Year 3 Welcome Blackburn Rovers for GULP Project
We are delighted to welcome Blackburn Rovers to Year 3 for a four-week programme. They are delivering the GULP (Give Up Loving Pop) campaign, a fantastic initiative by Food Active, to help our students understand the health risks associated with sugary drinks. Today, the children kicked things off by learning all about what’s really inside their favourite sodas and how to make healthier choices.
Year 3 - P.S.H.E-Derek cooks dinner! (healthy eating)
In PSHE today, Year 3 became health consultants for some very special friends! We were joined by Harold the Giraffe, Derek the Penguin, and Kiki the Kangaroo. The children received an urgent email from Derek, who needed help planning a healthy, balanced party meal. Using the 'Eatwell Guide', the children debated which foods build muscle, strengthen bones, and provide energy. They’ve sent their nutritious meal plans off to Derek, and we are now eagerly awaiting his reply to see what he thinks of their delicious and healthy idea.
Year 3 - History-From Tudors to Today: How Childhood Has Changed
Year 3 stepped into the role of historians this afternoon as we launched our new History unit! We have been exploring the similarities and differences between children's lives now and in the past. Using portraits of Tudor children as our primary sources, the pupils practised the art of observation and deduction. By observing closely what the children were wearing and playing with, our class made astute deductions about who was wealthy and how they spent their time. It was a brilliant way to see how much, and how little, life has changed over the centuries!
Christmas Video 2025
Dear Parents and Carers, What a truly magical and festive end to an incredible first term at St Barnabas! As we reach the final day of this seven-week half term, I am filled with such pride reflecting on everything our school family has achieved. First and foremost, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you. Your partnership and engagement are vital to our children’s success, and your generosity this term—from the Macmillan Coffee Morning to our wonderful Christmas Fair—has been overwhelming. We are so lucky to have such a supportive community. To our children: you are quite simply wonderful. Whether you were settling into Reception for the first time, representing our school in sports, or shining on stage in our Nativity and "Christmas Cracker" performances, you have lived life in all its fullness. You have worked your socks off, and you truly deserve this rest. For photos of our Christmas fun, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo.../christmas-2025 and also see our weekly news: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/news I also want to extend a huge thank you to our fantastic staff team. Their hard work and dedication ensure our school is a love-filled Christian family where every child can thrive. I am particularly grateful for them being such brilliant sports this week; they completely threw themselves into the filming of our annual Christmas video! The children had a wonderful time spotting themselves in the video during our church service this morning. I think the definite highlight for them was seeing exactly what the teachers get up to in school between the hours of 6- 7! We truly hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONfmvpqhqag A reminder that we break up early today at 2:00 pm. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope your holiday is filled with love, laughter, and joy. We look forward to seeing everyone back, refreshed and ready for a new chapter, on Monday 5th January. Take care and God bless, Mrs. Ham
Year 3 visit the Rose Garden
It was a lovely morning as Year 3 followed the church service with a walk to the rose garden. The children took great pride in spotting their own artwork and their siblings' pieces.
Year 3, Living Life to its Fullness- Whitehall Park
After viewing the artwork in the Rose Garden, Year 3 received a surprise treat: a visit to Whitehall Park. Joined by Year 4, the children made the most of the fresh air and sunshine before heading back to the classroom. It was a beautiful reminder of the importance of living life to its fullness, finding joy in creativity, friendship, and the world around us.
Whole School Christmas Church Service
This morning, our whole school enjoyed a joyful and reflective visit to church to celebrate the Christmas season together. During the service, children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 confidently shared the work they have been doing in class, exploring the true meaning of Christmas and the special joy, hope and kindness that Jesus brought to others. Their contributions helped everyone to pause and reflect on the importance of love, generosity and togetherness at this special time of year. We also enjoyed singing a selection of our much-loved Christmas carols, filling the church with festive cheer. A highlight was watching our whole-school Christmas video, which captured many of the wonderful activities and celebrations from the past couple of weeks. The children thoroughly enjoyed seeing themselves on screen taking part in the festivities and were especially delighted to see members of the school staff joining in and having fun. It was a warm and uplifting celebration that truly reflected the spirit of Christmas and brought our school community together. A huge thank you to Parents and to all who attended to celebrate with us. We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Year 3-Living Life in All Its Fullness- Christmas Party
What a spectacular morning! Year 3 had a brilliant time joining up with Year 4 for our big festive celebration. The hall was filled with colour as everyone showed off their wonderful festive clothes. The highlight of the day was definitely dancing to festive tunes and singing at the top of our lungs! There was so much laughter as we played exciting games together. A huge congratulations to Mila and Eli, our lucky winners of Pass the Parcel.
Year 3- 3D Christmas Cards in the making
Year 3 Elves have begun creating their 3D Christmas cards. From pop-up trees to 3D snowmen, the Elves are working so hard on their designs. We are sure our busy little Elves will finish them all in time for Christmas!
Year 3’s Young Authors levelling up their writing
We’ve just finished our class version of The Last Bear, and the writing is looking fantastic. The Year 3 authors have been busy "levelling up" their sentences by using expanded noun phrases to describe the icy Arctic and adding fronted adverbials to make their story openings really exciting. They’ve also included subordinate clauses to add extra detail and making sure their speech punctuation is great to help the characters' voices come through. They writers have used their purple pens to edit and improve every sentence. It’s been brilliant to see their work become so much more descriptive and exciting!
Whole Class Worship - Joy
This week of advent, our focus is Joy. We began by recounting the advent themes we have explored so far: Hope and Peace. Mrs Ham chose Lyla from Year 4 to come to the front to light the three advent candles and she highlighted some of the ways our school family have brought joy to others over the past few weeks. It was heartwarming to hear about some of these, including the Reception class nativity, Year 1 and Year 2’s Christmas Cracker, the choir singing at Acer Lodge care home, and Year 4 writing letters to the residents, plus all of those who have been supporting our latest charity campaigns. We reflected on what true joy looks like and how we can sometimes forget about the simple things when our minds are preoccupied with expensive gifts and the hustle and bustle of the season. Our focus was brought back to the gift God sent - his only son - and how Jesus’ incarnation was the joyous gift that changed our world forever.
Year 3 - Class Worship- A Journey of Reflection and Joy
In our class worship today, Year 3 explored the life of John the Baptist and the responsibility he was given to prepare the way for Jesus. We talked about how John had to make some big choices, turning away from his own "wants" to focus on exactly what he "needed" to be ready for the King’s arrival. To bring this into our own lives, the children shared some of the exciting things from their own Christmas wish lists. We then had a really thoughtful discussion about human needs vs. wants. This led us to a discussion about how we can prepare ourselves for the future. Instead of just thinking about money, the children suggested that being a "grown-up" means sharing kindness every day, being a helpful friend, and spreading joy to those who might be lonely. We decided that by practicing these small acts of love now, we are preparing ourselves to be the best people we can be as we grow.