Year 4 - PSHE: Kindness Workshop
On Tuesday, Years 1-6 took part in a kindness workshop delivered by 52 Lives. Following the workshop we were tasked with creating something for somebody else in an act of kindness. The Year 4 class had a plethora of fantastic ideas to make some very thoughtful and imaginative gifts for friends and family. These included chatterboxes containing positive affirmations, cards with moving parts revealing messages of love, paper aeroplanes delivering kind notes, friendship bracelets and much more. Krish from 52 Lives was amazed with the children’s creativity when he came to our classroom to see what we were making. The children were very proud of the items they had made and couldn’t wait to give them to their friends and family members.
Year 4 - PE: Introduction to The GULP Project
One of the weekly PE sessions in Year 4 this half term will be delivered by Blackburn Rovers FC in conjunction with Blackburn with Darwen Council. The GULP Project aims to get children active and also think about the drinks they consume, encouraging them to make healthy choices. This week was our first session in which we completed a sugary drinks quiz and an A to Z of drinks. We also received our free reusable GULP water bottles and were given a brief idea of the exciting activities that we will take part in over the next 4 weeks.
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DPSSA Netball League
After a very soggy evening at Holy Trinity, Team B managed to secure a win and a draw. We had three Year 4s playing up with our Year 6 children away in London and they played superbly along with our Year 5s who worked really hard to drive the game. We can’t wait to find out the results now to see who will go through to finals night next week!
Geography Year 4 - Rivers
In our first Geography lesson for this half term we looked at the key features of the water cycle and identified the longest rivers in the world. The children watched video clips carefully and then labelled a diagram with evaporation, condensation, precipitation and ground water. Once they had finished this they then used a Chromebook to identify the top ten longest rivers in the world and add these to a map.
Whole School- Be the Change: Our Kindness Workshop
This morning, Years 1-6 took part in an inspiring 'Kindness Workshop' delivered by Krish, centred on Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world." The children explored the three pillars of kindness, being friendly, generous, and considerate, and brainstormed simple everyday actions like smiling, sharing, hugging, complimenting, etc. We looked at powerful, real-life examples from 52 Lives, a charity founded by Jamie in 2013, including Clare from Australia and Andrea from Romania, whose £5,000 operation goal was doubled to £10,000 by kind strangers. This sparked a wonderful discussion about how fortunate we are to have the NHS in our country compared to places where healthcare is very expensive. After watching a video of a young boy comforting an upset football fan after Portugal beat France, the children learned that kindness is actually scientifically proven to make us happier, give us healthier hearts, slow down ageing, and help us live longer. Best of all, kindness is contagious; a single act can spread to 125 people! During the workshop, the children had the opportunity to share kind words with their peers in pairs. They mentioned that giving and receiving compliments felt anywhere from a bit "weird" to really "joyful". At the end of the workshop, the children had a quiz with a series of questions. Arlo, Jack, Molly, Beau, Sophia, Phoebe, Elijah, Eden, Isaac, James, Desmond, Chay, Declan, and Archie did a brilliant job answering the questions, showing great listening skills, and everyone demonstrated our 4 school rules exceptionally well. Afterwards, the children went back into their classrooms to complete their kindness activities. They had a fantastic time making chatterboxes, bracelets, letters, poems, and posters. Lots of kindness has been shared today, and we will definitely continue to share it. We must remember that kindness doesn't cost anything, so we should all use it more.
Wraparound Care is coming to St Barnabas!
🎉 Exciting News! On-Site Wraparound Care is Coming to St Barnabas! 🎉 We are delighted to announce that starting in September 2026, we will be offering our own on-site wraparound care service, exclusively for our children! We have partnered with Progressive (formerly Progressive Sports) to deliver high-quality, activity-focused care right here on school grounds. Progressive is the perfect fit because: They provide a strong sports element, creative, wellness, and discovery activities—all popular choices from our parent survey! We will be working closely with them to ensure their provision meets the same high expectations for behaviour and support that we maintain during school hours. Affordable & Flexible Options: We’ve negotiated affordable rates and flexible sessions for our families: Breakfast Club (7:30 am–8:55 am, including breakfast): £5.00 per session. After School Club (3:20/3:30 pm–6:00 pm, including a snack): £8.00 per session. Reduced Session Price: Only £6.00 if attending after a school enrichment club! A 10% sibling discount is available, and Tax-free/Universal Credit childcare vouchers are accepted. Progressive will also offer holiday clubs during some school breaks. We are confident this new service will offer affordable, convenient and high-quality care. Please read the attached letter for further information.
