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!
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Geography- The Water Cycle and The Worlds Longest Rivers
In Our new geography unit we are focusing on rivers of the world. Today we started with the water cycle, labelling the key parts of the water cycle process. The water that rains on us now has rained on us before but it’s just recycled. We then moved into labelling the ten largest rivers in the world using a Chromebook and world atlas. It was super interesting and the children worked well within small groups to label rivers, counties and continents.
Year 1 Attend the Children’s Literature Festival at Darwen Library
Today, Year 1 had an exciting adventure at the Children’s Literature Festival 2025, held at Darwen Library—and what a fantastic time they had! They had the wonderful opportunity to meet the delightful author Saira Shah, who engaged the children with her inspiring story Super Nani and Captain Yaz. The book explores the heartwarming beginning of a unique friendship between two characters—Yasmin and her Nani—who speak different languages, English and Punjabi. Despite the language barrier, they found a magical way to communicate through gestures, key words, and a dash of imagination, all with the help of Yasmin’s favourite superheroes and a special rag doll. Following the story, we continued with the superhero theme. Our Year 1 children were given a thrilling mission. A meteor was hurtling toward Earth, threatening to erase all the wonderful books in the library. To save the day, the children had to transform into superheroes—choosing their own superhero names and special powers. Working together, they rose to the challenge and saved the library from disaster. A huge thank you to Darwen Library for inviting us to the Children’s Literature Festival 2025, and to the wonderful Saira Shah for inspiring our children and helping to spark a love of reading. We’re excited to share that Saira Shah will be launching her book at Waterstones Blackburn on Saturday, June 28 at 11am. All children are warmly invited to join a special Storytime session, followed by superhero fun! If today’s excitement is anything to go by, it promises to be a wonderful event.
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Year 3- Celebrating Literature Festival at Darwen Library
Today, as part of the Children's Literature Festival, Year 3 went on an exciting adventure, walking to Darwen Library to meet the wonderful Blackburn-born author, Christina Gabbitas. She shared a fascinating glimpse into her background, highlighting the importance of living life to its fullest. Christina also spoke about her love for audiobooks, explaining how she enjoys listening to stories. The children then had the amazing opportunity to read one of her powerful poems about saving our oceans aloud. Christina also captivated us by reading a section of her book, 'Believe in Magic', using wonderful expression in her voice that brought the story to life. Christina generously gave every child a signed copy of her book, 'Believe in Magic'! It was a truly inspiring session!
BwD Schools Bee Stinger Netball Champions
After taking part in the heats a few weeks ago Team B played in the Blackburn with Darwen Bee Stinger Netball finals tonight at St Bedes. The quality of play was outstanding and every single player fought for every ball and really performed to the highest level. Five back to back wins : 6-0, 8-1, 9-0, 5-2 and 9-0 saw them crowned BwD champions for the second consecutive year, which is incredible and they will now go on to represent the Borough at the Lancashire Championships!
Year 3- R.E-A Special Visitor: Learning About Judaism
Over the past two weeks in RE, Year 3 have explored different world faiths, learning about the similarities and differences within Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, and Humanism. Today, we were fortunate to have Lennox's aunt, a follower of Judaism, visit our class. She shared insights into the history of her religion and spoke about her visit to Palestine. The children engaged thoughtfully, asking many insightful questions, such as what inspired her to embrace Judaism, why pork is not consumed in her faith, and the significance of Saturday as their special day.
