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Whole School Celebration Worship
During this week’s celebration worship, we reflected on the theme of joy this Advent, alongside the lighting of the peace and hope candles as part of our preparations for Christmas. We discussed how joy can be found in simple moments and acts of kindness, and the children were reminded of the many wonderful events that brought happiness throughout the week. These included the Rocksteady concert, where children showcased their musical talents, the magical pantomime Aladdin on Ice, the school Pantivity Production and the festive fun of the Christmas Fair. Our Values Award winners were celebrated with great applause: Harry in Reception, Molly in Year 1, Evie in Year 2, Chay in Year 3, Sofia in Year 4, Elsie in Year 5, and Poppy in Year 6. Their contributions to school life have been amazing and have been reflected in their awards. Year 1 and Year 4 were also recognised as the winners of this week’s attendance award for their commitment to being present and ready to learn. A heartfelt special thank you was given to all the children who contributed their creative talents to produce the stunning Christmas artwork now proudly displayed in the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. This beautiful display adds a festive touch to the community and each class will now take a trip to the park to admire all the children’s artwork. Prayers were shared during the worship, led by the children, who asked for peace in countries experiencing conflict and war, kindness to those without food or shelter, and blessings for everyone to have a safe, warm, and joyful Christmas. The Team Values Points results were eagerly awaited, with Darwen Tower placing fourth, India Mill third, River Darwen second, and Whitehall Park taking first place for the week. In addition, India Mill was announced as the overall half-term winner, earning a well-deserved non-uniform day and disco celebration as a reward for their hard work and teamwork throughout the term. This will take place on the last Thursday of the term. We proudly acknowledged the remarkable achievements of our children. Lydia was recognised for earning her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder badge and for taking action to make a difference, while Naomi received her Christmas badge for Brownies. Isabella celebrated swimming 5 meters, and Lyla earned a Medal with Rothwell Arts for her dedication to ballet. Marnie May was applauded for her accomplishments in tap dancing and gymnastics and Grace achieved her Bronze Award for earning multiple badges at Brownies. Olivia was named Star of the Week for her excellent performance in gymnastics and Tristen celebrated earning his blue belt in kickboxing. Scarlett shone with her Netball Shooting Award, while Oliver achieved a swimming award for swimming 5 meters. Elana was recognised for her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder and taking action and Luna was honored as Dancer of the Day. Alice and Evie were recognised as they performed beautifully in Over the Bridge and Leonora and Desmond proudly represented their swimming competition in the regionals. Well done to all for these incredible accomplishments! The worship concluded on a high note, with everyone coming together to sing joyful Christmas songs, filling the room with festive cheer.
The W.O.W. Group - Preparing Ribbon Prayers
Our WOW group had some preparing to do this week, showing the Christian value of service. Each week for the Year of Prayer, it is their job to be equip each class for the theme and introduce it in Monday worship. Next week, the theme is ribbon prayers, so the children were making sure that each class receives a selection of ribbon to use in their prayers.
Year 6 - Class Worship
This week, in our class worship, year 6 discussed what it means to feel included. We explored a new incentive from the FA to raise participation of disabled people in football and expressed how we felt about this. The overarching views were positive, but we also explained how this incentive could have happened sooner. We then linked this to school life and spoke about what it means to feel fully included. The word that epitomises this is ‘belonging‘.
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Year 5 - Peace Class Worship
During today’s class worship, Year 5 participated in this year’s Picture News Christmas campaign, focusing on the symbol of peace, which was also our focus this week our Diocesan Year of Prayer. The session began with a thoughtful discussion where the children reflected on what peace means to them, its importance in the world, and how they can actively spread it in their daily lives. Inspired by their reflections, the children then created beautifully crafted origami doves, symbolising peace and hope. Each dove was lovingly decorated with heartfelt prayers, expressing their wishes for kindness, understanding, and harmony. The activity helped the children connect deeply with the true meaning of the season, fostering a sense of unity and purpose.
Whole School Worship - Bishop Philip’s Year of Prayer Launch
The St Barnabas school family were thrilled to join a live worship with Bishop Philip this afternoon, along with nearly 60 other church schools in Blackburn Diocese. Lisa and the Bishop met us via Zoom to talk to us about prayer, why we pray and what happens to our prayers. We were fascinated to learn that Jesus knows each and every one of us, and that he hears all of our prayers. We also learned some new ways to pray. These included quiet prayers, for which we were silent and focused on just being with our thoughts, and noisy prayers, for which we shouted out our school name and our own name as loud as we could. Over the course of this academic year, we will be focusing on a new way to pray each week in whole school collective worship, and in our classrooms. We know the children will enjoy exploring prayers along with hundreds of other children across the Diocese.
