Natural History Museum
Our Year 6 class had a brilliant time exploring the Natural History Museum in London. They saw dinosaur and animal bones and fossils and lots of stuffed animals. They learnt about evolution, earthquakes and volcanoes and extinction.
London 2023
We are off! Our Year 6 children, Mrs Ham, Mrs Price, Mr Prescott and Mr Tierney are so excited for their trip to London. We can’t wait to visit the Natural History Museum, Houses of Parliament tour and workshop, Lion King Musical, Science Museum, Imperial War Museum and a tour of London sights.
Year 6- Imperial War Museum
In History this term, Year 6 have been learning all about the Second World War and the part that Darwen played in it. It has been wonderful to visit the Imperial War Museum to learn more about the Second World War and the part that London played in it and contrast this to Darwen’s involvement. We also visited some other galleries including one about the war in Ukraine to highlight that war is still happening. We will shortly be having some Ukrainian refugees visit our school to talk to us about their experience of war and to thank us for the fundraising we have done for DARE (Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise). We also visited a gallery about online gaming that showed that children have always been fascinated by war, good stories always have conflict and children have always played war games.
Years 5 & 6: Author visit
Years 5 and 6 enjoyed an author visit this afternoon. Raysa Farah came into school to read her story, ‘A cub without a mane’. She explained how her son has leukaemia and lost his hair. Whilst in hospital, she decided to write her book. Raysa explained that no matter how you look, you are still special and a wonderful person. Our children had the opportunity to ask questions. Jake asked if her little boy’s hair was growing back. Raysa said that it was. It is very short but it is growing back. It’s not as curly but it is wavy. Lucy asked Raysa if her children liked her book. Raysa said that her eldest, Adam absolutely loves it- he is in reception. Kaylen asked ‘what inspired you to be a florist?’ Raysa explained that she wanted to be a florist since she was 4. Her Mum and Dad loved gardening and she remembered being in the garden from childhood. Raysa went to university first to study psychology but still wanted to be a florist. When she met her husband, she told him her dream and within a month, he created the business and from social media, it became a huge success. We loved your visit and the children left feeling inspired- thank you so much. Raysa’s book will be available to buy on parent pay for a discounted price. Further information to follow.
Years 3 & 4: Author Visit
Years 3 and 4 enjoyed an author visit this afternoon. Raysa Farah came into school to read her story, ‘A cub without a mane’. She explained how her son has leukaemia and lost his hair. Whilst in hospital, she decided to write her book. Raysa explained that no matter how you look, you are still special and a wonderful person. Our children had the opportunity to ask questions. Mason asked how old her little boy is who is poorly. Raysa told the children that he is aged 3. Hamza asked what happens when you have leukaemia. Raysa explained that you are given medication. When Raysa’s little boy was in hospital, that was the time that she wrote her story. Leonora asked how did her older boy feel. Raysa said that he was angry and upset but once everything was explained, he was happy and really looked after his younger brother. Alice asked if Raysa has written any other books. Raysa explained that she had written a story about a mouse that has lost its squeak which is about speech difficulties. Year 4 told Raysa about a story that they have been reading about speech difficulties and explained how there are 4 different adults who sometimes help or hinder children with speech impairments! Finn told Raysa that he had cut his hair off to raise money to create a wig for cancer. We loved your visit and the children left feeling inspired- thank you so much. Raysa’s book will be available to buy on parent pay for a discounted price. Further information to follow.
EYFS & KS1: Author visit
EYFS and Key Stage 1 enjoyed an author visit this afternoon. Raysa Farah came into school to read her story, ‘A cub without a mane’. She explained how her son has leukaemia and lost his hair. Whilst in hospital, she decided to write her book. Raysa explained that no matter how you look, you are still special and a wonderful person. Our children had the opportunity to ask questions. Darcy asked if she had written any other books. Raysa said she had written one other book and it is awaiting approval to be published. Raysa is also a florist so Daisy asked if she liked making flowers. Lyla asked how long it took for Raysa to write her story. Raysa explained it took around a month to write. Eliza asked if Raysa drew the pictures. Raysa explained the role of an illustrator. Her publisher found an illustrator. Raysa then asked the children to draw anything that makes them happy and feel good. We loved your visit and the children left feeling inspired- thank you so much. Raysa’s book will be available to buy on parent pay for a discounted price. Further information to follow.
Year 1- Darwen Library Visit
Today we walked to Darwen town centre to visit the library. It was a super trip and everyone enjoyed exploring the different areas of the junior library. There are over 4000 books in the junior library and every child found at least one book that they enjoyed reading, from shark books and comic books to stories about horses or beast quests. We had a librarian explain about the different areas of the library and she read the class a story linked to our new English unit: Traditional Tales. Over half the class got their new library membership cards too!
Year 5-The Mind Walk- Mental Health Awareness Week
This afternoon, the Year 5 class stepped out of their classroom to appreciate God's wonderful nature around school. The children took this time to clear their minds, talk to their friends, giggle and just really enjoy being out. It was lovely to see everyone just enjoying themselves.
Year 4 Random Acts of Kindness
As it is National Random Acts of Kindness Day on Friday 17th Feb Year 4 have been out and delivered our very own kindness packs to our local community. Let’s make kindness the norm and put a smile on people’s faces.
Year 5- A Visitor From The Local Library
Year 5 had a fantastic morning with Angela. Angela works for Blackburn with Darwen Libraries. She came to our classroom to encourage our children to join and visit the Library for free. The children were amazed to learn about the services offered by the Library. You can get help with homework, research an area that you have an interest in and school holiday activities, and out-of-school hours, for all age groups. Angela finished the session by reading one of David Walliams's popular story books, 'The World's Worst Children'.
Year 1- Remembrance walk
On Friday afternoon we visited Whitehall park and Darwen cemetery to pay our respects for Remembrance Day. We are so proud of year 1 for showing lots of respect!
Remembrance Service in Whitehall Cemetery
Our Year 6 Heads and Deputies along with some of our WOW (Worship Our Way) group attended the special service of Remembrance on Armistice Day at Whitehall Cemetery. They laid a special wreath and poppy from St Barnabas and also placed poppies and crosses on our special adopted war graves. We will remember them.