Reception: Class Worship
Today during our class worship, we listened to Mark tell the story of Brother Andrew. Bishop Joe told us about the story. Andrew knew there were other countries in Europe who didn't like Christians. He shared the Bible with them because he was so enthusiastic that other people should read God's word. It shows us how much God loves us. We thought about how we could be just like brother Andrew by telling people how much God loves us all and by being kind and loving to everybody. We ended our worship by learning a new song and singing 'Our God is a great big God'.
Year 2 Class Worship- The Story of Andrew
This morning, Year 2 listened to the inspiring story of Andrew in class worship. Andrew was a man who believed deeply in God and showed great bravery by travelling all around the world to deliver Bibles to people who didn’t have any. In some countries, Bibles were banned or very limited, and Andrew knew he could get into serious trouble for what he was doing. But because of his strong faith and his belief that everyone should have the chance to worship God, he overcame his fear and carried on. We were amazed at how courageous Andrew was. He didn’t give up, even when things were difficult or dangerous. His actions reminded us of other brave people like Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks, who stood up for what was right, even when it was risky or scary. We also thought about Mary Jones, the girl who walked many miles and saved up for years just to get her own Bible, as this is a story we have recently learnt in our RE lessons. We talked about how her story led to big changes and helped many more people to get Bibles too. We saw how both Mary and Andrew were driven by their love for God and their desire to help others grow in their faith. Andrew’s story helped us think about the importance of courage, faith, and standing up for what is right, and so we had some beautiful prayers to reflect this to end our worship.
Harvest Singing Worship
Another joyous start to the week by singing songs of thanks ready for our upcoming Harvest church services on Sunday 12th October and Thursday 23rd October. Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6 led our actions this week and we were super impressed with how well our Reception class had remembered the actions from last week.
Year 4 Picture News - Primary Park Run
In our class worship we shared Picture News which introduced the new initiative of a ‘Primary Parkrun’ which aims to bring junior running events closer to primary schools. It is inclusive and not just about fitness, but also about helping children build friendships, confidence and life skills in their local community. We then moved onto looking at community and what the bible tells us about the importance of getting together as a community. Christians believe service to others is very important, because it helps demonstrate love for God and others. We loved really like the quote from Phil Jackson who is an NBA coach as we really believe it to be true. ‘The strength of. Team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team’
Year 6 Class Worship
Following on from this week's worship theme, today's class worship looked again at the story of Ananias and Saul. The children heard about how God has agents, to whom he gives the courage to complete important jobs for him. They discussed why God chose Saul to spread the word about Jesus, especially since Saul had been persecuting Christians. We learned about how Saul went on to become Paul and write many important sections of the Bible.
Whole School Worship - Agent Ananias
We learned about a very special mission given by God this week in worship. God directed Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to heal Saul of his blindness and baptise him. Despite Ananias's fear due to Saul's reputation as a persecutor of Christians, he obeyed the Lord's assurance that Saul was a "chosen instrument". Ananias laid hands on Saul, restoring his sight, and then baptised him, marking his dramatic conversion from persecutor to the apostle Paul, a key figure in spreading Christianity. We reflected on what we learned from the story and the children shared their thoughts, including that we should trust God’s choices, and that everyone has the ability to change.
Year 4 - Class Worship
In order to support the children’s understanding of this week’s worship theme, the Year 4s listened to the story of Ananias and Saul again. They discussed why God chose Saul to spread the word about Jesus, especially after spending a lot of time persecuting Christians. The children thought about the benefits and dangers of giving someone unexpected an important job. They recognised that the message meant more coming from a former non-believer. The Year 4s were then chosen for a special mission of their own: to be agents of respect. Their job will be to look out for anyone treating our spiritual garden with respect and nominate them for some extra value points. They are looking forward to announcing their nominations next week.
Harvest Singing Worship
What a joyous way to start a glorious Monday morning with our Harvest singing worship. It was the first time that our new Reception class had joined us for collective worship and they were little superstars. They joined in with our Harvest songs with enthusiasm. A huge thank you to our Year 5 and 6 children for modelling the actions to our Reception children. We are looking forward to singing these special songs of praise in our school Harvest Church Service on Thursday 23rd October and we have been invited to sing in our church for a special Harvest Sunday service on Sunday 12th October. All welcome.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning, we took a moment to reflect on what has been a busy and wonderful third week of school. Our week began with a focus on God’s Big Story in Whole School Worships, where we came together to deepen our understanding. Year 6 had a fantastic time creating artwork in the Darwen Town Centre, while Years 3, 4, and 6 took part in a Let’s Go Sing Choir workshop, which has inspired even more children to sign up for our school choir. Year 5 enjoyed a Move and Learn session with BwD, and our entire school embraced the excitement of the new clubs that started this week, including Foodie Friends, Football, Fred & Pearl Craft Club, Choir, Netball, and Forest Schools. We also took time to celebrate our individual value award winners, with a huge well done to Zachary and Hollie in KS1, and Eva, Emily, Jack, and Elsie in KS2, for their dedication across the curriculum, their embodiment of our Barney’s 4Bs and Christian Values, and for spreading joy throughout the school. In addition, we were pleased to award India Mill as our Value Award winners for the second consecutive week, and Year 6 as the winners in KS2 with 100% attendance, while Reception and Year 1 in EYFS and KS1 earned recognition with a fantastic 99.3% attendance. Next, we celebrated our out-of-school achievers, including Albie for earning his 5m and 10m swimming certificates, Evie for her bravery in attending Rainbows for the first time, Alice for being awarded Cheerleader of the Week, Peyton for winning Star of the Week at gymnastics, Grace for achieving a highly commended in her recent acro exam, Charlie for being named Student of the Week at Junior Dragons Martial Arts Club, Ava for being awarded Squirrel of the Week, Mason for being runner-up in a recent darts tournament, Lyla for receiving a certificate of excellence for her gymnastics and acro talent, and Annabel for being named Star of the Week at her dance school. Finally, we ended our worship with some heartfelt prayers from Mason, Ella, and Zachary, who prayed for those affected by war and conflict, for those suffering from illnesses, and for those who don’t have enough food—especially as Harvest approaches. We also sang “Our God is a Great Big God.” A quick reminder from Mrs. Ham: Next Friday, September 26th, we’ll be hosting the Macmillan Coffee Morning. All donations will be greatly appreciated.
