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Collective Worship- Love at Advent
This morning in our collective worship we walked in to the song 'Wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas' which is from one of Mrs Ham's favourite Christmas films, The Muppets Christmas Carol. We then signed and lit our trinity candles and then lit our advent candles of hope, peace and joy. We then learnt about the fourth candle, which represents love. We watched a special video called from God with love which told God's big story and how he loves us so much that he sent his special son, Jesus. We then reflected on how we can show love to others this Christmas and we had some wonderful ideas such as smiling, giving our time, hugs, food for the homeless, giving presents and showing gratitude for everything we have. We thought about all of the lovely ways we have shown love to others over the last week through singing in care homes, delivering Christmas cards to East Lancs Hospice and bringing joy to others with our Nativity and Christmas Cracker Concerts. We then said a special prayer thanking God for his most amazing gift of Jesus and sang some Christmas carols. Whilst we were singing, Mrs Ham gave every single child in our school family a special gift of a small wooden heart with love engraved on it to remind us that God loves us, she loves us, all the teachers love us and our friends and family love us. She explained that everytime we look at it we can remember how loved we are and it can encourage us to show love to others in all the fantastic ways we thought of earlier.
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Autumn Amazing Attendance Alert
A huge congratulations to all of our children who were awarded with an amazing attendance award for having over 96% attendance, for the whole of this Autumn term! We are so proud of you all! There have been quite a few winter bugs doing the rounds so if you didn't manage to get a certificate this time due to being off poorly, we are hopeful that you will achieve one at the end of the Spring term, if you continue to have good attendance.
India Mill Winners Disco
Well done to our children who are in India Mill House Team. Their team won the most Values points this half term and were rewarded with a non-uniform day and a disco. The children enjoyed some sweets, danced lots and played musical bumps too.
FOSB Fundraiser Thank you
Good morning, A huge thank you to you all for your support with our recent fundraisers. Our total profit from our spooky disco was £426.89. Our total profit from our Christmas gifts and cards fundraiser was £222.12. Our total profit from our Christmas Fayre was £810.08. This means we have raised £1459.09 Thank you to our FOSB for all of their support and help with planning and running our fundraisers. The money will help us to purchase chrome books and repair our trim trail. Thank you, Mrs Wilkinson
Year 1- A Visit from Santa
Year 1 had a special visit this afternoon. They thoroughly enjoyed their visit from Santa and were so excited to receive their special gift.
Year 1, 2 and 3 Christmas Party
Year 1, 2 and 3 had a great time at their Christmas Party. They enjoyed having a dance with their friends and playing corners, musical statues and pass the parcel. We had some fabulous dance moves and it was lovely to see the children having so much fun and enjoying the Christmas festivities. For all of the pictures, please follow the link: https://stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/eyfs-and-key-stage-1-christmas-parties-2024
KS1 Christmas Cracker
We are so proud of our Year 1 and 2 children for their wonderful Christmas Cracker Concerts this morning and yesterday afternoon. It was an absolute delight to see them singing and dancing with such enthusiasm and confidence. They certainly did bring joy to everyone who came to watch. A huge thank you to Miss Flynn for her amazing role as musical director, Mr Norris for the high pressured job of playing the music, Miss Craig, Mrs Hegarty and Miss Lyons for their wonderful props, stage directions and encouraging the children with the actions and to Mr Bloomfield for filming. Thank you to all of the parents and grandparents who came along to show their support. Thank you also for helping the children learn their lines and for providing them with their wonderful Christmas clothes. Thank you to Rev Ben for leading us in prayer and blessing us all. All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/ks1-christmas-cracker-1 The video can be found here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=usy-SsMPTGc
Year 1- Christmas Cards
Year 1 have made some beautiful cards to gift to their loved ones this Christmas. I’m sure you’ll agree that they look absolutely fabulous and will bring a huge smile to the faces of those who receive them. Well done Year 1!
Year 1 Maths- Exploring 3D Shapes
Year 1 have really enjoyed learning about 3D shapes in maths. They have been learning to identify 3D shapes by name and sort them into groups. They have focused on recognising cubes, cuboids, square-based pyramids, triangular-based pyramids, cones, spheres, cylinders and various prisms such as a triangular prism. They have also worked exceptionally hard to sort them in different ways. For example, we have had children sorting them into can and cannot roll, does have a circular face and doesn’t have a circular face, does have 6 sides and doesn’t have 6 sides, prisms and not prisms and so on… Well done Year 1! You’ve really impressed us with how quickly you've learnt the names of various 3D shapes and been able to recognise their features.
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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.
Year 1- Aladdin on Ice
Year 1 had a great time at Aladdin on Ice yesterday afternoon. They even got the added bonus of meeting lots of Christmas characters such as The Grinch and Santa Claus and also enjoyed high-fiving some of the Aladdin cast at the end of the performance. What a treat! All of the photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/aladdin-on-ice
Whitehall Park Rose Garden Art Trail
Thank you to all the children who created fantastic Art work for our ADVENTure trail at the Whitehall Park. A selection of the Art work is now on display in the Rose Garden for everyone to see. All classes will be visiting next week to look at the Art work, talk about the Nativity story and sing some Christmas carols to get us all in the festive spirit!