Year 3’s Microforest Adventure- Planting Trees
Year 3 are thrilled that our school is partnering with Blackburn with Darwen Council and the Lancashire County Council Treescapes team to create a brand-new microforest. The children had an absolutely fantastic time getting stuck into the soil! The planting team were genuinely impressed by the children's impressive knowledge of local trees and birds. We have some truly talented budding ecologists in our midst. The students showed such care and dedication while planting, and they are already buzzing with excitement to return and watch "their" trees flourish over the coming years. A huge well done to Year 3 for being such incredible ambassadors for our environment and for leaving a lasting green legacy for our community!
Reception Pancake Tasting
Reception were delighted to sample some delicious pancakes with their choice of toppings this afternoon. They watched with interest as the mini pancakes were cooked on a special griddle using batter. They then had a selection of toppings to choose from to decorate their own pancakes, before the best part - eating them!
Reception Planting Trees
Reception had the amazing opportunity to plant their own trees to establish a micro-forest near Jack's Key, The children worked in groups to select a tree and plant it in the ground carefully, getting a bit muddy along the way! The children were excited to find out that by the time they leave St Barnabas their trees may be about 4 or 5 meters tall! We hope to observe how our trees grow and change as we venture out on our Muddy Mondays each week this coming year.
Pancake making with Fruiticious in Year 4
Year 4 loved taking part in the Pancake making session with the Fruiticious team this afternoon. They showed us how they made their pancakes, cooked some for us and then even let us sample them with a variety of different toppings. What a brilliant treat to finish off a busy half term!
Year 3- Learning from the Experts- Early Pancake Day
Today, we welcomed professional bakers into school for a special pancake-making workshop! By watching experts at work, the children gained a fantastic insight into the hospitality and culinary industries. It wasn’t just about the flipping and the toppings, though; the children learned that to be a great baker, you need to be a bit of a "subject superstar." They explored how Maths is essential for measuring ingredients and timing, how English helps with following recipes, and how Science is the secret behind the perfect batter. The children found the pancakes absolutely delicious! We hope today has inspired some big aspirations and future dreams in our budding chefs.
Year 6 - Big Winter Wander
As part of the Big Winter Wander, Year 6 enjoyed a walk around Jack’s Key, making the most of the crisp winter weather to explore our local environment. During the walk, the children carefully observed their surroundings and learned more about our whole-school sustainability project and the positive impact it aims to have on our community. The children took part in bird watching, using a tally system to record the number and types of birds they spotted. Among the species identified were wood pigeons, carrion crows, starlings, magpies and chaffinches. The children showed great patience and enthusiasm as they quietly observed and counted the wildlife around them. Once our micro forest is fully established, we plan to repeat this survey and compare the results. This will help us to see whether biodiversity has increased and whether our project has successfully created a richer habitat, providing food, shelter and safe nesting spaces for a wider variety of wildlife. Donations to WWF can be made here: https://socialsync.app/fundraiser/cr-nzymxvnokwdn?currentTab=feed
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. Donations to WWF can be made here: https://socialsync.app/fundraiser/cr-nzymxvnokwdn?currentTab=feed
Year 1: Special Visitor
As part of National Storytelling Week, we invited parents and carers to come into school and read. Year 1 were very excited as Annie’s mum, Natalie, came and read to us. She chose to read Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson, one of our favourite authors! Thank you Mrs Eccles, the children absolutely loved the story!
Reception: Mystery Reader
Thank you so much to Becky for visiting Reception class during National Storytelling Week. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing you read The Koala Who Could and The Dinosaur Who Pooped a Rainbow. The children listened attentively and were delighted to have you as our mystery reader. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share these stories with us.
Year 4 - National Storytelling Week Activities
In celebration of National Storytelling Week, our Year 4 class took part in a live webinar about rap and using rhythm and poetry to tell stories. The children loved joining in with the rhymes and actions, and sharing their ideas. We also had a mystery reader come to visit. We want to say a huge thank you to Mr Foy for coming in to share a special book, Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes. He read three of the twisted fairy tales and the children thoroughly enjoyed these silly and gruesome stories.
Year 6 - National Storytelling Week
As part of National Storytelling Week, Year 6 took part in a fun-filled online workshop that explored a love of reading through rap and rhythm. Schools from across the UK came together to create a powerful rap celebrating the superpowers we share: friendship, creativity and imagination. The workshop encouraged collaboration, confidence and a shared passion for stories and language.
Reception: Soundtrack your Story Workshop
Our Reception class had a wonderful experience today during our National Storytelling Week workshop with guest author Annemarie. The children learned about the roles of authors and illustrators and explored how music can be used to tell stories. Focusing on Annemarie’s book, I Am Nefertiti, the class learned a new song and discussed the importance of our names. The students also experimented with creating their own soundtracks to reflect different emotions. They discovered how high sounds can represent fear, low sounds can convey sadness, and how tempo changes can make a character feel excited or sleepy. To conclude the session, the children listened to the story accompanied by their own sound effects and even learned the mambo!