Singing Worship
We came together as a whole school to start practising our Christmas songs and think about why these songs are important. The highlight was definitely Ding Dong!
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning in our celebration worship we starting by thanking all the parents for their contributions to Children in Need. We thanked Miss Kachwalla for her workshops for Inter Faith week as we have all learnt so much about Islam. We also said a big thank you and goodbye to Miss Flynn for everything she has done for our school and wished her lots of luck as she starts her maternity leave. We will miss her! Firstly, we congratulated our new Science Ambassadors Minnie S in Year 1, Olly in Year 2, Elijah and Harry in Year 3, Jack in Year 4, Daisy in Year 5 and Grace in Year 6. Well done for your successful applications, it was so tough for Miss Kachwalla, our Science leader and class teachers to decide after an overwhelming number of applications. We celebrated our Value Award winners Ohana, Minnie S and Percy in EYFS and KS1 and Iyla, Jacob, Ted and Tilly in KS2. These children consistently follow our 4B’s, show our Christian values and have a strong work ethic in all lessons. We congratulated River Darwen for earning the most value points as a team this week. Additionally, we congratulated Year 1 for 97.4% attendance this week and Year 3 for 98.9% attendance this week. We then celebrated our out of school star achievers. We celebrated Ella-Grace for winning a trophy for her football training in Blackpool and showing lots of skill with her left foot, Reggie, Cassius and Jack for winning player of the week in their football teams and Beau for showing good listening and tackling in her football training. Additionally, Olivia received the Captains Armband for good tackles. We celebrated Alice for winning her cheer competition, Grace for winning an outstanding dancer award and the adjudicator award and winning a huge variety of bronze, silver and gold medals and Daisy for coming second in her gymnastics competition. We celebrated Bowen for his certificate for swimming 5 metres and Max for being awarded for swimming fast and jumping in the water. We also celebrated the Y5/6 football team for drawing 3-3 with St Paul’s and narrowly lost to St Peters 4-0. We closed by thanking Mollie, Olivia and Percy for their beautiful prayers and appreciating everyone who joined us in worship. We wish you all a peaceful and restful weekend as we look forward to the busy and joy-filled weeks leading up to Christmas.
Whole School Worship led by Rev Ben
This weeks Worship was led by Rev Ben and we started with a challenge. Rev Ben had a Bop It and the five children that helped had to follow the instructions to either flick it, twist, spin it or pull it. Ella, Quinn, James, Walter and Sofia all had a go and it was super tricky! In the game you had to do exactly what it tells us but that’s not necessarily what we want those in charge to be like. We then went on to finish the story of Joseph the prisoner. We started at the part when there was a knock at Joseph’s door. It was his eleven brothers who begged him for food. They didn’t recognise Joseph, but Joseph knew who they were, and he forgave them for what they had done to him. Joseph’s family then moved to Egypt, and Joseph himself became a great leader. His story shows us the importance of forgiveness, trusting in God, and using our own talents to help others. In our discussion we looked at how Joseph showed compassion towards his brothers and how we could use of voice to encourage world leaders to show compassion. What could we say or do? We finished with a prayer that reflected on the theme of compassion.
Year 3- Class Worship- Can technology ever help us too much?
Today in our collective worship, we discussed technology and reflected on the Christian Value of Wisdom. We looked at the new Nike Project Amplify powered shoe, designed to help people stay active, independent, and mobile. We talked about how technology is a useful tool but should not become a distraction. The Bible reminds us to focus on what truly matters, like our relationships with others. Renee read the prayer, where we thanked God for technology and asked for wisdom to use it for learning, connection, and kindness.
Year 1 Inter Faith Week
Year 1 have really enjoyed learning about Islam this week and what life is like as a Muslim. In our worship with Miss Kachwalla we learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam, she showed us her prayer mat and spoke about pilgrimages. Year 1 asked ‘how do Muslims celebrate Eid?’ which really excited them. They also asked ‘Why do you dress differently to us?’ which Miss Kachwala explained was about modesty. We also tried some traditional Muslim foods. The children really enjoyed honey on toast and melon, but they were not keen on dates, figs and olives.
