Whole School Awards Ceremony
This morning, we had a special award ceremony to celebrate a fantastic 2023-2024 academic year here at St Barnabas. First of all, we said a huge well done to Harvey and Miss Reynolds. We thank Mrs Reynolds for the amazing support that she has given to Harvey and the rest of our school family this year and we celebrate all of the wonderful things that Harvey has achieved. We wish him lots of luck at his new school. We then moved on to our Progress Award, Star of the Year and Children’s Champion winners in Years Reception-5. We congratulated Olly in Reception, Eli in Year One, Martha in Year 2, Alfie in Year 3, Elsie in Year 4 and Betsy in Year 5 with the Progress award, Elsie in Reception, James in Year 1, Naomi in Year 2, Alice in Year 3, Declan in Year 4 and Matthew in Year 5 as the Stars of the Year and Edward in Reception, Evie in Year 1, Alfie in Year 2, Daisy in Year 3, Annabelle in Year 4 and Harry in Year 5 as the Children’s Champion. Well done to all of these children for their incredible effort this year. Mrs Gardener and Mrs Ham also presented two of our Year 4 children with special awards. We said a massive congratulations to Annabelle who won our Protecting the Planet award. This is an award that Rev David left after retiring a couple of years ago. It goes to Annabelle for her fantastic commitment to preserving the planet. They also presented the Sharon Kay Cup for Kindness to Bella for her kind, caring, loving and empathetic nature. Mrs Ham, our current Heads and Deputies and Sports Leaders then presented Harry as our new Head Boy, Hamza as our new Deputy Head Boy, Daisy as our new Head Girl and Rosie as our new Deputy Head Girl for next academic year and Matthew, Freddie, Austin, Ezmae, Brooke and Poppy as our new Sports Leaders for next academic year. Well done to all of these children for their very successful applications-we are sure that you’ll all do a fantastic job in your new roles! Mrs Ham then presented all the children in school who have achieved 96% attendance across this academic year- a huge well done to these children for their commitment to learning. Finally, the Rotakids then presented Darcy and James as the sweet jar winners. Thank you to all of our children who guessed the number of the sweets in the jars to raise money for East Lancs Hospice and well done to Darcy and James for guessing correctly. We are so proud of our whole school family for their hard work and dedication, they really have achieved great things and lived life in all its fullness.
Whitehall Park Disco
Whitehall Park team enjoyed a disco in the school hall at break time today. They received the most house points this term. The children enjoyed some sweets, danced and also played musical bumps.
Year 3- Maths- Tell the time to 5 minutes
In maths today, Year 3 focused on using analogue clocks to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes, building on their learning from Year 2. To start, the children recapped that there are 60 minutes in an hour. With this knowledge, they explored why quarters of an hour are equal to 15 minutes and why the 12 intervals around a clock face each represent 5 minutes. Partitioning the clock vertically from 12 to 6 helped the children visually recognise whether a time is past or to the hour. As in the previous lesson, the children used analogue clocks with moveable hands to physically make different times. Additionally, the children tested their partners by setting different times on their clocks and asking their partners to read the time.
Rev Ben’s Worship: Talents
Today, Rev Ben set a task for our volunteers: to carry a balloon from one side of the hall to the other without using their hands. He shared the story of Paul and the shipwreck and talked about the Christian belief that it is their task to share the good news of God and His Son, Jesus. We also considered the talents God gave us and how these talents can be used to serve God and others.
Year 3- Panda Paramedic First Aid Silver Award
This afternoon, we welcomed Dawn, a paramedic, into our Year 3 classroom to help us complete our Basic First Aid Silver Award. Dawn began by asking us how to treat a burn. While we knew to run it under cool water, our guesses for how long it should be done were way off. Dawn clarified that the burn should be cooled under running water for 20 minutes. Dawn then showed us pictures of a child with a graze, a sprained ankle, and a bump to the head. The children informed Dawn that if they have a head injury at school, their parents receive a message so their families can keep a close eye on them. Next, Dawn demonstrated how to give first aid to someone with a broken arm. We all practised putting slings on each other's arms. Though the children found it tricky at first, with practice, they got the hang of it. Dawn also asked the children how to help someone who is choking. The children knew to pat the person's back but were unsure for how long. Dawn clarified that you should strike five separate times between the person's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. The children then had a turn to practice this on a dummy. Dawn then asked the children to name the four emergency services. She was impressed that they could identify them all: Police, Fire, Ambulance, and Coastguard. She added that you can also request mountain rescue if needed. Before finishing, the children asked Dawn what inspired her to become a paramedic and how long she had been doing this work. Dawn shared that she initially wanted to be a vet but was put off by the idea of having to put animals down, which she found very upsetting. She finds her current job much better because she is always helping people and has been a paramedic for over 15 years. They worked brilliantly as a class and were awarded a certificate for their participation.