Rev Matt Worship
Today, Rev Matt led a fantastic worship that focused on how we can often lose sight of things that are important. He started with a challenge that involved watching a video with a focus in mind, but in doing so, we missed some other events that occurred. This linked nicely to the story ‘God Sends Fire’ as King Ahab had lost faith in God and decided to worship a false God called Baal. To show everyone that God was the true God, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest. They had to build an altar and ask their God to set it on fire. The prophets of Baal danced and prayed all night, but nothing happened. Then, Elijah asked people to drench his altar with water. He prayed to God, and fire came down from heaven! It burned up the altar and all of the water. Everyone saw this and knew God was the true God. This story can help us remember to have faith in God, even when things are tough, and to always trust that He is in control.
The W.O.W. Group - Spirituality Mural
Our wonderful W.O.W. group would like to say thank you to everyone who sent in their recycled bottle tops. We spent our session this week starting to put our spirituality mural together. It is looking fabulous so far and we can’t wait to share it with you all once it’s in situ.
Year 6 - Hinduism Workshop
Year 6 welcomed Prags into our school today, who led them in a Hinduism workshop. She was very impressed by the children’s knowledge of pilgrimages and she then spoke in more detail about a Hinduism pilgrimage. She explained how the River Ganges is sacred to Hindus and that they believe the water washes sins away. When Prags first went on this pilgrimage, she expressed how it is an emotional event and one that she will never forget. Year 6 listened attentively and showed fantastic levels of respect.
Year 1 Class Worship- Visiting the Spiritual Garden
Today, we took our worship outside for Outdoor Classroom Day. In the Spiritual Garden, we listened to and enjoyed each other’s beautiful remembrance prayers that we have each created in class. Percy said a prayer to thank soldiers for their bravery and keeping our country safe. Ida, Thomas and Mollie followed with a prayer to say thank you for our everyday heroes such as the NHS, paramedics and charity workers and Callie ended with a prayer about remembering those who lost their homes to the Great Fire of London and all the other refugees who are having to flee their homes. We ended our time in the spiritual garden by having a few moments to ourselves whilst we walked around and took in the sights and sounds of nature.
The W.O.W. Group: Creating Viewfinders
This week, the W.O.W. Group created viewfinders to help us explore the beautiful natural patterns in our spiritual garden. Over the next couple of weeks, they will be showing the other children how to spend time exploring patterns in nature and they will develop further activities from this, such as observational drawing, describing and games.
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Whole-School Worship: Allhallowtide
In our first collective worship of the week, Mrs Ham looked at Allhallowtide through our three spirituality lenses. Lens 1 - Windows: we looked out into the world at a photograph from Bangladesh depicting Christians gathered around graves with lit candles on them and discussed our observations and ideas about what the people were doing and how they might have felt. We had some fabulous ideas such as it must be a place of worship as they could see a cross and candles like we have in our worship, that they might be praying and that they were remembering. Lens 2 - Mirrors: we learned about All Souls’ Day and reflected on how we might remember our loved ones. The children had some lovely ideas about lighting candles and going to a special place. Lens 3 - Doors: we learned about All Saints’ Day and thought carefully about how we could be like saints. The WOW group introduced our behaviour focus for this half term , which is using good manners around school, and the children immediately put these into action by saying please and thank you, holding doors for each other, and letting people past. What a fantastic start to the new half term!
WOW group Harvest Donations to DARE (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise)
Our WOW (Worship Our Way) group would like to say a huge thank you for your generous donations to DARE (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise). Patsy from DARE came to collect the donations yesterday and sent a lovely thank you message on behalf of everyone at DARE. Thank you for your kindness and generosity as your donations will really help to make a difference to the lives of others.
Year 6 - Black History Month Worship
Year 6 took part in a worship, that schools across the country joined, to celebrate ‘Black History Month’. We discussed how we can ensure that all children feel welcome in school and explored some inspirational figures. One Individual that stood out to year 6 was Ruby Bridges. She is an American civil rights activist who attended a formerly all-white school at the age of 6. Despite having to be escorted into school and jeered at daily, she battled adversity in order to get the best possible education for herself.
