Year 3- Exploring Design Technology Through Castle Construction
Over the past few weeks, the Budding designers have been learning the skills needed to design and build their own castles. They explored the features of castles, practised using tools for cutting, shaping, and joining materials, and sketched detailed designs of what they wanted to create. Today, our young designers finally brought their ideas to life. After watching the Pupil video Constructing a Castle for guidance, they began building their structures. Using shoeboxes from home as sturdy bases, the designers constructed turrets from cardboard tube rolls, battlements from sugar paper, and added flags made from straws and coloured card. Each castle was unique, reflecting the creativity and planning of its maker. The children selected from a variety of tools and materials, using them carefully and with purpose. Many included features such as drawbridges, windows, and gatehouses, and some even furnished the interiors of their castles with handmade items. In the next lesson, the children will evaluate their finished structures, considering what went well, what could be improved, and how effectively their design ideas were brought to life.
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Monday Worship
This week we began our worship thinking about countries that are not as fortunate as ours. Some countries do not have access to food and clean water so we collectively prayed for them as part of the Year of Prayer. Mrs Araujo then introduced our year of prayer class activity which was to think about our achievements from the year and to draw and stick something to reflect that on the window to thank God. We then sang some of our leavers song ready for our special Leavers Service next Friday. The children sounded beautiful.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning's worship reflected on a very busy, yet rewarding week. all of our children got the opportunity to transition into their new year groups, we welcomed our new Reception starters into school, our Year 2 and Year 4 students enjoyed their visit to St Barnabas Church and many children also participated in another engaging Cre8ability session. Mrs. Govan thanked all entrants for the recent Rota Kids Art Competition, congratulating Luna, Beau, Olivia, Skye, Alayna, Lyla in EYFS/KS1 and Naomi and Edward in KS2, whose artwork will be displayed at the Darwen Heritage Centre over the Summer holidays. Our athletes achieved great success: Our Year 3 ,4 5 & 6 Athletics squad were winners at Witton Athletics on Monday evening, and a group of Year 3 and 4 children excelled in the Quad Kids competition, qualifying for the Lancashire School Games at UCLAN next Tuesday! We also celebrated our individual value award winners: Annie, Hendrix, Oliver, Noah and Carter in EYFS/KS1 and Lana, Isabelle and Grace in KS2 for consistently following Barny’s 4Bs and showing growth. Additionally, Year 1 and Year 3 were attendance winners, India Mill was the overall Value Award Winner, and Olivia, Leo, Lilly earned their pen licenses. We then congratulated our out of school achievers. Well done to Beau, Thea, Annie and Olivia for achieving their Explorers badge at Rainbows and Annie for being awarded Olivia at Rainbows, Thea for being a super gymnast, Willow for achieving backwards flip on the bars at gymfinity and for showing extreme kindness by donating her beautiful long hair to the Princess Trust, Reggie for achieving 20m in his swimming, Marley for ‘Star of the Day’ at the Edstart Multi-Sports Club for super listening and demonstrating outstanding dodgeball skill, Harry for showing super skill and teamwork in a football tournament and Mason for working towards the purple stage at The Darts Academy. To finish our worship, we had some beautiful prayers from Harry, Lilly and Callie who prayed for those in the midst of conflict and war, homeless people and those in Heaven. Mrs Ham wished us all a lovely restful weekend and we had a singalong to ‘The School Rules Song’.
Our new Reception stars!
Our new Reception class of children had a wonderful time exploring their new classroom and outdoor learning area, making new friends along the way. It was lovely to see their excitement and curiosity as they visited different areas of their new environment. They have already settled in beautifully, showing so much courage, confidence and kindness to each other. We are so proud of how quickly they have settled into our school family, and we are really looking forward to welcoming them properly in September!
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Reception to Year 1 move up day
Our Reception children enjoyed spending time with their new teachers, Miss Woods and Miss Lyons today on their special move up day. They particularly enjoyed exploring the different areas in the classroom and loved making their own colour monsters. They are excited to see how the classroom will be transformed into a Year 1 classroom in the coming weeks.
Marvellous move up day!
We have had a super ‘move up day’ today and all of the children have met their new teachers and took part in lots of different transition activities. It was wonderful to welcome our new Reception class and their parents into our school family too this morning.
Whole School Worship with Rev.Matt
Today’s worship began with an exciting race, where three pairs of children took part — each child carrying a partner on their back. This fun activity led us into our Bible story: “Was Paul worried?” In the story, we saw how Paul remained strong — not just for himself, but for others too. Even in difficult times, he encouraged and supported those around him. We reflected on the idea that sometimes, we are called to look after others, especially in important or challenging situations. The children then discussed the questions: How are others strong for you? How can you be strong for someone else this week? To conclude our worship, we were reminded that being strong doesn’t always mean being the loudest or the fastest — sometimes, true strength is shown through kindness, patience and standing by someone when they need us most. We left worship thinking about how we can be a source of strength and support for others in the week ahead.
Transition day- Year 2- 3- Getting Ready for Year 3:
Today was an exciting day for the children in Year 2 as they got to experience Year 3. The children created their "bucket of kindness." Everyone wrote little messages, showing off their great handwriting, all about how they're going to spread kindness in Year 3 and to the whole school. It was lovely to see how much they care about making a positive difference. They also shared what they're looking forward to most in Year 3. We heard about their excitement for new clubs, amazing science lessons, learning new things, and the excitement of challenging themselves. It gave us a peek into their unique hopes and dreams. They also made bookmarks, for September and coloured in a pencil crayon for our display to show that even though we're all unique, when we work together, we make one amazing "box". It was an absolute joy to hear their stories and see all their wonderful, unique personalities shine through!
Year 1-Year of Prayer- Mirror Image
This week, as part of the diocesan Year of Prayer, Year 1 took on a prayer challenge called 'Mirror Image.' Each child stood face-to-face with a partner, taking turns to mirror each other's movements. Afterwards, they prayed to Jesus, asking for help to reflect his love, kindness, generosity, and respect by sharing it with others.
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Year 5-6 Transition Day
Today, Year 5 enjoyed their transition day as they prepare to move into Year 6. The day was filled with creative and reflective activities to help the children begin thinking about the exciting journey ahead. They started by creating self-portraits, celebrating their individuality and recognising the unique qualities they will bring to Year 6. Next, they designed their own personalised hoodies — a fun and expressive way to mark the beginning of their final year at primary school. Each design reflected their personality, interests and the confidence they’re developing as they grow. Finally, the children designed their own Achievement Jars, filling them with hopes, goals and things they want to accomplish in the coming year — both personal and academic. This thoughtful activity encouraged them to set intentions and aim high, reminding them that Year 6 is not only a time to shine, but also a chance to grow.
Year 6 R.E
Year 6 have been continuing comparing Christianity and other world faiths. This week, the children watched videos and held class discussions about similarities in the way that all of these religions practise their faith. It has been a very interesting topic!
Reception: Muddy Monday
Reception class looked for signs of summer during their Muddy Monday walk to Jacks Key. We found lots of minibeasts, flowers blossoming, butterflies and the sun was shining too!