Mad Science After School Club-Cosmic Bubbles
In the final lesson for the after-school club today, our future scientists explored the final frontier. They looked at planets, stars, and crashing meteorites before the children invented and named their very own galaxies. They then used straws to blow bubbling, frothy cosmic art to represent their creations. It was a wonderfully messy and out-of-this-world way to finish a fantastic term of 'Mad Science Club'.
Year 5 PGL
🧗♂️ What an Unforgettable Adventure! 🏹 Our Year 5 students have just returned from an incredible three-day residential at PGL (and yes, for those wondering, that stands for Parents Get Lost! 😉). From the moment they arrived, the energy was electric. Over the last three days, our young adventurers threw themselves into every challenge, including: • Raft Building: Testing their teamwork (and their buoyancy!) 🌊 • Archery: Finding their inner Robin Hood 🎯 • Problem Solving: Using those brilliant brains to crack tough codes 🧩 • Survival Skills: Learning how to thrive in the great outdoors 🌲 • Climbing & The Giant Swing: Reaching new heights and facing their fears head-on! 🎢 🌟 Heart, Courage, and Community Beyond the activities, what truly blew us away was their courage and determination. Whether they were dangling from the giant swing or navigating the woods, the way they shouted words of encouragement to one another was heart-warming. They behaved brilliantly throughout the trip and were a true credit to our school. We couldn't be prouder of the resilience they showed! 🙌 A Huge Thank You This trip wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing staff. A massive thank you to Mr Mealor, Miss Lyons, and Mrs Faux for giving up their time and working around the clock to ensure the children had a safe and life-changing experience. Welcome home, Year 5! Rest up—you’ve certainly earned it. 💤✨ #Year5 #PGL #SchoolTrip #AdventureAwaits #ProudSchool #Teamwork #MakingMemories All of the photos can be found here: https://stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-5-pgl-may-2026
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Smart School Councillors Raise £163 for 'The Brain Tumour Research'.
A huge thank you to all the parents and children for your incredible support at our recent bake sale; thanks to your generosity, we successfully raised £163.00 for ' The Brain Tumour Charity'. Our Smart School Councillors did a fantastic job organising the event and helping with the baking, resulting in an impressive spread of 180 biscuits and 100 fairy cakes. These funds will make a huge difference, allowing us to pay for 10 DNA preservation tubes and provide much-needed comfort to a child following their diagnosis by sending them a Brainy Bag and a cuddly bear. We are so proud of our students hard work and grateful to our wonderful community for helping us provide this vital support.
Year 5 - PE
We continued our athletics lessons by adding sling shots to our repertoire of throws. The children had to sling a hoop as far as they could, focusing on keeping their arm straight, rotating the body and releasing at the right moment. We also carried out a sequence of three standing jumps, hops and leaps, with the children experimenting by changing their stance and motion.
Amazing Attendance Award- Top 10% Nationally
🌟 We’ve Struck Gold -Amazing Attendance Award 🌟 We have officially been honoured with another National School Attendance Award for the 2025/26 Spring Term to go with our 2025/26 Autumn Term Award. Thanks to the incredible dedication of our children and the unwavering support of you—our parents and carers—we have been ranked again in the Top 10% of all FFT primary schools in England. Excellent attendance isn't just about a certificate; it’s about ensuring our children have every opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed alongside their friends. Being in the top 10% nationally is a massive achievement and speaks volumes about the value our families place on education. 🙏 A Heartfelt Thank You 🙏 We know that getting the children up, ready, and through the gates every morning takes effort. This award belongs to you and your children just as much as it belongs to the school. Let’s keep this amazing momentum going into the Summer Term! 🚀 #StBarnabasProud #AttendanceMatters #TopTenPercent #SchoolSuccess
Year 5 - Online Safety
Year 5 discussed the ways in which it’s possible to feel lonely while online and how they can overcome these feelings. Loneliness can occur when people are unkind to you, don’t reply to messages or leave group chats. We talked about how going offline to talk to friends and family can be helpful as well as entertaining yourself by watching funny videos or listening to happy music.
Year 5 - Religious Education
This week, our Year 5 pupils showed great maturity exploring different perspectives on the nature of death. We compared the traditions of Christianity and Islam, noting how both often focus on the afterlife and the journey of the soul and how their actions are judged by God. We also looked at Humanism, where the focus is on the here and now. Many Humanists believe this is our one life, inspiring us to make a positive impact on the world today! It was wonderful to see the children discussing these deep topics with such empathy and respect. By comparing Christian, Muslim, and Humanist perspectives, we discussed the concepts of the soul and the afterlife versus a naturalistic, "one life" approach. We’re so proud of the children for their thoughtful reflections on how these beliefs shape the way people choose to live their lives. 🌟
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Bee Stinger Netball Heat Winners
This evening we took part in the Bee Stinger Netball Heats down at Darwen Vale High School. Many of Team B had never played Bee Stingers before but they worked hard and managed to come out heat winners! We are so proud of how they conducted themselves showing respect and resilience the whole way through.
River Darwen Disco
Today, River Darwen enjoyed their disco and came in their own clothes to celebrate earning the most Value Points last half term. Thank you DJ Bloomfield for hosting!
Year 5 - Computing
In this lesson, the children were introduced to the terms ‘melody’ and ‘hook’, with a focus on how hooks make songs catchy and memorable. Year 5 then used the app Garage Band to create their own hook using a range of instrumental sounds, before using this hook to write their own song.
Year 5 - PE
We continued our orienteering topic by turning our playground netball court into a map that the children had to carefully navigate. Each group was given different directions that they had to follow, with each point on the map given a number they had to record. It was another opportunity to exploit the glorious weather we have been having and it was great to watch the children work so well with each other, displaying and developing their strong talking and listening skills.
Whole School Worship - One Way Giving
In this whole school collective worship, we developed our understanding of one way giving. Our Year 6 heads and deputies began by sharing what each class did for our Hop, Skip and Jump event. Jacqui, a representative from East Lancs Hospice came to award us with participation certificates and to reveal that we raised a fantastic £357 during our event. Thank you to all our children and parents for your support. Mrs Ham then shared this week’s One Way Giving kindness kite. Three of our KS2 children volunteered to read the sections of the kite and we learned that the Bible says we should give in secret and God will reward us. After this, we watched a cartoon of the event when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Canaan. He secretly asked the servants to fill the jars with water and turned it into wine. The master of ceremonies tasted the wine and approved it to be a very good wine thinking it was provided by the groom. The groom received the praise, and only the servants and God knew that Jesus had performed this miracle. This was a great example of one way giving. Finally, Mrs Ham and Mr Bloomfield put up our new Widgit symbols, with the help of our children, on our Big Frieze to help the children understand God’s Big Story.