Celebration Worship
We had another incredibly busy and exciting week in school with lots to celebrate across all year groups. Year 6 worked tremendously hard throughout SATs week and showed fantastic resilience, determination and positivity. We were so proud of the way they approached each day, never giving up and always trying their very best. A huge thank you also goes to all of the staff who have supported Year 6 throughout their journey and helped them feel confident and prepared. At the same time, Year 5 enjoyed their residential trip to PGL, where they represented the school brilliantly. The children showed excellent teamwork, bravery and determination throughout the week and followed the 4B’s wonderfully whilst taking part in all of the activities and challenges. Yesterday, we joined Joe Wicks for a special live worship linked to Mental Health Awareness Week, reminding us all of the importance of looking after both our physical and mental wellbeing. It was also lovely to see children enjoying extra-curricular opportunities this week through Kids with Bricks club, Science club and Craft club. We would like to say a huge thank you to our School Council, who raised an amazing £163 for the Brain Tumour Charity through their fundraising efforts. We are so proud of the children for thinking of others and supporting such an important cause. This week’s Values Awards were presented to Noah in Reception, Oliver in Year 1, Ida in Year 2, Fletcher in Year 3 and Lana in Year 4. In Year 5, the whole class was recognised for showing determination and bravery during PGL and for following the 4B’s so well throughout the trip. In Year 6, the entire class received the Values Award for their incredible attitude towards SATs and for giving 100% effort all week. Our team values results this week saw India Mill finish in first place once again, followed by River Darwen in second, Whitehall Park in third and Darwen Tower in fourth. We were also delighted to celebrate many fantastic achievements from outside of school. Mason received a swimming certificate for confidently jumping into the water, while Alayna achieved her 10m swimming certificate and Max earned a badge for coming first in a swimming competition. Jonas received a Squirrels badge for adventure, while Lydia, Eleanor, Olivia, Luna, Minnie C, Thea and Evie all achieved a badge through Rainbows after attending a trip and taking part in activities such as archery. Thea was also awarded the Olivia doll for being kind and helpful. In sporting achievements, Alice received a trophy and medal for cheerleading, Cassius was named player of the match in football after scoring eight goals and Reggie received player of the week for excellent passing. Chester was awarded player of the week for showing resilience by getting back up after falling and continuing to block the ball brilliantly. Charlie received both a player of the week plaque and a manager’s player trophy for “world class saves”, while Scarlett achieved a netball medal for winning the league. Isaac proudly showed us his huge Easter Cup tennis trophy and Alessia celebrated learning to ride her bike without stabilisers. In dance and performance achievements, Poppy received a ballet bear for excellent dancing, Skye achieved star of the day at acro and Ava received medals in an acro dance competition. Erin had a fantastic competition, winning first place in individual lyrical, second place in tempo, second place in duo and also receiving a participation medal. Lyla achieved third place in lyrical at acro alongside participation and placement medals, while Darcy and Sofia received medals for their acro duet performance. We also celebrated Elijah receiving his Chief Scout’s Bronze Award, which is an excellent achievement. Our school sports teams have also had another successful week. The Year 4 tennis team represented the school brilliantly at Pleckgate Tennis Centre and came away as winners. The Bee Stinger netball team also won the heat and are through to the final, while aur larger netball squad won one game and narrowly lost another last night. Well done to Year 1 and Year 6 for achieving the highest attendance this week. We were also extremely proud to announce that our school has achieved another National School Attendance Award, placing us in the top 10% of schools nationally for attendance, an incredible achievement for our whole school community. As reminders for next week, Year 1 and Year 2 will be visiting Brockholes Nature Reserve on Monday, and Year 6 parents will be attending the London meeting on Thursday evening. We are also looking forward to Inter-House Sports next Friday and we also break up for half term on Friday. Thank you to Mrs Ham for leading us in prayer and helping us reflect on another wonderful week together. We ended on a high by singing 'Stronger'.
Year 1 Art: Tree of Life
Year 1 created some amazing tree of life sculptures inspired by Sidi Saiyyed Mosque’s own tree of life carving. They used lots of techniques such as rolling, folding, looping, scrunching and twisting with paper to create effective sculptures. They were especially proud that their sculptures stood independently and matched their original designs.