WOW Group- Harvest Donations
Dear parents, Harvest is almost upon us and, this year, our wonderful WOW group have chosen to support two charities. They would like to continue to support refugees in our local area through the charity D.A.R.E. (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise) and are asking for donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries and good quality clothing. Please send these into school any time over the next week (by Thursday 17th October) and we will ensure they get to D.A.R.E. More details of the second charity we have chosen will be released shortly. Thank you, Mrs Araujo :)
The WOW Group - Our Spiritual Garden
After a great deal of hard work and creativity on the part of Mr Fairbanks and the WOW Group, the new spiritual garden was launched in Tuesday’s worship. The WOW members presented the rest of the school with ideas for using the garden as intended and in a respectful manner. Unfortunately, the garden was a bit flooded due to the heavy downpour on Monday, but we are hopeful that it can be used towards the end of the week.
The W.O.W. Group - Painting the Spiritual Garden
The W.O.W. group began the exciting task of decorating our new spiritual garden today. Crown Paints kindly donated lots of paint for our project, so we took full advantage of the sunshine and began painting the wooden punctuation symbols. Just the benches, bird tables and planters to go!
Rev Ben’s Worship
In Rev Ben’s worship, we looked at what it means to describe something and we started with a challenge: Lucy, Hamza, Poppy and Isaac had to describe something to their partner without using the chosen word or actions. Rev Ben then spoke about how God describes things to us and that the Bible speaks God’s truth. The worship was concluded by the children expressing their favourite bible stories and what they feel the purpose of the Bible is today.
W.O.W. Group - Spiritual Garden
The W.O.W. group began to see all their ideas and planning coming to fruition on Wednesday when they started work on our new spiritual garden. The area had kindly been dug out by Mr Ham and so W.O.W. got to work laying the membrane and spreading stones. They will be adding to this area each week, so keep a look out for their progress.
The W.O.W. Group - Planning for our Spiritual Garden
The W.O.W. Group have been working hard on planning for our new spiritual garden. We successfully secured some funding to be able to create a peaceful area with multi sensory features and an eco friendly environment in which children can spend time on calm activities. We hope to attract local birds and insects too. Look out for ways in which you can support us to create this new area over the coming weeks.
Year 6 Class Worship
Yesterday, our class worship was led by our WOW group members Luca and Archie, who did a superb job. The focus was all about how the past can help us learn about modern life. From the past, we can learn from mistakes, the consequences of actions and how they have impacted the world, and be inspired by positive outcomes.
Year 5 - Class Worship
This week, Year 5 were treated to a child led class worship by the WOW group that discussed, can the past help us learn about modern life? The children discussed at length about how we can learn from the past and how it can inform our future. Comparing this to everyday lives, understanding that we all make mistakes but learning from them can make us a better all round person.
WOW leading Class Worship in Year 4
The WOW group led our Class Worship this morning and Year 4 really enjoyed taking an active role alongside them. The children posed various questions and asked how the past has helped us learn new things for the future and how we may have experienced life changing events. The children shared some really heart warming experiences and we closed the worship with some beautiful prayers.
Year 3- Class worship delivered by members of the 'WOW' group
Lucy, Grace and Ruby did a wonderful job delivering our class worship today. Year 3 learnt about the new study published in an archaeological journal, using evidence found in Italy, which found that Neanderthals organised their living areas and tools similarly to modern humans. The class discussed how the events and people in our past have shaped who we are. Lucy ended the worship by thanking God for all the people who have shaped and influenced the world we live in today.
The Pupils’ RE Conference 2024
Mrs Araujo and two of our W.O.W. group members enjoyed a fun-packed day at the RE conference. They met the author of the story The Dove Stone and explored the prayer themes revealed in the book. They even had the opportunity to create their own prayer stones from clay. All in all, it was a fantastic day, and our children were fantastic ambassadors for St Barnabas.
Year 5 and 6 Rose Garden Visit
This morning, year 5 and 6 visited the Rose Garden to see the art work that each year group created to represent different elements of the Easter story. The standard of work was superb across the school. Mr Bloomfield then led a quiz based on the art work that was kindly created by Mrs Araujo.
