Year 5 - Class worship- Climate Change
In class worship, we considered the current United Nations Climate Change Conference. We discussed how leaders from around the world are meeting to discuss ways to reduce pollution and save forests. The children highlighted how deforestation can lead to habitat loss and species extinction. We then read how the Bible encourages us to be responsible for God’s creation.
Year 4 Class Council
In our Class Council session this week, Year 4 were asked to discuss the TV series - Traitors. If they were in a situation similar, would they choose to be completely honest or keep a secret in order to win a big prize? The children worked in five seperate groups but their choice was a unanimous decision of keep a secret. They communicated really well with each other and listened to each other’s points. There were a few children who said they would be honest in this situation but the majority of the vote won within each group!
Year 3- Class Meeting delivered by Year 5 Smart School Councillors, Darcy and Alice
Year 5 Smart School Councillors Darcy and Alice did a fabulous job leading a trial class meeting today in preparation for delivering the session to Year 2 on Friday. It was great to see them take leadership for the activity. They began by discussing the results of the previous action, a Big Debate Club on whether it's more important to understand the history or the present of the black community, which resulted in a tie. For today's new discussion, inspired by the TV show The Traitors, small groups discussed the question: "If you had to choose between being completely honest or keeping a secret to win a big prize, which would you do?" Following the discussion, the Year 3 class majority voted in favour of being completely honest.
Year 3- Class Worship- Who am I?
Today in our class worship, we discussed the Christian Value of Wisdom by exploring what really makes us who we are. The main focus was on the news about the UK government's plans to introduce digital identity cards and whether everyone should have one. This led to a discussion about "Who am I?" and whether our identity is defined by what people see on the outside or what is in our hearts. Notably, all the children voted against the idea of digital identity cards and felt it was invading their privacy. The Bible tells us that God looks beyond our physical appearance to our inner character, things like being kind, honest, and forgiving (1 Samuel 16:7). We concluded that getting to know someone's true character is what matters most. We finished with a prayer led by Elijah for the wisdom to discover ourselves and celebrate the good in everyone we meet.
Year 6 - Road Safety
Today, Year 6 took part in an informative Fire Safety talk that focused on the importance of road safety. The session helped the children understand how to keep themselves and others safe when walking, cycling or travelling near roads. They discussed the importance of wearing bright clothing, using crossings correctly and staying alert around traffic. The children also learned how the emergency services respond to road incidents and why it’s important to make sensible choices to prevent accidents. Everyone came away with valuable knowledge about how to stay safe both at school and in the wider community.
Year 3- Class Debate- Is it more important to understand the history or the present Black community to celebrate Black History Month?
Today, Archie and Frankie led a class debate focused on the key question: Is it more important to understand the history or the present Black community to celebrate Black History Month? Year 3 showed excellent critical thinking, arguing that it is essential to learn about both the past and the present in equal measure to truly celebrate the Black community's contributions and journey. We also reviewed the previous class meeting, the majority selected listening to calm music or a story to help them feel relaxed. We're putting that into action now: we will play calm music while the children collect their bags and put on their coats, before we move into our class novel reading.
Year 4 - Black History Month
In our class worship this week, the Year 4s joined in with the Great Big Live Assembly to learn about Black History Month. This year’s BHM assembly began with a look at current issues in our localities. They addressed the division becoming more apparent within communities and raised the questions: ‘What does the St George’s flag mean to you?’ and ‘How can we help to make everyone welcome?’ The children had some lovely, heartfelt answers about the flag being a symbol of pride, of peace and of our amazing sports teams. As usual, there were many ideas for welcoming visitors and people new to our school. Being welcoming is definitely a strength of our fantastic children.
Year 3- Class Meeting- How to end each day feeling calm and happy?
During a class meeting organised by the Smart School Council, Year 3 students, led by Eva with notes taken by Maggie, discussed how to end each day feeling calm and happy. They considered four options: sharing something good about their day, listening to a calming story or song, doing a group exercise, or suggesting "something else." After a group discussion , the majority of the class voted to end their day by listening to a calming story or song.
Year 4 - English: Collecting Ideas
In Year 4, the children are writing their final narrative of the year and this session was all about developing a character. The children were split into teams in order to collect ideas. Each team had a different focus and they had to record ideas ready to share with the class. The focus areas included specific nouns, adjectives, similes and powerful verbs. At the end of the lesson, we had a bank of ideas to help us write about our character.
PSHE - Growing and Changing in Year 4
As part of our PSHE session we have been looking at how our body changes during puberty, what parts of the body are the same for girls and boys and what parts are different. We also read Hair in funny places by Babette Cole and Where Willy Went. The children have really matured over the course of the last few sessions and it’s great to see them ask such fantastic questions surrounding this sensitive topic area.
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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!