Monday Worship: St Barnabas and St Paul and Welcome to Rev Matt
Today, Rev Ben led our worship and we welcomed Rev Matt who will be working at St Barnabas Church too. We began our worship by thinking about a time where something happened to us and where we couldn’t wait to tell others about it. Amelia couldn’t wait to tell others when her Mum had a baby. Mason couldn’t wait to tell others that he had been on the television! We thought about how St Barnabas and St Paul were generous about the message about Jesus and how they told Jesus’ story to people for the first time. Rev Ben shared a video with the children about their story. On Saturday, Matt became Rev Matt and was ordained at Blackburn Cathedral. Rev Matt wanted to become a vicar because he wanted to spread the word of Jesus and to find out more about Jesus. Rev Matt spent three years at vicar school. He said he was most excited to learn more and for the children to learn with him. We gave Rev Matt a huge St Barnabas welcome. We ended our worship by singing ‘story of the cross’.
Friday Celebration Worship
Wow! We have had another week with lots to celebrate both in and out of school. The Rotary Club came in to praise and thank our year 5 children for their contribution to the community, their school and the wider world. They were presented with a certificate for all of their fundraising for our school and supporting a number of charities this year including Cancer Research, The Teddy Trust and DARE (Darwen Asylum Seeker and Refugee Enterprise). They also raised money for Turkey, Nigeria and Ukraine. Well done Year 5! Also a huge well done to our value award winners this week who have been working hard across the curriculum and demonstrating a wonderful attitude to learning. These were Mila, Piper-Jo, Lennox and Carter in the infants and KS1 and Ruby, Daniel, Freddy, Isaac, Harlow and Louie in the Juniors. We also celebrated lots of in school sporting success. Our Year 5/6 boys and girls gymnasts for attending a competition as two separate teams at St Bedes High School on Tuesday. They were amazing! Our Year 5/6 cricket team who came 3rd overall at a recent cricket competition, our Year 6 tennis team who came 1st overall, the Year 4 football team who took part in a festival and won every game and the Year 3/4 and Y5/6 DPSSA cross country team for their determination and courage and coming 2nd place overall. We also congratulated our out of school sports award winners. Well done to Ella-Grace for trying her absolute best and getting Star of the Week during her football training and competition, Isabella and Charlie for getting their orange belts at martial arts, Carter for getting the Fantastic Fox of the day at football, Lyla for gaining level 1 in her tap dancing, Jenson for completing his stage 6 at swimming, Marley for her kindness at rainbows, Olivia for getting the managers player of the year trophy at football, Isaac for his trophy for demonstrating fantastic football skills, Charlie Rose for being a superstar gymnast and Ivy for being a superstar cheerleader, Georgie for taking part in her first competition for dancing, Harriet for completing her 10m in butterfly and 10m in breaststroke, Eliza for getting to the finals of her football competition at the weekend and Eva, Katie, Sadie and Charlotte for coming 1st place in their recent football tournament. We said a final well done to Reception and Year 3 for winning the amazing attendance this week and India Mill for achieving the Value Award Points Winners this week. Thank you to our parents and grandparents that could attend and we wish you all a wonderful weekend.
Reception - Understanding Of The World - Erosion
This week, Reception class have learned all about erosion. We looked at videos of the waves crashing against the cliffs and discussed what has happened over time. We looked at houses that had moved closer the cliff edge and decided we wouldn’t like to live there! We then conducted an investigation by crashing the water against the rocks in a tray and watched them erode away. The children also enjoyed investigating this in their choosing time.
Reception - Maths - Sharing
This week, reception have looked at how to fairly share objects in maths. The children had to decide how to equally share out gummy bears. They used their problem solving skills to share out odd amounts and came up with some fantastic ideas about how we can share them out. Of course, their favourite part was eating them afterwards!
W.O.W. Group - Messy Parables - The Unforgiving Servant
This week in the Messy Parables workshop, the children looked at the importance of forgiveness through the parable ‘The Unforgiving Servant’. They then had fun making bookmarks with a message of forgiveness. Well done to the W.O.W. Group; they are doing a fabulous job organising and delivering these workshops.
