Year 6 - E-Safety - Memes
This week in Year 6, our E-Safety session focused on the dangers of memes online. The children discussed how memes can sometimes be used to spread unkind messages or misinformation and explored ways to stay safe, respectful and responsible when sharing or viewing content on the internet.
Year 6 - LBQ Maths
Today, Year 6 demonstrated excellent focus and determination during their arithmetic practice using LBQ. Pupils worked carefully through a range of challenging questions, applying their calculation strategies with increasing accuracy and confidence. It was fantastic to see such perseverance and enthusiasm.
Year 6 Learn About the Journey of Hajj with Miss Kachwalla
Today in Year 6, Miss Kachwalla taught an R.E. lesson about Hajj. As someone who has personally experienced Hajj, Miss Kachwalla shared her knowledge and reflections to help the children understand the importance of pilgrimage in Islam. The lesson began with the key question: “Why do people go on a pilgrimage?” The children shared many thoughtful responses, such as: People go to feel closer to God. It’s a way to express gratitude to God for everything He has given us. Pilgrimages help people to forgive others and start again. People go to remember important stories from their religion. It’s a special journey that helps you think about your faith. Year 6 then had an opportunity to ask Miss Kachwalla questions about her own experience. They were curious and engaged, asking things like: Why do people wear white clothes during Hajj? Why do Muslims have to go on Hajj? What happens when you get there? Miss Kachwalla explained that women have the freedom to wear any modest, loose-fitting clothing that is not white, but many still choose white or light colours for comfort and to symbolise purity. Men wear white on Hajj to symbolise equality, as the simple, unstitched cloth called Ihram removes signs of wealth and status, making everyone look the same before God. The white colour also represents purity and cleanliness, reflects the simplicity of life and death, and can offer a practical benefit by keeping the body cool in the heat. After all, it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a key act of faith and obedience to God. She described the experience as deeply spiritual, with people from all over the world coming together on the same day to worship, pray, and celebrate their shared faith. The children learned that Hajj is a joyful and humbling experience, a time of unity, reflection, and devotion. It was a truly inspiring lesson that helped the class understand the deeper meaning of pilgrimage and the strength of faith that connects people across the world.
Year 6 - Hello Yellow Day
In Year 6, we celebrated Hello Yellow Day to mark World Mental Health Day. The children wore yellow and took part in a range of fun and meaningful activities to help raise awareness about the importance of looking after our mental health.
Friday Celebration Worship and Hello Yellow Day
This morning, we enjoyed an extra special celebration worship to mark ‘Hello Yellow’ Day for World Mental Health Day. We began by exploring the range of emotions we all experience and discussed ways to lift our spirits when we're feeling down, with thoughtful suggestions like listening to favourite music, taking deep breaths, watching a funny film, reading a book, singing wholeheartedly, having a cuddle, or counting to ten. To boost our mood even further, we had a joyful singalong to Golden by K-pop and lit candles to pray for those facing mental health challenges. We then celebrated our Value Award winners across the school—well done to Coban, Reggie, Olly and Percy in EYFS and KS1, and to Harry, Olivia, Carter and Jenson in KS2—for their outstanding attitudes to learning and for consistently demonstrating our Barney’s 4Bs. Congratulations also to India Mill for being our overall Value Award winners with an impressive 979 points, as well as to EYFS and Year 2 for 100% attendance in the infants and Year 3 for an excellent 99.3% in the juniors. Mrs Ham shared the fantastic news that we had 100% attendance across the whole school on Tuesday. We also celebrated the achievements of our pupils beyond the classroom—well done to Mason for swimming 5m, Chester for earning ‘Player of the Week’ as a goalkeeper at Darwen FC, Phoebe for her wonderful dancing, Callie for her gymnastics skills, Callie and Alice for completing the Summer Reading Challenge, Grace for excelling in a recent dance competition with acro, song and dance, classical and her own choreography, Harry for achieving his yellow belt in kickboxing, Thea for being named Star of the Week in gymnastics, Scarlett for being a superstar netballer and earning Player of the Match, Willow for achieving her Puffin award in swimming and Star of the Week in gymnastics, and Eleanor for earning her Stage 4 in swimming, her recycling badge at Rainbows and completing the Summer Reading Challenge. A huge congratulations also went to our brilliant Year 4/5 Girls Football Squad for their outstanding performance in the Girls DPSSA Football League, and to the group of eight Year 2 children who represented our school so brilliantly in the Key Stage 1 Multi Skills Festival. To finish our worship, Mrs Ham reminded us of the upcoming Harvest Family Service at St Barnabas Church this Sunday at 11am, and how we hope to see as many of our children there as possible for a joyful Harvest singalong. We are also proud to be supporting Year 5 and the Rotakids in their campaign to collect as many shoeboxes as possible filled with essentials for local refugees and The Bishop's Harvest Appeal 2025—please see Class Dojo for further information.
.jpeg)
Year 6 - History
Today, Year 6 had a visit from Diana Killey, who as a child, attended St Barnabas in the 1940s. She spoke to the children about what life was like growing up during that time and shared her experiences as a child of war. Diana described her daily life and spoke about the strong sense of community that developed during those years. The children were fascinated by her stories and asked many thoughtful questions, showing great curiosity and respect for her experiences.
Year 6 Junior Jam: Music
Year 6 had a fantastic Junior Jam music lesson this week! They listened to and appraised more songs from different genres and also continued planning and practising their own song lyrics and melodies on the glockenspiels. Some children even braved performing their songs for the rest of the class.
Year 6 Obesity Blurb Visit
This week, Year 6 had a visit from the Obesity Blurb project, who spoke with the children about healthy life and eating choices. The children looked at how food is marketed to us and can influence our choices, and also how food and our levels of physical activity can affect our physical and mental health.
.jpeg)
KS2 Football Club
Today in Football Club, the children took part in a series of matches with specific challenges and restrictions, such as one-touch finishes, overloads and passing forward. These activities helped them to think strategically, improve their teamwork and develop greater control and awareness during gameplay. Everyone showed great enthusiasm and growing confidence throughout the session.
Year 6 - Smart School Council Debate
This week’s Smart School Council debate was led by the children who took part in a thoughtful discussion on whether it’s more important to learn about past Black history or present-day Black history as part of Black History Month. The children shared a range of interesting opinions, with some highlighting the importance of understanding the struggles and achievements of the past, while others felt it was just as valuable to celebrate modern black role models who are making history today. The debate encouraged everyone to think deeply about how learning from both the past and the present can inspire a more inclusive and informed future.
.jpeg)
Year 6 - Science
Today in Science, the children created simple electrical circuits to investigate which materials act as insulators and which act as conductors. They worked carefully to build their circuits and made thoughtful predictions before testing a range of everyday materials. The activity helped them develop their understanding of how electricity flows and why certain materials are used in electrical devices.
Year 6 - Hockey
This week, Year 6 began their hockey unit, focusing on developing their passing and receiving skills. The children practised maintaining control of the ball while moving, using both push and slap passes to improve accuracy and teamwork. They showed great enthusiasm and cooperation throughout the lesson as they refined their technique and built confidence with the stick and ball.