Summer Reading Challenge 2024
This morning, Angela came in to invite us all to join in with ‘The Summer Reading Challenge 2024- Marvellous Makers’. This is a national reading activity, which aims to encourage a love of reading in children and develop their literacy skills throughout the summer. To get started, drop in to either Darwen or Blackburn Library. Angela told us that once you’re enrolled, each member needs to read 6 library books (or eBooks/eAudio), with stickers or a prize being awarded for each book that is read and returned. Prizes will include origami paper and pencil crayons. Those who complete the scheme (all 6 books), will receive a medal and a certificate that they can bring into school in September and have presented in Friday celebration worship. Angela asked us why it would be amazing if we all completed the Summer Reading Challenge. Our children said that reading can help us to learn new words, increase our imagination, get us excited so our hearts will beat fast and help us to challenge our brains. We look forward to hopefully presenting lots of ‘Summer Reading Challenge’ certificates and medals in September. Extra Information To enrol, simply go to your nearest Blackburn with Darwen library and complete an application form between 1st July & 30th September. Enrolment in the scheme is free of charge, and involves children borrowing books on a library card. If your child does not yet have a library card, we would encourage you to take this opportunity to enrol them as a library member. This is a quick process, and you will simply be asked to complete and sign another form. However, those children without library cards may still join the Summer Reading Challenge, and temporary arrangements will be put in place to allow them to borrow books.
Year 3- Rock and River-
Year 3 had an amazing day at Rock and River today, participating in various challenging activities, including the low ropes course, climbing tower, airbag jump, rafted canoes, sit-on-top kayaks, paddle boards, and mega paddle boards. Despite finding the water cold, nothing stopped them from jumping in and getting wet! They had an absolute blast, demonstrating our school's Christian values by being brave and showing courage, determination, and respect throughout the day. Their behaviour and manners were so impressive that even the instructors were in awe.
Year 3- Rock and River
Year 3 had an amazing day at Rock and River today, participating in various challenging activities, including the low ropes course, climbing tower, airbag jump, rafted canoes, sit-on-top kayaks, paddle boards, and mega paddle boards. Despite finding the water cold, nothing stopped them from jumping in and getting wet! They had an absolute blast, demonstrating our school's Christian values by being brave and showing courage, determination, and respect throughout the day. Their behaviour and manners were so impressive that even the instructors were in awe.
Rev Matt’s Worship - Seeking Truth
Rev Matt shared with us the fantastic news of his recent ordination. Some of the children even helped with a little re-enactment. He explained that his duty as a Christian is to live a life of truth. We listened to the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; three men of faith who were punished for refusing to turn their backs on God in order to worship an image of the king. Rev Matt spoke about how it isn’t always easy for us to stand by our beliefs and we discussed times when this might be particularly difficult.
Witton Athletics 2024- 3rd place
A huge congratulations to our athletics squad for their super performance at Witton Athletics which gained us 3rd out of 13 Darwen schools. Medalists were: Matthew- 1st place cricket ball throw Ella- 3rd in Year 3/4 400m Sophie- 2nd Year 5/6 600m 1st- Year 5/6 Girls relay 2nd- Year 5/6 Boys relay Summer- 3rd Year 4 sprint Brooke- 3rd Year 5 sprint Freddy- 2nd Year 5 sprint A huge thank you to our parents for their support with transport and encouragement to the squad. Thank you to Mrs Gardner, Mrs Ham, Mr Bloomfield and Mr Norris for their super support.
Year 3 - Science - Plants
This week, to finish off our science topic, we compared the plants we have growing in soil with the ones in the gel and which has been easier to look after. We also put all of our knowledge together to draw a diagram and describe what a plant needs to grow nice and healthy.
Year 3 - R.E. - Interview a Christian
For R.E. this week we learnt all about what it means to be a Christian and what skills and qualities someone needs to lead by example. To do this we had an interview of a Christian, which Desmond volunteered for and gave some great answers to questions the children in the class asked. We then wrote our own job descriptions looking for a Super Christian and thought about what responsibilities they might have and what kind of characteristics they would need.