Summer Reading Challenge
This morning, Angela from Blackburn and Darwen library service, came to talk to us all about an exciting Summer reading challenge and the wonderful prizes that can be won for reading 6 books over the holidays. Dear Parent / Carer, Your child has been invited to join Ready, Set, Read! the Summer Reading Challenge 2023. This is a national library reading game, which will introduce your child to the joy of reading for pleasure and help to develop his/her literacy skills throughout the summer holidays. Once enrolled each member reads 6 library books (or eBooks / eAudio), with stickers or a prize awarded for each book that is read and returned. Those who complete the scheme will receive a medal and a certificate. To enrol, simply come to your nearest Blackburn with Darwen library and complete an application form between 1st July & 30th September. Your nearest library is: Darwen Library, Knott St, Darwen, BB3 3BU. Website & map: www.blackburn.gov.uk/libraries/libraries-blackburn-darwen/blackburn-central-library Enrolment in the scheme is free of charge, and involves children borrowing books on a library card. If your child does not yet have a library card, we would encourage you to take this opportunity to enrol them as a library member. This is a quick process, and you will simply be asked to complete and sign another form. However, those children without library cards may still join the Summer Reading Challenge, and temporary arrangements will be put in place to allow them to borrow books. We look forward to welcoming you and your family to our libraries during the summer. Yours faithfully, Adele Karwat, Service Manager: Libraries & Archives
W.O.W. Group - Messy Parables - The Mustard Seed
Last week was the W.O.W. group’s first Messy Parables session. We read the Parable of the Mustard Seed, talked about how one little thought or belief can grow into something great, and made our own self-belief badges. All in all, a brilliant first session, with a few biscuits thrown in for good measure. This week, the parable is The Unforgiving Servant.
Reception- Pentecost
This afternoon, Reception have been learning about a celebration in the Church calendar called Pentecost. We watched a video of the story and then acted this out. First, we sat in a circle and prayed just as the disciples did, we then had some children act out the huge gust of wind that was felt by the disciples as the Holy Spirit arrived and blessed them with the ability to speak in different languages. Finally, we spoke in different languages such as, ‘Bonjour,’ ‘Ciao,’ and ‘Konnichiwa,’ to teach everyone about Jesus. We created some flames, doves and wind as these are symbols of the Holy Spirit, and we also drew some pictures of the disciples and wrote in different languages in our RE sketchbook. Well done Reception.
Reception: Muddy Monday
We continued our learning by comparing two local environments, Knowsley Road and Jack Keys reservoir. Seb said there are lots of animal habitats at Jack Keys. Albie said there are lots of trees at Jack Keys. Fletcher said it is much quieter at Jack Keys. Piper-Jo said there are more children at Knowsley Road. Heidi said there are more cars at Knowsley Road. Super comparison. We finished exploring by enjoying a short forest schools session.
EYFS and KS1 Sports Day 2023
This morning, EYFS and KS1 classes competed in our annual sports day competition. The races included egg and spoon, sprint, sack race and an obstacle race. The children were fantastic at showing resilience and they were great supporters for their friends, cheering each other on and clapping! Each race winner received a medal and all children cooled off with an ice pop at the end as a treat. Thank you to all the parents and carers who attended and supported, it was a brilliant morning!
Whole School Multiplex Movie Night-
We would like to take this opportunity to thank parents, carers and staff for your incredible support and enthusiasm during our recent movie night. We are thrilled to inform you that our dedicated Rotakids, along with our smart school councillors, have fulfilled their promise and successfully completed their final project. Through their combined efforts and hard work, organising a successful multiplex movie night, together we have managed to raise an impressive sum of £580.60 after the cost of food! This significant amount will contribute towards the school minibus, which will greatly benefit our students by facilitating transportation to sports events, competitions, and other important activities. This achievement is a testament to the incredible community we have at our school. Your dedication and willingness to contribute have made a significant impact on our fundraising efforts. Together, we have not only created a memorable and enjoyable event but also managed to raise much-needed funds.
Reception - Maths - Exploring numbers to 30
This week we have been looking at numbers to 30. We started by discussing everything we know about 30 and the children had some fantastic ideas about how we can make 30. We then played a game using 30 counters. The children had to roll the dice and take the counters away, the person to take the last counter won! The children practised their subitising skills to look at how many counters were left, and their reasoning skills to decide what they would like to roll next!