Celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday
Today, we celebrated the 100th birthday of David Attenborough during a special worship. We talked about how many of us recognised his voice from nature documentaries we had watched before. Mrs Ham read the book Little People, BIG DREAMS: David Attenborough to help us learn more about his life and the important work he has done to care for our planet. We also watched a special Newsround celebration about David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. During worship, we enjoyed watching a video created by Cidari which showcased all the different ways Cidari schools, including St Barnabas, have been helping to care for the Earth. The video included examples such as using reusable containers, switching off lights, using less electricity, litter picking, bird watching, wearing green and blue for Earth Day, taking part in Travel Tracker and sorting rubbish into the correct bins. We loved watching the video and spotting our own faces on the screen. To finish our worship, the whole school sang “Happy Birthday” to Sir David Attenborough to celebrate his amazing contribution to protecting and caring for our world.
Reception - Celebrating David Attenborough
Today we have been celebrating David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday. We have been reflecting on his amazing work alongside God’s creatures and his contributions to our planet. In class, we created birthday cards and decorated birthday cakes with his favourite things. Happy Birthday Sir David!
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Smart School Councillors Raise £163 for 'The Brain Tumour Research'.
A huge thank you to all the parents and children for your incredible support at our recent bake sale; thanks to your generosity, we successfully raised £163.00 for ' The Brain Tumour Charity'. Our Smart School Councillors did a fantastic job organising the event and helping with the baking, resulting in an impressive spread of 180 biscuits and 100 fairy cakes. These funds will make a huge difference, allowing us to pay for 10 DNA preservation tubes and provide much-needed comfort to a child following their diagnosis by sending them a Brainy Bag and a cuddly bear. We are so proud of our students hard work and grateful to our wonderful community for helping us provide this vital support.
Celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday in Year 4
Today we took part in a very special Picture News Worship where we celebrated Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday! We found out so many amazing facts and when we looked ourselves we loved these examples; 1. He is older than sliced bread 2. He almost never became a TV presenter 3. More than 50 species are named after him 4. He once collected fossils and salamanders as a child 5. His gorilla moment became television history 6. He doesn't like rats 7. His brother was a Hollywood heavyweight 8. He never learned to drive We then listened to a special message from Sir David Attenborough and other schools had sent him some very special messages and cards. They designed these on special recycled card to work towards protecting our planet. Next we were asked to think about three things. One example was “ Why do we think Sir David has become such such a popular advocate for the natural world?” The children came up with some very thoughtful and interesting responses. Finally, a special guest visited the worship. It was Steve Backshall and he talked passionately about how Sir David has inspired him on how to look at the natural world. Year 4 loved taking part in this very special worship today and we send our best birthday wishes to Sir David Attenborough.
Year 3- Class Worship- Exploring 'The Kind Stranger
In class today, we took part in a 'God’s Big Story' collective worship session focused on the parable of The Kind Stranger (The Good Samaritan). We joined Iain the storyteller to revisit this famous parable and listened to Bishop Philip, who challenged us to look beyond the surface of the story. The children explored the different "layers" of Jesus' words, discussing what it truly means to be a neighbour and how we can show compassion to everyone, even those who are different from us. It was a thoughtful session that encouraged the class to think about how they can put kindness into action in their own lives.
Year 4 - RE: Symbols of Faith
In RE this week, the children explored some typical religious features from different places of worship. Initially, nine pictures of religious features and symbols from churches, mosques and synagogues were displayed around the room and the children walked around the room, writing their best ideas around the pictures. The children then learned some information about each feature/symbol, including what it is called and its link to scripture. The children then had to match the symbols with their names and their links to scripture.
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Year 4 - Class Worship: Is It Ever Right To Lie?
A philosophical debate helped us to answer a very widely contested question in our class worship during polling week. Stephen Fry introduced the story of King Lawrence the Lion who introduced a law against telling lies of any kind. Within the story, there were examples of lies that hurt others and lies that protect others. There were also quotes from famous philosophers who have argued both sides. Then it was over to the children. In groups, the children used their talk tokens to take turns in putting forward their ideas. We focussed on the skill of summarising and so each group had a note taker who summarised the main points discussed in their groups when presenting to the rest of the class. We then considered what Jesus would say about lying. The majority of the class agreed that telling a lie can sometimes be a good thing if it spares someone being hurt.
Year 2 - Science - Plants and Growth
Year 2 have been checking on the progress of plants grown in different conditions. We know that plants need soil, the right amount of water, sunlight and the correct temperature to grow healthily.
Year 2 - PE - Racket and Ball Work
Year 2 have been learning how to hold a racket using the shaking hands grip. We have then been working on our control of the ball.
Year 5 - PE
We continued our athletics lessons by adding sling shots to our repertoire of throws. The children had to sling a hoop as far as they could, focusing on keeping their arm straight, rotating the body and releasing at the right moment. We also carried out a sequence of three standing jumps, hops and leaps, with the children experimenting by changing their stance and motion.
Amazing Attendance Award- Top 10% Nationally
🌟 We’ve Struck Gold -Amazing Attendance Award 🌟 We have officially been honoured with another National School Attendance Award for the 2025/26 Spring Term to go with our 2025/26 Autumn Term Award. Thanks to the incredible dedication of our children and the unwavering support of you—our parents and carers—we have been ranked again in the Top 10% of all FFT primary schools in England. Excellent attendance isn't just about a certificate; it’s about ensuring our children have every opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed alongside their friends. Being in the top 10% nationally is a massive achievement and speaks volumes about the value our families place on education. 🙏 A Heartfelt Thank You 🙏 We know that getting the children up, ready, and through the gates every morning takes effort. This award belongs to you and your children just as much as it belongs to the school. Let’s keep this amazing momentum going into the Summer Term! 🚀 #StBarnabasProud #AttendanceMatters #TopTenPercent #SchoolSuccess
Year 5 - Online Safety
Year 5 discussed the ways in which it’s possible to feel lonely while online and how they can overcome these feelings. Loneliness can occur when people are unkind to you, don’t reply to messages or leave group chats. We talked about how going offline to talk to friends and family can be helpful as well as entertaining yourself by watching funny videos or listening to happy music.