Year 6 Art
Year 6 have created their own artwork based on the work of Lubaina Himid’s ‘Five’. Lubaina Himid grew up around bold colours and fabrics due to her mum being a textile designer, and is renowned for her artwork telling stories about black people in western society. In the artwork ‘Five’, various items on the table carry symbolic meaning: the plates clearly displaying the stars and stripes of America and the continent of Africa; the sugar bowl representing a sweeter relationship between the two continents and other items on the table symbolising the transatlantic route taken by slaves in the past. We used this as our inspiration for our Easter artwork and provided images that carry symbolic meaning in answer to the question ‘Who was Jesus?’
Year 5 - Friction
Today, Year 5 explored the mechanics of gears as part of their friction unit. Using cardboard and wooden lollipop sticks, they carefully designed and assembled their own working gear systems, gaining a hands-on understanding of how gears transfer movement and change direction. The children demonstrated great problem-solving skills and creativity, experimenting with different sizes and placements to see how their gears interacted. It was a fantastic opportunity to apply their learning in a practical and engaging way!
Reception: Muddy Monday
The children explored Jack Keys for their Muddy Monday session. They enjoyed a walk, built sculptures, built a den, balanced on natural materials and collectively walked 58km to add to our CAFOD Big Lent Walk. Well done!
Year 5 - Easter Artwork
Year 5 have been exploring Jesus’ victory during this period leading up to Easter. Through discussions and reflections, the children considered how Christ’s triumph brings hope and light into the world, overcoming sadness and darkness. They then expressed their understanding through artwork, using contrasting colours to depict the cross as a symbol of victory against a dark background. Each piece powerfully represented the message of hope, reinforcing the significance of Easter in the Christian faith.
Year 3- Art-D.T- Recycled Bottle Art
For Mothering Sunday, Year 3 transformed recycled plastic water bottles and lids into a work of art for their special someone. They painted the bottles with acrylic paint, imagining them as miniature vases, and then added hand-drawn flowers and stems to complete their designs.
Year 4 DT - Building circuits for our torches
In the first part of our DT session we constructed our circuits to put inside our torches. These consisted of a bulb, three wires, a battery pack and a switch. We made the switches ourselves by attaching two split pins to a piece of card and then the switch itself was a metal paper clip. The children found this stage of the process very challenging but they persevered and worked collaboratively to make a full working circuit that they then carefully placed inside their torches which have been made from water bottles.
Completed Torches in our Electrical Systems Torch Design Unit
In the second part of our DT lesson, we added the circuits to the casing ( water bottles) and fixed these together securely, ensuring that the switch was still in working order. Throughout this unit the children have worked extremely hard to develop their subject knowledge about electrical systems including identifying electrical products and explaining why they are useful, making a working switch, identifying the features of a torch and creating and designing a functioning torch. Following the testing of each design, we will now move on to evaluating the success of a final product.
Year 6- Graffiti Tunnel
We had a great time appreciating the graffiti art in Leake Street tunnel and we got to create our own graffiti art. Earlier on this year we looked at graffiti art in our Art unit so it was great to be able to apply the skills we learnt. All of the Year 6 London trip photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025
Year 4 DT - Designing Torches
In our DT session this week we looked at designing our product to fit a set of specific user needs. To begin the session, we created our circuits that we will need for our torches and then we drew the circuit formats out using the correct symbols. It was quite challenging to make the circuits light the bulbs as some of the crocodile clips in the wires were tough and some of the batteries no longer worked. We worked in small groups and it was great to see the children working as a team to problem solve. Once we had done this we then designed our torches and labelled all of the components. We can’t wait to start making the torches in our next session now we have collect all of the resources which include; a water bottle, I battery pack, a bulb, a switch and three wires.
The Little Craft Club
This week at The Little Craft Club, they celebrated St Patrick’s day and had lots of fun together making Irish themed crafts.
Year 3- 40 Days of Kindness – Day 1
Following this morning’s school worship, where Mrs. Ham introduced the 40-day kindness challenge, we began Day 1 today. As we explored the similarities between Lent and Ramadan, we discussed how both are times to feel closer to God, give things up or fast, and give back to others. To start our challenge, each of the 31 children drew a picture, some chose suns, love hearts, stars, rainbows, books, cups, flowers, and even ice creams. At the end of the day, Chloe went around with a basket and handed each child a picture created by someone else. This small but thoughtful act brought smiles to everyone’s faces and reminded us how simple gestures can brighten someone’s day. We also spoke about the importance of kindness, especially during break and lunchtime when small disagreements can happen. Instead of only giving to our best friends, we challenged ourselves to give selflessly and spread kindness to others, seeing the joy it can bring. This discussion helped us reflect on how our words and actions shape the friendships and community around us.
Little Craft Club
Today at The Little Craft Club, the children designed and decorated their own pencil cases. They thought of their favourite things so the final products represented each of them! Some of the children delved into our Imagination Station box to find things to creatively decorate the zip pull too! This activity is going to be part of a special Craft Club session at The Carus Centre in Hoddlesden during the Easter holidays. In the session, we will also be painting canvases and making bracelets/phone charms. The session is open to the public and can be booked here: https://fredandpearl.com/collections/easter-holidays
.png)