Reception-R.E
The children listened to the story of Simeon and Anna and the joy they felt meeting the Son of God. The children discussed why Jesus was so special helping people and changing people's lives. They talked about how they would feel meeting Baby Jesus.
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Year 6 - Class Worship
Year 6 took part in a thoughtful class worship exploring Herald the King and what it means to live out God’s Big Story in our daily choices. The children reflected on themes of hope, kindness and responsibility, discussing how they can shine God’s light in school and at home. To celebrate this special time of year, the children created ‘wishful stars’, each one expressing a personal hope or commitment inspired by the worship. These stars now serve as a gentle reminder of the messages shared and the values we choose to carry forward.
Year 3- R.E- Nativity Story Reflection
This afternoon in R.E., Year 3, focused on the Nativity story, reminding ourselves of the sequence of events. We paid attention to the moment the world first heard the news: when angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields, who then hurried down to visit the special baby. The children then used their imaginations to become investigative reporters, brainstorming and recording the imaginative questions they would ask the shepherds about what they saw, how they felt, and what it was like to meet the baby Jesus. It was a wonderful exercise in empathy and curiosity!
Reception Nativity 2025
We want to express how incredibly proud we are of all the children in Reception class for their truly amazing performance in their Nativity play! The children showed such courage and confidence on the stage. We were so impressed with: Brave Speaking: Every child who had lines delivered them so clearly. Enthusiastic Singing and actions: Their little voices filled the hall, making the performance joyful and bright and we were so impressed with the amount of words they had to learn in the songs. It takes great bravery to stand up in front of a big audience, and they all shone! It was a very special occasion, and they brought the Christmas story to life beautifully. Thank you so much for your support in preparing them for the show and for your active participation in the show. A huge thank you to our Reception staff team for the time and effort they have put into the production, Mr Ashworth, our CEO of Cidari Multi Academy Trust for his support, Mr Bloomfield for filming and Rev Ben for leading us in prayer. All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/reception-nativity-2025 The video links will be send shortly.
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Year 6 - Wreath Designs
This week, Year 6 have created their own Christmas wreaths to present in church, sharing with the whole school what we have been learning during Advent. Each wreath includes the symbol of Jesus’ everlasting circle, reminding us of His eternal love and presence. The children also wrote their own kenning poems about hope—a key theme of Advent—which they displayed proudly as part of their wreaths. Their thoughtful work beautifully reflects the meaning and message of this special season.
Whole School Worship led by Rev Matt
In our Whole School Thursday Worship this week, Rev Matt shared the Bible story - Ruth Finds a New Home We started with our challenge which involved being good at charades. The children acted out a feeling and the other children sat down had to guess what it was. We had sad, angry, happy, excited and worried. We have been thinking about compassion. The Bible story - Ruth Finds a New home is about Ruth, a woman from Moab, chose to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi and move to Bethlehem after her husband died. There, she worked hard gleaning barley in the fields of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Boaz was impressed by her kindness and loyalty, and he eventually married her, providing a new home and a place in God's family for both Ruth and Naomi. The story is filled with compassion so it led us to our questions - Who shows us the most compassion and who do we show it to. We had answers such as family, friends, trusted adults, teachers and God. The children have showed compassion to everyone that they have come across, including their pets. Rev Matt finished with a lovely prayer about compassion and asked the children sto think how they could show this more around school this week.
Reception RE - Why the characters in the Nativity are important
During our RE session we played a game of ‘who’s in the bag’ The children picked out the characters from the Nativity Story and identified each character, they talked with their partner about why the characters were important to the story and what part they played within it.
Year 5 - RE
In RE, Year 5 began our Christmas unit by considering the Gospel of Matthew and the version of the Nativity story that it tells. They recalled knowledge from previous years before learning the story of King Herod and the wisemen following the star and carrying gifts. Jesus then escapes to Egypt before returning home. The children learned that Matthew was writing for a Jewish audience, linking Jesus to King David and Moses.
Year 4 - Interfaith Celebration
This year, to celebrate Interfaith Week, Miss Kachwalla led a series of workshops explaining what being Muslim means to her. The children develop a better understanding of different faiths when they learn directly from believers, especially how their faith impacts their daily lives. Miss Kachwalla gave a fantastic presentation to the children, in which she explained how she lives out the 5 pillars. She introduced her experience of Hajj and introduced us to some of the foods that the Prophet ate. We also had the opportunity to ask some of our own curiosity questions. We then returned to our classroom to taste some of the foods mentioned, including dates, olives, figs, melon and wholemeal bread with honey. Also this week, Years 3 and 4 watched a special recorded worship delivered by Imran from Muslim Learner Services. The children learned about how easy or difficult it is for many Muslims to follow the 5 pillars in Britain today. They also played some thumbs up/down quizzes and watched a tour of a mosque in Bolton.
Year 5 - Class worship: Interfaith Week
In class worship, we continued exploring the Islamic faith. We learned about famous British Muslims such as Mo Farah and Amir Khan before considering some true or false statements about Islam. The children did very well, getting 9 out of 10 correct. These included whether or not Muslims could drink alcohol and if they worshipped Allah or Mohammed. We discussed the 5 pillars of Islam before learning more about a mosque in Bolton.
Year 1 Inter Faith Week
Year 1 have really enjoyed learning about Islam this week and what life is like as a Muslim. In our worship with Miss Kachwalla we learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam, she showed us her prayer mat and spoke about pilgrimages. Year 1 asked ‘how do Muslims celebrate Eid?’ which really excited them. They also asked ‘Why do you dress differently to us?’ which Miss Kachwala explained was about modesty. We also tried some traditional Muslim foods. The children really enjoyed honey on toast and melon, but they were not keen on dates, figs and olives.
Reception class celebrate Interfaith Week
Reception class had a highly engaging week exploring Islam and the life of a Muslim. During their worship session with Miss Kachwalla, the class delved into the Five Pillars of Islam. Miss Kachwalla enhanced the learning by demonstrating her prayer mat and discussing the significance of pilgrimages. The children really enjoyed listening to Miss Kachwalla and enjoyed looking at her special clothes. Miss Kachwalla explained why certain foods were significant to Islam. They enjoyed tasting honey, wholemeal bread, melon, figs and olives and found out that Muslims eat these to keep healthy, help our bodies and to give us energy too. Thank you so much Miss Kachwalla, we have really enjoyed learning all about your religion!