Reception Class - A Music Lesson at the Church!
Whilst visiting our local Church, we decided to have our music lesson there. We learnt that during services the congregation like to dance around the Church to a lively song when they give their money, so we also danced around the Church! Then the children enjoyed playing the African drums, shakers and tambourines to "King of me!"
A Visit to our Church for our RE Unit on Special Places.
As part of our RE unit on Special Places, Reception visited our local church. Rev Kev was there to show us around and the children enjoyed spotting all the crosses in the church. They could also see the font that is used to baptise babies, all the silver cups for communion and a beautiful stained glass window with a picture of Jesus .
Reception - Understanding the World - Understanding Arrows
Reception class discussed what the different arrows mean and their names (forwards, back, left and right). They then had to follow my instruction when I showed them an arrow, moving one step in that direction.
Reception - Maths - Finding 9 and 10
Reception Class have been continuing developing their understanding of number by identifying 9 and not 9 and 10 or not 10. Some of the pictures tried to trick us, so we had to be very careful when subitising and counting!
Reception RE: Talking about our Special Places.
In Reception class we have been talking about places that are special to us and also where people go to pray and learn about their faith.
Reception - Understanding the World - Testing How Different Balls Bounce
Reception class have continued looking at forces and today they have been exploring how different balls bounce. The children had a selection of balls to choose from, some hard, some soft, some leather and some spongy. The children had a chance to bounce their balls, swapping with a friend. They then talked about their findings to the rest of the class.
Reception and Y1 - Guided Reading
Reception and Year 1 have been developing their early reading skills. They have been applying their phonetic knowledge to help them decode the words in the book and they have been working on improving their fluency when reading. The children have really enjoyed these interactive reading sessions and have used the Chromebooks to use the ebook feature, this has been a real hit too!
Friends of DSJ
We are looking for new members of our Friends at Darwen St James group. The group was created to help raise funds for school by thinking of ideas and planning fundraisers throughout the year. Past events include; *Film night *Bingo night *Family evening *Summer Fair *Christmas Fair All the money we raise is used in school - we have developed the nurture room and we are currently renovating the library areas around school. If you would like to find our more or if you would like to volunteer, please speak to Miss Sears.
Reception Class - Handwriting
Reception Class have been working hard on their letter formation through our Letterjoin scheme. They have been learning the rhymes to help them with their formation and sharing their work with a friend, talking about how their letters look and if they have been formed correctly.
Reception Class - 3D Models
Reception class have been busy creatign 3D models using the available resources. Using the skills they have been learning they have been cutting, joining, sticking an linking together different 3D materials to create rockets, ships and telescopes!
Reception - Purple Mash - Spring Flowers
Reception Class have been using the Purple Mash program- 2Paint to create their flowers. The children had to select their paint and use the toolbar to adjust the thickness of their paint. They used the pen on the interactive board to place their marks and create their flowers.
Reception - Comparing Cars Move Down Ramps
Today Reception class have been comparing how different cars and othher objects move down the ramps. The children observed that the cars went faster when the ramp was at more of an incline. The children then extended this activity by building ramps using different objects and they used boxes and blocks to create different structures to roll their cars down.
Reception Class - Story Time - Whatever Next!
Today during story time the children acted out the different parts of our story Whatever Next! baby Bear and Owl met up and flew to the moon on a fantastic adventure! The children had remembered lots of vocabulary from the story and they were able to sequence the different events.
Reception- RE - The Wise and Foolish Builders
Yesterday in R.E we looked at the story of the wise and foolish builders. After reading the story together we decided to create this scenario ourselves. The children built two lego houses, one of them stood on a solid foundation and the other stood on the sand. We used lots of water to mimic a flood, one house stood strong and the other fell down! The moral of the story being, if we listen to the words of God we will be wise and stand strong just like the builder who built his house on the rocks.
Reception - Maths - Number Bonds to 10
Today the children have continued exploring number bonds to 10. We showed the different number bonds using our fingers. We then drew them on to our boards, representing the different numbers.
Reception - Floating and Sinking
In science today we have been exploring different items that float and sink. The children made their predictions about each item before we tested their theories. We definitely had some surprising discoveries! The children had some great observational comments and explained why they thought some items sank while others floated.
