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}
Year 3 - Class Worship- A Journey of Reflection and Joy
In our class worship today, Year 3 explored the life of John the Baptist and the responsibility he was given to prepare the way for Jesus. We talked about how John had to make some big choices, turning away from his own "wants" to focus on exactly what he "needed" to be ready for the King’s arrival. To bring this into our own lives, the children shared some of the exciting things from their own Christmas wish lists. We then had a really thoughtful discussion about human needs vs. wants. This led us to a discussion about how we can prepare ourselves for the future. Instead of just thinking about money, the children suggested that being a "grown-up" means sharing kindness every day, being a helpful friend, and spreading joy to those who might be lonely. We decided that by practicing these small acts of love now, we are preparing ourselves to be the best people we can be as we grow.
Year 1 Fun With The Elf
Today our class elf, Olly, left us a photo frame so he could take “Elfie’s” with the children. They loved taking a picture with the elf. He was also really impressed with their performance today.
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Infant Christmas Party
Our youngest children in school had a great time at their Christmas party this afternoon. They played different games including pass the parcel and did some wonderful dancing. They also had a special visit from Santa and each received a special gift.
DPSSA Schools Football League
Great performances tonight! Narrowly missing out 3–1 to Avondale in a fantastic game. But showing brilliant character to bounce back with a 3–1 win over Turton Edgworth. Well done boys!
Year 5 - French
The children completed their unit on sports vocabulary by translating words from French into English before writing a paragraph in French describing their opinions towards a variety of sports using time phrases and conjunctions.