Year 2 - St. Barnabas Church Visit
Year 2 visited St. Barnabas Church and Rev Ben told us all about the special items that are found in churches. He also explained that the church is not just the building but also the people who are part of the church family.
Year 2 - Panda Paramedic Visit
Year 2 have learned some important First Aid skills this week. They achieved their bronze award in First Aid. Thanks Panda Paramedic!
Whole School Worship with Bishop Philip
We were thrilled to welcome Bishop Philip into our wonderful school this week. When he arrived, the Year 6 pupils treated him to a VIP performance of one of their favourite songs from their end of year production. Bishop Philip then led a special worship in which the children helped him with a lively retelling of the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den. The children loved joining in with the actions and helping Daniel with his dilemma of whether to go against the king and continue praying to God, or to worship only the king. The children were then tasked with identifying the message in the story and they gave some thought-provoking answers about trusting in God even when it’s difficult and knowing God will look after you. Mrs Ham later took Bishop Philip on a tour of the school where he invited each class to ask questions about his role in the Diocese of Blackburn.
Year 1: Panda Paramedics
Today, Year 1 had a fantastic visit from Panda Paramedics, where we learned all about first aid and the important role of paramedics. We began by learning that paramedics drive ambulances and help people who are hurt or very unwell. We also discussed that 999 should only be called in an emergency and learned about the different emergency services that may respond, including the police, firefighters, paramedics and coastguard. We found out that when calling 999, it is important to know your location, such as your home address, so help can reach you quickly. We then explored what first aid is – helping someone or yourself in the very first instance until further help arrives. The children were reminded of the first aid skills they have previously learned, including helping someone who is choking, performing chest compressions, applying pressure to heavy bleeding and placing someone in the recovery position. We discussed how practising these skills now helps us become more confident as we grow older, while also understanding that children should always ask a trusted adult for help, such as a parent, grandparent, teacher, auntie, uncle or older sibling. We also talked about the importance of making sure we are safe before helping someone else. The children learned how to treat different injuries: For a grazed knee, they learned to wash their hands, clean the wound with water or an antiseptic wipe and apply a plaster. For a deep cut, they practised applying pressure to stop the bleeding before cleaning and bandaging the wound. They had the opportunity to practise putting on bandages, taking care not to touch the sterile dressing and wrapping the bandage securely. We also learned how to support a broken arm using a sling and enjoyed practising putting slings on each other. Finally, we discussed allergic reactions, recognising signs such as swollen lips, a rash and difficulty breathing. The children learned that these can be life-threatening and practised using an EpiPen trainer on the Panda Paramedics’ toy pandas. We are incredibly proud that Year 1 achieved their Bronze First Aid Award! The children also will bring home a worksheet about calling 999 and we have been given a story to reinforce everything they learned during this exciting and valuable session. Well done, Year 1, for your fantastic listening, enthusiasm and teamwork throughout the morning!
Year 4 - Linking Schools Visitors
It was an exciting end to our year of linking this week with St Matthew’s coming to our school to visit the Year 4 Class. We completed a number of team building activities together. Our first was building team towers using just rolled up paper and masking tape. There were some very successful structures made with strong bases and reinforced joints. In the afternoon, we headed to Whitehall Park to create pictures using natural objects. The children were tasked with creating a face to show how they feel about their year of linking.
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Year 4 - RE: Visit to Spring Vale
The Year 4 class went on a walk to Spring Vale Methodist Church to explore symbols of Christianity. After an informative introduction to Methodism from David, the children were given the opportunity to explore the church. They then shared the similarities and differences they’d spotted in comparison with St Barnabas Church. The children were also treated to a drink and a cake before they headed back to school.
Year 5 - Ancient Greece in VR
Today PrimeVR visited St Barnabas, allowing classes to experience immersive, computer generated simulations through virtual reality. Year 5 had the opportunity to travel back in time to Ancient Greece and witness the Parthenon in its original splendour and offer tribute at the statue of Athena. We also got a taste of everyday life in Ancient Greece, seeing close up how people travelled and fished.
Reception - Father's Day Stay & Play
What a fantastic afternoon we had in Reception! To celebrate Father's Day this coming Sunday, we welcomed some very special grown-ups into school for a brilliantly active 'Stay and Play' session. Our classroom and outdoor areas were buzzing with excitement as the children proudly showed their special visitors around. The children loved exploring our outdoor areas alongside their grown-ups, building, creating, and sharing their favorite daily school activities and it was clear that many of the boys had an absolute ball playing football on the MUGA together! The teamwork, laughter, and skills on display were wonderful to see. We would like to say a huge thank you to all the Dads, Grandads, and special grown-ups who took the time to join us. You made the afternoon incredibly memorable for the children. We hope all of our school families have a wonderful, relaxing Father's Day this Sunday!
Year 5 - Children’s Literature Festival
On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to walk down to Darwen Library to participate in Blackburn with Darwen’s Children’s Literature Festival. We had the privilege of talking to Sarah Surgey, author of books such as Subject Society, Jumping Hurdles and The Heavy Bag. She gave us a great insight into the process of writing and the business of publishing, before reading some of her latest book. The children asked some really interesting questions and we all enjoyed this rare opportunity to gain advice and understanding from an accomplished professional.
Year 4 - Visit to St Matthew’s
This week was the Year 4 class’s long anticipated trip to meet their link class. After a short minibus ride into Blackburn, we arrived at St Matthew’s CE Primary School to the most wonderful welcome from Doves class. We had a short getting-to-know-you session and then split up into our mixed groups. We had great fun creating handshakes, decorating friendship poems and having a picnic lunch together. We can’t wait to welcome St Matthew’s to our school next week.
Year 4 - Mosque Visit
Whilst we were visiting St Matthew’s, we had the opportunity to enhance our RE unit on places of worship by visiting the mosque next door. We had a tour of the main hall and the washroom and learned about some religious artefacts and practices that are customary to Islam. It was great for the children to see these features in real life so that they could make comparisons with the other places of worship we’ve studied this term. The imam arranged a special surprise as well, allowing all the children to choose a drink, some crisps and a chocolate bar, followed by treating them all to an ice cream from the ice cream van. All in all, I think they had a fantastic day.
Year 4 - The GULP Project - Effects of Sugar
In this week’s GULP session, the Year 4 children were learning about the effect that sugary drinks can have on our teeth. They learned how to make healthy choices when deciding how to hydrate themselves and they started an experiment to see which drinks have the worst effect on our teeth. We will find out the results next week. The second part of the session involved physical activity. The children played invasion team games and discussed tactics, giving them the opportunity to adjust their strategies in order to score the maximum points.