Henry Program - New Course Available!
The next Henry 0-5 will be held at Darwen Family Hub (Lord St) starting on Wednesday April 17th from 12.30-2.30. It is an 8 week programme with a creche available for younger children if needed. Parents/carers can self refer by telephone 01254 585000 or by using the new family hub website https://familyhubsbwd.org/looking-after-your-family/parenting If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Free School Meals - Extended!
As you all are aware, we received funding last year and we were fortunate to be able to offer free school meals to all of our children. We thought that this would be run until the end of March, however we are thrilled to announce we are able to extend this to the 26th April. From 29th April children who are not on free school meals will have to pay for their lunch and there will be a slight increase in cost and the new charge will be £2.50 per day. Now is a good opportunity to look into seeing if your child will be eligible for free school meals if you haven't yet applied by visiting Blackburn with Darwen Borough Councils website here https://www.blackburn.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-meals
Online Safety - What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Township
Potentially addictive online games are nothing new, but the specifics of this kind of media can vary enormously – and, as a consequence, the risks in each individual game are just as diverse. The city-builder Township is no exception: providing its legions of devotees with accessible, satisfying fun … but exposing them to potential hazards at the same time. However, any safeguarding issues that the game might have can (with a little knowhow) be neutralised – allowing young players to have some engrossing fun without adults needing to worry about children’s data, their money or their mental wellbeing. Our guide outlines how to help young gamers enjoy Township safely and responsibly.
Easter closure information
Easter closure information
Easter Competition Winners
A huge well done to the winners of this years Easter competition! Rev Kev and Miss Greenwood had the difficult decision of selecting 3 winners form each class. We had over 20 family entries too, which was great! Congratulations to those winners.
Online Safety - Wake up Wednesday - Clickbait
While scrolling online, you’ll almost inevitably have come across posts or links with headlines like “You Won’t Believe These 10 Crazy Facts about …”. Such lurid language – and the often-dubious nature of the content it promotes – has become something of a running joke on the internet. Yet while these articles are often laughed at by communities online, they can have an insidious side. Clickbait, as it’s known, can frequently function as part of a trap: intended to draw users in for the sake of advertising revenue or, in worse cases, masking an attempting to collect their personal information. This #WakeUpWednesday guide explores the various risks of clickbait and offers some top tips for evading the pitfalls of this controversial marketing technique.
Easter Egg Competition
This year our competition theme was the Paris Olympics and we have had some eggstrodinary entries! Well done ot every family that entered this years competiton, the judges have had an eggstremely dificult decision this year! The winners will be announced in our special Easter Worship tomorrow, you are all welcome to join us.
Reception Class - Easter Crown Craft
Reception class have been busy working on their Easter crowns for our competition. They have been selecting different shapes and sticking them on to their Easter crowns.
Reception - Maths - Using a 10's Frame
Today in maths the children have been exploring a tens frame, representing numbers to 10. The children had to work with a partner to decide which Nuberblock had lost their 10 frame and whether they had represented that correctly on their frame.
Reception - DT - Making Fruit Rockets
This afternoon the children have been making fruit rockets. The children had to follow the pattern to create their rocket, selecting melon, strawberries or marshmallows. Although the children enjoyed making them, they loved eating them even more!
Reception Class - Design and Technology - Creating Rockets
As part of our space theme the children have been using diffferent materials to create a rocket. The children used joining, linking, cutting and sticking skills to create their designs, they worked really hard to finish their creations.
BwD Family Hub Website
Fantastic news! Our website is live! The Start for Life Family Hub Website is the gateway to information of where services are, it details everything a family will need in those 1001 critical days and beyond. Our Family Hubs and Children Centres are our Single point of access to those start for life, wider services and family help. The Hubs and Children Centres are the physical places where a family can visit and speak to a trained staff member, face to face, who will provide them with straightforward information or advice on a wide range of family issues spanning the 0-19 (25 with SEND) age range and connect them appropriately to further services across that age range if they need more targeted or specialist support.
