Reception: Stay and Play
We loved welcoming family members from Reception class to our stay and play session. It was lovely to see some children from pre-school attending too. The children completed lots of challenges together and showed how busy they are with their learning in class. Well done! Stay and play continues next Wednesday at 9am.
Go All In: 2026 National Year of Reading
Dear Parents and Carers, As we move into 2026, we are excited to share that this has been designated the National Year of Reading. This year-long celebration, spearheaded by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust, isn't about schoolwork or exams—it’s about helping our children rediscover the sheer joy of a great story. The theme for the year is "Go All In." The goal is to show children that reading isn't just something they do in a classroom; it is a way to dive deeper into the things they already love. Whether your child is a fan of gaming, sports, music, or space, there is a book, graphic novel, or audiobook out there that speaks to their interests. The campaign reminds us that "if they’re into it, they can read into it," and that every form of reading—from a football programme to a digital comic—is a step toward success. We know how busy family life can be, but research shows that sharing a story for just 10 minutes a day can dramatically boost a child’s wellbeing and their confidence at school. You don’t need to be an expert storyteller to make a difference; simply sitting together and exploring a book, or letting your child see you reading your own book or magazine, sets a fantastic example. Throughout the year, there will be exciting events to look forward to, including a record-breaking World Book Day on March 5th and a music-themed Summer Reading Challenge titled "Read to the Beat!" Our local libraries will also be hosting free activities, from author workshops to interactive storytelling sessions. We invite you to join us in making 2026 a year of discovery for our children. Let’s help them find the stories that make them want to "go all in." For more resources and book recommendations tailored to your child’s hobbies, you can visit the official campaign website at goallin.org.uk. For our first challenge, I would love the children to send me some photographs of them reading their favourite story in their favourite place. Happy reading! Mrs Wilkinson
Reception: Kindness Kites
As part of celebrating 100 years of Blackburn Diocese, our school are taking part in the kindness kites challenge. For the next few weeks, we are focusing on saying something kind. Reception staff have caught three children so far saying something kind to their friends. Well done to Coban, Theo and Poppy. We are sure we will be adding more bows to our kindness kite in the upcoming weeks.
Amazing Attendance Awards
We had such a busy end to the Autumn term that we’re only just getting around to celebrating our amazing attendance award winners. What a fantastic term it was for attendance! Awards were presented in two categories: firstly to all those who achieved 100% attendance, and then to those who achieved above 96% attendance. Both are amazing achievements and we are super proud of all of the children.
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Whole School Worship - God is Kind
In our whole-school worship, Mrs Ham revealed our first Kindness Kite celebrating the Blackburn Diocese centenary. This week, the focus is ‘God is Kind’. A small selection of Year 6 children were chosen to read three Psalms about God’s kindness and we learned that God is everywhere, always, even when it’s dark, even when we hide. The children were then invited to share some of the kind things that they have heard people say, such as ‘I like your hair’ , ‘Your dress is pretty’ and ‘You are so smart’. We reflected on how kind words make us feel and we all practised paying compliments to our partners. We are looking forward to adding kind words to our classroom kites.
Doodle and Dance Club
Children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had great fun in their first doodle and dance club run by Mrs Wilkinson. They doodled on wallpaper and drew their favourite things and then all had a dance to lots of different songs. We can't wait for next week.
Reception: Helicopter Stories
Reception class have really been exploring pre writing skills. They have been learning to orally tell a story using adjectives and sentences. The children told a story about a dolphin called Charlie who was looking for a home. Luckily Bob the whale helped him to find somewhere to live in the ocean. The children acted the story out and did a wonderful job. Well done!
Friday Celebration Worship
What a brilliant first week back! We are so proud of all the children for settling back into school so sensibly, even with the excitement of the snow. We started by celebrating our values awards winners: Elara in Reception, Max in Year 1, Vienna in Year 2, Mila in Year 3, Lottie in Year 4, Carmen in Year 5 and Luca in Year 6. These children are always doing the right thing and working hard, well done! We also celebrated Olivia and Jacob in Year 4 who were awarded their pen licenses this week. A huge well done to all of our house teams this week for earning lots of value points. Darwen Tower came in 4th place, Whitehall Park came in 3rd place, River Darwen came in 2nd place and India Mill in 1st place. We had lots of Sports Awards this week. Well done to Callie for 25m in backstroke, Ralphi was awarded a swimming medal for 5m and a football certificate for courage against older players, Elijah was awarded a 200m swimming certificate, James was awarded a 100m swimming certificate, Renee was awarded a 5m swimming certificate and Carmen won a student of the year trophy in kickboxing and a swimming certificate for 100m and 50m. Additionally, Phoebe was awarded the Olivia doll from Rainbows for excellent colouring, Thea was awarded a gymnastics certificate for backwards and forwards on the bars, Reggie won player of the week in football for scoring 10 goals and finally Scarlett won player of the match in netball. Well done everyone! Our Year 5 and 6 football team also shared that they lost to St Paul’s 2-1 in their most recent football game, but still placed 5th out of 13 schools. This is a brilliant placement! Also, well done to Year 1 and 2 who the best attendance in Key Stage 1 and Year 4 in Key Stage 2. Mrs Ham also reminded us of our upcoming events: Let’s Go Sing, Stay and Play, NSPCC Speak Out and our visit from Harold the Giraffe. Finally, Charlie, Lilly and James said some beautiful prayers to end our worship. Have a restful weekend and please stay safe in the turbulent weather conditions.
Reception Maths - Subitising Pairs
This week in Maths, we have been revisiting our subitising skills to 5. We have moved onto looking at different frames and arrangements to help us subitise quickly, e.g. fingers on our hand, spots on a dice and numicon pieces. The children then took turns to play a game of 'pairs' where they had to turn over different cards to see if they could subitise and find a matching pair. They were brilliant at spotting the equal amounts!
Reception: Under the Sea
Reception class have launched their under the sea topic this week. They have an under the sea roleplay and have enjoyed exploring the different sea creatures and under the sea treasures. The children have also enjoyed being pirates and roleplaying stories together.
Reception- Noah's Ark
During their RE unit on listening to stories Jesus heard, Reception class listened to the story of Noah's Ark. At the end of the story, God sent a rainbow as a promise. The children have really enjoyed retelling the story in our small world area, creating rainbows and drawing the key parts of the story. The children have also written their own promises such as being kind, being respectful, looking after each other and tidying up.
Reception: Snow Much Fun
Reception class have really enjoyed our Winter Wonderland. They loved making snow angels, collecting snow to create sculptures and investigating the ice too. It was a great way to introduce our learning all about the season of Winter.