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DPSSA Netball League
Tonight Team B took part in our first evening at the DPSSA netball league. The children played really well and adjusted to lots of variations with positions. We came away with one win and one loss so onwards and upwards next week.
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History in Year 4
In our history lesson today, Year 4 explored why trading was important to the Vikings. They had to describe what the Vikings traded with, identify trading routes and find out if the Vikings should be classed as traders or raiders. We found out that traders journeyed across Europe and obtained and exchanged many different types of goods that included honey, glass, pottery vessels, metals and animal fur.
Year 1 PSHE: Taking Care Of Something
Today we thought about the word “need” and what this means. A need is a requirement or necessity for something to function. In our class, we have a giant sunflower plant and one of it’s needs is to be watered daily so it can grow. We talked about the purpose of our classroom which is to be safe and to learn inside. Our classroom also has needs so that it can function properly. We have different classroom jobs that we take turns to do such as bin monitor, lights monitor and book monitor to ensure that our classroom is able to be used appropriately.
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Whole School Assembly - Joe Wicks Mental Health Awareness Week
What a great time we have had this afternoon taking part in the Joe Wicks World Mental Health Awareness Week Assembly. The whole school took part in the worship from the warm up to 40 second on and 20 second off exercise routine. A brilliant time was had by all. What a brilliant way to support our mental and physical health!
Reception: Visit to Imagine That
Our Reception class had an incredible day at Imagine That! in Liverpool, diving into hands-on science with dry ice experiments, magical snow, and slime-making. From painting a car and crafting magnets to exploring the roleplay and creative zones, the children’s imaginations were in full swing. We are so proud of their exemplary behaviour, as they represented our school beautifully throughout this fantastic adventure!
Year 4 - Science: Volume & Amplitude
In Year 4, we are currently studying sound through our science lessons. This week, we were investigating the connection between amplitude and volume. We learned that volume is the loudness of sound and is measured in decibels, and that amplitude measures the height of the sound waves. After playing some digital simulations, we saw that when we increased the volume, the height of the sound waves increased. We then conducted an investigation into whether the height from which an object is dropped would affect the volume of the sound created on impact with the base. The children dropped a marble onto a drum from increasing heights and used a data logger to measure the volume in decibels. They recorded their results and then presented them in a line graph ready to discuss their findings.
Year 4 - PE: Sprint and Relay
This week in athletics, the Year 4 class applied the sprinting skills they have learned and developed new skills for taking part in relay races. They began with an aerobic warm up and played chase games to develop correct arm positioning for successful baton exchange. This was followed by some practice with batons, transferring them from one team mate to another as smoothly and seamlessly as possible. Their aim was to be able to pass and receive a baton whilst moving. Once the children had had a chance to develop this skill, they put it into practice through team races. They had all improved dramatically by the end of the lesson.
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Year 4 - Linking Schools: Zoom Meeting
We had the great pleasure of working with our link class at St Matthew’s again this week, on a Zoom call. During this session, we played Rock, Paper, Scissors and Acts of Kindness Charades. Both classes were very good at guessing the acts of kindness. We also listened to a retelling of the Starfish Story and joined in with the actions. The children thoroughly enjoyed the session and they are looking forward to our final preparations before visiting St Matthew’s in June.
Year 6 Junior Jam - French
This week in French, year 6 have been practising adjectives to express the reasons for their interest in a particular job. The children thought about which jobs they would/would not like to do in the future, using adjectives to explain why. They also had fun playing a few class games, trying to describe and guess each other's jobs.
Year 3- The Big Debate Club- Is it better to preserve traditions or embrace progress?
In class today, we took part in the Big Debate Club to discuss whether it is better to preserve traditions or embrace progress. Led by Harry and Charlie, the session was a fantastic showcase of oracy skills, with everyone focusing on active listening and critical thinking to weigh up both sides of the argument. The discussion explored how traditions provide us with a vital sense of identity and stability, while progress allows us to evolve and fix the mistakes of the past. We also celebrated our success in raising £163 for the big bake sale.