Year 2 - Pentecost and the Holy Spirit
Over the past few weeks, Year 2 have been exploring the stories of the Ascension and Pentecost. We had good knowledge of the events in each story, but one question seemed to remain: "What actually is the Holy Spirit?" This was a difficult and personal question for each child. I was extremely impressed with the mature responses we discussed in class. It was amazing to see the children agreeing to disagree with their opinions on what the Holy Spirit meant to them. Later, we discussed how the Holy Spirit can help us. The "Fruits of the Spirit" song suggests that if we have the Holy Spirit, we should be joyful, peaceful, gentle, and many more. We decided that by showing many of these qualities, the Holy Spirit would be shining from the inside out.
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.
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Worship with Rev. Matt
Today in worship with Rev. Matt, the children began with an engaging game involving a mystery box. Selected children had to reach inside and guess the hidden item using only their sense of touch. This fun activity led into a meaningful Bible story about effort, kindness, and being present for others. Rev. Matt shared the story of a woman named Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, who lived in the town of Joppa. Tabitha was known for always doing good and helping those in need — especially widows and the poor. She spent her time sewing clothes for people in her community and showing love through her actions. Sadly, Tabitha became very ill and died. Her friends were heartbroken and sent for Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples. When Peter arrived, he prayed for her — and miraculously, she came back to life! This amazing moment reminded everyone that the good we do for others matters, and that God sees and values our efforts. The story encouraged the children to think about how they can show kindness and be a positive presence in the lives of others, just like Tabitha.
Pupil’s RE Conference 2025
This week, two of our wonderful Worship Our Way (W.O.W. ) group members accompanied Mrs Araujo to the Foxfields Country Club for the pupil’s RE conference. The day was filled with imagination and play, developing some deep concepts using Lego models. The children learned how to represent their ideas using Lego, and how to listen inquisitively to generate discovery questions. The girls enjoyed having the freedom to express their ideas in a calm and positive environment. I think they enjoyed the buffet lunch too!
BwD Schools Bee Stinger Netball Champions
After taking part in the heats a few weeks ago Team B played in the Blackburn with Darwen Bee Stinger Netball finals tonight at St Bedes. The quality of play was outstanding and every single player fought for every ball and really performed to the highest level. Five back to back wins : 6-0, 8-1, 9-0, 5-2 and 9-0 saw them crowned BwD champions for the second consecutive year, which is incredible and they will now go on to represent the Borough at the Lancashire Championships!
Whole School Worship- Your Kingdom Come
During our whole school worship, we continued looking at the special Lord's Prayer that Jesus taught us. We began by imagining what our world might look like if we were in charge for a day. The children shared thoughtful and creative ideas, such as a world filled with kindness, fairness, and care for the environment. This engaging activity led naturally into our focus on the next part of the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” We took time to reflect on what God’s kingdom should look like—a place where love, kindness and peace are present in everything we do. Together, we discussed how we can each play a part in God’s kingdom through our actions and behaving the way He would want. We then turned our attention to the concept of heaven and how it connects to this line of the Lord's prayer. The children were encouraged to share with each other their thoughts on what heaven might be like. Their ideas were rich and varied, painting pictures of a world filled with happiness, joy and light. Jesus tells us through the Lord's prayer that God wants His Kingdom to be like heaven on earth so we reflected on how we could create heaven on earth in our school each day. We had some fantastic answers such as showing kindness, respect and generosity to each other. This worship helped deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Prayer and reminded us all of the role we can play in making our world a better place, starting with small, meaningful actions in our everyday lives.
Year 2 - Year of Prayer
Today, our class worship looked at amazing people around the world doing their best to keep the world a clean place. We discussed different ways we keep the Earth clean and how we can look after our environment! We wrote a prayer asking for help to keep our planet clean and said thank you for everyone who tries their best to make the Kingdom of God a happy and clean place!
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Year 3- Class Worship - Young Inventors
Today's Picture News class worship highlighted the inspiring ingenuity of three teenagers from India who developed a salt-powered fridge to aid hospitals in rural areas lacking electricity. Reflecting on this through the lens of "windows, doors, and mirrors" in spirituality, the teenagers' story served as a "window" into the needs of others and the power of innovation. We then considered the everyday items that ease our own lives, such as the convenience of a hairdryer, the ready access to running water, and the efficiency of an air fryer. This reflection acted as a "mirror," prompting us to appreciate the impact of even simple solutions on the quality of life. Inspired by the teenagers' creativity, which we saw as an open "door" of possibility, Year 3 resolved to embark on our invention journey, recognising our potential to make a positive difference in the world. This experience connected with the Christian value of hope and the biblical message of using our creativity to serve others. Isaac led a prayer thanking God for inspiring ideas and creative minds, emphasising the importance of using our abilities to make a positive impact, even through small acts of kindness and imagination.
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VE Commemoration- Red, white and blue day
Today, our pupils and staff dressed in red, white and blue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. We came together to remember and honour those who served, and to reflect on the importance of peace and unity. As part of our celebrations, we’re supporting the Royal British Legion. If you’d like to make a donation, you can do so easily via ParentPay. Every contribution helps support veterans and their families. Thank you for helping us make this day meaningful for our school family! #VEDay80 #StBarnabasRemembers #RoyalBritishLegion #RedWhiteBlueDay
Reception: 5 Ways to Wellbeing
Our Reception class had a wonderful session focussing on wellbeing through being active, staying connected, and taking notice. The children thoroughly enjoyed their Forest Schools session, where they were actively running, exploring, and building together. This hands-on experience fostered both their physical health and their ability to stay connected as they collaborated on projects and supported each other's play. Creativity blossomed as they used "God's creations" to make art. Leaves, twigs, and pebbles became their media, encouraging appreciation for the natural world. This activity also promoted connection as they shared materials and ideas. Moments of quiet reflection helped the children practice taking notice. They listened to the birds singing, observed the beauty around them, and explored their spirituality by expressing gratitude for their environment. This encouraged mindfulness and a sense of wonder. These engaging activities provided valuable lessons in looking after their wellbeing through movement, positive relationships, and appreciating the present moment.
Reception- Year of Prayer
For this week's year of prayer the children each took a wooden spoon and wrote on a word which reflects what the children would like to pray for. We then put all the spoons in a jar in the reflection area and the children can then choose a spoon to quietly pray for the word written on it.
Random Acts of Kindness around our community
As part of our PSHE sessions we have been looking at mental health awareness, what fills our buckets and how we can spread kindness. We decided to complete random acts of kindness by sharing our kindness poems that we had written in class. Inside the poems we wrapped a hot chocolate and a biscuit for people to enjoy. It was so lovely to share these with our local community and the children were super excited to give them out. We put a smile on so many peoples faces and they really appreciated how much effort Year 4 had made. We look forward to sharing more about this in our Presentation of learning next week whilst it’s Mental Health Awareness week too !