Friday Celebration Worship: Children in Need
This morning in our celebration worship, we gathered as a whole school family to mark Children in Need, offering heartfelt thanks for the generosity shown in raising awareness and funds for such a worthy cause. This week, we have also celebrated the start of Anti-Bullying Week by wearing odd socks, a joyful reminder of the importance of uniqueness and individuality. Together, we reflected on how love, friendship, generosity and kindness can help us use our power for good and stand against bullying and nurture one another’s mental health. Throughout the week, our after-school clubs have brought great excitement and creativity, with children enjoying board games, football, forest school, Warhammer painting and a lively Let’s Go Sing workshop. Reception delighted in a terrific Trekking Tuesday, Year 3 welcomed Rev Ben and enjoyed a memorable visit to Nightingale Farm, and all classes began their new Design & Technology units as they prepare to create products for the Christmas Fair. Our worship continued with the presentation of awards. We celebrated our Value award winners Alfie, Beau and Haydn in EYFS and KS1, and Joshua, Luke and Mason across KS2, for demonstrating an excellent work ethic, thoughtful listening, teamwork, independence and our Christian values. We congratulated the whole of Year 3 for representing our school so beautifully during their farm visit, Darwen Tower as the overall value award winners with an impressive 233 points, and Year 2 and Year 3 as our attendance champions. We then celebrated our out of school star achievers. We celebrated Bo for earning both ‘Player of the Week’ in football and ‘Best in the Cast’ at Made for Stage, Haydn for his ‘Player of the Week’ award and an incredible 27 goals in just seven games, Ralphi for achieving his 5m swimming badge, Poppy for her wonderful dancing, Isabella for being ‘Star of the Day’ in acro, Hendrix and Maggie for completing Stage 1 gymnastics, Jack for his courage and skill as ‘Player of the Match’ with Blackburn Eagles, Marley for her dedication to Brownies, Grace for exceptional success across her dance competition, Freddie for swimming a fantastic 25 metres, Evie for achieving her laughter, communication, drawing and promise badges at Rainbows, Lydia and Naomi for demonstrating kindness, helpfulness and bravery at Rainbows and Brownies, and Ohana in Reception class for swimming an impressive 75 metres. We also celebrated our Year 5/6 football team for their two brilliant league wins last night in the DPSSA Football League and for representing our school proudly at the Blackburn Rovers Senior Ground on Wednesday as part of the KS2 BRFC Kids Cup. Mrs Ham and Mrs Govan then awarded certificates to Luna, Beau, Lyla, Skye, Olivia, Edward, Alana and Naomi for their success in the Spring Vale Ramblers Club Art Competition, with their artwork chosen for display in the Darwen Heritage Centre. Mrs Govan also introduced our Christmas ADVENTure Trail Art competition, inspired by the Nativity story and soon to be showcased in Whitehall Park, with a chocolate treat awaiting all who take part. We closed by thanking Renée, Callie and Harry for their beautiful prayers and offering our appreciation to everyone who joined us in worship, as well as to our whole school community for their continued support. We wish you all a peaceful and restful weekend as we look forward to the busy and joy-filled weeks leading up to Christmas.
Whole School Worship - Joseph the Prisoner
Our Whole School Worship was led by Rev Ben this morning. We started with a quick game all about compassion which followed on from Rev Matt’s Worship the week before. Next, we finished the remainder of the Bible story : Joseph the Prisoner. Joseph was his father's favorite son, given a colourful coat that made his brothers jealous. They sold him into slavery, but Joseph ended up in prison even though he was innocent. In prison, he interpreted the dreams of other prisoners and eventually Pharaoh's, predicting seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh made him the leader of Egypt, and Joseph stored food for the famine, saving many lives and eventually forgiving his brothers, showing that even bad things can be used for good. We looked at how Joseph had a big dream, but his life wasn’t going well. He still used his gifts to help others. And through Joseph, God showed compassion to Egypt warning them of a famine. As a school, we have showed lots of compassion for special events this week such as wearing odd socks to start Anti ~ Bullying Week. Through discussion the children then highlighted how Joseph used his gifts to help others. We also looked at how we can pay careful attention to the needs of others this week. What could we say, do or give? The children shared lots of wonderful ideas like caring and sharing, raising money through Children in Need and showing respect We finished our Worship with a prayer and then out singing King of Me.
