Jake Berry Visit- Parliament Week
Year 5 and 6 welcomed our local MP, Jake Berry, into school on Monday and he led an engaging workshop and Q&A session. During the session, he spoke about how laws are created and the various traditions that are upheld in parliament. Year 5 and 6 represented the school superbly and asked some very mature questions, that were kindly answered open and honestly by Mr Berry. What a great way to launch Parliament week next week!
Year 2 - Local History
This afternoon, Year 2 set off on a local history walk to explore the events that happened when Gandhi came to visit Darwen in 1931. We visited the lodges that were home to mill workers and this was also the place that Gandhi stayed during his visit. The children learnt why Gandhi was invited to Darwen by Percy Davies the owner of Greenfield Mill. We walked past where this mill used to be and there is now a stone in place to show where it once stood (see photo). Mill workers wanted to speak to Gandhi to discuss his campaign for Indian independence from the British Empire which resulted in the cotton boycotts. One Darwen lady said ‘your boycott is putting us into poverty’. I’ll let the children tell you how Gandhi responded. The walk was really enjoyable in the sunshine, we ended with a story in Jacks Key. The story explores the remarkable life of Gandhi and the interesting events of his life.
Performing arts workshop
Year 6 were very lucky to take part in a performing arts workshop with Lucy from Rothwell Arts Dance Academy. She very kindly linked the session to the children’s end of year performance, ‘The Jungle Book’, and choreographed a dance routine for them. Year 6 showed fantastic enthusiasm and really let themselves go. Well done year 6!
Year 5 - Darwen Library Visit
Today, Year 5 visited Darwen library. The children explored a variety of book genres and delved deeper into books they wouldn’t normally read. The children learnt and understood the many benefits of the library and how it operates. The library promoted a love for reading and the children loved reading and enjoyed time talking about their favourite books and authors.
Year 3 - Darwen Library-Librarian Detectives
Year 3 had another exciting visit to the library, where the children had the opportunity to explore and discover the collection of books and audiobooks the library has to offer. They were in absolute awe with the range of books the library had. They particularly enjoyed the role of detecting and becoming a member of the library.
Year 6 Library Visit
Yesterday, year 6 visited Darwen library to take part in a session with the author of the ‘Loki’ books, Louie Stowell. During the session, the children were made aware of the author’s inspiration and had the chance to create some illustrations from the book. Year 6 were an absolute credit to the school and asked some amazing questions. A special mention to Jay who won some original illustrations from the author.
Year 5 - Library visit
Today year 5 got to experience a workshop that was being hosted by Louie Stowell. She explained and promoted her series of books - Loki and engaged with all the children answering questions about her achievements. The children took part in creating their own god’s while replicating the main characters from her book series.
Year 1 meet Author and Illustrator Ursula Hurst
Year 1 had an amazing morning meeting author and illustrator Ursula Hurst at Darwen library. They enjoyed looking at lots of the books that Ursula has illustrated over the years such as Roo and Sarge to the rescue, The Angry Giant, Zed Ted, Bea and Monah Lot. Ursula also read us a story called Drawing Hope which she was both the author and illustrator of. It was about a young girl called Hope who loved drawing and painting and had a dream of turning the gloomy town in which she lived into a bright and colourful place and with the help of Mrs Green, she did just that. Year 1 loved seeing how the town and characters turned from grey with lots of worries to bright and worry free throughout the story. Thank you to Darwen Library for such a wonderful opportunity and to Ursula Hurst for inspiring our children.
Year 2 - Library visit
We had an amazing time during our visit to Darwen Library. We were lucky enough to spend time with Ursula Hurst as she delivered a workshop for us. Ursula is a fabulous illustrator known for her book illustrations and murals of which many can be found in local primary schools. The children loved listening to her stories and seeing how she made words come to life. Then the children had their chance to become illustrators as they learnt how to draw different characters with different emotions. Ursula showed us some simple tricks to really emphasise our characters expressions. It was a brilliant opportunity for the children which they engaged really well with and had a lovely afternoon!
Year 4 - Exploring Church
We finished off our RE unit with a trip to St Barnabas Church to look for symbols of Christianity. The children were so knowledgeable, remembering lots of our learning this term. Thanks to Rev Ben and Rev Matt for inviting us in.
Year 3 Rock and River
Yeah 3 have had a fun filled day at rock and river outdoor pursuits! The aim of the trip was for the pupils to challenge themselves and push themselves outside of their comfort zone, whilst learning to work as a team. We started the morning off with some high ropes, rock climbing and zip lining finishing with the air bag jump before lunch. In the afternoon we had a fantastic session on the lake, taking part in rafted canoeing, paddle boarding and swimming! The class represented St Barnabas superbly and we hope the children have created life long memories!
Year 1 Pond dipping at Brockholes
Year 1 were in three different groups to carry out this super activity at Brockholes Nature Reserve on their trip. They found different types of interesting creatures such as water snails, beetles, bugs, shrimps and nymphs when participating in the pond dipping activities. They used a classification sheet to help them identify creatures and magnifying glasses too as some creatures were very small.