Year 3-Living Life to the Fullest at Rock and River
What an unforgettable day at Rock and River! Today, Year 3 embarked on their exciting class trip to Rock and River, a day filled with challenge, adventure, and growth. The aim of the day was to step outside comfort zones, try new experiences, and explore personal potential, and the children did exactly that! From the Low Ropes Course, climbing wall, and air bag jump, to Rafted Canoes, Sit-on-Top Kayaks, Paddle Boards, and the Mega Paddle Boards, every child embraced the challenges with enthusiasm and bravery. What made the day special was the way the children supported one another. There was a wonderful sense of encouragement, respect, and team spirit, with friendships strengthened through shared experiences and mutual celebration of each other’s efforts. Throughout the day, the children truly lived life to the fullest, laughing, learning, and pushing beyond their fears. Just as importantly, they embodied the Christian values at the heart of our school: courage, friendship and encouragement. It was a day of lifelong memories, an example of what can be achieved when we believe in ourselves and lift each other. A huge well done to every single one of them, they should be incredibly proud! All of the photos will be added to this album shortly: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-3-rock-and-river-2024-25
Y4 DT - Food Technology - Biscuit Making
Today Year 4 moved onto our third food technology session where we were making our biscuit designs. We have adapted the original review by adding various topping ingredients. First we made our shortbread mix, rolled it out and then cut it into our individual shapes and designs. Miss Carol then laid all the biscuits on the baking trays and put them in the oven to cook. We can’t wait to decorate them tomorrow and finally get to taste test the end product.
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Reception: The Church as a Special Place
As part of our learning on special places, Reception class visited St Barnabas Church and met Rev Matt. Rev Matt asked us to explore the church to find things we wouldn't find at home. Reggie said he saw a cross, Harry said a microphone, Beau said the font, Cassius found some musical instruments and Will found a chalice. Rev Matt asked why is church special for people. Ava said we worship here and Thea said we worship Jesus here. Rev Matt shared the chalice and plate and explained that we have a special meal to remember Jesus known as communion or the Eucharist. Rev Matt explained that all churches look different and that is ok. We watched a video to explain why. For Christians, church is a place and a way to describe people who trust in Jesus. It is a place where people meet which makes it really special. Thank you so much Rev Matt for putting our learning into context, we really enjoyed our visit.
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Year 3- Class Worship - Young Inventors
Today's Picture News class worship highlighted the inspiring ingenuity of three teenagers from India who developed a salt-powered fridge to aid hospitals in rural areas lacking electricity. Reflecting on this through the lens of "windows, doors, and mirrors" in spirituality, the teenagers' story served as a "window" into the needs of others and the power of innovation. We then considered the everyday items that ease our own lives, such as the convenience of a hairdryer, the ready access to running water, and the efficiency of an air fryer. This reflection acted as a "mirror," prompting us to appreciate the impact of even simple solutions on the quality of life. Inspired by the teenagers' creativity, which we saw as an open "door" of possibility, Year 3 resolved to embark on our invention journey, recognising our potential to make a positive difference in the world. This experience connected with the Christian value of hope and the biblical message of using our creativity to serve others. Isaac led a prayer thanking God for inspiring ideas and creative minds, emphasising the importance of using our abilities to make a positive impact, even through small acts of kindness and imagination.
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Year 3 - VE 80 Great Big Live Assembly
Yesterday, Year 3 looked at a presentation that helped the children understand the lead-up to the Second World War. We reflected on the reasons for the World War and the devastation it caused. We recognised how the war ended after six years and listened to a man named Alan, who shared his personal memories of the War. We then discussed our own perspectives and why it is important to remember those who sacrificed their lives. Finally we ended the session with a quiz to test our knowledge about what we learned. Today, the children joined a special "Great Big Live Assembly" commemorating Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). This significant historical event, observed on May 8th, 1945, marked the end of World War II in Europe, bringing immense relief and joyous celebrations after years of conflict. The assembly helped our young learners understand the importance of this day, exploring why it was celebrated with street parties and flags, and underscoring the themes of peace, hope, and the resilience of those who lived through the war. By learning about VE Day, Year 3 gained a valuable insight into the past and the importance of remembering history to build a more peaceful future.
Year 6 - VE Day 80
This morning, year 6 took part in a live assembly to commemorate VE Day. They discovered that although it is a day to celebrate, the end of the war heightened the sense of sadness in people as they reflected on the people they had lost. The children were shocked to hear that 70,000,000 people worldwide lost their lives during the conflict. They also heard from Frank Chester, a 108 year old war veteran, who spoke of his experiences of WW2. A truly remarkable human!