Whole School Worship - Power for Good
Our theme in today’s collective worship was “Power for Good”. Continuing our focus on Anti-Bullying Week, Mrs Ham shared some of the fantastic answers the children gave on Monday about standing up to bullying. These included saying stop, being assertive, asking why, and telling a trusted adult. We learned of how Jesus was a power for good, even when others turned against him, and we reflected on the ways in which we can also be a power for good by being a good friend and spotting when someone needs our help. The WOW Group also shared how they are being a power for good, by protecting our planet and leading our school’s Switch Off Fortnight campaign. They shared posters recommending ways to save energy around school, including turning off lights and computer monitors when they are not in use, and they explained that they will be checking how well each class is doing at saving energy every break time and lunchtime during the campaign.
Collective Worship - Odd Socks Day
This morning we gathered as a whole school and spoke about why we were all wearing odd socks to launch anti bullying week. We celebrated how God created us all unique and special. The theme for anti-bullying week is 'Power for Good' so we discussed the amazing powers that we can show others including kindness, love, respect and friendship. We then watched a special Odd Socks Day video from the 'Living out God's big story' series and reflected on how we can learn from Jesus; to always be kind, forgiving and respectful to others. We then did a fun dancing prayer showing off our odd socks and then went on to sing ‘build up’ and ‘make a difference’.
Year 1 D&T- Remembrance Day
Today in Year 1, we applied our understanding of sliding mechanisms to create beautiful, remembrance-themed moving pictures. As we worked, we reflected on all the soldiers who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice their lives to protect our country. We also thought carefully about the symbolism of the poppy and what it represents. Well done, Year 1, for your thoughtful work and creativity.
Friday Celebration Worship
This morning in celebration worship, we reflected on a wonderful first week back to start the second half of our Autumn term. This week, we have remembered all those who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice their lives for us, and we observed a special two-minute silence. We would like to thank everyone who has supported the Poppy Appeal; our poppy merchandise will continue to be available next week. We then presented our individual value award winners in EYFS, KS1 and KS2. Well done to our worthy winners Hunter, Finn, Inaiya, Elijah, Chay, Harriet and Quinn for consistently demonstrating the Barney’s 4Bs, working extremely hard across the curriculum, producing work of an exceptional standard and showing a genuine desire to always improve. A huge well done also goes to Elijah, Chay, Isaac, Lana, Lyla, Cassidy, Naomi and Emily for achieving their pen licences—we know how hard you have all worked for this accomplishment. We also congratulated Whitehall Park as our overall value award winners for the week, along with Year 1 and Year 5 for achieving the highest attendance. Moving on, we celebrated the wonderful achievements of our children who have been excelling outside of school in their various sports and activities. Well done to Beau for being a mighty defender in football, Ida and Leila for showing impressive skill in stop, starting and steering during horse riding, Callie for demonstrating outstanding floor and vault work in gymnastics, Ava for her generosity at Rainbows and for achieving Star of the Week at Street Dance, Lana for her performing arts award, Theo for earning her drawing interest badge and Star of the Week in gymnastics for exceptional beam work, Olivia for achieving her 20m swimming certificate, Lyla for her success in lyrical, jazz and commercial dance, Olivia again for achieving her Level 1 gymnastics award, Isaac for demonstrating exceptional football skills at the Everton Academy experience, Rosie for being a superstar Brownie and earning several badges, Martha for achieving her 10m swimming award, Lydia for earning her laughter badge at Rainbows and for being extremely helpful, and Eleanor for achieving both her Rainbow Silver Award and a laughter badge. In other news, our Wellbeing Warriors also announced Year 3 as the winning class for having the most walkers in October and proudly shared that our school placed third in the borough for the highest number of walkers overall, our Sports Leaders presented India Mill as the Inter-house Dodgeball Competition winners from before the holidays, and we also congratulated our Year 5/6 Boys Football Team, who represented our school brilliantly and achieved two wins in the BwD Football League last night. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue our Scholastic Book Fair next week, to wear odd socks on Monday as we launch Anti-Bullying Week, and to end the week by wearing spots, pyjamas or Pudsey attire in support of Children in Need next Friday. Thank you to our wonderful school family for their support this week and always. Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Year 6: Remembrance Service
Our Year 6 children took part in the Darwen Cemetery remembrance day service this morning and we were so proud of the remarkable respect that they showed. A huge well done to Mason for his lovely reading and to all of our children for their maturity and compassion when placing crosses on the graves of the soldiers who bravely fought for our country. After the service the children learned that the piper used to attend St Barnabas as a child so he let the children try on his special hat. As a reward for representing our school so brilliantly, the children got to enjoy their break time on the play area in Whitehall Park. #WeWillRememberThem #remembrance #remembranceday #lestweforget