Image of Year 5 - Kindness Kites
16 Apr

Year 5 - Kindness Kites

2026 is the centenary year for the Blackburn Diocese, which includes the churches and schools in the local area. To celebrate this, everyone at St Barnabas has been thinking about kindness and the different forms that it can take. Previously the children have considered the power of saying something kind, listening and sharing while giving examples from their own lives. This week, we completed our ‘making peace’ kite and over the next two weeks we will start thinking about generosity.

Image of Year 5 - French
16 Apr

Year 5 - French

To start the new French unit of describing people, the children reviewed the verb ‘to have’ and learned how to describe eye and hair colour. We developed our written and spoken French vocabulary and put particular focus on how to construct sentences with the correct word order.

Image of Year 3- English- Exploring Rules linking it to R.E
16 Apr

Year 3- English- Exploring Rules linking it to R.E

Today we started exploring how structure helps us convey a clear message in our writing. To create interest, we watched two contrasting clips: one of a chaotic kitchen on Mother's Day and another of a young girl cooking in a calm, organised space. We are using these clips to help us write poems, thinking about how we can use different structures to show either "order" or "chaos." We also linked this to our R.E. focus on rules and laws, discussing how rules are important because they keep us safe. The children reflected on how, without laws, our streets would be full of confusion, much like the messy kitchen. Ultimately, we learned that a rule is like a promise to look after one another, providing the same structure to our lives.

Image of Whole School Worship with Rev Ben
16 Apr

Whole School Worship with Rev Ben

We had a lovely Whole School Worship this morning which was led by Rev Ben. We started with a true or false game and Rev Ben asked us some questions - Does an octopus have 5 hearts.? Do ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they are scared? Do butterflies taste things with their feet? The purpose of the story is to make us think if things are true or not? The story of Easter is true but some can’t quite believe it but it is an event in history and there is evidence to back it up. Easter shows Jesus is alive and able to forgive. If you know you are forgiven, you must forgive others. We focused on the Bible story of The Resurrection. The story told us that after Jesus died on the cross, he was buried in a tomb secured by a large stone. On Sunday, the third day, women found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty; an angel announced Jesus had risen. Jesus appeared to his disciples, proving he was alive before ascending to heaven.

Image of Year 4 English - Persuasive Texts
16 Apr

Year 4 English - Persuasive Texts

In our English session today we were looking at identifying key points in persuasive texts ( leaflets). The children had to complete a table that asked what it was persuading them to do, how the activities are described and how it persuades you to visit through devices such as exaggeration, repetition, questions, emotion and triplets. They absolutely loved looking through the leaflets that Mrs Gardner had picked up on her travels to Woolacombe from various service stations. We even had a vote on which one the children would like to visit the most!

Image of Kids with Bricks Lego Club
15 Apr

Kids with Bricks Lego Club

Before the Easter holidays, Kids with Bricks Lego club enjoyed a session based on trains. We watched our weekly video, which gave us some interesting facts about steam trains and modern trains. The children then worked either independently or in small groups to build their own trains. We really enjoyed this theme! A special well done to our Builder of the Week - Harry!

Image of Year 2 - Features of Zambia
15 Apr

Year 2 - Features of Zambia

In Year 2 we have been learning about some of the physical and human features of Zambia.

Image of Year 2 - PE - Dance
15 Apr

Year 2 - PE - Dance

Year 2 have been investigating different movements and have created sequences in paired work.

Image of Year 1 Art: Making Towers
15 Apr

Year 1 Art: Making Towers

In this lesson, Year 1 explored different ways of making towers with paper. They tried different methods such as rolling paper, folding paper, scrunching and bending paper. They have to create towers using the different techniques to understand which one was the best for a stable tower.

Image of Online Safety: App and Play Stores
15 Apr

Online Safety: App and Play Stores

With millions of apps available and children accessing them from an increasingly young age, app stores can present a range of risks. From malware and copycat apps to inappropriate content and persuasive in-app purchases, this Wake Up Wednesday guide highlights how easily young users can encounter issues – even when using official platforms. It also offers clear, practical advice to help parents and educators manage these risks. From setting up parental controls and checking app credibility to having open conversations about safe usage, the guide supports adults in building children’s awareness, encouraging safer choices and promoting more balanced, responsible app use

Image of Year 6 Junior Jam - Computing
15 Apr

Year 6 Junior Jam - Computing

In Computing, year 6 have been working on looping videos. They were tasked with using the Keynote app to create a looping video which included: a GIF, 3D art and cinemagraph. The children then watched and appraised each other's videos.

Image of Year 3- Class Worship- Building a Community of Kindness
15 Apr

Year 3- Class Worship- Building a Community of Kindness

In our class worship, we learned about the development of Barking Riverside, a brand-new town in East London designed to provide up to 20,000 new homes. We discussed how this new community will include schools, parks, and shared spaces where neighbours can show mutual respect and tolerance so that everyone feels they belong. This led to a thoughtful conversation about new children starting in our own class; we talked about how every child has the right to a safe place to live and grow, and how we can be "good neighbours" by making others feel welcomed. Evie read the school prayer, thanking God for safe homes and asking for help to treat our neighbours with kindness so that our hearts can be filled with peace. We ended worship with singing 'When I Needed a Neighbour'.