Choir Lunchtime Club
We now run Choir on Thursday Lunchtimes in the Reception classroom and have gained lots of new recruits! We were very happy to have so many new children join us across different year groups to create a bigger and more powerful choir. We are hopeful this will continue so we can arrange a summer performance to show off our amazing vocals!
Worship with Rev. Ben
Today’s worship with Rev. Ben began with a fun game where two teams raced to pass a shuttlecock around the hall and get it back to the start. This linked to the Bible story about Jesus giving us instructions to “pass it on”—just like in the game. The story focused on the Ascension—the moment when Jesus, after rising from the dead and spending time with his disciples, was taken up to heaven. Before he left, Jesus gave his disciples an important mission: to go out into the world, share his teachings, and spread the good news. He promised they would not be alone—God would send the Holy Spirit to be their helper. Even though the disciples felt unsure and a bit afraid, Jesus reassured them that he would always be with them. After the story, the children engaged in thoughtful discussions, exploring questions such as: What did Jesus ask the disciples to do? And How can you trust in Jesus’ promise to be with you, even when you don’t feel brave? Some children shared that they feel brave when they remember Jesus is with them in their hearts. Others said they can pass on kindness and love to friends and family, just like the disciples did. The worship reminded everyone that living like Jesus and sharing his message helps us experience life in all its fullness—a life filled with love, purpose and hope.
Year 3- Maths- Celebrating Square Root Day with Nira Chamberlain
Year 3 joined a live zoom session with Nira Chamberlain to celebrate square root numbers today. They enthusiastically participated in activities around calculating square numbers, showcasing fantastic engagement and a real passion for learning. They even discovered why the unique alignment that creates Square Root Day, like the upcoming May 5th, 2025, only happens a few times in a lifetime! This special day reminds us to recognise and celebrate those rare and interesting moments. A huge well done to Year 3 for their brilliant effort and enthusiastic participation. A big shoutout to Lyla who was chosen by Nira Chamberlain read out a question. ‘Who inspired you to be a mathematician . Nira told us his parents were the inspiration behind his love for maths.
Darwen Primary Schools Cross Country
This evening, Team B took part in the final night of the DPSSA Cross country at Witton park. This time it involved all of our four squads Y3/4 Girls, Y3/4 Boys, Y5/6 Girls and Y5/6Boys. We had some super impressive finish places for all squads and a Y3/4 Individual Gold for Emily and Y3/4 Individual Silver for Carter. It was a super tough course in the heat but everyone worked so hard and pushed themselves to their limit. Big shout out to all of our wonderful supporters too.
Year 3:Year of Prayer- Where Lines Led to Prayer
The children drew chalk lines and followed them on an adventure. It was a lovely reminder, as part of our year of prayer, that just like following those lines, we can trust Jesus to guide us on the right path through prayer.
Whole School Celebration-Living Life to the Full- Afternoon Tea
The afternoon tea, organised by the Smart School Council and RotaKids, was a wonderful celebration of our school family living life to the fullest. There was a lovely selection of cakes and biscuits, some homemade by the RotaKids the day before and some bought in. The children enjoyed chatting, laughing, and drinking hot chocolate together. We're thrilled to share that the event raised an impressive £256, which will go directly towards supporting our school. A huge thank you to everyone who supported the event and to all the staff who helped make it happen. A special thank you to our friends from Darwen Rotary who came along to support too. We look forward to hosting many more in the future!
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Collective Worship- Songs of Praise
As part of our focus on prayer this half term, we further explored how one way we can pray is through song. We had a joyous start to the morning singing some of our favourite songs of praise and different classes were chosen to model the singing and actions at the front. We are super proud of our Reception class for showing their Build Up song as they showed lots of courage singing in front of the whole school family. We sang Waymaker, Shine from the inside out, Build up one another, Life in all its fullness and Jesus strong and kind. Most of our favourite worship songs can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/about-us/church-and-worship#tab-5832
Whole School Worship - Exploring Prayer
Today’s worship marked the beginning of an exploration of prayer: what it is, why people pray, how, when and where they pray, and why it is an important part of faith. We started by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and signing parts using the Makaton symbols we already knew. Jesus told his disciples this prayer twice when they asked him how to pray. We watched a short video explaining that prayer is simply talking to God and that there are no specific rules when communicating with God. We also learned that he is never too busy to listen to us. The children spent time recapping some of the ways they have prayed including through the Diocesan Year of Prayer, and thinking about what they might want to tell God. We then had some quiet time to say our own prayers to God. Some children said thank you for God’s wonderful creations, some said sorry for making wrong choices, some were thankful for their family and friends and some were grateful for their homes and food. We finished by singing our special Lord’s Prayer song with our Makaton actions.
Year 3- P.E- Rugby skills
For PE this term, Year 3 are developing their skills in Rugby as part of our focus on invasion games. The children have been developing their passing skills, aiming to improve their teamwork, communication, accuracy and speed.
Year 3- Art- Developing observational skills
For Art this term, Year 3 are developing their observation skills to create their interpretations of still life. Our future Artists in the making, focused on geometric and organic shapes to recognise how artists interpret their environment, and share this through their artwork.
Year 3- Geography- Living Life to the Full-Comparing Darwen and New York
As part of our Geography topic on the United States of America, Year 3 have been investigating their local area, taking note of the physical and human features in their surroundings. During our walk, we stopped to talk with Mrs Singleton’s brother-in-law, who shared some fascinating facts about Darwen’s famous India Mill and its history. As we continued, we spotted an old tramline, a reminder of the past when trams used to travel between Blackburn and Darwen. We also noticed a boat in someone's garden, which sparked lots of excitement and curiosity! The children made some brilliant observations, noting that the streets in Darwen look much narrower compared to the wide, bustling avenues of New York. They also commented that the houses here are much smaller, and overall, Darwen feels a lot quieter and less busy than the lively streets of New York. Year 3 were living life to its fullest on this walk, embracing every opportunity to explore, learn, and wonder about the world around them. These real-world experiences will help the children when discussing the similarities and differences between Darwen and New York in class. Well done, Year 3, fantastic geographers in the making!
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Year 3- Year 0f Prayer-Seeds of New Beginnings
As part of our Year of Prayer across the Diocese, the children each planted cress seeds to represent new beginnings. They also wrote heartfelt prayers, giving thanks to God for the many signs of new life around us, from newborn lambs and blooming flowers to the start of a new school term and the joy of new friendships.