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NSPCC Times Tables Rock Star Challenge
Today, Key Stage 2 battled it out on Times Table Rock Stars as part of the NSPCC challenge. Throughout the day, children showed fantastic determination and focus as they competed, earning points and contributing towards St Barnabas’ whole-school score, as well as the overall North West total. Thanks to everyone for their great effort in dressing in numbers or as rock stars. A huge well done to all pupils in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 for your amazing effort, resilience and competitive spirit. You should be incredibly proud of your contribution and the enthusiasm you showed throughout the event! Thanks to everyone who has donated to NSPCC. Donations can be made on parent pay!
Friday Celebration Worship
Today’s Celebration Worship was a joyful opportunity to recognise the many achievements, values and successes across our school family. We began by celebrating our learning and enrichment activities, including our focus on numbers and regular participation in Times Table Rock Stars, where children have shown great enthusiasm and determination through battles. We also reflected on our fundraising efforts for the NSPCC, showing our commitment to caring for and protecting others. A special mention was given to the WOW group for leading Messy Church, which was a fantastic example of teamwork, creativity and faith in action. Our values awards were proudly presented to Bowen in Reception, Ava in Year 1, Cici in Year 2, Heidi in Year 3, Martha in Year 4, Ivy in Year 5 and Edward in Year 6, each recognised for living out our school values in their everyday actions. The Pen License awards were given to Mila in Year 3 and Chloe in Year 4 for their excellent efforts in handwriting in all subjects. We also celebrated our team value points results. Darwen Tower finished in fourth place, Whitehall Park in third, River Darwen in second and India Mill in first place. The overall winning team across the half term was River Darwen, well done to everyone for showing perseverance, teamwork and respect. There were many sporting and extracurricular achievements to celebrate. Bo took part in a BMX bike race with 24 competitors and finished an impressive 14th overall and he was the youngest. Chester was awarded a medal for his excellent swimming, while Maggie earned badges at Brownies for completing a range of activities, including finger painting. Jack received a certificate for completing an 800m swim and Grace was celebrated for being given the role of Young Cosette in Les Misérables and for getting through to the next round of West End Calling auditions. Thea was awarded a certificate for excellent listening in gymnastics, Marnie May achieved a certificate for swimming 50 metres and Mollie earned a medal for diving in swimming. Eleanor was recognised for her commitment to hobbies at Rainbows, particularly swimming and piano and Cassius received a trophy for his strong goal scoring in football. We also celebrated our gymnastics team, who performed exceptionally well on the vault and demonstrated excellent body management in a competition against other schools. They showed great courage and respect and achieved a fantastic fourth place. Attendance was also celebrated, with Year 1 and Year 6 being recognised for their efforts. We finished with some important reminders for the coming weeks. The Big Winter Wander is underway and we are encouraging everyone to get outside and enjoy walking together. Please remember to send in photos of your adventures. Next Thursday, we will be helping to create a micro forest on Jacks Key by planting trees, so children will need to bring their wellies. A big thank you to Miss Kachwala for organising a visit from professional bakers who will be making pancakes for everyone. We also reminded children about Dress to Express next week and that there are still places available for Lego Club next half term. We ended our worship with a thoughtful prayer, beautifully led by Ella and Mason. A wonderful celebration of effort, achievement and community spirit, well done everyone!
Inter- House Sports -EYFS, KS1 and KS2
Today we held another Inter/ House Sports event which was led by our awesome Sports Leaders. Our infants focused on football whilst Key Stage 2 did Benchball. It was amazing to see every child across school joining in with huge smiles on their faces. What a super end to a busy week!
Reception Maths - Comparing amounts
This week, our Reception mathematicians have been busy comparing quantities up to 10 by mastering the key vocabulary of more and fewer. Through hands-on activities like matching groups of objects and lining them up, the children are learning to identify which sets are larger or smaller.
Year 4 PE Relay Baton Exchange
In our PE session today we were focusing on Sportshall Athletics, but in particular the baton exchange in relays. The children worked super hard on their exchange between each other and developed their techniques in various ways over the course of the lesson .
Year 4 PSHE Preparing for Mental Health Awareness Week
Year 4 have been working hard on their Mental Health Awareness Week Worship which they will lead next Friday morning. In our PSHE lesson we have being using our oracy skills to project our voice and ensure that we are loud and clear when we speak. We can’t wait to share it with everyone and highlight the importance of good mental health.
Year 1: Special Visitor
As part of National Storytelling Week, we invited parents and carers to come into school and read. Year 1 were very excited as Annie’s mum, Natalie, came and read to us. She chose to read Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson, one of our favourite authors! Thank you Mrs Eccles, the children absolutely loved the story!
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Whole School Worship with Rev Ben
Today's Collective Worship with Rev Ben started with a guessing game where half of a celebrity's face was covered and the children had to guess who it was. The last celebrity was Mrs Ham and we learnt that working out who people are is important, but not always easy! Our Bible story today told us something important about Jesus. Jesus could make sick people well. Jesus wanted to help the man in the story and he told him that his sins were forgiven but the man was lame. Jesus said this to show how he can help people with what’s wrong on the outside and the inside.
Year 6 Junior Jam - Computing
In Computing, year 6 have been working in pairs or small groups to write a CV for a superhero that they have created. They used the Keynotes app to design slides of information, which had to include: a title, a description of their hero and their CV, their superhero emblem and some animation. Next week, the children will present their work to the rest of the class.
Year 5 - PE
In gymnastics, Year 5 worked in pairs to apply the rolls, jumps and balances they have been learning in order to make a coordinated routine. The children incorporated different forms of travel and body shapes (e.g. tuck and pike) into their routines. Next week, they will perform their routines and give feedback to and receive feedback from each other.
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Year 5 - Storytelling through rap
As part of National Storytelling Week, Year 5 learned about how to tell a story through rapping. We discussed how to use a 4 beat structure to build our rap lyrics around, going faster with more words and slower with fewer. The children then wrote and performed their raps to the class, using rhyme, alliteration and phrasing to tell the world about their amazing super powers.
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Online Safety: Supporting safe use of AI
AI is becoming a familiar part of young people’s online experiences, with a growing number of school tools and entertainment platforms now using it. This #WakeUpWednesday guide breaks down what AI really is, helping adults explain it clearly and realistically so children don’t overestimate its abilities or trust it unquestioningly. With Safer Internet Day coming up on 10th February, it’s the perfect moment to start meaningful conversations about how AI systems work, where they appear online, and why understanding them matters for safe, confident digital use. Download your FREE copy here >> https://vist.ly/4qaac