Go All In: 2026 National Year of Reading
Dear Parents and Carers, As we move into 2026, we are excited to share that this has been designated the National Year of Reading. This year-long celebration, spearheaded by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust, isn't about schoolwork or exams—it’s about helping our children rediscover the sheer joy of a great story. The theme for the year is "Go All In." The goal is to show children that reading isn't just something they do in a classroom; it is a way to dive deeper into the things they already love. Whether your child is a fan of gaming, sports, music, or space, there is a book, graphic novel, or audiobook out there that speaks to their interests. The campaign reminds us that "if they’re into it, they can read into it," and that every form of reading—from a football programme to a digital comic—is a step toward success. We know how busy family life can be, but research shows that sharing a story for just 10 minutes a day can dramatically boost a child’s wellbeing and their confidence at school. You don’t need to be an expert storyteller to make a difference; simply sitting together and exploring a book, or letting your child see you reading your own book or magazine, sets a fantastic example. Throughout the year, there will be exciting events to look forward to, including a record-breaking World Book Day on March 5th and a music-themed Summer Reading Challenge titled "Read to the Beat!" Our local libraries will also be hosting free activities, from author workshops to interactive storytelling sessions. We invite you to join us in making 2026 a year of discovery for our children. Let’s help them find the stories that make them want to "go all in." For more resources and book recommendations tailored to your child’s hobbies, you can visit the official campaign website at goallin.org.uk. For our first challenge, I would love the children to send me some photographs of them reading their favourite story in their favourite place. Happy reading! Mrs Wilkinson
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Year 2 Art - Investigating Materials
Year 2 investigated tones and shades using charcoal and chalk. They also used wax crayons and pastels using different drawing techniques.
Year 2 R.E. Role Play of Jesus Healing The Ten Lepers
Year 2 read the story of The Ten Lepers and then created a role play to show how the characters behaved. We learned that Jesus was a friend to the lepers even when other people excluded them.
Amazing Attendance Awards
We had such a busy end to the Autumn term that we’re only just getting around to celebrating our amazing attendance award winners. What a fantastic term it was for attendance! Awards were presented in two categories: firstly to all those who achieved 100% attendance, and then to those who achieved above 96% attendance. Both are amazing achievements and we are super proud of all of the children.
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Whole School Worship - God is Kind
In our whole-school worship, Mrs Ham revealed our first Kindness Kite celebrating the Blackburn Diocese centenary. This week, the focus is ‘God is Kind’. A small selection of Year 6 children were chosen to read three Psalms about God’s kindness and we learned that God is everywhere, always, even when it’s dark, even when we hide. The children were then invited to share some of the kind things that they have heard people say, such as ‘I like your hair’ , ‘Your dress is pretty’ and ‘You are so smart’. We reflected on how kind words make us feel and we all practised paying compliments to our partners. We are looking forward to adding kind words to our classroom kites.
Doodle and Dance Club
Children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had great fun in their first doodle and dance club run by Mrs Wilkinson. They doodled on wallpaper and drew their favourite things and then all had a dance to lots of different songs. We can't wait for next week.
100 Years of Blackburn Diocese
In order to celebrate 100 years of Blackburn diocese, we took part in a whole-school virtual assembly that focused on the many successes and achievements of the diocese over the past century. Bishop Philip welcomed schools from across the diocese and shared an engaging story about the travels of the Wise Men, linking these to themes of faith, journey and community. The children greatly enjoyed seeing and feeling connected to other schools within the diocese and were excited to take part in a shared celebration. The assembly provided a valuable opportunity for pupils to reflect on their place within the wider diocesan family, strengthening their sense of belonging and understanding of our shared faith. The event was engaging, inclusive, meaningful and it helped bring the history and mission of the diocese to life for the whole school community. We are looking forward to taking part in a variety of centenary 'All for Jesus' activities and worships over the year.
