M&M Production: The New Adventures of Pinocchio
Today we were very lucky to have some visitors from M & M productions who performed The New Adventures of Pinocchio for us. Pinocchio is the classic story of a wooden puppet who comes to life and learns how to be brave, honest, and unselfish to become a real boy. The performance had some fantastic added extra toys such as Peppa Pig and Labubu’s which the children found highly amusing! We enjoyed some classic Pinocchio songs like ‘ Whistle While You Work’ and ‘ When You Wish Upon a Star’ The children were absolutely captivated by the actors and loved joining in especially Eleanor who got invited up on stage. What a super way to start our first Tuesday morning back in school off. Thank you to our FOSB for helping to fund this for our children.
Year 4 Art - Exploring 3D Chalk Art
As part of our first art lesson, we have been looking at developing our ideas for 3D work through drawing and visualisation in 2D. We studied the work of Magdalene Odundo who uses clay and ceramics to create pots and vessels. Following this we sketched large pots and vases onto black sugar paper using chalk in the hall so we could make the most of the space using our whole arms to do so.
Year 4 RE - Rosh Hashana
In our RE lesson this week we looked at how Jesus was Jewish and so would have celebrated Jewish festivals to honour God. We paid particular focus to Rosh Hashana which is the Jewish New Year. The children looked at how they eat apples dipped in honey for a sweet year and then created prayers focusing on their wishes for this new school year and what they’d like to leave behind. We finished by eating apples dipped in honey to celebrate all things sweet.
Reception: The Colour Monster
The children have been completely captivated by The Colour Monster story this week, diving headfirst into the rich world of feelings. Through the story, they have learned all the different names for our emotions and spent time discussing when and why someone might feel them—from feeling bright yellow happiness when playing with friends to quiet blue sadness when missing someone. Channeling this understanding into their creative work, the children have begun to design their own unique monsters, carefully colouring and describing them with fantastic vocabulary to match their personalities. To top it all off, some of the children have developed their fine motor and observational skills by drawing their very own versions of the Colour Monster, demonstrating both impressive artistic talent and a wonderful growing emotional toolkit.
Year 6 - Life is a journey
Today, Year 6 began their new RE unit, ‘Life is a Journey’, with a reflective walk along Jacks Key. As we explored the surroundings, the children were encouraged to think about spirituality and the different journeys we take through life. We discussed how the paths we walk can represent the guidance we receive, with some paths being smooth and others rough, reflecting the challenges and struggles we may face along the way. The children also considered how gateways can act as guardians, representing opportunities that are sometimes open to us and other times closed. We explored how trees can symbolise lasting life and growth, while bridges can represent the helping hands and support we need to keep us on the right path.
Year 6 - Darwen Art Exhibition
Year 6 had the exciting opportunity to visit an art exhibition in Darwen Town Centre, where they were able to explore and appreciate a wide variety of artwork created by local artists. The children spent time carefully observing the different pieces, discussing what they could see and sharing their thoughts, ideas and interpretations. Inspired by the artwork they encountered, the children then became artists themselves! They used free-flowing creativity to produce their own unique pieces, experimenting with negative space, shapes, lines and patterns. It was fantastic to see the children express themselves creatively and confidently while developing their understanding of how artists can use space and composition to create an impact.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we began our celebration worship by reflecting on what has been a fantastic start to the year. Well done to all of our children across school for returning with such a wonderful attitude to learning, demonstrating the Barney’s 4Bs and showing great courage. Today was our first Celebration Worship of the half-term, which will always be reserved exclusively for our children to share and celebrate the awards and achievements they have gained outside of school. We started with our infant children. A huge congratulations to Indie who achieved Star of the Week at gymnastics and has also been demonstrating great skill at Tae Kwon Do, Bo for gaining Star of the Week at football and achieving 6th place in a biking race, Olivia, Eleanor, Phoebe, Callie, James, Isabella and Harry for completing the BwD Summer Reading Challenge, Isabella for achieving her Stage 6 in swimming, Callie for achieving her Stage 7, completing 100 metres and achieving 25 metres in breaststroke and front crawl at swimming, Phoebe and Max for completing the Explorer Challenge at Whitehall Park, Fiia for achieving her cartwheel in gymnastics and swimming 5 metres, Tommy-Joe, for being awarded his Stage 3 swimming certificate, Vienna and Ohana for both gaining their Water Safety Award with Ohana also achieving her 100 metres swimming certificate. We then moved on to celebrate our Juniors. Well done to Renee for achieving an award in bravery for flying and gaining her orange and white striped belt at kickboxing, Ella, for being awarded her Stage 4 swimming certificate, Elijah, Seb and Harry for competing in the All Stars Cricket Club Camp, Fletcher for getting through to the Blackburn Youth Darts Academy Final, being recognised as an All Stars Cricket Club superstar and achieving his Bronze Award at Beavers, Lyla for achieving an array of dancing medals in recognition of her great skill in improv, lyrical, jazz, ballet and commercial dance, Annabel for being welcomed into the Blackburn Centurions Swimming Club after successfully attending a trial and James for beating his rival team in a recent football match and being awarded Man of the Match. We then ended our worship with some lovely prayers from James and Olivia, before Mrs Ham announced that our clubs will soon be going live. Keep an eye on Arbor for further information and opportunities to get involved. Finally, a huge thank you to all of our parents and families for your continued support and encouragement. Thank you to those who were able to join us for our Celebration Worship this morning.
Reception's First Week!
What a fantastic first week it has been! We could not be prouder of how our new Reception children have settled into school life. They have already proven to be a wonderful addition to our school family. Over the past few days, the children have been achieving great things—building new friendships, exploring their classroom, and showing incredible courage as they adapt to new routines and big changes. Seeing their confidence grow each day has been an absolute joy. We are so excited for a full week next week packed with fun, discovery, and learning!
Year 5 - Art Exhibition
On Friday Afternoon, we had the opportunity to visit the Art Explora Mobile Museum in Darwen town centre. We received a guided tour of the exhibit and had the opportunity to explore and enjoy a wide range of art forms including film, photography, sculpture and paintings. We then made a collective piece of art, using charcoals to create a seascape populated with real and imaginary creatures. What a great end to a brilliant first week in Year 5! 😃
Year 5 - PSHE
Year 5 learned about the challenges and the power of team work by making a tower only using 6 pieces of paper and some sticky tape. This task involved children working together, communicating, compromising and problem solving. The children did a wonderful job of exploring some innovative ideas and engaging in friendly competition.
Year 4 - Our Representation of the 4 Barney’s Be’s
Today we looked at our four Barney’s Be’s and what they mean to us and how we perceive them to be. The children thought of some wonderful ways to show respect, be ready, be safe and show kindness. They then added these to their very own posters. This showed us how important these four rules are and how much the children value them.
Year 4 - Team Building & Problem Solving
As part of our settling back into Year 4, we completed problem solving and team building activities. The children worked brilliantly together showing encouragement and perseverance in order to complete a variety of challenges.