Goodbye and Thank you
This morning, as part of our Leavers' Worship, we took the opportunity to say some very special goodbyes. We thanked Lucy for her many years of hard work and dedication to Friends of St Barnabas, Miss Kachwalla for her seven years of commitment to our teaching team, Mr Carter for his fantastic work teaching our Year 2 class this year, and Summer, who is relocating and moving to a new school. Here is the special thank you video that some of our staff and children created to say thank you and goodbye to Miss Kachwalla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsO8FEbXHQA We are incredibly grateful for everything each of you has contributed to our school community and wish you every success and happiness as you embark on your exciting new adventures. Good luck—you will all be greatly missed!
Whole School Worship- Spreading God's Love and Sharing Our Talents
During today's whole school worship, we had a session led by Rev Ben, who signed the Holy Trinity before we began a fun balloon race to reach the finishing line, where Mason, Summer, Peyton, Arlo, Charlie, Seb, and Willow weren't allowed to use their hands at all, which was highly entertaining to watch! After that, we thought about the "race of life" and St Paul, with Rev Ben reading us the story of Paul getting shipwrecked while the children joined in by repeating the words "not at all" throughout. There was a thoughtful moment aimed right at our Year 6's too, getting them to think about their next steps with the big question, "What is your task as you leave this place?" and they had some brilliant answers, saying their tasks were to spread the word of God and Jesus, show His love, and be a good friend to anyone feeling lonely at their new secondary schools. After the children shared some of their amazing talents, we ended worship with a prayer and singing "My Lighthouse" together.
Year 1 End Of Year Party
What a magical way to celebrate an incredible year together! As a class, we’ve loved spending our Golden Time watching Disney films throughout the year, so it was only fitting that we finished with a Disney-themed party! The children had a fantastic time playing Disney Bingo, Musical Statues, Musical Bumps and our Disney Who Am I? guessing game. There were smiles, laughter and lots of Disney magic all afternoon! One of the most special parts of our celebration was presenting each child with their own personalised Disney award. Every award recognised a wonderful quality that they have shown throughout the year, such as kindness, courage, determination, resilience, creativity and friendship. It was a lovely opportunity to celebrate what makes each and every child so unique and to recognise how much they have grown, both in their learning and as individuals. We are incredibly proud of everything the children have achieved this year. They have worked so hard, shown amazing enthusiasm and made so many wonderful memories together. Thank you to all of our families for your continued support throughout the year. We hope everyone has a fantastic summer break and we wish our wonderful Year 1 children all the very best as they begin their Year 2 adventure!
Summer Reading Challenge Assembly
Today, Jackie from the Library Service came in to talk to us about the Summer Reading Challenge. She told us about lots of exciting challenges and prizes, so look out for some more information coming home this week.
Year 1 Circus Workshop.
Year 1 were lucky enough to enjoy a circus workshop, which taught them lots of skills. Throughout the workshop, they whirled and twirled as they balanced spinning plates, danced gracefully with colourful ribbons, juggled soft scarves, and bravely took to walking on stilts. They even practised their laser focus by balancing delicate feathers, and there were endless giggles as they attempted to ride some very tricky bikes with no handlebars! It was such a fun morning and they behaved brilliantly.
Year 1 Maths: Obstacle Course
Year 1 completed a blindfolded obstacle course in Maths. This linked to our current topic Position and Direction. One partner had to use words such as forwards, under, over, left and right to direct their blindfolded partner to the end of the course. It was amazing to see how well they could use these words to explain the directions and the children enjoyed it.
End of Year Awards and Celebration
We ended the year with pride at our annual awards ceremony, celebrating our children who have achieved great things and have been living life in all its fullness. It’s important to recognise that all of our children across school have been on an incredible journey this year and each and everyone one of them should be immensely proud of their accomplishments and the commitments they have shown to our school family. A huge well done to Our award winners this year: Reception - Star of the Year: Coban, Progress Award: Ronan, Children’s Champion: Poppy Y1 - Star of the Year: Marnie-May, Progress Award: Freddie, Children’s Champion: Albie Y2 - Star of the Year: Phoebe, Progress Award: Teddy, Children’s Champion: Joey Y3 - Star of the Year: Harry, Progress Award: Alice, Children’s Champion: Elijah Y4 Star of the Year: Finley, Progress Award: Lana, Children’s Champion: Emily Y5 - Star of the Year: Desmond, Progress Award: Miles, Children’s Champion: Olivia For our specialised awards this year, congratulations to Lottie on her acceptance of the Sharon Kay Kindness Award and Elijah for receiving the Planet Protector Award. What incredible achievements. We then excitedly announced the new roles and responsibilities for the upcoming Year 6 class. Please join us in saying well done to our new Heads, Deputies, Sports Leaders and Play Leaders for next year! Head girl: Olivia Deputy girls: Darcy and Sofia Head boy: Arlo Deputy boys: Desmond and James Sports leaders: Daisy, Alice, Eliza, Charlie, Carted, Ted. Play leaders - Alfie, Alexis, Nevaeh, Elliot, Leo, Peyton, Carmen, Miles, Layla, Heidi, Sonny, Harriet, Eliza, Daisy, Olivia. Lillie, Darcy, Sofia, James, Jack, Luke and Desmond - with more yet to be confirmed! We would also like to say a huge congratulations to our Netball team who came 2nd in the DPSSA Netball, and of course to the Overall Winners for DPSSA Witton Athletics - well done on representing our school amazingly well and your contributions to sports in school. Go Team Barnys! Lastly, we said an emotional Goodbye and Good luck to Miss Kachwalla, a valued and loved member of our school family, who is sadly relocating and leaving this year. It was clear to see what a wonderful impact Miss Kachwalla has had on our school and we thank her for the dedication, love and support she has provided to our children over the last few years. She leaves with a special place in all our hearts, but we know she will continue to shine in her next venture. Thank you Miss Kachwalla, we will miss you dearly!
Year 1 DT: Wacky Windmills
Year 1 made their wacky windmills today and they look absolutely fantastic. They followed their designs carefully and took their time when colouring to make sure they looked amazing. It was impressive to see how quick they were able to put the base together using the cups, plates and tape. Then, they did need some help with the pinwheel, however they really enjoyed testing that out and seeing how fast their windmills span. Well done Year 1!
Year 1 PE: Scoring Goals
Year 1 had a shorter PE session today due to the hotter weather, however it was still very productive. We practised kicking the ball into a target which was hurdles. We split into teams of 4 and tried to score as many goals as we could in 5 minutes. It was amazing to see the children controlling the ball, defending and using some tackling skills they have learnt outside of school.
Year 1 History: Changes In Money
Today, we looked at the differences between money and payments in the past, compared to now. In the past, payments could only be made using cash. Now, we can use cards, phones and even smart watches to pay for things. We also looked closely at symbols on coins in the past, such as knights on horses, Britannia and Alfred the Great, the first King to have his face on a coin. Then, we looked closely at symbols on coins today, such as lions, the Royal Shield and King Charles. The children had to independently sort the money into past and present and find one similarity and difference between them. Many children noticed that money changes to reflect our rulers, symbols and changes in technology.
Year 1 Sports Day
Our Year 1 children took part in a range of exciting races, showing great enthusiasm throughout the day. All of the children participated in an obstacle race, egg and spoon race, sack race and sprint race. A huge well done to all of our amazing children for taking part. Thank you to all of our families for coming along to support and cheer the children on!
Sports Day Parent Races
A huge thank you to all of the parents and carers who joined in with our races today! It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces taking part and creating such a fun atmosphere for the children to enjoy. The cheering, laughing and friendly competition made for some brilliant memories.