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Year 1: Fun On The Park
After their learning activities, the children had lots of fun playing on the park. They enjoyed climbing, balancing, sliding and exploring the different equipment with their friends. The children showed excellent teamwork, kindness and confidence whilst playing together and were excited to spend time outdoors in the sunshine.
Year 1: Fire Lighting
The children also took part in a bushcraft activity where they learnt how to make sparks for lighting fires safely. They explored how friction is created by rubbing things together and noticed that when they rub their hands together, they become warm. The children were shown how to safely use the fire striker by holding the metal pieces correctly and scraping them together to create sparks. They learnt that fires need oxygen, heat and sticks to burn. The children carefully pulled the cotton wool apart to make it look like a cloud before placing it onto the block and using the sparks to light it. They were fascinated by the process and learnt how to safely put the fire out using the special fire glove.
Year 1: Den Building
To finish the day, the children worked together to take part in a den building activity. They used natural materials from the woodland to help create shelters and learnt the importance of teamwork and problem solving. The children were taught how to safely carry and position sticks by holding them in pairs when putting them up. They showed great cooperation, creativity and resilience whilst building their dens and enjoyed working together outdoors.
Year 2 - Brockholes Trip - Firelighting
Year 2 learned how to make fire in a safe and controlled environment.
Year 2 - Brockholes Trip - Den Building
We made dens using some huge sticks. We learned how to carry them safely and how to make a roof structure. What great teamwork!
Year 2 - Brockholes Trip - Habitats and Minibeast Hunt
We learned about some of the habitats at Brockholes and then went on a minibeast hunt.
Year 3 Botanical Drawings-Inspired by Yellena James
For their final piece of artwork, the Year 3 artists have developed and applied a comprehensive range of foundational drawing skills. The children began by analysing form, successfully contrasting geometric shapes within the classroom environment with organic, irregular shapes found in nature. Through structured practice, they developed essential pencil control, learning to sketch lightly to allow for continuous refinement, while utilising complex lines and marks to convey texture and detail. Furthermore, the children mastered shading techniques to effectively represent light and shadow. These skills were directly applied through the close observation and drawing of both fresh and artificial flowers. Heavily inspired by the organic, intricate style of artist Yellena James, the children successfully integrated line, shape, and tone into imaginative botanical drawings.
Mad Science After School Club-Cosmic Bubbles
In the final lesson for the after-school club today, our future scientists explored the final frontier. They looked at planets, stars, and crashing meteorites before the children invented and named their very own galaxies. They then used straws to blow bubbling, frothy cosmic art to represent their creations. It was a wonderfully messy and out-of-this-world way to finish a fantastic term of 'Mad Science Club'.
Year 6 SATs have finished!!
š To our wonderful, grown-up āDucklings," As you finish your SATs week, I wanted to take a moment to tell you exactly how incredibly proud I am of every single one of you. Watching you tackle these SATs with such positivity, grit, and quiet confidence has been the absolute highlight of my year. It feels like only yesterday that most of you were my little Ducklings in Reception. Nearly seven years ago, you walked into school with oversized jumpers, perhaps a few nerves, and a lot of wonder in your eyes. Back then, we were celebrating small victories like lining up straight or learning to write our very first letters. The transformation from those tiny Ducklings into the confident leaders and role models of the school you are today is nothing short of amazing. It has been great to have so many wonderful additions to our class throughout the years too. You have grown in so many ways that a test paper could never measure: * Your Kindness: The way you support one another when things get tough. * Your Resilience: How youāve bounced back from challenges over the years including lockdowns and remote learning. * Your Character:The unique, funny, and brilliant individuals you have become, with a dash of sass! While these tests are a way to show what you know, they donāt show who you really are. They don't capture your talents in art, your skills on the sports field, your beautiful singing voices, or the way you make your friends laugh. You have navigated this week with your heads held high and Iāve loved that you have been more focused on our breakfasts together being of the āhighest quality! than worrying about the tests. You aren't just "ready" for the next chapter; you are going to soar. Once a Duckling, always a Ducklingābut my goodness, what magnificent wings you have grown! Well done, Year 6! Roll on the London trip and your Greatest Showman Production!! With much love and admiration, Mrs Ham š P.S. A huge thank you to your parents for their amazing support throughout your time at St Barnabas. P.P.S A massive thank you to every single staff member that has played a special part in your journey throughout your time at St Barnabas. A special thanks to Mr Bloomfield, Mrs Irshad and Mrs Pendlebury for their support leading up to and during the SATs. What a fabulous team!
Year 1 Maths: Making Equal Groups
Today we looked at creating equal groups using our times tables to help us. For example, sorting 30 pom-poms into equal groups of 10s, 5s or 2s. This helped us to understand multiplication in a practical way as we can see how many lots of groups will make a number. For example, 30 is 3 groups of 10.
