Friday Celebration Worship
*Celebration Worship* Today, we started our celebration worship by signing this week’s Makaton sign which was ‘How Are You?’ and we thanked everyone for their enormous generosity on the lead up to Easter. We walked 2627.6km and raised a wonderful £214 for the Big Lent Walk to help fight poverty globally and we also thanked our whole school for participating in the ‘Hop, Skip and Jump’ to raise money for East Lancs Hospice. The final amount raised will be confirmed shortly. We then reflected on our highlights in school this week. We have enjoyed learning about Earth Day- thank you Year 5 for your wonderful presentation of learning, Year 3 enjoyed a visit from author and quizmaster Jay Flynn, Reception have enjoyed a visit from the dentist and we have also enjoyed joining in with the Diocesan Year of Prayer. This week it was the 'robes of righteousness' which helped us to understand that God is always with us—surrounding us with His love, comfort, and protection. We then moved onto congratulating this week’s individual value award winners. Well done to Mikey, Alayna and Annabel in EYFS and KS1 and Harry, Carter, James and Brooke in KS2. Well done to these children for showing growth, maturity and resilience in their approach to learning by working extremely hard across the curriculum and always demonstrating our Barny’s 4Bs (being kind, safe, respectful and ready). Furthermore, we congratulated our Year 2 and Year 5 class for being our attendance winners this week with 96.9% and 98.5% attendance and Whitehall Park as our value award winners this week with a record 720 points. River Darwen have won the half term award for receiving the most values points and they will have a non-uniform day and disco next Friday. We then moved on to congratulating our out of school award winners. Well done to Ava for achieving a sleepover, swimming and adventure badge at Squirrels, Callie for achieving a medal for showing strength and technique in her amazing vault, bar, floor and beam work in a recent gymnastics competition, Beau for achieving her Stage 3 swimming certificate, Harry for being the Blackburn Eagles ‘Star of the Week’, Fletcher for being awarded ‘Beaver of the Year for 2024/25’ for being an extremely kind and respectful beaver, Lilly for achieving a super effort award during her recent Easter holiday club and making a fantastic start to her performing arts lessons at Little Voices, Annabel for wonderful projection of her voice in her singing lessons, Lyla for achieving a stage 3 award in a recent gymnastics competition, Jack for being Blackburn Eagles ‘Player of the Match’ in his first game playing for them, James for achieving his Stage 6 swimming certificate and Isabella for achieving ‘Player of the Week ‘ for her wonderful goalkeeping in a recent game playing for Little Darreners. To end our worship, Mrs Govan reminded us about an upcoming Art Competition led by Spring Value Ramblers Club to celebrate their 130th anniversary. The deadline is in 3 weeks time. Please find further information on Class Dojo. We then had a singalong to ‘Oh When the Saints Go Marching In’ for St George's Day and had some beautiful prayers from Olivia, Archie and Cici. We wish you all a lovely and restful weekend in the sunshine.
Year 3- PSHE-Celebrating Our Differences
In our PSHE lesson today, we explored the theme of celebrating what makes each of us unique. We began with a fun and interactive "stand up, sit down" activity. I read out a series of statements, such as "I prefer Velcro to shoelaces," "I like rain more than sunshine," or "I enjoy reading more than playing games online", and the children stood or stayed seated depending on whether they agreed. It was a lovely way to show that even though we’re all different, we can still learn from and enjoy each other’s perspectives. We then read the story of The Ugly Duckling and reflected on how the duckling might have felt being different from the others. This led to a discussion about the importance of kindness, understanding, and not judging someone based on how they look or what they like. To end the lesson, the children wrote kind and thoughtful things you could say to someone different from you, instead of using hurtful words. Their suggestions were creative and full of empathy. The powerful message we took away was that our differences are something to be proud of—and that we should always choose kindness.
Year 3 - Online Safety- Making Friends Online
This afternoon, Year 3 explored different scenarios where someone might think they are talking to a friend online, without realising it could be a stranger. We discussed how online interactions, especially in games or chat rooms, can sometimes feel like real friendships, even when we don’t know the person. Some children felt strongly that the people they play with online are their best friends. This opened up an important conversation about what makes a real friend, someone you see regularly, someone your parents or carers know, and someone you can trust in the real world. The children were reminded that while online games can be fun, it’s important to stay safe by never sharing personal information and always speaking to a trusted adult if something doesn’t feel right. The key message was clear: not everyone online is who they say they are, and staying safe is more important than winning a game or making a new “friend” online.
