Image of Year 1 PSHE- Life Education Visit
21 Jan

Year 1 PSHE- Life Education Visit

Today, Year 1 had a life education session with Karen and Harold the Giraffe. We learnt that there are lots of different food groups that we need to be eating to ensure that we are consuming a balanced diet. We learnt about dairy foods such as cheese and yogurts which help to make our teeth and bones strong and healthy, protein foods such as chicken, fish, beans and eggs which support muscle growth, fruits and vegetables such as peas, broccoli, peppers and bananas which provide our body with vitamins and minerals to keep us fit and healthy all over and carbohydrate foods such as pasta, cereals, rice, porridge and potatoes which are good for giving us energy. We then talked about our organs (where they are located and what are their functions). We learnt that our ribs look after our heart and lungs, our heart pumps blood around the body, our lungs help us to breathe and our stomach breaks down our food which is called digestion. We learnt that our body absorbs the ‘good stuff’ from our foods and the ‘not so good stuff’ leaves our bodies when we go to the toilet. We then had a look at a packed lunch that Harold the Giraffe had packed. We talked about how his lunch box included bread (carbohydrates), tuna (protein), cheese (dairy) and a yogurt (dairy). We agreed that it was a great lunch but it could be improved by including a portion of fruit or vegetables. Alayna, Cici and Percy then shared their ideas for a balanced lunch. Alayna said that she would have an egg sandwich, apple, banana and a yogurt, Cici said that she would have a tuna sandwich, cucumber, carrots, grated cheese and orange juice and Percy said that he would have a ham sandwich, apple, yogurt and a boiled egg. To end our session, we watched a video and explored the the friendship between Harold the Giraffe, Kiki the Kangaroo and Derek the Penguin. We learnt that we must always think through what we are about to do before we do it to make sure that there is no risk of us upsetting or hurting anyone. We also talked about the importance of sleep for resting our brains, helping our bodies to grow and rebuilding our energy. Thank you to Harold and Karen from Life Education as Year 1 thoroughly enjoyed the session and learnt lots about how to stay fit, healthy and be a good friend.

Image of Year 6 - Axe Throwing and Archery
16 Jan

Year 6 - Axe Throwing and Archery

At the end of last week, year 6 had the opportunity to take part in some alternative sports: Axe Throwing and Archery. They had a fantastic time taking part and listened attentively to the instructions they were given in order to improve their performance.

Image of Year 4 - Linking Schools: Curiosity Questions
15 Jan

Year 4 - Linking Schools: Curiosity Questions

In Year 4, we are preparing for our first online meeting with our linking class by thinking of curiosity questions. Before we can write good questions for our linking class, we needed to explore curiosity questions with each other. We played human bingo, in which we had to work in pairs to find one person to match each statement on our grid. We asked questions such as, “Are you left-handed?” and “Do you like pizza and chips?”, to get to know a bit more about each other. Then in our next session we will be considering questions for our friends at St Matthew’s.

Image of Archery and Axe Throwing Taster Session in Year 4
11 Jan

Archery and Axe Throwing Taster Session in Year 4

Today we had a special treat having a taster session for both archery and axe throwing. We learnt lots of new skills including how to handle the equipment and keep safe whilst using it. Our two coaches went through how to develop the required skills and we worked in small groups in a carousel. We had a fantastic time taking part in the taster session and look forward to understanding many more opportunities in varied sports.

Image of Year 5 - Archery and Axe Throwing
10 Jan

Year 5 - Archery and Axe Throwing

Year 5 had the exciting opportunity to participate in axe throwing and archery. The children demonstrated focus, precision, and determination as they learned new skills and challenged themselves in these thrilling activities. It was a fantastic experience that combined fun with the chance to develop coordination and confidence.

Image of Year 2 - Axe Throwing and Archery
10 Jan

Year 2 - Axe Throwing and Archery

This afternoon, Year 2 were very fortunate to be able to take part in an axe throwing and archery session from Sports Cool. The children absolutely loved throwing axes and firing their arrows at the targets.

