emily, Jack, and Elsie in KS2, for their dedication across the curriculum, their embodiment of our Barney’s 4Bs and Christian Values, and for spreading joy throughout the school. In addition, we were pleased to award India Mill as our Value Award winners for the second consecutive week, and Year 6 as the winners in KS2 with 100% attendance, while Reception and Year 1 in EYFS and KS1 earned recognition with a fantastic 99.3% attendance. Next, we celebrated our out-of-school achievers, including Albie for earning his 5m and 10m swimming certificates, Evie for her bravery in attending Rainbows for the first time, Alice for being awarded Cheerleader of the Week, Peyton for winning Star of the Week at gymnastics, Grace for achieving a highly commended in her recent acro exam, Charlie for being named Student of the Week at Junior Dragons Martial Arts Club, Ava for being awarded Squirrel of the Week, Mason for being runner-up in a recent darts tournament, Lyla for receiving a certificate of excellence for her gymnastics and acro talent, and Annabel for being named Star of the Week at her dance school. Finally, we ended our worship with some heartfelt prayers from Mason, Ella, and Zachary, who prayed for those affected by war and conflict, for those suffering from illnesses, and for those who don’t have enough food—especially as Harvest approaches. We also sang “Our God is a Great Big God.” A quick reminder from Mrs. Ham: Next Friday, September 26th, we’ll be hosting the Macmillan Coffee Morning. All donations will be greatly appreciated.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning marked our second celebration worship of the new academic year, and what an incredible week it has been! A definite highlight was the fantastic "Treasure Island" production by M&M Productions, which truly captivated our entire school. We've also enjoyed settling into our new classes, launching into new curriculums, and electing our Smart School Councillors and Well-being Warriors. We then had the pleasure of congratulating our amazing Value Award winners for this week. These children have made a fantastic start to the new academic year by consistently demonstrating Barney's 4Bs and our Christian Values, alongside working incredibly hard across the curriculum. A huge well done to Evie and Alice in KS1, and to Charlie, Scarlett, Daisy, and Brodie in KS2! We also celebrated some wonderful out-of-school achievements: Alayna for achieving grade excellence in her recent acro exam, Maggie for earning Star of the Week for super effort at gymnastics, Haydn for demonstrating great skill and sportsmanship at a holiday sports club, earning him a huge trophy!, Hendrix for achieving Squirrel of the Week, Scarlett for her impressive achievements in Netball, Sofia for earning a distinction, the highest possible grade, in musical theatre, Annabel for being a superstar on her first day at Brownies, Samuel for showing fantastic courage in his swimming lessons, Thea for being a super Rainbow and attending the Rainbows fun day, Mikey for swimming 10m, Ava for being awarded her builders badge at Squirrels, and Eleanor and Olivia for being super creative at Rainbows this week. Additionally, we recognised Reception and Year 4 for achieving our amazing attendance award this week! Well done to Reception with an impressive 99.6% and Year 4 with 98.6%. Mrs. Ham then shared some exciting events for next week: Years 3, 4, and 6 will participate in a ‘Let’s Go Sing’ concert on Monday, Year 5 will enjoy a Move and Learn session with Blackburn Rovers, and a reminder that Wednesday is School Photograph Day and we will also have our Meet the Teacher sessions. We concluded our worship with special prayers from Harry, Minnie, and Harry, who encouraged us to show respect, spread positivity at school, and consider those less fortunate, such as those without easy access to clean water. We then shared the Grace and had a lively sing-along to ‘We Can Make a Difference.’
Treasure Island Production
Today, the whole school was treated to an exciting M&M production of Treasure Island. The performance was full of energy, humour and adventure, bringing Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale to life on stage. The children were captivated by the colourful characters, dramatic scenes and lively songs. It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to experience live theatre and share in the magic of storytelling together.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, in our first celebration of the new academic year, we began by reflecting on a fantastic first week back at school. Over the past few days, we have revisited our Barney’s 4Bs and our Christian Values, warmly welcomed our new Reception starters, and transitioned smoothly into our new classes. We then turned our attention to celebrating some incredible out-of-school achievements. Well done to Ava for earning her 10m and Stage 3 swimming certificates, Grace for collecting multiple medals in ballet, song and dance, and acro, and Willow for being named Star of the Week at Gymfinity Kids for her outstanding skill. Congratulations also to Mollie, Samuel, and Olivia for their hard work completing the BwD Summer Reading Challenge, Lyla for her medals and trophy in improvised and commercial dance, and Callie for her exceptional achievements in gymnastics, Stage 6 swimming, and earning her dragon belt in Jiu-Jitsu. We also applauded Phoebe for her 5m swimming certificate, Charlie for helping his football team secure 2nd place in a recent tournament and winning the Manager’s Cup, and Hendrix for earning numerous badges at Squirrels. A big congratulations to Year 2 and Year 5 for winning this week’s attendance awards—Year 2 achieved an incredible 100% attendance, and Year 5 closely followed with 98.8%. Mrs Ham then shared some exciting upcoming events to look forward to: the whole-school production of Treasure Island on Tuesday 9th September, a ‘Let’s Go Sing’ workshop for Years 4, 5, and 6 on Monday 15th September aimed at boosting choir participation, our ‘Meet the Teacher’ meetings on Wednesday 17th September, our annual Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 26th September, and a ‘Stay and Play’ morning on Thursday 2nd October for children due to start school in September 2026. We ended our worship with heartfelt prayers from Renee, James, and Mason, who prayed for kindness and for all those suffering from illness or living amidst war and conflict and a singalong to ‘Shine From the Inside Out.’ Thank you to everyone who joined us this week—we look forward to welcoming more of our school family to Friday Celebration Worship in the coming weeks.