Friday Celebration Worship
What a brilliant first week back! We are so proud of all the children for settling back into school so sensibly, even with the excitement of the snow. We started by celebrating our values awards winners: Elara in Reception, Max in Year 1, Vienna in Year 2, Mila in Year 3, Lottie in Year 4, Carmen in Year 5 and Luca in Year 6. These children are always doing the right thing and working hard, well done! We also celebrated Olivia and Jacob in Year 4 who were awarded their pen licenses this week. A huge well done to all of our house teams this week for earning lots of value points. Darwen Tower came in 4th place, Whitehall Park came in 3rd place, River Darwen came in 2nd place and India Mill in 1st place. We had lots of Sports Awards this week. Well done to Callie for 25m in backstroke, Ralphi was awarded a swimming medal for 5m and a football certificate for courage against older players, Elijah was awarded a 200m swimming certificate, James was awarded a 100m swimming certificate, Renee was awarded a 5m swimming certificate and Carmen won a student of the year trophy in kickboxing and a swimming certificate for 100m and 50m. Additionally, Phoebe was awarded the Olivia doll from Rainbows for excellent colouring, Thea was awarded a gymnastics certificate for backwards and forwards on the bars, Reggie won player of the week in football for scoring 10 goals and finally Scarlett won player of the match in netball. Well done everyone! Our Year 5 and 6 football team also shared that they lost to St Paul’s 2-1 in their most recent football game, but still placed 5th out of 13 schools. This is a brilliant placement! Also, well done to Year 1 and 2 who the best attendance in Key Stage 1 and Year 4 in Key Stage 2. Mrs Ham also reminded us of our upcoming events: Let’s Go Sing, Stay and Play, NSPCC Speak Out and our visit from Harold the Giraffe. Finally, Charlie, Lilly and James said some beautiful prayers to end our worship. Have a restful weekend and please stay safe in the turbulent weather conditions.
KS2 DPSSA Football League
A huge well done to our St.Barnabas football team, who have competed brilliantly over the past few weeks. Finishing 5th out of 13 schools in a very competitive league is a fantastic achievement and they should be hugely proud of themselves. A huge thank you to Me Bloomfield for his coaching and to the parents and carers who came along to support!
Year 6 - Geography
Today in Geography, the children began the lesson with a diagnostic question exploring why people might choose to live in London. Using talk tokens, they practised their oracy skills by sharing ideas, listening carefully to one another and building on responses within their groups. This supported thoughtful discussion and helped pupils justify their opinions. The lesson then moved on to exploring how human activity has shaped and changed the landscape. The children examined key concepts such as urbanisation, agriculture and erosion management, considering both the positive and negative impacts humans can have on the environment. They used examples to deepen their understanding and made links to real-life locations, developing their geographical vocabulary and critical thinking skills throughout the session.
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Year 6 - NSPCC Speak out stay safe
Today, our Year 6 children watched and actively participated in the NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe virtual assembly. The session helped the children to understand the importance of speaking out if they feel worried or unsafe and reminded them that there are trusted adults and organisations who can help. The children engaged well throughout and were encouraged to ask questions and reflect on how to keep themselves and others safe. They are looking forward to learning more shortly in their NSPCC workshop.
Year 6 - Dividing Fractions
Today, Year 6 focused on applying their understanding of dividing fractions by whole numbers. The children revisited the method of placing the whole number as a fraction and using the inverse operation (multiplying by the reciprocal) to calculate the answer. They then applied this strategy to a range of increasingly challenging questions, before using their knowledge in problem-solving and reasoning tasks. This helped deepen their understanding and ensured they could explain their thinking using accurate mathematical language.
Year 6 - Netball
This week, Year 6 began their invasion games unit with a focus on netball. The children explored the core principles of effective passing and receiving, including accuracy, timing, movement into space and communication. They took part in a series of rondo-style games designed to develop quick decision-making, maintaining possession and supporting teammates. These activities helped the children to understand how to keep the ball moving under pressure and apply these skills within a game-like context.
Christmas Video 2025
Dear Parents and Carers, What a truly magical and festive end to an incredible first term at St Barnabas! As we reach the final day of this seven-week half term, I am filled with such pride reflecting on everything our school family has achieved. First and foremost, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you. Your partnership and engagement are vital to our children’s success, and your generosity this term—from the Macmillan Coffee Morning to our wonderful Christmas Fair—has been overwhelming. We are so lucky to have such a supportive community. To our children: you are quite simply wonderful. Whether you were settling into Reception for the first time, representing our school in sports, or shining on stage in our Nativity and "Christmas Cracker" performances, you have lived life in all its fullness. You have worked your socks off, and you truly deserve this rest. For photos of our Christmas fun, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo.../christmas-2025 and also see our weekly news: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/news I also want to extend a huge thank you to our fantastic staff team. Their hard work and dedication ensure our school is a love-filled Christian family where every child can thrive. I am particularly grateful for them being such brilliant sports this week; they completely threw themselves into the filming of our annual Christmas video! The children had a wonderful time spotting themselves in the video during our church service this morning. I think the definite highlight for them was seeing exactly what the teachers get up to in school between the hours of 6- 7! We truly hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONfmvpqhqag A reminder that we break up early today at 2:00 pm. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope your holiday is filled with love, laughter, and joy. We look forward to seeing everyone back, refreshed and ready for a new chapter, on Monday 5th January. Take care and God bless, Mrs. Ham
Whole School Christmas Church Service
This morning, our whole school enjoyed a joyful and reflective visit to church to celebrate the Christmas season together. During the service, children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 confidently shared the work they have been doing in class, exploring the true meaning of Christmas and the special joy, hope and kindness that Jesus brought to others. Their contributions helped everyone to pause and reflect on the importance of love, generosity and togetherness at this special time of year. We also enjoyed singing a selection of our much-loved Christmas carols, filling the church with festive cheer. A highlight was watching our whole-school Christmas video, which captured many of the wonderful activities and celebrations from the past couple of weeks. The children thoroughly enjoyed seeing themselves on screen taking part in the festivities and were especially delighted to see members of the school staff joining in and having fun. It was a warm and uplifting celebration that truly reflected the spirit of Christmas and brought our school community together. A huge thank you to Parents and to all who attended to celebrate with us. We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Year 6 - Breakfast with Mr Bloomfield
This morning, as part of the Year 6 Early Morning SATs Club, the children were delighted to enjoy a special Breakfast with Mr Bloomfield. They shared a tasty breakfast while chatting with friends and taking part in festive activities, creating a relaxed and cheerful start to the day. It was a fantastic way to celebrate their commitment and all the hard work they have put into their SATs preparation. Well done, Year 6 — we are very proud of you!
Year 6 Junior Jam - French
This week in French, year 6 recapped everything they have been learning this term. They played games and sang songs all about: members of their family, rooms and furniture in the house, days of the week and telling the time, and describing their daily routines. They also learned some interesting facts about how families in France celebrate at Christmas time and how their traditions differ to ours.
Year 6 - Christmas Party
Today, our Year 6 pupils enjoyed their Christmas party, which was filled with lots of fun and laughter. They took part in a variety of games, including musical statues, bumps, corner games and dance-offs. The room was buzzing with energy and everyone had a fantastic time celebrating together.
Year 6 - National Parks of the United Kingdom
Today, Year 6 used an atlas to explore the national parks of the UK. The children investigated where the national parks are located and discussed why tourism is such a big industry in these areas. The children also explored how the UK benefits from tourism, including job opportunities, support for local communities and the protection of natural environments.