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Thank you parents and carers!
Thank you to everyone who attended parents’ evening last night. We had 92% of our parents attend, which was brilliant, especially with it being the first week back after the Easter holidays. It was lovely to welcome you back into school again and we hope you enjoyed hearing how your child has progressed since the last parents’ evening in December. Thank you for your patience when waiting for appointments and for your ongoing support. If you weren’t able to attend last night, please contact class teachers via class dojo to arrange a 5 minute phone call. A quick reminder that parents and carers are always welcome to join us for our Family Celebration Worship on Friday mornings. Refreshments will be available from 8.55am and worship will start at 9.05am. We look forward to seeing you and thank you for your continued support.
Year 3- Class Worship- The Beginning of Hope: The Empty Tomb
During our class worship today, we explored the story of the empty tomb from the Bible . The empty tomb was a huge surprise that showed everyone that even though Jesus died, he was alive again, bringing hope and joy after sadness. Following this, the children reflected on moments in their own lives when they experienced surprise and shock. Some of their suggestions included the birth of a baby cousin, the unexpected school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Isaac found out he was going to Italy for a football tournament, Naomi, when she got locked in a toilet at a play centre, Ella-Grace was invited to a Manchester United trial and when Lottie was surprised with a special birthday party. We concluded worship by sending a prayer of joy and thankfulness for Jesus coming back to life, bringing hope and new beginnings to the world.
Year 3- Maths- Squares time tables
In maths today, Year 3 explored the concept of square numbers by constructing 'square times tables visually demonstrating how specific multiplication products result in square numbers that can be arranged geometrically.
Year 3 - English-Year 3 Inspired by Author and Quizmaster Jay Flynn
Today, Year 3 enjoyed an inspiring visit from the author and celebrated Quizmaster, Jay Flynn. As part of their Biographies topic, Jay shared fascinating insights into his writing process and the content of his autobiography. He offered valuable tips to the young writers on how to craft compelling narratives, emphasising a great opening to draw readers in. The children were particularly enthralled to hear about Jay's own adventures, his significant charity work, and even his meeting with Prince William. This experience has ignited their enthusiasm as they now prepare to write their own biographies about the David Attenborough. Thank you so much Jay and thank you to Jack for telling his Dad all about our Biographies topic, leading to this special visit!
Whole School Worship- Year of Prayer
During our first whole-school worship after the Easter break, the children explored the power of prayer and how it can support us during difficult times. This week the focus for our Diocesan Year of Prayer was the 'robes of righteousness'. As part of the reflection, two children were gently wrapped in robes to symbolise that God is always with us—surrounding us with His love, comfort, and protection. This visual reminder helped the children understand that even in challenging moments, we are never alone. Through prayer and faith, we can experience hope, peace and life in all its fullness.
Amazing Attendance Winners
A huge congratulations to all of the children who received an Amazing Attendance certificate today for achieving great things by being in school for 96% of the time or over for the Autumn and Spring terms. We are so proud of you all!
Whole School Easter Service in Church
This morning, we celebrated our last day of the Spring term with a fantastic Easter church service. Our KS2 classes showcased their Easter artwork and our teachers led the service ‘’The Greatest News Event Ever” in the style of news reporters. Thank you to those who could attend and we wish you all a fantastic Easter holidays.
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Year 3- English- Generating questions for research
As part of our biographies topic, year three have been developing their research skills by generating questions about a famous celebrity. They then interviewed their friends to see if they could discover the answers using the text.
Year 3 - Class Worship-Role Models, Faith, and Online Safety
During our class worship today, we reflected on this week's story about Sir Gareth Southgate, the former England football manager, who offered advice on the qualities needed to be a good role model. He also expressed his concerns about the challenges young people face online and the importance of having positive influences in their lives. We connected this to the roles of Head and Deputy in school, discussing how vital it is for leaders to demonstrate our school's Four Bs and uphold our Christian values. The children shared thoughtful ideas about what it means to be a good role model and how we can lead by example. We then explored what the Bible says about role models, focusing on how Jesus is our role model and he sets an example of how to live a life of love, kindness, and compassion. This conversation is also linked to online safety, with a discussion around Instagram. It was encouraging to hear that most children weren’t familiar with the platform. Cassidy read a prayer, thanking God for sending Jesus to guide us and show us what true love and compassion look like.