Friday Celebration Worship
Our celebration worship today began with the signing of the Trinity by the Heads and Deputies. Moving onto expressing our gratitude to everyone who supported the school's Valentine's Disco, which promoted love and kindness. We also acknowledged Safer Internet Day, which classes have been focusing on this week. The whole school also enjoyed a fantastic science show presented by Mad Science. The children were buzzing with excitement as we witnessed multiple experiments involving, an egg, fire and a red cabbage. The children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 shared their thanks for wonderful dance and gymnastics sessions led by Rothwell Arts. We've also had a great half term of extra-curricular clubs, including Foodie Friends Club, Craft Club, Basketball, SATS and Multi-Sports. Next half term's clubs include Mad Science Club, Edstart Dodgeball and Gymnastics, Craft Club, Performing Arts, SATs Club, Choir, Cross Country, and Netball. Sign up soon, as spaces are limited! All class teachers presented value awards to children in their class that received the most value points this week, Luna, Joey, Lyla, Chloe, Lilly, Isabelle, and Daisy for demonstrating our 4 Bs: being respectful, kind, safe, and ready along with our Christian Values. Well done to these children for their excellent attitude and commitment to learning. The WOW group announced the ‘Wow Badge Winners’ for their amazing badge creations: Reception: Eva, Year 1: Elsie, Year 2: Renee, Year 3: Cassidy, Year 4: Alexis, Year 5: Bella, and Year 6: Daisy. They all received a big bar of chocolate for their entries. Well done to Year 2 and Year 5 for their amazing attendance this week! We also celebrated our out-of-school achievers: Hayden (good tackling), Hendrix (key game at Squirrels), Maggie (Rainbows badges), Olivia (gymnastics), Annabel (Rainbows badges for healthy mind), Grace (song and dance), Molly (swimming), Jack (swimming, Stage 7), Olivia (player of the match), and Tristan (imaginary green belt for kickboxing). Our Sports Hall Athletics team came 3rd in the final! Well done to the whole squad! Our house teams with the highest points will be rewarded with a house points disco and non-uniform day after the holiday. Congratulations to the Green (Whitehall Park) and Red (India Mill) teams tied with an overall score of 11 points for the half term. This week Darwen Tower placed 4th, India Mill came 3rd place , 2nd place Whitehall Park and 1st place River Darwen. Mrs Ham read out a special prayer called the Lord is my Shepherd which focuses on Jesus being like a shepherd by guiding us and always being there for us and Lydia placed the “ Year of Prayer” sticker on our special chart. We thank all those who attended the celebration worship and wish our school family a lovely, restful half-term break. Thank you for your ongoing support.
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Year 4 - Year of Prayer: Foam Prayers
As we continue the Blackburn Diocese Year of Prayer, this week we took a moment to be thankful for our ability to move. We chose different whisking implements in order to create bubbles in our soap solution whilst showing gratitude for the fantastic things we can do by moving different body parts. We said thanks for our legs to play football, our mouths to speak and our arms to swim, to name just a few. We are really enjoying having the opportunity to explore different ways to pray and we’re already developing some favourites.
Worship with Rev. Ben
Today, we had worship with Rev. Ben, which began with a fun yet challenging relay-style game where we had to balance ping pong balls on a paper plate while moving carefully across the hall. Rev. Ben explained that, just like in the game, life can sometimes feel unsteady or difficult, especially when we are upset or facing challenges. To help us reflect on this, Rev. Ben showed a clip about what Jesus did when he was feeling deeply sad the night before his death. The video illustrated how Jesus turned to God in prayer, seeking strength and comfort during his time of sorrow. Rev. Ben explained that, just like Jesus, we can share our worries and struggles with God, knowing that He listens and understands, and can help us through even the toughest times. He reminded us that no matter how we feel, we are never alone—God is always there to support and guide us.
Worship with Rev. Matt
This morning’s worship with Rev. Matt focused on the theme of perseverance. It began with a challenge where the children had to work together to keep an inflatable in the air without letting it touch the ground. As the game went on, they quickly realised that success required teamwork, determination and persistence. Following the challenge, Rev. Matt introduced a parable from the Bible—the story of the unjust judge. He explained how the woman in the story kept returning to the judge, refusing to give up until she received justice. This demonstrated the power of persistence, showing that when we truly believe in something, we must keep trying and not lose heart. Rev. Matt linked this to prayer, reminding the children that when we speak to God, we should be just as persistent. The children then took a moment for reflection, considering the question: What is something you could pray for this week? They were encouraged to think about personal challenges, hopes for others or things happening in the world that they could bring to God in prayer. To conclude, Rev. Matt left the children with a powerful message: when we knock on God’s door through prayer, He will answer. This message reinforced the importance of faith, patience and perseverance in our relationship with God.
Reception Worship with WOW group
Wow group led our class worship this week and talked to Reception about how we can be safe when watching online videos. We talked about the Christian value of courage as we need to be brave to speak up if we see something that makes us feel worried or sad. We talked about the things we watch that make us feel happy and safe and must always check with a grown up. Thank you to Josh, Sofia and Ruby for leading so brilliantly.
Year 2 - Class Worship led by the WOW group
Year 2 had the privilege of welcoming Grace and Jess from our WOW group. They led our class worship on topic of YouTube. The question they posed was should YouTube have more videos to help us learn? They helped us discuss both sides of the argument with the majority of our class deciding YES YouTube should have more educational videos! Thank you Grace and Jess.