Rev Ben’s Whole School Worship
Our Whole School Worship was lead by Rev Ben this morning. We started by playing Rev Ben says which the children loved. The game was all about listening carefully,which led us nicely into the story of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were told not to touch the tree in the middle of the garden as it would make God unhappy. Then one day the serpent came to visit and told Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree. They both ate from the tree and became I’ll as they has gone against Gods wishes. He asked them to leave the garden so sadly they left the garden as they had changed Gods will forever. This helps us to understand why the world is the way it is. Christians believe Jesus is Gods Ultimate Rescuer and he sacrificed Himself so that those who follow Him can know they are God’s friends. Following the story, Rev Ben asked the children what went wrong and how was God still generous? The children shared their ideas by answering that they are the fruit and this created badness to enter the world but God promised to send a rescuer. Then we discussed who. Might God be asking you to show sacrificial generosity tot his week? The children suggested teachers, parents, friends and people that don’t have much. For our time of prayer we took time to say sorry to God asking him for forgiveness for things that we have done wrong.
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Worship: Worship Behaviour & Living Out God's Big Story
This morning in Worship, Mrs Araujo, our Behaviour Lead shared our behaviour focus for this term- Behaviour in Worship. We recapped our manners and lunch time behaviour focuses from last year and how they were linked to our 4 B's of Be Safe and Be Kind. This term we are going to focus on our 4 B's of Be Respectful and Be Ready and Mrs Araujo showed us special widgit symbols and Makaton signs that our teachers will be using to remind us of good listening, track the speaker, stay silent until asked to participate and good sitting. We then watched the latest Worship across the Diocese video about Bringing the Kingdom to life. After Pentecost what did the disciples do next? How did they make sure that they were following Jesus' teaching? In this episode we explored the actions of Jesus' followers that meant that they brought God's Big Story to life at that time, and the ways in which we can do the same today. We reflected with Bishop Philip on how we can be storytellers of God's big story as we can learn about Jesus, pray, eat together and give to others.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning marked our second celebration worship of the new academic year, and what an incredible week it has been! A definite highlight was the fantastic "Treasure Island" production by M&M Productions, which truly captivated our entire school. We've also enjoyed settling into our new classes, launching into new curriculums, and electing our Smart School Councillors and Well-being Warriors. We then had the pleasure of congratulating our amazing Value Award winners for this week. These children have made a fantastic start to the new academic year by consistently demonstrating Barney's 4Bs and our Christian Values, alongside working incredibly hard across the curriculum. A huge well done to Evie and Alice in KS1, and to Charlie, Scarlett, Daisy, and Brodie in KS2! We also celebrated some wonderful out-of-school achievements: Alayna for achieving grade excellence in her recent acro exam, Maggie for earning Star of the Week for super effort at gymnastics, Haydn for demonstrating great skill and sportsmanship at a holiday sports club, earning him a huge trophy!, Hendrix for achieving Squirrel of the Week, Scarlett for her impressive achievements in Netball, Sofia for earning a distinction, the highest possible grade, in musical theatre, Annabel for being a superstar on her first day at Brownies, Samuel for showing fantastic courage in his swimming lessons, Thea for being a super Rainbow and attending the Rainbows fun day, Mikey for swimming 10m, Ava for being awarded her builders badge at Squirrels, and Eleanor and Olivia for being super creative at Rainbows this week. Additionally, we recognised Reception and Year 4 for achieving our amazing attendance award this week! Well done to Reception with an impressive 99.6% and Year 4 with 98.6%. Mrs. Ham then shared some exciting events for next week: Years 3, 4, and 6 will participate in a ‘Let’s Go Sing’ concert on Monday, Year 5 will enjoy a Move and Learn session with Blackburn Rovers, and a reminder that Wednesday is School Photograph Day and we will also have our Meet the Teacher sessions. We concluded our worship with special prayers from Harry, Minnie, and Harry, who encouraged us to show respect, spread positivity at school, and consider those less fortunate, such as those without easy access to clean water. We then shared the Grace and had a lively sing-along to ‘We Can Make a Difference.’