DPSSA Netball League
This evening Team B took part in their second evening of netball fixtures. First we played against Sudell and came away with an 11-0 win and then we played St Joseph’s which was a super tight game but we managed to secure a 6-5 win in the end. A great evening of superb play and sportsmanship by every member of the team- well done!
The Vikings in Year 4
Today Year 4 looked at the impact of events using cause and consequences. We discussed important events in Anglo-Saxon and Viking struggle for Britain, explaining the meaning of cause and consequence and suggested the impact of these events. The children really got involved in these discussions and worked really hard to identify the correct answers.
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Year 4 - National Numeracy Day
To celebrate National Numeracy Day, the Year 4 class took part in a number of activities to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills. These included taking part in a live lesson delivered by TT Rockstars and Mr MoneyJar, which involved understanding the value of money and playing ‘Would You Rather…?’ to decide when to splurge and when to save. The children also completed the Build A Playground challenge, in which they had to compare deals on various pieces of playground equipment in order to build the most cost effective playground. Once they had calculated their total cost, the children designed their playgrounds. The children’s final challenge involved a concept cartoon about number sequences. They were given the first 5 terms in a sequence and were asked to workout the 20th and the 100th terms with their partner. This activity involved lots of discussion using our oracy skills. They were encouraged to share their ideas and ask each other questions so that they would both reach a mutual decision in order to reach the answers. The class was given timely clues, or helpful hints, to aid their mathematical working. They showed great perseverance and even developed an algebraic equation to help solve the problems efficiently.
Whole School Worship - Pentecost
This week, Tuesday’s worship focussed on the Christian celebration of Pentecost. Mrs Ham began by asking the children what they remember about Pentecost, to which some children replied, “When the Holy Spirit came”, “Fire on people’s heads” and “When they spoke in different languages”. We watched a film about a group of pandas waiting for a special gift of some new musical instruments. They woke very early for the delivery but they had the wrong day and the gift wasn’t due until the day after. They had a bedtime story about Jesus’ disciples waiting for a wonderful gift, but they were unsure when it would arrive. Suddenly a strong wind blew and they all had flames on their heads and a warm feeling inside, they knew God’s power had struck them and he was living inside their hearts. Jesus will always be with them and he asked them to always be with him as he was with them. They ran into the streets and Peter shouted to the people that Jesus had rescued them and that Jesus’ love is never breaking and always and forever. Even though not everyone could speak the same language, they all still understood Peter’s words. Mrs Ham told us that Pentecost is also known as the birthday of the church. We all then sang one of our favourite hymns, “He Is Alive” to finish our Pentecost celebration.
Year 4 - RE: Visit to St Barnabas Church
During our visit to church this week, the Year 4 class spent some time exploring and spotting some interesting features. Rev Ben asked them to consider what symbols they noticed, how they may be used and how they may link to the Bible. The children remembered a number of key features from their study of the church in Year 2, such as the font, the lectern and the chalice and plate. They were able to state a use for each symbol and suggest links based on their personal knowledge of the Bible, for example, “The font is for baptising people” and “I think this links to when John the Baptist baptised Jesus.” Rev Ben then explained the symbols’ uses and links in more depth, as well as explaining that the term “Church” mostly refers to the people who form an organised body of Christ’s believers. Rev Ben ended the session with an invitation to ask questions about the objects they had explored, and the Church in general.
Mad Science After School Club-Cosmic Bubbles
In the final lesson for the after-school club today, our future scientists explored the final frontier. They looked at planets, stars, and crashing meteorites before the children invented and named their very own galaxies. They then used straws to blow bubbling, frothy cosmic art to represent their creations. It was a wonderfully messy and out-of-this-world way to finish a fantastic term of 'Mad Science Club'.