10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators: Encouraging Open Conversations at Home
Cultural and technological changes have made the experiences of today’s children vastly different to our own childhoods; it can be challenging to engage youngsters in open, honest conversation – especially about more sensitive topics. This, combined with many children’s instinct to avoid “rocking the boat”, can make it difficult to stay up to date with the goings on in their lives. However, it’s hugely important that trusted adults still offer an empathetic ear and feel able to encourage young people to open up about their day-to-day activities. This #WakeUpWednesday guide provides ten top tips for promoting open conversations with children – helping to make sure there’s someone they know they can turn to in times of need.
Reception Class - Science - Exploring Space
This afternoon Reception has been exploring space! We took off from earth in our rocket and flew to the different planets! We visited Mercury - making our bodies small, we used telescopes to view Venus - the hottest planet in our solar system. Then we headed to Mars, we didn’t spot any Martians! Next we went to Jupiter which has a never ending giant storm. Then we visited Saturn and we pretended to be the ring around the planet. After that we went to the coldest planet in our solar system, Uranus, it was freezing! Finally we got to Neptune, the planet that is furthest away from the Sun, it also has the strongest winds. Finally we took a walk on the Moon before heading back to Earth in our rocket! What a busy afternoon!
Reception - Literacy - Plot Point 4
Today in literacy we have been looking at plot point 4 of our story Pig's Might Fly. In the story, Wilbur pressed the big red button to activate the rocket booster! We were finding things that are red and we had a go at writing a sentence "Wilbur pressed the shiny red button". Some of the children had a go at changing the word shiny to other words, such as ruby and bright.
Reception - Train Journey
Reception class experienced a train journey today! We walked from school to Darwen Train Station and took the train to Blackburn as we were going to the cinema. The children were so excited and enjoyed talking about the different scenery they could see through the window.
Reception Class - Trip to Vue Cinema
Today Reception Class ticked an item from their bucket list by visiting Vue Cinema to watch Paw Patrol! The children had an amazing time and their behaviour was wonderful!
Reception Class - World Book Day
World book day 2024! Today we have listened to many stories via different methods. First the children shared their guided reading books with their favourite teddies, our reading pals love having stories read to them! Then we enjoyed an exciting dinosaur book together as a class. This afternoon the children gathered on the carpet and we listened to a calming ebook which was a different experience for us, reception class listened very carefully, and were able to recall the characters and retell parts of the story. Then to end the day we were joined by some parents and we partnered up with Year 4. Mr Twist read two books for us all which included actions and the children's participation to help tell the stories. The children have all had a great day!
Reception - RE - The Last Supper
In RE yesterday the children were learning about the last supper. They washed their feet, just like Jesus and his disciples would have done. They then re-enacted the story together.
Inclusion Coffee Morning
Yesterday we held a coffee morning to find out how we can represent all cultures in our Early Years. We had a fantastic turn out and we have some great ideas on how to move forward with this. Thank you to Mrs Adamson for leading this session. If you are interested in coming along to our next session, please send Miss Sears or Mrs Adamson a Dojo.
Reception - Science - Solids and Liquids
During our Science lesson today we explored solids and liquids! The children guessed what liquid would be inside the balloons and what would happen to the contents once the balloon was popped. Some balloons were liquid and some were frozen solid! The children also described what they could see and feel during this experiment. We have challenged your little ones to find something solid in their freezer at home, please support them with this and send us a picture with what your little one has found so we can share their discoveries with the class.
Reception Class - Group Reading
Reception have been working hard to apply their phonics knowledge to their reading. They have been working on ‘speedy reading’ breaking down the word into sounds and blending together to read the words.
Online Safety - Self Regulation
As infants, we all rely completely on adults to help us resolve situations that are causing us to become upset or stressed. This is known as co-regulation. The next phase, once autonomy has begun to develop, is called self-regulation: this is when children start to become capable of exercising more control over their impulses and behaviour, and managing their own emotions. This vital developmental milestone, however, isn’t reached spontaneously. Learning to self-regulate requires sensitive guidance from trusted adults – simply talking with children about their thoughts and feelings, for instance, can ease the route to self-regulation. This #WakeUpWednesday guide has some expert tips for supporting children to reach this goal.
.png)