Platinum School Games Mark
š Four Years of Platinum! š We have some incredible news to share with our school community! Our school has been awarded the Platinum School Games Mark again which means we have held the award for four years! This Government-led award, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, is the highest level of recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to school sports, physical activity, and community competition. Maintaining this standard for four consecutive years is a massive achievement! Why this is a huge win for our pupils: Dedication on the Field: From local inter-school matches to inter-house competitions, our students have shown incredible heart and teamwork. Beyond the Game: This award doesn't just celebrate the athletes; it celebrates our amazing Sports Leaders, staff, and officials who work behind the scenes to make every event possible. A special thank you to Mrs Gardner, our PE leader for all of her hard work in helping us achieve this award again. Community Spirit: It recognises how we bring sport out of the playground and into the wider community. We are so proud of every single pupil who participated, led, or cheered from the sidelines this year. Your energy is what makes our school a "Platinum" place to be! š Click here to see our sporting success from the last few years:Ā https://stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/classes-curriculum/curriculum-overview/physical-education #SchoolGamesMark #PlatinumAward #FourInARow #YouthSportTrust #SchoolSport #TeamWork #ActiveKids #ProudSchool
Celebration Worship
We had another incredibly busy and exciting week in school with lots to celebrate across all year groups. Year 6 worked tremendously hard throughout SATs week and showed fantastic resilience, determination and positivity. We were so proud of the way they approached each day, never giving up and always trying their very best. A huge thank you also goes to all of the staff who have supported Year 6 throughout their journey and helped them feel confident and prepared. At the same time, Year 5 enjoyed their residential trip to PGL, where they represented the school brilliantly. The children showed excellent teamwork, bravery and determination throughout the week and followed the 4Bās wonderfully whilst taking part in all of the activities and challenges. Yesterday, we joined Joe Wicks for a special live worship linked to Mental Health Awareness Week, reminding us all of the importance of looking after both our physical and mental wellbeing. It was also lovely to see children enjoying extra-curricular opportunities this week through Kids with Bricks club, Science club and Craft club. We would like to say a huge thank you to our School Council, who raised an amazing Ā£163 for the Brain Tumour Charity through their fundraising efforts. We are so proud of the children for thinking of others and supporting such an important cause. This weekās Values Awards were presented to Noah in Reception, Oliver in Year 1, Ida in Year 2, Fletcher in Year 3 and Lana in Year 4. In Year 5, the whole class was recognised for showing determination and bravery during PGL and for following the 4Bās so well throughout the trip. In Year 6, the entire class received the Values Award for their incredible attitude towards SATs and for giving 100% effort all week. Our team values results this week saw India Mill finish in first place once again, followed by River Darwen in second, Whitehall Park in third and Darwen Tower in fourth. We were also delighted to celebrate many fantastic achievements from outside of school. Mason received a swimming certificate for confidently jumping into the water, while Alayna achieved her 10m swimming certificate and Max earned a badge for coming first in a swimming competition. Jonas received a Squirrels badge for adventure, while Lydia, Eleanor, Olivia, Luna, Minnie C, Thea and Evie all achieved a badge through Rainbows after attending a trip and taking part in activities such as archery. Thea was also awarded the Olivia doll for being kind and helpful. In sporting achievements, Alice received a trophy and medal for cheerleading, Cassius was named player of the match in football after scoring eight goals and Reggie received player of the week for excellent passing. Chester was awarded player of the week for showing resilience by getting back up after falling and continuing to block the ball brilliantly. Charlie received both a player of the week plaque and a managerās player trophy for āworld class savesā, while Scarlett achieved a netball medal for winning the league. Isaac proudly showed us his huge Easter Cup tennis trophy and Alessia celebrated learning to ride her bike without stabilisers. In dance and performance achievements, Poppy received a ballet bear for excellent dancing, Skye achieved star of the day at acro and Ava received medals in an acro dance competition. Erin had a fantastic competition, winning first place in individual lyrical, second place in tempo, second place in duo and also receiving a participation medal. Lyla achieved third place in lyrical at acro alongside participation and placement medals, while Darcy and Sofia received medals for their acro duet performance. We also celebrated Elijah receiving his Chief Scoutās Bronze Award, which is an excellent achievement. Our school sports teams have also had another successful week. The Year 4 tennis team represented the school brilliantly at Pleckgate Tennis Centre and came away as winners. The Bee Stinger netball team also won the heat and are through to the final, while aur larger netball squad won one game and narrowly lost another last night. Well done to Year 1 and Year 6 for achieving the highest attendance this week. We were also extremely proud to announce that our school has achieved another National School Attendance Award, placing us in the top 10% of schools nationally for attendance, an incredible achievement for our whole school community. As reminders for next week, Year 1 and Year 2 will be visiting Brockholes Nature Reserve on Monday, and Year 6 parents will be attending the London meeting on Thursday evening. We are also looking forward to Inter-House Sports next Friday and we also break up for half term on Friday. Thank you to Mrs Ham for leading us in prayer and helping us reflect on another wonderful week together. We ended on a high by singing 'Stronger'.