Image of Year 3- Archery and Axe Throwing
10 Jan

Year 3- Archery and Axe Throwing

This afternoon, the children had a great time learning archery and axe throwing. In archery, they practised their stance, learned how to nock an arrow, and aimed at the target, it was great watching their skills improve with every shot. They also gave axe throwing a go, working on their accuracy and focus.

Image of KS2 Christmas Church Service
20 Dec

KS2 Christmas Church Service

This morning, we had a special Christmas Church Service led by Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 to celebrate Advent. Year 6 lit the first candle for hope and shared their hopes and dreams for the future. Leonora and Daisy shared their dream of being a teacher to inspire others in the same way that they have been inspired in their own education, Alice shared her dream of being a paediatric nurse to support children in their time of need and suffering, Matthew shared his hope of travelling the world and experiencing the awe and wonder it can offer, Oscar shared his desire to be a kind and respectful citizen as he grows into adolescence and adulthood and Jake shared the hope of being like his parents who love and care for him and inspire him every day to be kind and positive. Year 5 then showed their beautifully crafted origami doves, symbolising peace and hope. They then read their heartfelt prayers, expressing their wishes for peace. Year 4 lit the candle for joy and shared their wonderful metaphors for Jesus through artwork such as Jesus being a torch and a lighthouse. This symbolised the joy Jesus brings us. Finally, Year 3 told us about the final theme of Advent which was love. They spoke about how we are able to share love by being kind and supportive of one another and shared some examples of how Jesus showed love through the miracles that he performed. The candle for love will be lit this Sunday. To end our collective worship, Mrs Ham gave us a few moments to reflect on how we can spread hope, joy, peace and love this Christmas time. We had examples such as smiling, giving hugs and kisses, giving a high-five, making and giving someone a card, encouraging others to challenge and overcome things, letting others join in with our games and giving our friends and family the precious gift of time. She thanked all of the staff for their outstanding commitment to our school family, our parents for their fabulous support and our amazing children for being so well behaved and working so hard. We then heard from Rev Ben who shared a lovely Christmas blessing and we had the pleasure of watching our fabulous Christmas video which showcased all of the Christmas fun we have had over the last few weeks and it brought lots of joy and laughter to the whole congregation.

Image of Year 1- Visit to Whitehall Park
20 Dec

Year 1- Visit to Whitehall Park

Yesterday afternoon, Year 1 enjoyed exploring the ADVENTure Trail in the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. We looked at all of the beautiful artwork that the very talented children across our school have produced and took part in a quiz. We answered questions which made us focus on various aspects of the Nativity Story. We then had a jolly sing along! To end our trip to Whitehall Park, we enjoyed a play on the park. So much fun was had by all and it was absolutely amazing to see all the children smiling and giggling away, taking turns, working as a team and making precious memories with each other.

Image of Year 4 Adventure Art and Trail Quiz Walk
19 Dec

Year 4 Adventure Art and Trail Quiz Walk

Year 4 have had a great day today taking part in the Advent Art and Trail Quiz Walk. We walked to the Rose Garden first where we did the Advent Trail Quiz and the children worked really well to follow the clues and answer the questions. Next we walked around the garden admiring the beautiful pieces of artwork that the children from St Barnabas had completed. After that we walked to Mrs Gardner's home to enjoy hot chocolate, marshmallows and cream or a hot vimto with a side of chocolate biscuits. Finally, we walked back to the park and went on the playground before heading back to school. The children were great at showing the 4 Bs both in and out of the classroom and it was lovely to watch them all with huge smiles on their faces too.

Image of Reception: Santa Visit
18 Dec

Reception: Santa Visit

It is safe to say that all of our children are on the good list! Reception class loved their visit from Santa Claus. Thank you for their presents, we had lots of excited children. Please have a look at our gallery for more photos. https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/santa-visit-2024

Image of Church Carol Service
15 Dec

Church Carol Service

A huge well done to our choir and other volunteers from our school family who sang their little hearts out this evening, at our church carol service. It was a lovely service and we are sure that it brought everyone lots of joy. Thank you Mrs Govan for giving up her time to lead our choir. Thank you to our parents and carers who came along to support.