The W.O.W. Group: Year 4 Class Worship
Thank you to the W.O.W. group today for leading our class worships across school. The theme was online content. Our worship leads began by introducing the topic and the news story linked to the topic. They played a couple of games of ‘Follow me’ and that we have the choice not to do something that makes us feel uncomfortable. They talked about the Christian value of courage and how we can show courage in the way we protect ourselves when viewing content online. The Bible link was from St Paul’s teachings, that we should seek out what is true, pure and trustworthy. In reflection, the Year 4s were in agreement that strict rules should be in place for children accessing content online.
Collective Worship- Year of Prayer
This morning in our Collective Worship we focused on our prayer for this week of the Year of Prayer from Blackburn Diocese. We discussed and shared our responsibilities in school and at home such as cleaning our rooms, loading the dishwasher, helping look after younger siblings, helping with the cooking and cleaning, counting values points (Heads and Deputies) and planning and leading sports events (Sports Leaders) . We then said together a special prayer for our responsibilities and discussed how God is always with us during those responsibilities and having a smile on face whilst carrying them out benefits others. Mrs Ham then shared the responsibility of selecting songs to sing and choosing children to demonstrate the actions at the front. The children chose to sing 'Life is always better when we share it with each other', 'Waymaker' 'My Lighthouse' and 'Build Up'. Build up is also the theme for our class Year of Prayer this week too. Our WOW group members informed each class of the special build up prayers they would be saying this week.
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Whole School Celebration Worship
During this week’s celebration worship, we reflected on the theme of joy this Advent, alongside the lighting of the peace and hope candles as part of our preparations for Christmas. We discussed how joy can be found in simple moments and acts of kindness, and the children were reminded of the many wonderful events that brought happiness throughout the week. These included the Rocksteady concert, where children showcased their musical talents, the magical pantomime Aladdin on Ice, the school Pantivity Production and the festive fun of the Christmas Fair. Our Values Award winners were celebrated with great applause: Harry in Reception, Molly in Year 1, Evie in Year 2, Chay in Year 3, Sofia in Year 4, Elsie in Year 5, and Poppy in Year 6. Their contributions to school life have been amazing and have been reflected in their awards. Year 1 and Year 4 were also recognised as the winners of this week’s attendance award for their commitment to being present and ready to learn. A heartfelt special thank you was given to all the children who contributed their creative talents to produce the stunning Christmas artwork now proudly displayed in the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. This beautiful display adds a festive touch to the community and each class will now take a trip to the park to admire all the children’s artwork. Prayers were shared during the worship, led by the children, who asked for peace in countries experiencing conflict and war, kindness to those without food or shelter, and blessings for everyone to have a safe, warm, and joyful Christmas. The Team Values Points results were eagerly awaited, with Darwen Tower placing fourth, India Mill third, River Darwen second, and Whitehall Park taking first place for the week. In addition, India Mill was announced as the overall half-term winner, earning a well-deserved non-uniform day and disco celebration as a reward for their hard work and teamwork throughout the term. This will take place on the last Thursday of the term. We proudly acknowledged the remarkable achievements of our children. Lydia was recognised for earning her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder badge and for taking action to make a difference, while Naomi received her Christmas badge for Brownies. Isabella celebrated swimming 5 meters, and Lyla earned a Medal with Rothwell Arts for her dedication to ballet. Marnie May was applauded for her accomplishments in tap dancing and gymnastics and Grace achieved her Bronze Award for earning multiple badges at Brownies. Olivia was named Star of the Week for her excellent performance in gymnastics and Tristen celebrated earning his blue belt in kickboxing. Scarlett shone with her Netball Shooting Award, while Oliver achieved a swimming award for swimming 5 meters. Elana was recognised for her Rainbows Influencer Skills Builder and taking action and Luna was honored as Dancer of the Day. Alice and Evie were recognised as they performed beautifully in Over the Bridge and Leonora and Desmond proudly represented their swimming competition in the regionals. Well done to all for these incredible accomplishments! The worship concluded on a high note, with everyone coming together to sing joyful Christmas songs, filling the room with festive cheer.
The W.O.W. Group - Preparing Ribbon Prayers
Our WOW group had some preparing to do this week, showing the Christian value of service. Each week for the Year of Prayer, it is their job to be equip each class for the theme and introduce it in Monday worship. Next week, the theme is ribbon prayers, so the children were making sure that each class receives a selection of ribbon to use in their prayers.
Year 6 - Class Worship
This week, in our class worship, year 6 discussed what it means to feel included. We explored a new incentive from the FA to raise participation of disabled people in football and expressed how we felt about this. The overarching views were positive, but we also explained how this incentive could have happened sooner. We then linked this to school life and spoke about what it means to feel fully included. The word that epitomises this is ‘belonging‘.
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Year 5 - Peace Class Worship
During today’s class worship, Year 5 participated in this year’s Picture News Christmas campaign, focusing on the symbol of peace, which was also our focus this week our Diocesan Year of Prayer. The session began with a thoughtful discussion where the children reflected on what peace means to them, its importance in the world, and how they can actively spread it in their daily lives. Inspired by their reflections, the children then created beautifully crafted origami doves, symbolising peace and hope. Each dove was lovingly decorated with heartfelt prayers, expressing their wishes for kindness, understanding, and harmony. The activity helped the children connect deeply with the true meaning of the season, fostering a sense of unity and purpose.