The W.O.W. Group: Messy Church
Last week, W.O.W. Group delivered a very exciting infant Messy Church on the theme of creation. They read a short story about creation and then they took the participants outside to appreciate God’s creations and create their own nature bracelets. The children were very proud of the bracelets and marvelled at all the gorgeous colours in the plant life around us.
The W.O.W. Group: Messy Church
This week was our final week of Messy Church and the W.O.W. Group have thoroughly enjoyed planning and delivering these interactive sessions. Our final week was based on creation again. The children watched a video about God creating the world and then chose, from a range of activities, to create something with a partner. All sorts of materials were available so that they could let their imaginations run wild.
The W.O.W. Group - Messy Church: Faith in Action part 2
The WOW Group Messy Church activities continued this week with the final KS2 Faith in Action session. Participants watched the story of David and Goliath and talked about how David believed in God and himself. They then chose an affirmation bookmark to decorate and take home. Next week the WOW Group will be moving on to the KS1 sessions, with a focus on creation.
The W.O.W. Group - Messy Church: Faith in Action
The W.O.W. Group have done a fantastic job in planning some exciting lunchtime Messy Church sessions. The first one was for KS2 children and the theme was “Faith in Action”. Participants had to think of someone who is their hero and make them into a superhero. They also listened to the story of Samson and his strength, and they were treated to a drink and a biscuit whilst they worked on their superheroes. The W.O.W. Group are looking forward to the second KS2 session next week.
Year 6 PSHE
In PSHE, year 6 focused on the qualities of good friends. We started by discovering that it is okay for friends to have different views and interests. We did this by presenting a series of statements and noticed that there were so many differences within our year 6 class: some agreed and some disagreed with the statements. We ended the lesson with the children explaining what they felt were the most important qualities of friendship. Not only did they have to list the quality, but justify why it is important.
WOW Group - Messy Church Planning
The WOW Group have been busy planning their lunchtime messy church sessions. This week, they were making posters to advertise the sessions and, next week, they will be explaining what they are all about in worship.
Year 3- Class Worship- Who is responsible for Antarctica?
WOW! Year 3 were amazed as they learned about drastic changes in Antarctica's weather because of melting snow and ice. Penguins are struggling to find a place to live, because plants and flowers are being replaced by ice and snow. A polar explorer named Robert Swan is extremely worried about these changes, he wants schools to encourage children to recycle more. Year 3 have volunteered to become champions of Antarctica, and they have promised to recycle more. They hope their actions will have a ripple effect on the environment and the world. We ended the class worship by thanking God for giving us the wonderful world.
Year 3- Class worship- Peace
During our class worship, the Year 3 class created a peace chain. They are hoping their peace chain travels the world and their messages of peace makes a difference.
WOW Group Worship: Respect and Tolerance
Well done to our fantastic WOW Group, who led their first whole-school worship this year today. In recognition of Inter Faith week, they talked about respecting each other’s differences and they taught us about tolerance and how we can show it to one another.
Year 3-Year 6 WOW Group Members Lead Collective Worship
Today was an exciting day for the class as Lucy, David, and Archie from the WOW group took the lead in our class worship. They guided us through a PowerPoint presentation about Guinness World Records. The children had the opportunity to share what they believe should be included in the book, as well as their dreams and goals. Lucy, David, and Archie also discussed the process involved in getting into the Guinness World Records book. It was an inspiring and thought-provoking session! Great work!
The WOW Group’s Messy Parables
This week, the W.O.W. Group finished off their Messy Parables workshops with our final two choices, The Wise and Foolish Builders and The Widow’s Offering. The children understood the stories well and had great fun making stained-glass style windows or a coin purse. Well done to all WOW members for leading exciting, engaging and thoughtful workshops.
W.O.W. Group - Messy Parables - The Unforgiving Servant
This week in the Messy Parables workshop, the children looked at the importance of forgiveness through the parable ‘The Unforgiving Servant’. They then had fun making bookmarks with a message of forgiveness. Well done to the W.O.W. Group; they are doing a fabulous job organising and delivering these workshops.
W.O.W. Group - Messy Parables - The Mustard Seed
Last week was the W.O.W. group’s first Messy Parables session. We read the Parable of the Mustard Seed, talked about how one little thought or belief can grow into something great, and made our own self-belief badges. All in all, a brilliant first session, with a few biscuits thrown in for good measure. This week, the parable is The Unforgiving Servant.
