Year 6 - NSPCC
Year 6 enjoyed their NSPCC talk, which focused on the importance of speaking out and staying safe. The session reminded the children about Childline and how it can support them if they are worried or need someone to talk to. Through discussion and clear, age-appropriate examples, the children learned about trusted adults, personal safety and where to seek help. The talk provided an important opportunity for children to ask questions and deepen their understanding of keeping themselves and others safe.
Year 5 - Speak Out with the NSPCC
Jan from the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) visited Year 5 today about the different types of abuse that children may experience. The class talked about how to identify when abuse might happen, including the differences between bullying and cyberbullying. The key message about staying safe was to speak out to trusted adults about any concerns that children may have alongside using the Childline website and phone number 0800 1111.
Reception: Muddy Monday
Today is known as Blue Monday, but our Reception class decided to rename it "Happy Monday" by participating in the five steps to wellbeing. The children focused on being active and taking notice of our special world. During their walk, they were mesmerised by the fog and gave thanks for the birds, insects, dogs, and trees. They returned to school excited to share what they had observed with their peers during "snack and chat." If you are feeling a bit low today, we encourage you to try going for a walk and taking a moment to appreciate the world around you.
Doodle and Dance Club
This week our EYFS and KS1 club learnt to follow instructions to draw different pictures such as butterflies, robots and elephants. The children tried really hard and Mrs Wilkinson was very impressed. We then danced to Waka Waka and completed a Super Mario dancing challenge. We are all looking forward to next week.
Whole School Worship - Kindness
We welcomed a visitor into school this morning who spoke to us all about what activities the children can take part in if they join Cubs or Beavers. Our visitor was a representative from the Whitehall Park division and the children agreed it sounded great fun! We then celebrated through song with some songs thinking about kindness, kindness to others, kindness to our word and kindness to ourselves.
Year 2 NSPCC visit - Speak Out. Stay Safe.
In Year 2, we had a visit from the NSPCC. We learned more about safe adults (both in school and out of school), what we can do if we are upset or worried and how to contact Childline.
Year 1 English: Innovating Settings
Year 1 started to innovate settings based on We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. We changed the original settings to either a candy land, rainforest, hill, volcano, beach or swamp. They then had to think of adjectives to describe their setting for their own story. Next, we will need to think of sounds each setting would make, for example “sticky crunch” for the candy land. It was lovely to hear Year 1’s imaginative ideas and seeing them so excited about creating their settings.
Foodie Friends Club: Making Chocolate Brownies
This afternoon, in our Foodies Club, the children took on the challenge of baking chocolate brownies, becoming little mathematicians as they weighed out sugar, flour, butter and rich cocoa powder. The highlight of the afternoon was cracking the egg and licking the chocolate from the spoon and bowl. Some of the children were initially terrified because they had never cracked an egg before, fearing the mess or a broken shell. However, by supporting one another, every child conquered their fear, successfully whisking the eggs into the mixture. The children could not wait to take their brownies home, serving their treats with a scoop of ice cream or whipping cream.
Year 3- English-Arctic Bear Shape Poetry
Year 3 have finished writing their shape poems based on the Arctic bear. To make their writing creative and imaginative, the children applied their knowledge of word families, similes, and metaphors alongside descriptive language and expanded noun phrases. After completing their poems, the children used their "purple pens" to edit and improve their work. These final pieces demonstrate a combination of creative design and technical writing skills.
Friday Celebration Worship
We enjoyed a lovely Celebration Worship this week and it was amazing to hear about all the great things the children have achieved both in and out of school. Across school, we have started creating our Kindness Kites in classrooms as part of the 100 year celebration of Blackburn Diocese, encouraging children to recognise and celebrate acts of kindness. We have also launched several exciting clubs, including Let’s Go Sing, Foodie Friends Club, Doodle and Dance Club, and Cross Country Club. These have already been met with great enthusiasm. Mrs Wilkinson also set the children a challenge as part of the National year of reading to read at home in their favourite places and it has been wonderful to see children already sending in photographs of themselves enjoying their reading at home. Our Values Awards were presented to children who consistently demonstrate our school values. Lily received the award in Reception, Luna in Year 1, Millie in Year 2, Roman in Year 3, Ella-Grace in Year 4, Lilly in Year 5 and Charlie in Year 6. The Pen Licence Award was presented to Arabelle in Year 4 for her excellent work and attitude to learning. This week’s team results saw River Darwen take first place, followed by Whitehall Park in second place, India Mill in third place and Darwen Tower in fourth place. Well done to all teams for showing our values throughout the week. We celebrated a wide range of sporting achievements during worship. Callie was recognised for her excellent work on the vault in gymnastics. Max was congratulated for swimming five metres. Beau completed Stage 4 in swimming and also won a football trophy for showing good turns and listening skills. Ida and Layla both won rosettes in horse riding for their mounting and dismounting skills. Hollie completed Stage 3 in swimming, while Charlie completed Stage 6 and Carmen completed Stage 7. Phoebe was awarded a rosette for taking part in a dance competition. Maggie and Hendrix both won medals for gymnastics after completing Stage 2 and Hendrix also received Star of the Week for his super listening and effort. Olivia earned a badge at Rainbows for making a present for her leader. Peyton won medals for completing Stage 4 in gymnastics. Cassius was awarded a football trophy for good listening and scoring four goals. Eleanor received a certificate for water skills and earned her sleepover badge. Scarlett was awarded a trophy for being Netball Player of the Match. Living Streets walk to school badges for December were awarded and the winning class was Reception. Well done to everyone who took part. We also celebrated birthdays this week and would like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs Gardner and Neve. Well done to Year 2 and Year 3 for their amazing attendance this week. Please remember the upcoming NSPCC Workshop, the return of Harold the Giraffe, and Reception Stay and Play on Wednesday morning. We ended our Celebration Worship with thoughtful prayers led by Charlie G, Max and Lottie and then all of our award winners got to sing My Lighthouse at the front of the hall.
Year 4 Geography - Rainforest Layers
In our Geography lesson we have been looking at the layers of a rainforest. The children identified the four layers as the forest floor, the understory, the canopy and emergent layer at the very top. Using their enquiry skills they researched the climate, plant and animal life and height of the trees at each layer.
Art - Inspired by the Rainforest
As part of our new Art unit we have been looking at the rainforest and in this lesson we strayed to look at the beginning of a design process which will lead up to creating a piece of Batik artwork. We collected images, shapes and colours to match a theme and complete our very own mood boards.