Year 5 - Year of Prayer
Year 5 took part in a special Year of Prayer activity, playing ‘The Floor is Lava’ while reflecting on gratitude and thankfulness. As they moved between safe spaces, they shared what they were thankful for, recognising the joy, happiness and blessings in their lives. A wonderful way to combine faith, fun and reflection!
Year 2 - Year of Prayer
Here are the last two weeks of Year 2's Year of Prayer. Both weeks, the children have written prayers for different reasons. Last week, we wrote prayers to say sorry to God. We said sorry for either something we have done or for something happening in the world we are sorry for. After we had written them, we tore them into pieces and threw them into the air. We discussed how doing this was like we were moving on and being forgiven. This week, it was time for a game of the floor is lava! Each child had to jump into a love heart with a partner. Every time this happened, we said prayers to say thank you to God. We had very thoughtful prayers including saying thank you for: fruit and vegetables, our homes, being healthy, our friends, living in a safe country and our families. It was a lovely opportunity to go into their spirituality garden and give thanks for all the amazing things on our lives.
Year 6 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! For all of the photos from the Year 6 London trip, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025
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
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Reception: The Last Supper
Reception continued their Easter learning in RE by finding out about Passover. They listened to the story of the Last Supper and roleplayed the story. The children gave thanks to God and remembered Jesus who sacrificed himself. The children drank juice and shared bread together to remember the story.
Year 4 - Class Worship: John’s Vision of Heaven
In class worship, we worshipped with Lisa, Liz and Bishop Philip at Worship Together Across the Diocese. This week’s story was taken from the final book of the Bible, in which John described his vision of heaven in detail. Bishop Philip explained John’s Vision and how Christianity is about knowing what God has planned for us, what He tells us the world will one day be like and seeking comfort and clarity in that. Following this, Year 4 spent some time thinking about what Earth will be like once God’s plan is realised, and also what heaven might look like to each of us. The children drew their ideas about heaven and gave some lovely, thoughtful explanations about their loved ones all being together and there being peace in every area of the world.
Year of Prayer and Singing Worship
This morning in our Collective Worship we took part in the year of prayer for this week, which was a prayer about emotions. We discussed with our partner all the different emoji emotions we could see and then named them. We then prayed together for people that we might know in our school or family that might be feeling some of those different emotions at the minute or those who might not be feeling very well. We then had different classes leading the singing and actions for our favourite Easter hymns and songs. What a joyous and uplifting start to the week!
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!
Worship with Rev. Matt
Today’s worship with Rev. Matt began with a test of strength. Mr. Bloomfield was challenged to rip three different objects: a piece of paper, a piece of cardboard and a curtain. While the paper and cardboard tore easily, the curtain was more challenging, highlighting its strength and resilience. This demonstration led seamlessly into the powerful moment in the Bible when the great curtain in the temple—the barrier that symbolised separation from God—was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ crucifixion. Rev. Matt then read the Bible passage describing Jesus’ sacrifice, explaining that when the curtain was torn, it was a sign of God’s deep sorrow but also a powerful symbol that, through Jesus, we are no longer separated from Him. The children reflected on the significance of this moment and how Jesus’ sacrifice allows us to live in a close relationship with God. Following this, the children considered how they could respond by living life in all its fullness. They shared ideas on how to show kindness, forgiveness and love in their daily lives, just as Jesus taught. They discussed ways to help others, make positive choices and appreciate the blessings around them. The worship ended with a moment of reflection, encouraging the children to think about how they can bring goodness into the world, strengthening their connection with God and those around them.
Year 5 - Year of Prayer
This week’s Year of Prayer focus is all about forgiveness. The children took time to reflect on their actions, writing down things they wished to be forgiven for on a scrap piece of paper. As a powerful symbol of God’s grace and mercy, they then ripped up their papers—reminding them that, through faith, they are forgiven and can move forward with a fresh start. By embracing forgiveness, the children are learning to let go of past mistakes and live life in all its fullness, just as God intends.
Whole School Worship - The Widow’s Offering
Today in our Collective Worship we acted out the Bible story of the Widow’s Offering. Mr Norris kindly acted in the role of Jesus, and we had 4 children from across Years 4 and 5 acting as the money givers. Each person acted out sharing a small portion of their wealth to charity, and then a poor widow came along and donated two coins. Jesus explained that the widow gave the most because she gave all she had. We all spent time reflecting on how we could give to others during Lent. Some ideas were we could take part in the Big Lent Walk and help to raise money for those who don't have as much food as us and we could show kindness to each other through our 40 acts of generosity such as donating our clothes and toys to charity. We said a special prayer for all of the things we are thankful for and each time Mrs Ham dropped a coin, we said Amen. We are thankful for our family, friends, pets, teachers, food, warm beds and God's creations. We finished our Worship by singing Rich in Kindness and Year 6 modelled the actions at the front.
Year 5 - Year of Prayer
As part of the Year of Prayer, Year 5 took part in this week’s prayer focus, reflecting on those who feel lonely or without friends. Using pipe cleaners, they each created a link while offering their prayers, before joining them together as a symbol of unity and togetherness.