Goodbye and Thank you
This morning, as part of our Leavers' Worship, we took the opportunity to say some very special goodbyes. We thanked Lucy for her many years of hard work and dedication to Friends of St Barnabas, Miss Kachwalla for her seven years of commitment to our teaching team, Mr Carter for his fantastic work teaching our Year 2 class this year, and Summer, who is relocating and moving to a new school. Here is the special thank you video that some of our staff and children created to say thank you and goodbye to Miss Kachwalla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsO8FEbXHQA We are incredibly grateful for everything each of you has contributed to our school community and wish you every success and happiness as you embark on your exciting new adventures. Good luck—you will all be greatly missed!
Whole School Worship- Spreading God's Love and Sharing Our Talents
During today's whole school worship, we had a session led by Rev Ben, who signed the Holy Trinity before we began a fun balloon race to reach the finishing line, where Mason, Summer, Peyton, Arlo, Charlie, Seb, and Willow weren't allowed to use their hands at all, which was highly entertaining to watch! After that, we thought about the "race of life" and St Paul, with Rev Ben reading us the story of Paul getting shipwrecked while the children joined in by repeating the words "not at all" throughout. There was a thoughtful moment aimed right at our Year 6's too, getting them to think about their next steps with the big question, "What is your task as you leave this place?" and they had some brilliant answers, saying their tasks were to spread the word of God and Jesus, show His love, and be a good friend to anyone feeling lonely at their new secondary schools. After the children shared some of their amazing talents, we ended worship with a prayer and singing "My Lighthouse" together.
Summer Reading Challenge Assembly
Today, Jackie from the Library Service came in to talk to us about the Summer Reading Challenge. She told us about lots of exciting challenges and prizes, so look out for some more information coming home this week.
End of Year Awards and Celebration
We ended the year with pride at our annual awards ceremony, celebrating our children who have achieved great things and have been living life in all its fullness. It’s important to recognise that all of our children across school have been on an incredible journey this year and each and everyone one of them should be immensely proud of their accomplishments and the commitments they have shown to our school family. A huge well done to Our award winners this year: Reception - Star of the Year: Coban, Progress Award: Ronan, Children’s Champion: Poppy Y1 - Star of the Year: Marnie-May, Progress Award: Freddie, Children’s Champion: Albie Y2 - Star of the Year: Phoebe, Progress Award: Teddy, Children’s Champion: Joey Y3 - Star of the Year: Harry, Progress Award: Alice, Children’s Champion: Elijah Y4 Star of the Year: Finley, Progress Award: Lana, Children’s Champion: Emily Y5 - Star of the Year: Desmond, Progress Award: Miles, Children’s Champion: Olivia For our specialised awards this year, congratulations to Lottie on her acceptance of the Sharon Kay Kindness Award and Elijah for receiving the Planet Protector Award. What incredible achievements. We then excitedly announced the new roles and responsibilities for the upcoming Year 6 class. Please join us in saying well done to our new Heads, Deputies, Sports Leaders and Play Leaders for next year! Head girl: Olivia Deputy girls: Darcy and Sofia Head boy: Arlo Deputy boys: Desmond and James Sports leaders: Daisy, Alice, Eliza, Charlie, Carted, Ted. Play leaders - Alfie, Alexis, Nevaeh, Elliot, Leo, Peyton, Carmen, Miles, Layla, Heidi, Sonny, Harriet, Eliza, Daisy, Olivia. Lillie, Darcy, Sofia, James, Jack, Luke and Desmond - with more yet to be confirmed! We would also like to say a huge congratulations to our Netball team who came 2nd in the DPSSA Netball, and of course to the Overall Winners for DPSSA Witton Athletics - well done on representing our school amazingly well and your contributions to sports in school. Go Team Barnys! Lastly, we said an emotional Goodbye and Good luck to Miss Kachwalla, a valued and loved member of our school family, who is sadly relocating and leaving this year. It was clear to see what a wonderful impact Miss Kachwalla has had on our school and we thank her for the dedication, love and support she has provided to our children over the last few years. She leaves with a special place in all our hearts, but we know she will continue to shine in her next venture. Thank you Miss Kachwalla, we will miss you dearly!
Year 5 - Circus Skills
Year 5 had a special opportunity to sharpen their circus skills this week. Everyone had the chance to participate in a range of activities such as: acrobatics, stilt walking, unicycle training, feather balancing, plate spinning, rhythm gymnastics and juggling. A great time was had by all!
Year 5 - PE
In PE, we further developed our rounders skills by practising hitting the ball from a stationary position while focusing on power and accuracy. Batters attempted to carefully aim their shot to exploit gaps in the fielding team while looking at the ball and adopting an appropriate body position. The fielding team focused on being ready to catch or block the ball, working as a team to stop their opponents.
Year 5 - Science
In science, we continued our study of life cycles by considering different ways in which insects change from egg to adult. Insects with 4 life cycle stages include a pupa in which metamorphosis from juvenile to adult occurs. This includes butterflies and moths. 3 stage life cycles are different because the young insect (nymph) looks very similar to the adult and sheds its outer skin to grow (moulting), which can be found in mayflies and grasshoppers. We then went outside to model these life cycles using PE equipment.
Years 3-5 Sports Day
We were so impressed with the behaviour and mature attitudes of our junior children today at their Sports Day. They tried their absolute best and encouraged each other so brilliantly. A huge thank you to the parents and carers who came along to show their support.
Year 5 - PE
Year 5 continued to develop their rounders skills by taking part in a variety of activities aimed at promoting both underarm and overarm throws, catching, hitting the ball and positional awareness. These are all elements of the game of rounders that we are growing in both technical awareness and confidence. I was hugely impressed by the teamwork and team spirit on display. Well done Year 5!
Year 5-6 Transition
Today, our Year 5 pupils took an exciting step on their primary school journey as they transitioned into Year 6. Throughout the day, the children took part in a range of activities designed to help them reflect on who they are and the goals they want to achieve during their final year at primary school. They designed their own personalised hoodies to showcase their personalities and created aspiration jars, filling them with their hopes, ambitions and targets for the year ahead. To finish the day, the children confidently delivered their speeches as they applied for key leadership roles within the school, including Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Boy and Girl, Sports Leaders and Play Leaders. It was wonderful to see so many pupils stepping out of their comfort zones, speaking with confidence and demonstrating the qualities of future leaders. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of them and can’t wait to see them flourish in Year 6.
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Year 5 - Geography
We continued our Geography topic by exploring the physical and man-made landscapes of Greece. We looked at mountains, coast lines and rivers and considered the natural elements of the landscape and how they were formed. Then we thought about how humans have changed and utilised those landscapes through tourism, housing, commercial uses and religious practises.
Year 5 - Panda Paramedic
Today, Year 5 was visited by Panda Paramedic, a scheme to help introduce first aid training to children and normalise the use of potentially life saving interventions. The class had the opportunity to practise placing each other in the recovery position, a technique for individuals who are unconscious but breathing. Then we used first aid dolls to develop our chest compressions, ensuring they are at the correct speed and depth. We finished by applying the pads of a defibrillator and discussing where the nearest defibrillators are.