Year 3 Worship: Refugee Week
This morning, we had a very special class worship. We took part in the ‘Great Big Live Assembly’ where we went live to a refugee camp in Jordan. We learnt about the daily life in a refugee camp and listened to a Q and A, where pupils around the country asked Mohammed and Seedra questions about their lives as a refugee.
Year 4 - Recreating Church
After writing an extensive list of what all churches “need”, the children realised that actually very little was needed once we headed up to Whitehall Park to have our outdoor worship. We created a cross from fallen twigs, found a tree stump for a lectern and spent time marvelling at God’s creations all around us. We had some bible readings about Pentecost and the beginnings of the church and some lovely impromptu prayers. A very peaceful morning.
Celebration Worship
In Celebration Worship this morning, Mrs. Ham highlighted some of the wonderful key points from our GOOD Ofsted report and thanked everyone for their part in making our school a great place. We also celebrated our values winners across KS1 and KS2. India Mill came first place for the overall points of 562. Lucy and Mason received a pen licence for demonstrating an excellent standard of writing across all subjects. Mrs. Ham gave out awards to the children for taking part in extracurricular activities, this week, the children have taken part in swimming, rugby, darts, karate, brownies, gymnastic, netball, football, horse riding, and Olivia from Rainbow. Year 2 and Year 4 received the 'Amazing Attendance' alert this week. We finished our worship with prayers led by Mrs. Ham and we sang 'Shine from the Inside Out'.
Celebration Worship: King Charles III
This morning during celebration worship, we learnt all about the coronation of King Charles III, which will be happening this weekend. We spoke about some of the important things to look out for during the coronation and what it will be like when King Charles is coronated. We also spoke about some of the celebrations that are happening in Darwen this weekend, such as a street party on Monday in the town centre and a party in Whitehall Park on Sunday! We also celebrated all of our successes and achievements in school this week, such as TriKidz and our coronation picnic lunch! We finished our Worship by singing the National Anthem to the new King whilst waving our special coronation flags that our school have bought us. Our Trust have also bought us some special gifts of a commemorative coronation coin, a bookmark and sticker. Thank you Cidari Multi Academy Trust!
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Celebration Worship- Whole School
Another amazing week from everyone. We celebrated amazing attendance awards, awards for extra curricular activities such as; rugby, swimming, beavers and to Oscar for his dedication and outstanding commitment to piano lessons. Isaac was celebrated for receiving a distinction in playing the cornet from Trinity College London. The class teachers gave out value awards to the children that have worked their socks off in and out the classroom and have demonstrated our Christian Values. Whitehall Park received the most value points which put them in first place.Well done! The Year 4 class received the 'National Outdoor Learning Award' for being brave and showing great teamwork at Anderton Centre. The attendance award this week went to the Reception class and Year 4. We ended worship by singing the butterfly song and prayers led by James, Darcy, Luca and Mrs Ham. What a fabulous week. Well done everyone!
Easter Service
Rev Ben began our worship by leading us in prayer. Mrs Ham and our heads and deputies then led our Easter service 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'. We began with Palm Sunday and then moved onto the garden of Gethsemane. Our news reporters explained what happened whilst year 4 shared their artwork of the betrayal. The reporters continued with their report from Calvary hill. Year 5 shared their crucifixion artwork. When Jesus died, the earth shook. Year 3 shared their artwork whilst we sang lord of the dance. Reporters were then at the tomb where they reported that Jesus’ body has disappeared. Jesus had risen from the dead! A huge thank you to our heads and deputies for reports on the biggest news story ever to be told. Wow group led our prayers at the end of our service. Year 6 then shared their artwork whilst we sang give me oil in my lamp. Thank you to all of our wonderful parents, carers and families who came to our Easter service, it was lovely to be able to share it with you.
Year 6 Class Worship
In class worship this week, year 6 looked in more detail at the impact of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. We focused on how communities come together in times of hardship and looked in more depth at the tent schools that have been set up in the affected countries. We looked at how this story links to British Values. We discussed that British Values are like a chain and help us to become better citizens and that if everyone stuck by them, the world would be a better place; however, when the chain is broken, issues can arise.
