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WOW Badge Design Year Group Winners
A huge thank you to everyone that took the time to create a design for the WOW walk to school badges for the next academic year. This years theme is “Walk the Senses’ and the children were super creative with their designs in order to incorporate this. Well done to our year group overall winners who were chosen by our Wellbeing Warriors team: Reception - Bowen Year 1- Ava Year 2 - Mollie Year 3- Lyla C Year 4- Lyla F Year 5- Sofia Year 6- Millie
BwD Schools Y3/4 Sportshall Athletics
What a fantastic evening we have had attending the Blackburn with Darwen Schools Year 3/4 Sportshall Athletics event at DVHS. Team B were on fire, securing lots of wins over the course of the night and managed to come away with a silver medal. Well done to all involved and a special thank you to our amazing parents for transporting the children to and from the event amd being the best cheerleaders at the end! A huge thank you to Mrs Gardner and Mr Bloomfield for their brilliant coaching and encouragement!
Whole School- Safer Internet Day 2026-Centered on the responsible use of AI.
To mark Safer Internet Day 2026, Mrs Araujo led a special Worship centered on the responsible use of AI. The session started with the Heads and Deputy Heads signing the Trinity. The children then watched a short video and discussed how AI can assist us in our daily lives. Through a fun identification game, pupils practised spotting AI-generated images and learned that because AI can make mistakes, its results are not always true or accurate. This helped our children understand the importance of being cautious and informed digital citizens.
Year 1 Art: Creating our Final Pieces
In Art, we used our previous plan to create our Clarice Cliff inspired plates. Year 1 looked carefully at their previous planning design to draw onto their plates and used their painting skills to paint some beautiful artwork. Not only had we been inspired by Clarice Cliff, but our own versions of We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Our plates depict our innovated scenes such as a candy land, swamp, beach, rainforest, hill or volcano. We are very excited to see our artwork on display too.
Year 3-The Big Winter Wander and Birdwatching,
Year 3 enjoyed a fantastic afternoon participating in The Big Winter Wander! While completing their sponsored walk for the WWF, the children also took part in the RSPB Big Schools Birdwatch. They did an amazing job identifying different species around the school grounds and recording their findings to help track our local bird populations. While on the route, the children also spoke to a member of the council about the location where they will be planting their very own tree this Thursday! It was a wonderful afternoon of nature-focused learning and preparation for our upcoming sustainability project.
Year 5 - Science
We discussed how the anti-clockwise rotation of the Earth causes the transition of the Sun across the sky, rising in the east and setting in the west. Then we used this knowledge to build a sundial, mimicking the Sun’s journey by using torches and using shadows to link the position of the sun to different times of day.
Year 3- Art-Anni Albers: Hand-Weaving Baskets
After discovering Anni Albers's textile art this afternoon, Year 3 became designers. We practised the ancient skill of weaving by making our own baskets, carefully choosing weft strips in colours that matched the tones on our mood boards. We focused on precision by cutting our warp and weft pieces into neat, straight strips and numbering them to keep our patterns tight and organised.
Reception class contribute to the Big Winter Wander
A huge well done to our wonderful Reception children, who showed incredible determination today taking part in the Big Winter Wander! Our little explorers braved the elements to complete an impressive 2.55km trek around Jack Keys, taking in the sights and sounds of the season while showing fantastic team spirit. We are so proud of how well they handled the distance and represented our school. If you would like to celebrate their achievement and support our fundraising efforts, please consider making a contribution directly to our school page at https://socialsync.app/fundraiser/cr-nzymxvnokwdn?currentTab=feed. Every donation makes a real difference, and we thank you for your wonderful support!
Amazing Attendance Award
* Big News: National Attendance Award Winners! * We are absolutely delighted to announce that St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy has been recognised with another National School Attendance Award for the Autumn 2025/26 term! Thanks to our amazing pupils and families, we have ranked once again in the Top 10% of all FFT primary schools in England for our attendance. * A Heartfelt Thank You * To our parents and carers: this award belongs to you too. Thank you for your continued support, your communication, and for ensuring your children are through the gates and ready to learn every single day. We couldn't have achieved this "Top 10%" status without your commitment. * Why Attendance Matters * Regular attendance isn't just about certificates; it’s about giving our children the best start in life. When children attend school regularly, they: * Build Strong Friendships: Consistency helps children develop social skills and lasting bonds. * Boost Confidence: Staying on track with lessons prevents the "catch-up" stress and keeps them feeling capable. * Unlock Potential: Every day in school is a new opportunity for a "lightbulb moment" that could spark a lifelong passion. Let’s keep this incredible momentum going into the next term! Go Team St Barnabas! ✨ #SchoolAttendance #Top10Percent #StBarnabasDarwen #NationalAttendanceAward #EducationMatters #ProudSchool
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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!
National Storytelling Week in Year 4
We had a lovely end to the week in Year 4. We had the pleasure of welcoming Caterina ( Luna’s Mummy and one of our Governors) into Year 4 where she shared the story of The Twits by Roald Dahl. The children really enjoyed listening to the story and we would like to say a huge thanks to Caterina for taking the time to come into class and read.
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!