Easter Church Service
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Easter Service this morning. I’ve added some videos and photos to class dojo for parents who weren’t able to join us. Thank you to our Heads and Deputies for leading the service with me and to our KS2 classes for leading the singing. A special thanks to Rev Ben too for leading us in a special Easter prayer. We’ve had a wonderful few weeks in school in the lead up to Easter. Please click here to see all the Easter fun we have had: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/easter-2024 Thank you so much to our children for the amazing walking they have been doing both in and out of school for our Big Lent Walk challenge. As a school family we have walked a fantastic 2383km and raised £215 so far to help fight global poverty! Sponsor money can still be paid in on the following link: https://schools.walk.cafod.org.uk/fundraising/st-barnabas-big-lent-walk A quick reminder that we break up early today at 2.00pm and return back for the Summer term on Wednesday 10th April.
Year 4 DT - Electric Torches
Today was our final DT session where we evaluated the torches that we made last week. We looked at all of the components of our torches such as the housing, reflector and switches. Many of us said that we would like more time to decorate our torches and next time, upon reflection, we would use a switch rather than make one from split pins and paper clip for safety reasons. The children have really worked hard on their designs and have come so far since week one when we struggled to make a simple circuit! Very impressive samples too- well done Year 4!
Year 4 - Big Lent Walk & Easter Trail
We had a great time clocking up a few miles between us on our walk to the Rose Garden this morning. Once we arrived we completed an Easter quiz and explored the lovely artwork created by our school friends. The children knew so much about the events of the Easter story and really understood the symbolism too. We finished our visit with a walking gallery, deciding on our favourite pieces of art.
Year 4 - Science: Designing an Investigation
Year 4’s final science lesson gave the children an opportunity to apply all the skills and knowledge they’ve learned about electrical circuits. Their task was to decide on a question that involved them changing a basic circuit in some way, for example, adding more bulbs, and predicting what they thought the outcome would be. They then tested their hypotheses by building their circuits and then noting whether or not their predictions were right. The class has really enjoyed being hands-on throughout this unit.
Year 4 - PE: Final Orienteering Session
Our final orienteering session was all about testing map-reading skills. The children were put in mixed pairs and challenged to create a route to find 10 points on the school map. The team who completed their 10 points quickest were the winners. The children had to then challenge their partners to find the chocolate bars they hid and marked on the map. Needless to say, they keenly worked out where their bars were located and enjoyed their reward afterwards. Year 4 has thoroughly enjoyed this PE unit!
Rev Matt’s Worship: Good Friday
Rev Matt’s worship this week began with a drawing challenge. A Year 4 child was shown a picture and they had to draw the picture on the back of a Year 5 child. This child then had to draw what they thought the picture was on the back of a Year 6 child, who had to attempt to draw it on flip chart paper. Rev Matt then explained that messages sometimes become distorted when we don’t see the full picture, but it is important to stay hopeful. This mirrors the sadness of Jesus’ death on Good Friday. We must remember that it was all part of God’s plan to save mankind.
Collective Worship- Salvation
This morning in Worship we learnt about Palm Sunday with Mrs Ham and then we watched the Easter Worship Together across the Diocese video with Lisa and Bishop Philip. We looked at our school timeline of God's Big Story and found where salvation was in the New Testament. We then learnt all about Jesus being our salvation, our rescuer and saviour. We looked at our sorry tree and Mrs Ham read out some of the things we are sorry for (sins) and we asked for God’s forgiveness. We finished with an Easter prayer and Years 3 & 4 performed the songs they will be singing in our Easter Service on Thursday morning.
Mad Science After-School Club- Magnetic Magic
Our future scientists had a blast using paper clips, strings, and a magnetic board for hands-on exploration. They immersed themselves in the world of magnets, conducting experiments and discovering the fascinating properties of magnetism in a fun and engaging way.
Easter Artwork Trail in the Rose Garden
The St Barnabas Easter trail is now ready for visitors! Our whole school family has worked hard to represent a different part of the Easter story through art and we have selected some for our community to enjoy when they visit the Rose Garden at Whitehall Park. Our pictures have brought a lovely splash of colour to the garden to celebrate this joyous time in the Christian calendar. We hope that they will bring joy to all visitors.
Inter House Dodgeball Event
The Inter House Dodgeball competition was a huge success. Every single child across school took part and represented their house teams. It was fantastic to see the children getting involved, working as a team and having lots of fun. A massive thank you to the Sports leaders who ran the event and congratulations to both of our winning houses which were the yellow and green team - Whitehall Park and Darwen Tower
Year 4 Inter House Dodgeball Competition
Year 4 absolutely loved taking part in the inter house dodgeball competition. The children worked really well in their teams, cheering and supporting each other. The sports leaders also did a great job organising it- well done to the greens and yellows for winning overall.
Mrs Ham’s Weekly Message
Good evening parents and carers, well what a busy week it has been at St Barnabas and we sure have been living life in all its fullness! The highlights have been: *The Year 6 London trip *Odd Socks day for Down Syndrome Awareness Day *Year 5 class releasing the trout they have grown into River Darwen *Reception class visits from a firefighter and two dentists *Year 1 Victorian history walk *Inter-house dodgeball led by our Sports Leaders today Each class has been busy creating wonderful Easter artwork and a selection of it will be displayed in the Rose Garden in Whitehall Park. Each class will have the opportunity to visit it and it will be there over the Easter holidays if you would like to visit it as a family. For all of this week’s news from each class, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/news On Sunday everyone is welcome to Rev Ben’s Palm Sunday service at 11.00am and our choir will be singing. Any of our school children can also join in too. Next week we will be celebrating Holy Week in school and everyone is welcome to our Easter Church Service on Thursday morning at 9.15am. We break up early for the Easter holidays on Thursday at 2.00pm. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend with your loved ones and I hope our Year 6 children rest and recharge after a busy couple of days in London, Mrs Ham