Macmillan Coffee Morning
A massive THANK YOU to all the parents and carers who attended our Macmillan Coffee Morning today! We were absolutely overwhelmed by the fantastic turnout. 💚☕ Your generosity in donating cakes was incredible! Thanks to you, every single child was able to enjoy a sweet treat today. 🧁 We still have a few spare cakes left over, which will be on sale after school, so be sure to grab one while you can! A huge shoutout to our brilliant Heads and Deputies for doing such an amazing job hosting their very first event. 👏 We also want to send a massive thank you to our hardworking support staff—we couldn’t have done it without your ongoing support and dedication. Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated to this truly worthy cause. If you would still like to contribute, donations can now be made on Arbor (apologies for the earlier technical hiccups, it’s all set up and working now!) or you can drop off cash donations after school. 💷 Check out all the wonderful photos from this morning here (and huge apologies that I didn't manage to photograph absolutely everyone—it was mad busy in the best way possible!) 📸 https://stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/macmillan-coffee-morning-2026
.jpeg)
Year 2 Maths- Times Table Rockstars
This morning, Year 2 enjoyed playing on Times Tables Rockstars. They practised their times tables through multiplication and division in both the jamming and garage setting. Well done, Year 2! 🎸🌟
Year 1 PE: Gymnastics
Year 1 had an amazing PE session this morning. We had lots of apparatus out to help us to practise our skills. The children had to practise frog jumps and bunny hops along a bench, caterpillar crawling around cones, practising bear crawl and crab crawl and a new roll called ‘Rock and Roll’. Their favourite station was climbing up high and jumping off onto a mat in a star position. It was great to see the children being brave to jump off from a high platform.
Year 1 Creative Area: Animal Prints
Year 1 have loved practising drawing different animal prints this week in the Creative Area. This links to our Science topic about animal groups and our Art unit looking at different line types.
Year 2 Maths
This week in maths, Year 2 have compared and ordered numbers to 100 using the greater, less than and equal to symbols. We have also looked at the patterns involved in counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and used this knowledge to complete number sequences. We have been working exceptionally hard. Well done Year 2.
Year 2 Geography- Continents and Oceans
In Geography, we are learning to name and locate the seven continents and five oceans of the world. Today, we wrote our own riddles with clues to help Miss Flynn and Miss Lyons guess the continent or ocean we were writing about. Our clues included using positional language (near, above, below, next to, beside etc..), the size, the temperature and the compass direction to help us to explain which continent or ocean we were describing.
.jpeg)
Rev Ben’s Worship - Moses & the Burning Bush
On Thursday, Rev Ben led a worship all about following instructions. The children thoroughly enjoyed an active game of Captain’s Orders to begin with. They then listened to the story of Moses and the Burning Bush. Rev Ben posed questions about why Moses was afraid to follow God’s instructions at first and how people show trust in God.
Year 3 - PE: Throwing and Catching
This week in PE, the Year 3 class were set some skill challenges to demonstrate their level of hand-eye coordination. Our first game was called Sevens. In this game the children completed seven throwing and catching challenges, such as clapping, spinning, or touching body parts between catches. We also played Fists, a game in which children had to pass a ball around the circle catching it between their fists.
.jpeg)
Online Safety: Discord
Discord gives young people a space to chat, play games and join communities based around shared interests. While it can be a positive way to connect with friends, there are also important risks for parents and educators to understand. Our latest #WakeUpWednesday guide highlights: • Contact with strangers • Harassment and harmful behaviour • Exposure to inappropriate content • Gaming and socialising becoming a distraction • Spending and subscription risks It also shares practical advice on using Discord’s Family Centre, reviewing privacy and spending settings, talking openly about suspicious behaviour and agreeing clear expectations around screen time. Read the guide here: https://vist.ly/5jh5f #Safeguarding #OnlineSafety #DigitalWellbeing #Education
Reception: Aliens Love Underpants
We have had out-of-this-world fun in Reception this week exploring our story of the week, Aliens Love Underpants! The children have been thoroughly engaged in reading and retelling the hilarious tale, bringing the story to life across all areas of our provision. Taking inspiration from our handwriting sessions, the children have been busy making marks and practising their letter formation directly onto cut-out underpants. Over in the malleable area, little hands were hard at work shaping, squeezing, and decorating their very own playdough aliens, while our creative station saw vibrant alien portraits painted with endless imagination. In maths, the children put their counting skills to the test by matching and placing the correct number of stars onto different spaceships.
Reception: Handwriting
Our Reception children have been working so hard in their handwriting sessions! To get ready for writing, we start each session with a fun hand workout—doing thumb pushes, palm crouches, finger taps, and finger lifts to build up those vital fine motor muscles. The children have been putting a huge effort into using a comfortable tripod grip as they explore basic pre-writing shapes, laying fantastic foundations for forming their letters. We are so proud of their focus and determination!
Keep Fit Club
Today at Keep Fit Club, our Key Stage 2 children enjoyed a fantastic, action-packed session out in the sunshine! We made the absolute most of the beautiful weather by taking a trip around Whitehall Park, where everyone worked hard on their stamina with a brisk walk, jog, and run. As a reward for all their great energy and effort, the children got to enjoy a fun treat on the playground. To wrap up our workout, we headed over to the MUGA and outdoor gym to finish off our fitness routine on a high note. Thank you for ensuring they came prepared—they all did a brilliant job today!