Lancashire Schools Bee Stinger Netball
What a fantastic day we have had at the Lancashire Bee Stinger Netball Finals. We had the honour of representing the Borough after winning the Blackburn with Darwen School final a few weeks ago. We started off with an impressive 7-1 then went on to play several other matches which were a real mixed bag, but the children fought hard for every point and worked so well as a team. We are really proud of all of our children and it is such a big achievement to reach the Lancashire Schools finals. Small but mighty definitely sums us up!
BwD School Games - Y3/4 Quad Kids
This afternoon some of our children from Years 3 and 4 represented the school at the Blackburn with Darwen School Games Quad Kids event at Witton park. The children did four events which included a 60m sprint, 400m long distance, vortex throw and long jump. Every single pupil represented the school wonderfully and really encouraged each other to push to their limits. We now need to wait to see how we’ve done once every school has completed the events. Fingers crossed for Team B !
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Years 2 & 4 - RE: Exploring the Church
Both Year 2 and Year 4 are currently studying the Church in RE. To develop the children’s knowledge and understanding, Rev Ben invited both classes to church to explore the features and talk about why they might be found in a church. The Year 2 children have been learning about various features and labelling them, which was further developed through experiencing how they are used and why. The Year 4 children have been learning about the similarities and differences between different churches and other places of worship, and they have been finding out about how some common features are connected to the Bible. Thank you for inviting us, Rev Ben. The experience definitely enhanced the children’s learning.
Year 3- English-Diary Planning
Today, our Year 3 writers are exploring the themes of resilience and displacement through the book My Name Is Not Refugee. They worked hard planning key events and personal feelings for their diary entries. From the heartache of saying goodbye to old friends and leaving their homes with just a small bag, to the challenging days of walking and sleeping in strange places, the children thoughtfully considered every step of the journey. They also reflected on the new sensory experiences, like tasting new foods, seeing interesting sights, and hearing different languages, alongside the emotional challenges of loneliness and cold. Tomorrow, they'll use these carefully planned events to write their diary entries, bringing their stories to life on paper.
Whole School Worship - How Can We Flourish Together?
Today, in our collective worship, we shared ideas of what it means to flourish. The children had some fantastic thoughts, including being the best you can be, persevering, sharing with others and appreciating what God has given us. We looked at each one of our Christian values and decided how they could help us to learn and grow together. Mrs Ham reminded us of some of the “wows” and the “ows” in the world and we discussed how they make us feel. We reflected on the part we can all play by taking action to prevent the suffering in the world. We ended our worship with a reminder and a celebration of the ways we at St Barnabas have affected change in our communities and in the wider world. These included supporting our local refugees, collecting preloved coats for the homeless, raising money for East Lancs Hospice and collecting tinned food and toiletries for our harvest appeal. The children articulated that we all flourish when we aim to make the world a better place.
The Great Live Assembly- World Refugee Day 2025
This morning in Year 4, we took part in The Great Live Assembly for World Refugee Week. 43 million young people and children have had to leave their country for various reasons including persecution and war. We met two children from Kenya - Ajok wanted to be a teacher and had to flee due to civil war. He had to walk over 500 miles to reach his final destination. We then watched an interview with the author Michael Rosen who has recently written On the Move, which uses poetry to highlight the struggles of a refugee. This teaches us that ‘Home is where the Heart is’ and we should really appreciate and support the sacrifices that the refugees across the world have to endure.
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Year 3 - English- Presentation Of Learning- My name is not a Refugee
Year 3 presented their learning about refugees to the Year 2 class today. The session began with a clear definition of the word "refugee," helping the younger students understand this term. The children then went on to share some facts they had learned about refugees, for example, some refugees walk for miles and miles, refugees are just people, like you and me, who need a safe place to live and sometimes, refugees can only take a small bag, they have to leave their toys, schools, and homes behind. What brought their learning to life was the opportunity to meet some refugees yesterday and hear their stories firsthand. Sharing these powerful personal accounts with the Year 2 class was an amazing experience, allowing the students to grasp the concept of "living life in its fullness" even in the face of adversity. Naomi read out a prayer to keep all the children and grown-ups who have left their homes safe. Help them find a new, happy place to live. And help us be kind to everyone. Amen.
Year 3- Music- Live lesson with Fleur East- World Music Day
This afternoon, our Year 3 students enthusiastically participated in a special Music Live Lesson with Fleur East! As part of "Access All Arts Week" and in recognition of World Music Day this Saturday, they explored the exciting world of rap, learning how raps are created and practicing essential skills like staying on the beat.
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Year 3-Exploring Spirituality Through Refugee Week
Today, as part of Refugee Week, 12 children from Year 3 visited a local church where they had the wonderful opportunity to meet refugees from 17 countries, such as Iraq, Palestine, Greece, South Africa, Afghanistan and Sudan. They listened to powerful, real-life stories of resilience, hope, and strength, gaining insight into these individuals' journeys and the challenges they have overcome. The experience helped to build empathy and deepen the children’s understanding of what it means to seek safety and rebuild a life in a new place. We ate food from Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Italy, Greece and drank Arabic coffee. The children sang songs for the refugees. Reverend Gilbert spoke to the children about how our donations to DARE - Darwen Asylum and Refugee Enterprise have helped refugees and ensured they are always welcomed, and they encourage more donations, etc. This visit linked beautifully with our Spirituality school model of Windows, Mirrors, and Doors. Through Windows, the children looked out and learned from the lives of others, seeing the world through different perspectives. Mirrors encouraged them to look inward, reflect on their own lives, and think about how they might feel in similar situations. Finally, Doors inspired them to step out and consider how they can live more compassionately, supporting others and making positive choices in their own lives. The visit was a meaningful extension of our R.E. learning but also connected closely with Mrs Ham’s worship this week, which focused on raising awareness and showing solidarity with people in need. It encouraged our students to reflect on how they can contribute to a more welcoming and understanding world. Overall, today’s experience supported our whole-school aim of helping children to live life in all its fullness, by inspiring them to be open-hearted, thoughtful, and active in making a difference. #RefugeeWeek
Access All Arts with Fleur East
Today we took part in Sounds Lesson Live with Fleur East. Fleur works at Hits Radio and she was telling us all about Access all Arts Week which is next week. As part of the session, Fleur told us all about how much she enjoys rapping and that it’s such a great thing to do. We started with a full body warm up and this highlighted the importance of warming up our whole body but especially our voice. Breath work plays a vital role in warming our voice up. We the practiced clapping in beats of four and added the lyrics backwards - Shout A, triple A Access all Arts it’s time to play! Let’s dance it, let’s draw it, let’s dream it, let’s make it. Dance it, draw it, dream it, make it! The children loved learning the rap and some of their performances were fantastic!
Year 4 - Linking Schools Visit to St Matthew’s
Our Linking Schools project reached its final part on Monday with Year 4 visiting St Matthew’s C of E Primary in Blackburn. We had a fantastic day designing “together towns”, creating poetry about living well together and even joining an assembly with local author, Dan Worsley. We have thoroughly enjoyed learning about our new friends and sharing work throughout this year; it has helped us to realise our similarities and celebrate differences.
Year 4 - The Children’s Literature Festival 2025
On Tuesday, the Year 4 class walked to Darwen Library Theatre to take part in the Children’s Literature Festival. Their workshop was a session on developing rhyming patterns and creating poetry. It was delivered by Rappaman - a poet that does a lot of work with communities in the North West. The children had great fan creating rhymes and repeating tongue twisters. There was even a joke or two thrown in!