Whole School Celebration Worship
In our Celebration Worship this morning we commemorated Year 6's trip to London, as well as the wonderful achievements of our pupils across all year groups. The class teachers gave out awards to pupils who have demonstrated our Christian values such as kindness, respect, and courage. We recognised the hard work and dedication of pupils who have excelled in various extracurricular activities, including our recent swimming gala and the Year 4 children for being brave and showing courage at Junction 4 skatepark. We also awarded the amazing attendance award to our Year 1 and Year 3 pupils, who have shown a commitment to their education and a passion for learning. Congratulations to the yellow team (Darwen Tower) for gaining a total of 317 points. This is a great achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. Well done and keep up the good work! We are incredibly proud of all our pupils and their accomplishments, and we know that they will continue to achieve great things. We want to thank Rev Ben for leading us in prayer and for reminding us of the importance of faith and community in our daily lives. To celebrate our students' achievements, we sang "Shine from the inside out," a fitting tribute to the incredible talents and hard work of our pupils.
WOW Group - Messy Church Planning
The WOW Group had plenty of ideas for a parable-themed messy church. The children have taken a parable in pairs and have started researching craft ideas and songs to put together a session in the Summer term. Keep your eyes peeled for the date coming soon.
Year 5- Class Worship- Social Influencers
During our class worship this morning, the Year 5 class explored the term ' Social Influencer' in detail. The children then came up with a list of people that they look up to and admire, such as; football player, actor, singer, golf player, darts player, BMX rider and a Diablos. We then discussed why they look up to these people in detail. I then showed the children three drinks which I had prepared earlier, In order to influence the children I made them believe that the orange juice was by far the best drink. We then took votes on which drink they would choose to drink, from apple juice, Vimto and orange juice. It was great to see that the children were not influenced by my choice because the majority of the children voted for the apple juice. We then discussed the choices we make, we can choose the people we want to listen to, be influenced by and follow. Jesus always set a good example when he told others to do something, such as to love each other, he did it himself. He asked his followers to do the right thing. Whilst influencers may guide some of our choices, It is important for us to remember both positive and negative consequences. Every child has the right to be protected from social media.
Whole School Celebration Worship
This morning during whole school celebration worship, we learnt about Epiphany and celebrated our achievements in school this week. It was lovely to hear that some of the children had used the breathing techniques that we learnt on Monday from John, the Kindness Coach's, happy tank programme over the week. Class teachers spoke about our first week back in school and how the children have settled back into our school routine brilliantly. Mrs Ham announced our amazing attendance classes of the week in KS1 and KS2. Well done Reception and Year 4! We then celebrated some fantastic sports stars, both in and outside of school!
Christmas Service at St Barnabas Church, Lead by KS2
This morning, the whole school came together for our Christmas Service at St Barnabas Church, lead by KS2. Over this term, KS2 classes have been preparing short presentations for the service, about an element of Christmas that they have been focusing on in R.E. In Year 3, the class presented pieces of artwork, focusing on the shepherd's visiting Jesus in the stable and being in the presence of God. Year 4 looked at Christingle's and created a fantastic rap, about the meaning of the Christingle and Jesus being the light of the World. Year 5 spoke about how different countries celebrate Christmas around the World. Finally, Year 6 spoke about Advent and what it means to them. Some children also shared their hopes and dreams for the future. The WOW Group also helped to lead parts of the service and we sang a selection of Christmas Carols as a whole school. Overall, we really enjoyed learning about different elements of Christmas and KS2 presented their learning brilliantly!
Whole School Celebration Worship
During celebration worship, we celebrated all of our achievements in school this week! We announced the values awards winners in every class and the attendance winners for KS1 and KS2! At the end of our worship, the youngest child in school had the special job of putting the star on the top of our tree! We also welcomed Miss Horsfall to our school family. She will be teaching in the Reception class whilst Mrs Govan is on maternity leave. Congratulations to all of our children and staff members, for another fantastic week in school!
WOW Group Preparing for Interfaith Week
In preparation for our Interfaith Week next week, the WOW (Worship Our Way) group have been labelling artefacts from different world faiths. We hope the children enjoy exploring these in the hall next week.
W.O.W. Group’s Remembrance Activities
This week, W.O.W. group designed and ran some poppy-themed activities at lunchtimes. Well done W.O.W., your activities were lovely and very well received.
Celebration Worship
This morning we had our whole school celebration worship. We celebrated all of the fantastic work that the children at St Barnabas had completed and announced our KS1 and KS2 attendance winners! Well done Year 2 and Year 5! Each class teacher presented the values award to a pupil in the class who had achieved the most values points this week. We also had some super sports achievements! Finally, Mrs Ham thanked all of the children who had entered the remembrance art competition and the heads and deputy’s spoke to the school about the remembrance shop and how we can support the poppy appeal this year.
