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Whole School Worship & Farewell to Mrs Norton
It is with great sadness that we are saying goodbye to our school cook of 19 years, Mrs Norton, this week. In our whole school worship we celebrated all Mrs Norton has done for us by inviting some of our children to share memories and messages of thanks. Each class made Mrs Norton a special card and Mrs Ham presented her with some gifts from our school family. We wish her well as she embarks on a new chapter. Mrs Ham also shared an update about our Harvest collections for Dare and we practised our songs for the Harvest service.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we began our worship by reflecting on what has been a busy but thoroughly enjoyable week. Mrs Ham started by thanking everyone for their wonderful efforts in raising awareness for mental health during last Friday’s Hello Yellow Day. She also expressed her appreciation to all the children who attended the Harvest Church Service at St Barnabas Church on Sunday, accompanied by Mrs Araujo, Mrs Wilkinson, and Mrs Govan. The children sang beautifully and truly gave it their all. We also recognised the many children supporting Rotakids by donating winter coats and shoeboxes filled with essentials for DARE (Darwen Asylum Refuge). Mrs Ham reminded us that we can continue to support important causes by taking part in Bishop Phillip’s Pedalathon, raising funds for Christians in South Africa by getting out on our bikes and putting in some miles. We are also still collecting Harvest donations for the local food bank and DARE. We took time to congratulate our individual Value Award winners this week: Poppy, Olivia and Skye in EYFS and KS1, and Renee, Lyla, Walter and Ruby in KS2, for consistently following Barny’s 4Bs, working incredibly hard across the curriculum, and showing great growth and maturity during their first half-term in their new classes. Our congratulations also went to our Year 2 and Year 3 classes for being this week’s attendance winners. A big well done to India Mill, who were our weekly Value Award winners with an impressive 236 points, and also our overall Value Award winners for the half-term. As a reward, they will enjoy a non-uniform day and disco — with the date to be announced shortly. We were delighted to recognise a number of pupils for their achievements outside of school this week. Well done to Jonas for settling in so well after recently joining Squirrels, and to Phoebe for earning a badge at Rainbows and always bringing positivity and laughter. Callie has been an excellent role model at martial arts, while Elijah was awarded Beaver of the Week for his enthusiasm and willingness to get involved. James impressed with his fantastic fielding in cricket, Lyla performed beautifully in her lyrical dancing, and Sofia was named Star of the Week at acro while also earning several badges at Brownies. Charlie achieved 25 metres in all swimming strokes, Olivia received her Silver Award at Rainbows, Willow showed amazing gymnastics skills, Lydia earned her Gold Award at Rainbows, and Eleanor achieved her Amazing Helper badge. We also congratulated our Year 4 pupils for representing the school so well at the Cidari Earth Conference at Blackburn Cathedral yesterday, and praised our girls' football team for their continued efforts in the DPSSA league. Finally, a reminder that next week is a four-day week due to an INSET day on Friday. We also have our Halloween Spooky Disco on Wednesday evening, organised by FOSB, and our Harvest Church Service taking place on Thursday morning. Please check Class Dojo for more details. Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!
Cross Country Trials
Today we held cross country trials for years 3-6. We had a super turn out and every single child that took part tried really hard and pushed themselves out of their comfort zones. The ground was wet which made it even harder but this didn’t deter our super stars. Well done to everyone and a big thanks to our Year 6 Marshalls and sports leaders.
Year 6 - Road Safety
Today, Year 6 took part in an informative Fire Safety talk that focused on the importance of road safety. The session helped the children understand how to keep themselves and others safe when walking, cycling or travelling near roads. They discussed the importance of wearing bright clothing, using crossings correctly and staying alert around traffic. The children also learned how the emergency services respond to road incidents and why it’s important to make sensible choices to prevent accidents. Everyone came away with valuable knowledge about how to stay safe both at school and in the wider community.
Year 6 French
In French with Junior Jam this week, Year 6 learned lots of new vocabulary linked to the furniture we have in our houses. The lesson included singing songs and lots of verbal rehearsal with a partner to help consolidate what they had learned. As an extension task, the children were also tasked with using adjectives to describe the items of furniture.
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.
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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.