Year 1 meet Author and Illustrator Ursula Hurst
Year 1 had an amazing morning meeting author and illustrator Ursula Hurst at Darwen library. They enjoyed looking at lots of the books that Ursula has illustrated over the years such as Roo and Sarge to the rescue, The Angry Giant, Zed Ted, Bea and Monah Lot. Ursula also read us a story called Drawing Hope which she was both the author and illustrator of. It was about a young girl called Hope who loved drawing and painting and had a dream of turning the gloomy town in which she lived into a bright and colourful place and with the help of Mrs Green, she did just that. Year 1 loved seeing how the town and characters turned from grey with lots of worries to bright and worry free throughout the story. Thank you to Darwen Library for such a wonderful opportunity and to Ursula Hurst for inspiring our children.
Year 2 - Library visit
We had an amazing time during our visit to Darwen Library. We were lucky enough to spend time with Ursula Hurst as she delivered a workshop for us. Ursula is a fabulous illustrator known for her book illustrations and murals of which many can be found in local primary schools. The children loved listening to her stories and seeing how she made words come to life. Then the children had their chance to become illustrators as they learnt how to draw different characters with different emotions. Ursula showed us some simple tricks to really emphasise our characters expressions. It was a brilliant opportunity for the children which they engaged really well with and had a lovely afternoon!
Year 4 - Exploring Church
We finished off our RE unit with a trip to St Barnabas Church to look for symbols of Christianity. The children were so knowledgeable, remembering lots of our learning this term. Thanks to Rev Ben and Rev Matt for inviting us in.
Year 3 Rock and River
Yeah 3 have had a fun filled day at rock and river outdoor pursuits! The aim of the trip was for the pupils to challenge themselves and push themselves outside of their comfort zone, whilst learning to work as a team. We started the morning off with some high ropes, rock climbing and zip lining finishing with the air bag jump before lunch. In the afternoon we had a fantastic session on the lake, taking part in rafted canoeing, paddle boarding and swimming! The class represented St Barnabas superbly and we hope the children have created life long memories!
Year 1 Pond dipping at Brockholes
Year 1 were in three different groups to carry out this super activity at Brockholes Nature Reserve on their trip. They found different types of interesting creatures such as water snails, beetles, bugs, shrimps and nymphs when participating in the pond dipping activities. They used a classification sheet to help them identify creatures and magnifying glasses too as some creatures were very small.
Year 1 Brockholes Nature Reserve Trip
Year 1 have had an amazing time on their school trip at Brockholes Nature Reserve this week. They went pond dipping, bird watching and went on an amazing outdoor adventure playground in two smaller groups. Then after lunch in the lookout together, the whole class went into the Viking Woods to learn about different types of plants and trees. We played lots of games and went on a scavenger hunt too. It was an amazing day and we all absolutely loved learning about nature in such an exciting and fun way.
Bikeability Cycle Training- Year 5 and 6
Today, our Years 5 and 6 participated in the Bikeability cycle training program. This program focuses on teaching practical skills and knowledge for cycling on today's roads. The aim was to give our children the confidence to ride their bikes and enjoy the many advantages that cycling offers. They had the opportunity to learn about safety and other important aspects of cycling from four experienced coaches.
Year 1 Local History Lesson in Darwen Heritage Centre
Year 1 had a super history lesson learning about the changes that have happened within Darwen Town Centre in the past couple of centuries. Our expert (Albert) from the Darwen Heritage centre showed the children a range of different historical images and photographs of the town centre many years ago and was able to explain what is in place of them geographically today. The children couldn’t believe that a few live bears and their keepers roamed the streets of Darwen for entertainment purposes years ago, or that the butchers hung their meat outside their shops! They got to handle and see artefacts including olden day money and a wooden cash register too.
Year 1 History Walk in Darwen High Street
Year 1 have really enjoyed walking around Darwen High Street identifying different types of shops and finding out which type of shops used to be around many years ago. With the help of an expert from the Darwen Heritage Centre, they were shown different places that used to be bakers, butchers, grocery stores, pharmacies, shoe shops or different types of clothes shops (such as hat shops). They also walked through Darwen Market Place and found some placards explaining which shops used to exist in the 1800s.
Year 1 History Challenge in the Darwen Heritage Centre
After their super history lesson at the Darwen Heritage Centre, Year 1 were challenged to find the words for different types of shops around the two rooms inside the centre and also the corridor linking them. They were looking for these particular words: baker, boots & shoes, butcher, chemist and clothes. They had to tick how many words they could find on a worksheet. The exact amount of shops in Darwen from the olden days had been put around the rooms. The children found that they all had the most ticks for the clothes shops. They also really enjoyed looking at the giant models of Darwen Tower and all the unique historical artefacts that the heritage centre has within in.
Year 5- English- A visit from Salma (Sudanese refugee)
Today, Year 5 had a special guest, a Sudanese refugee visitor who shared her remarkable journey and life experiences with us. She spoke about the journey she undertook with her four young children when they were forced to flee their home country due to injustice and an oppressive regime. She spoke about the challenges she and her family have faced while adapting to life in the UK. The weather, the food, and the language barrier have posed significant adjustments for them. However, it was inspiring to witness the resilience and determination with which they have approached these challenges. The children were incredibly engaged and displayed remarkable curiosity. They asked numerous insightful questions, delving into the details of her experiences and seeking to understand the impact of her journey on her life and her children's lives. We want to say a big thank you to our visitor for sharing her story with us. It was an important lesson for all of us about how strong people can be, even when things are tough. We also want to thank John East for helping to arrange this visit.
Year 4 - Linking Schools Visit Day 1
Last week, we welcomed our friends from St Matthew’s to join us for a day of team building. We had a fantastic day building towers and taking part in team games. We are so excited to visit our link class at their school next week.