Friday Celebration Worship
What a brilliant first week back! We are so proud of all the children for settling back into school so sensibly, even with the excitement of the snow. We started by celebrating our values awards winners: Elara in Reception, Max in Year 1, Vienna in Year 2, Mila in Year 3, Lottie in Year 4, Carmen in Year 5 and Luca in Year 6. These children are always doing the right thing and working hard, well done! We also celebrated Olivia and Jacob in Year 4 who were awarded their pen licenses this week. A huge well done to all of our house teams this week for earning lots of value points. Darwen Tower came in 4th place, Whitehall Park came in 3rd place, River Darwen came in 2nd place and India Mill in 1st place. We had lots of Sports Awards this week. Well done to Callie for 25m in backstroke, Ralphi was awarded a swimming medal for 5m and a football certificate for courage against older players, Elijah was awarded a 200m swimming certificate, James was awarded a 100m swimming certificate, Renee was awarded a 5m swimming certificate and Carmen won a student of the year trophy in kickboxing and a swimming certificate for 100m and 50m. Additionally, Phoebe was awarded the Olivia doll from Rainbows for excellent colouring, Thea was awarded a gymnastics certificate for backwards and forwards on the bars, Reggie won player of the week in football for scoring 10 goals and finally Scarlett won player of the match in netball. Well done everyone! Our Year 5 and 6 football team also shared that they lost to St Paul’s 2-1 in their most recent football game, but still placed 5th out of 13 schools. This is a brilliant placement! Also, well done to Year 1 and 2 who the best attendance in Key Stage 1 and Year 4 in Key Stage 2. Mrs Ham also reminded us of our upcoming events: Let’s Go Sing, Stay and Play, NSPCC Speak Out and our visit from Harold the Giraffe. Finally, Charlie, Lilly and James said some beautiful prayers to end our worship. Have a restful weekend and please stay safe in the turbulent weather conditions.
Year 2 - Music - Creating and performing bass lines
This week Year 2 revised the definition of, genre, beat and rhythm. They then went on to name as many music genres as possible. Working in pairs Year 2 were challenged to create a bass line to a funk song. Some children were then able to perform their bass lines to the whole class. Well done Year 2!
Year 2 - Maths - Creating 3D shapes and identifying the number of vertices
In Year 2 we have been identifying the properties of 3D shapes. We constructed 3D shapes using sticks and playdough and counted the number of vertices.
Christmas Video 2025
Dear Parents and Carers, What a truly magical and festive end to an incredible first term at St Barnabas! As we reach the final day of this seven-week half term, I am filled with such pride reflecting on everything our school family has achieved. First and foremost, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you. Your partnership and engagement are vital to our children’s success, and your generosity this term—from the Macmillan Coffee Morning to our wonderful Christmas Fair—has been overwhelming. We are so lucky to have such a supportive community. To our children: you are quite simply wonderful. Whether you were settling into Reception for the first time, representing our school in sports, or shining on stage in our Nativity and "Christmas Cracker" performances, you have lived life in all its fullness. You have worked your socks off, and you truly deserve this rest. For photos of our Christmas fun, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo.../christmas-2025 and also see our weekly news: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/news I also want to extend a huge thank you to our fantastic staff team. Their hard work and dedication ensure our school is a love-filled Christian family where every child can thrive. I am particularly grateful for them being such brilliant sports this week; they completely threw themselves into the filming of our annual Christmas video! The children had a wonderful time spotting themselves in the video during our church service this morning. I think the definite highlight for them was seeing exactly what the teachers get up to in school between the hours of 6- 7! We truly hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONfmvpqhqag A reminder that we break up early today at 2:00 pm. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope your holiday is filled with love, laughter, and joy. We look forward to seeing everyone back, refreshed and ready for a new chapter, on Monday 5th January. Take care and God bless, Mrs. Ham
Whole School Christmas Church Service
This morning, our whole school enjoyed a joyful and reflective visit to church to celebrate the Christmas season together. During the service, children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 confidently shared the work they have been doing in class, exploring the true meaning of Christmas and the special joy, hope and kindness that Jesus brought to others. Their contributions helped everyone to pause and reflect on the importance of love, generosity and togetherness at this special time of year. We also enjoyed singing a selection of our much-loved Christmas carols, filling the church with festive cheer. A highlight was watching our whole-school Christmas video, which captured many of the wonderful activities and celebrations from the past couple of weeks. The children thoroughly enjoyed seeing themselves on screen taking part in the festivities and were especially delighted to see members of the school staff joining in and having fun. It was a warm and uplifting celebration that truly reflected the spirit of Christmas and brought our school community together. A huge thank you to Parents and to all who attended to celebrate with us. We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!