Year 3- Maths- Celebrating Square Root Day with Nira Chamberlain
Year 3 joined a live zoom session with Nira Chamberlain to celebrate square root numbers today. They enthusiastically participated in activities around calculating square numbers, showcasing fantastic engagement and a real passion for learning. They even discovered why the unique alignment that creates Square Root Day, like the upcoming May 5th, 2025, only happens a few times in a lifetime! This special day reminds us to recognise and celebrate those rare and interesting moments. A huge well done to Year 3 for their brilliant effort and enthusiastic participation. A big shoutout to Lyla who was chosen by Nira Chamberlain read out a question. ‘Who inspired you to be a mathematician . Nira told us his parents were the inspiration behind his love for maths.
Bee Stinger Netball Heat Winners
A huge congratulations to our Bee Stinger Netball squad who played amazing well in searing heat this afternoon and came away as heat winners. Five solid victories 11-0, 6-0, 2-0, 5-1, 6-0 . The children represented Team B brilliantly and now go on to take part in the grand final in a few weeks . A huge thank you to Mrs Gardner for her fantastic coaching and to Mrs Wilkinson for supporting and transporting.
Year 3- Geography- Living Life to the Full-Comparing Darwen and New York
As part of our Geography topic on the United States of America, Year 3 have been investigating their local area, taking note of the physical and human features in their surroundings. During our walk, we stopped to talk with Mrs Singleton’s brother-in-law, who shared some fascinating facts about Darwen’s famous India Mill and its history. As we continued, we spotted an old tramline, a reminder of the past when trams used to travel between Blackburn and Darwen. We also noticed a boat in someone's garden, which sparked lots of excitement and curiosity! The children made some brilliant observations, noting that the streets in Darwen look much narrower compared to the wide, bustling avenues of New York. They also commented that the houses here are much smaller, and overall, Darwen feels a lot quieter and less busy than the lively streets of New York. Year 3 were living life to its fullest on this walk, embracing every opportunity to explore, learn, and wonder about the world around them. These real-world experiences will help the children when discussing the similarities and differences between Darwen and New York in class. Well done, Year 3, fantastic geographers in the making!
Year 4 - English: Recapping Our Residential
Our first English lesson of the summer term was an “experience” session. We began by looking through some of the pictures from our trip to the Anderton Centre. We shared our memories and our favourite parts of the trip. We then worked in groups to write down these fond memories about 6 main areas: preparation, facilities, team games, archery, climbing and paddle boarding. All of this is in preparation for creating persuasive leaflets about visiting the Anderton Centre.
Year 3 - English-Year 3 Inspired by Author and Quizmaster Jay Flynn
Today, Year 3 enjoyed an inspiring visit from the author and celebrated Quizmaster, Jay Flynn. As part of their Biographies topic, Jay shared fascinating insights into his writing process and the content of his autobiography. He offered valuable tips to the young writers on how to craft compelling narratives, emphasising a great opening to draw readers in. The children were particularly enthralled to hear about Jay's own adventures, his significant charity work, and even his meeting with Prince William. This experience has ignited their enthusiasm as they now prepare to write their own biographies about the David Attenborough. Thank you so much Jay and thank you to Jack for telling his Dad all about our Biographies topic, leading to this special visit!
Year 4 Hop, Skip and Jump for East Lancashire Hospice
Today Year 4 took part in the Hop, Skip & Jump initiative that promised fun, laughter, and a chance for the children to get creative; all whilst making a difference to the community and supporting East Lancashire Hospice. We hopped, skipped and jumped our way around the MUGA. Over the last two years, the campaign has raised over £12,000 for East Lancashire Hospice and they have had over 30 local schools and nurseries involved. This year, they want to go one step further and raise over £20,000 for the hospice - so we have done our bit and what a beautiful day to take part in the sun!
PSHE Online Safety in Year 4
As part of our online safety, we looked at the use of instagram and the positive and negative impact it has on our mental health. The children discussed reasons for why the social media platform has an age restriction of 13 years old and the importance of keeping safe online. As a class we agreed that the age restriction is definitely a huge positive. The children then went on to highlight their key reasons for their positives and negatives, using voice 21 strategies to agree and disagree with their peers.
Hockey - Progressive Sports Final Session
We had our final hockey session with Progressive Sports on Friday and the children demonstrated all of their amazing hockey skills that they have been working on over the past six weeks. From various passing skills to dribbling and tactics, every single child has made great progress. The children finished with game challenges and have really enjoyed working individually and in smaller groups to perfect their skills. A huge thanks to Progressive Sports for providing specialist hockey coaching and teacher CPD. We look forward to working with them again soon!
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Whole School Science Boffin Show- A Whirlwind of Scientific Wonders
The whole school was treated to an unforgettable science show today, delivered by the amazing Science Boffin Katja. Katja started with demonstrating the incredible power of polymers with slush powder, turning liquid into gel. The highlight for many was the "Elephant Toothpaste" experiment, which created a mountain of foam in seconds! This spectacular display showcased an exothermic reaction in a way that truly captured everyone's attention. Katja also explained the essential Fire Triangle (fuel, heat, and oxygen) and demonstrated a controlled fire experiment, teaching us about the science behind combustion. The wonders of air pressure and fluid dynamics were unveiled with a mesmerising demonstration using a hairdryer, balloons, and a foam ball. By generating a powerful column of air, Katja made the objects appear to float, illustrating Bernoulli's principle and leaving students amazed. Naomi, our science Ambassador assisted Katja with this. The latex glove was used in more than one experiment, and was used to show how gases expand. Katja, with Miss Wilkinson's assistance, demonstrated the dramatic effects of gas production using a simple latex glove. As the chemical reaction progressed, the increasing carbon dioxide within the glove caused a noticeable pressure build-up, inflating it and making it firm to the touch. Latex, being inherently limited in its ability to withstand extreme pressure, would stretch beyond its elastic capacity. This continuous stretching, coupled with the weakening effects of the reaction's byproducts and moisture, would eventually lead to the glove becoming brittle and 'crumbling,' visually illustrating the material's breakdown under the stress of the expanding gas.Now, 'Henry' the glove has taken up residence in our school. Science ambassador Noah and Poppy, with a gas blower, demonstrated a captivating toilet roll trick, visually illustrating Bernoulli's principle; by directing a powerful airflow through the center of the suspended toilet roll, they created a region of low pressure, causing the surrounding higher-pressure air to stabilize the roll within the airstream, leaving the children amazed at how the roll appeared to defy gravity. The show sparked a flurry of brilliant questions from our inquisitive students, including Leonora, Elijah, Mason, and Darcy. Their thoughtful inquiries were a testament to their genuine love of learning and the power of hands-on science, truly living life in all its fullness through exploration and discovery. A huge thank you to Science Boffin Katja for bringing science to life in such an engaging and memorable way!
DPSSA Y5/6 Cross Country at Witton
This evening we attended the Darwen Primary Schools Year 5/6 Cross Country event at Witton Park. Team B were amazing and really pushed themselves on an extremely long and tough course. We came away with some wonderful placing and really represented our school showing determination, encouraging others and respect to everyone involved. Well done to all of the children and thanks to all of our parents for their continued support.
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- Going Underground
Our Year 6 children have loved travelling around London on the underground tube and escalators. We were so impressed with the way they sensibly and safely walked through the hoards of people commuting to work or sightseeing. They loved it when the tubes set off and stopped and they made sure they held on tight or else they would have gone flying through the carriage! They showed lots of respect to members of the public and used wonderful manners to the guards who let us through the gates.