Year 6 Class Worship
In class worship this week, year 6 have been discussing whether they think competition is a good thing and whether it helps us to achieve more. We spoke about how this links to one of our British values (Rule of Law) because of rules that take place in competitions to make it a level playing field.
Year 3 Class Worship: Pebble Prayers
This week, the WOW Group provided the class with a new idea for how to pray. In class worship, we focused on Pebble Prayers. Some of the children took turns to come to our class prayer area and complete a Pebble Prayer. The children held a pebble in their hand, whilst saying their prayer and putting the pebble into the water. Thank you to the WOW group for this lovely idea for how to pray!
Year 6 Class Worship
Year 6 have looked at how the Individual liberty of the people Pakistan has been affected because of the recent floods. They have also thought about how they can help people even when they are a long way away.
Year 2 - Class worship
Year 2 - Class worship. We prayed for all the royal family and discussed the new king. We talked about how we would make the world a better place if we were in that position.
Whole School Singing Worship led by St Barnabas Choir!
Well done to our school choir for planning and leading our whole school singing worship this morning! During choir club on Monday, the children decided on their favourite worship songs and we voted on 5 songs to sing in worship today! The school particularly enjoyed singing My Lighthouse and School Rules!
Class Worship- Year 5
Today during our class worship we discussed what 'freedom' meant to us. We looked at comments made from other people and what freedom looks like to them. In small groups they discussed whether they agreed or disagreed with anyone, and why? Some of the children felt restricted at home and school by the choices adults in their lives make for them example, how much screen-time they have, what foods they eat, what time they should be allowed a break, how long they can be out playing for etc. We discussed the importance of these restrictions and the reasons they are in place.
Messy Church
A huge well done to our fantastic WOW group on running their first event! They did an amazing job of setting up and running our Easter Messy Church. They had great fun and they hope all those who attended did too.
Meet our W.O.W. group
Here they are, our wonderful W.O.W. group, leading the way in creating fun and interactive opportunities to worship in our school. Our members are Aidan, Dominic, Harlow, Eva, Maisie, Aisha, Sienna, Lucy, Beau and Betsy.
Collective Worship led by WOW group
Today our worship was led by our WOW group who previously took suggestions from our whole school about what they enjoy about worship such as acting out and singing and incorporated these into their Easter worship. The WOW group retold the following parts of the Eater story: Good Friday, The Last Supper, The Garden of Gethsemane, The Road to Calvary, The Crucifixion and The Resurrection. Following on from this, they quizzed the whole school on questions linked to The Easter Story. For answer A, the children had to put their hands on their heads and for answer B, they had to put their hands on their shoulders. The whole school really enjoyed being quizzed on the story. We ended the worship with the whole school singing ‘Lord of the Dance.’ Thank you for a wonderful worship WOW group.
Celebration Worship
This morning in our whole school worship, we celebrated all of the amazing things that have been happening across school this week. Each class shared highlights from the week, including world book day, kindness challenges and shrove Tuesday. We also shared special prayers for Ukraine and thought about how we can help those who are most in need at the minute.
Children’s Worship Conference
Mrs Ham had the pleasure of taking two of our Worship our Way (WOW) group members to a special children’s collective worship conference today at The Foxfields Country Hotel. The children can’t wait to share the amazing worship ideas with the rest of WOW group and our school family.
Knife Angel Message
Two of our WOW (Worship our way) group members told our whole school, in Worship on Friday, about the Knife Angel. They attended a conference at Blackburn Cathedral a couple of weeks ago and learnt about angels being special messengers and they particularly focused on the special Knife Angel. It is made up of over 100,000 knives that have been used in knife crimes around the country. Many of the knives have writing calved into them which are messages asking for forgiveness to the victims and their families from the person who used the knife. The message is to try to eliminate knife crime in our local area and a knife amnesty box is next to it to encourage youngsters to surrender any weapons they may have. Most knife crimes occur by accident and it’s usually the person carrying a knife that becomes injured. Thank you to our WOW group members for delivering the important message of the Knife Angel to our school family. We hope this will discourage any of our children from carrying weapons when they are older. The Knife Angel will be at Blackburn Cathedral till 30th November if you are in the area and would like to admire it.