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Reception class visit the Rose Garden
Reception class enjoyed their visit to the Rose garden. They looked at all of the Advent art and some of the children were proud to see their artwork. The children sang carols together and they all went to the playground as a special treat.
Year 1 RE: Advent Trail
This afternoon Year 1 took a visit to Whitehall Park so that we could see all of the Advent Art created by our school, which fit nicely into our RE topic surrounding the true meaning of Christmas. As we walked to the park, we thought about the Nativity story. Once we arrived, we discovered that the Wise Men brought Jesus three special gifts: gold (to show respect that Jesus was a king), frankincense (to show that people would worship Him) and myrrh (to show that Jesus would understand suffering). We tried to see if any of the artwork showcased the Wise Men. We discussed that most precious gifts are not expensive, but they have thought and meaning behind them. We also thanked God for the most special gift of all, Jesus.
Whole Class Worship - Joy
This week of advent, our focus is Joy. We began by recounting the advent themes we have explored so far: Hope and Peace. Mrs Ham chose Lyla from Year 4 to come to the front to light the three advent candles and she highlighted some of the ways our school family have brought joy to others over the past few weeks. It was heartwarming to hear about some of these, including the Reception class nativity, Year 1 and Year 2’s Christmas Cracker, the choir singing at Acer Lodge care home, and Year 4 writing letters to the residents, plus all of those who have been supporting our latest charity campaigns. We reflected on what true joy looks like and how we can sometimes forget about the simple things when our minds are preoccupied with expensive gifts and the hustle and bustle of the season. Our focus was brought back to the gift God sent - his only son - and how Jesus’ incarnation was the joyous gift that changed our world forever.
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Year 5 - RE
Year 5 have been practising their presentation of learning for Friday’s church service. The focus is on peace and how the message of peace can be found in the two nativity stories in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. We have already made triptych drawings telling the stories and the script compares Luke’s message of a humble saviour to Matthew’s message of a king descended from Moses and David.
Year 5 - Geography
In Geography we have explored the physical aspects of mountains including how they are formed and their unique climate. Now we are moving onto the human aspects, studying the lives of people who live on them. We found out about the harsh lives of farmers who live near Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest, and how they have to supplement their income through tourism while dealing with the challenges of their isolated rural existence.
Year 5 - Whitehall Park
On Tuesday, we visited the rose garden at Whitehall Park to see the wonderful Advent art made by the talented children of St Barnabas. Afterwards, we took advantage of the dry weather by spending our break time on the swings.
Year 5 - Elf on the Shelf
Unfortunately we have had some problems in the last 2 weeks with a naughty elf causing all kinds of mischief. At various times, Alfie the Naughty Elf has hidden glue sticks, blocked the clock, messed with the cushions and eaten all the biscuits. Hopefully these Christmas shenanigans are not distracting the children too much, who continue to work hard all the way up to the holiday.
Whole School Worship - The Big Announcement
We have started our week singing our favourite Christmas songs and enjoying, The Big Announcement’ Story where Angel Gabriel came to Mary to say that she would carry the son of God. Mary was then referred to as Blessed Mary as God had bestowed this blessing upon her. We also lit our third advent candle that symbolises joy.
Year 2 - We met Father Christmas
On Friday we had a fantastic Christmas party and met Father Christmas. We were so pleased to receive a special gift from him.
Reception: Christmas Cards
Reception class have really enjoyed making Christmas cards for their loved ones. They have made some super cute penguin cards using different coloured paints. The children all wrote their names inside and are looking forward to giving them to their loved ones this Christmas time.
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Year 6 - Coastlines and Islands
Today, the children used DigiMaps to locate, explore and compare a range of coastlines across the United Kingdom. The children investigated how the shapes of different coastlines vary and identified key geographical features such as bays, headlands, cliffs and beaches. The children also examined the UK’s surrounding islands, using the zoom tools to study their position, size and distance from the mainland. They showed great curiosity as they navigated the digital maps, asked thoughtful questions and discussed why these coastal landscapes might look the way they do.
KS1 Christmas Cracker
We are absolutely bursting with pride today following the Year 1 and 2 "Christmas Cracker" concert! The children gave a truly spectacular performance. It was wonderful to see them shining on stage, singing their hearts out, and remembering all their lines and moves with such confidence. They have worked incredibly hard over the last few weeks, and today, that hard work really paid off. A huge congratulations to every single one of them for bringing so much festive joy to our school. We would also like to say a massive thank you to you, our parents and families. Whether you helped with costumes, practiced lines at home, or simply came along today to offer your applause and cheers, your support makes all the difference. It was lovely to see so many of you in the audience. Finally, a special vote of thanks goes to our fantastic staff team! To Miss Woods, thank you so much for writing such a wonderful script and for taking on the role of musical director, to Mr Carter aka DJ Carter for organising and playing the music, to Mrs Hegarty, Miss Lyons and Miss Woods for your support with costumes, props and encouraging the children with the actions and to Mr Bloomfield for filming the concerts. We hope you enjoyed the show as much as we did! Photos: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/ks1-christmas-cracker-2025 Dress Rehearsal Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Lqx9_D2nM Thursday Concert Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pst0cr5gax8 {gallery:KS1 Christmas Cracker 2025}