Read below to find out more about some of the different activities we have been getting up to; from sporting and musical activities, to visitors and 'wow' days. We are looking forward to helping our children 'explore and grow' further in 2025-26.

• Farmer Time!

  Fri 01 Mar 2024 M Davis

  Mrs Redshaw has introduced Teal class to ‘Farmer Time’ this week. This initiative links schools and farmers, allowing children to understand about the growing cycle and where their food comes from, linking it with learning to put it into a real life context. Each fortnight, the class will link with Andrew Mahon, a farm manager near Wellingborough, and hear about what is happening on his farm. This includes  not only the growing cycle, but also looks at food distribution and environmental schemes. There are opportunities to see him planting, trees, learn about the special trees he grows for cricket bats (!) and how he harvests rain water for crops. Some of his wheat is grown for Warburton’s bakery, and his oats even make their way into our porridge!

• Science 'Wow'! Visitor was out of this world!!

  Tue 27 Feb 2024 M Davis

  Cobalt recently enjoyed a visit from Dr Nigel Bannister, senior lecturer in astrophysics at Leicester university. This was part of their science topic on space. They had a fabulous day and were particularly excited to hold the core of an asteroid that was 4.6 billion years old, rock samples from the moon and a rock sample from mars. They also looked at a camera that had been to space. Throughout the day they did a combination of watching videos and discussion as well as practical activities exploring the effect of pressure on water and astronauts. The day concluded with a demonstration of how rocket fuel ignites and burns inside the tanks.

  

• New Outdoor reading chair!

  Tue 20 Feb 2024 M Davis

  For the past year we have been fundraising to buy an outdoor reading chair and stools for our nature area. This has finally arrived, and we are looking forward to the RLT premises team setting it outside once the weather becomes a little drier!

   

  A huge thank you to all those who have contributed towards this, whether through our collections at Carols Around the Tree, through our cake raffles, or through any other fundraising event!

  

• After School Club are published artists!

  Sun 28 Jan 2024 M Davis

  Before Christmas our Art After School Club were all given the opportunity to take part in a competition to have their pictures included in a published book. The title of the publication was to be 'Perfect Pets' and the children were asked to design their ideal pet.

   

  A lot of fun was had in the actual club, and we were very pleased to hear that all of the children's artwork was selected for inclusion in the book! Well done to Claire and Mrs Hodges for all their hard work in supporting the children, and more importantly well done to the children from their fantastic artwork!

  

• Balance Bikes

  Sun 28 Jan 2024 M Davis

  Our youngest children are very much enjoying taking part in their Balance Bike sessions each Wednesday. These are provided by RCC to help improve confidence in balancing on two wheels. 

   

  So far they have been practising cornering and safely scooting along. They are looking forward to the limbo poles for their last session next week!

• Year 3/4 RLT Football Tournament

  Fri 26 Jan 2024 M Davis

  Today it was the turn of our year 3/4 football team to go and take part in the latest round of the RLT football team. 

   

  Mrs Ranson reports that the team were 'amazing'! They all had great fun, and there were massive smiles, even we they lost. They all played well, and there were huge improvements since their last matches in October. 

   

  The tally for this tournament was we won three and lost one. There was also an opportunity to play a few friendly games. There was great defending, and we now need to work on our shooting!

   

  A huge thank you to all those who accompanied the children and to the parents for transporting them.

• Parents Association Fundraising

  Wed 20 Dec 2023 M Davis

  A huge thank you to our newly re-formed Parents Association who have run two hugely successful events in the past fortnight to fundraise for the school.

   

  Friday 8th December saw the Christmas Fayre relocate to the village hall, where there is a bit more space for stalls and fundraising! It was great to be able to use this community space, and therefore be able to invite the community in to take part in the proceedings. There were lots of amazing stalls with fun and games, a raffle, face painting, craft stalls, cake and tea and coffee and Santa's Grotto, amongst many other things. A total of £741.52 was raised - fantastic!

   

  A week later we returned to the village hall for Christmas Bingo. It was lovely to see all ages coming together from both the school and the village community to play Bingo and win some amazing prizes. A great time was had by all - and £631.55 was raised. 

   

  A particular thank you to Sophie, Tracey and Claire who have taken on the leadership of the parents association, and to all others who contributed and helped set up/ clear up afterwards. The future of the parents association looks bright!

• Christmas in a Day

  Tue 19 Dec 2023 M Davis

  'Christmas in a Day' is always my favourite day of the year - and this year did not disappoint!

   

  We started the day with a walk up to Exton church. It was lovely to walk and chat with the children. Thank you to all the extra adults who joined us for the walk. 

   

  Our church service was led by Teal Class this year for the first time. Not only did the guide us through the story of Christmas with beautiful clear readings, but they also provided a beautiful tableau of the nativity. This was interspersed with the normal collection of favourite carols, including the now traditional 'Sheep, Sheep, Sheep', 'The Holly and the Ivy' in three parts, and 'Hark the Herald' with the descant sung by the headteacher!

   

  After a slightly damp walk back to school, there was just time to create some Christmas hats in time for our Christmas dinner, beautifully cooked by Lizzy and her team. There were crackers and hats for everyone too!

   

  After lunch we had our Christmas party, where the teachers led us in some party games. Just after 2pm we had a special visit from Father Christmas, who found time to pop in on his way to the North Pole. More games ensued, before it was finally hometime.

   

  What a great day!

• Vet Visit

  Mon 18 Dec 2023 M Davis

  On the final Monday of term we were lucky to be visited by Oakham Veterinary Hospital, who brought a range of activities and information with them about what they do as vets. There were lots of things to explore - from X-Rays to ultrasound; veterinary clothing to animal teeth and bones. A huge thank you to Jess and her colleague for bringing so many amazing resources to share. The children had an amazing time and have all come away with a greater understanding of not only the work of vets and veterinary nurses, but also of the science behind animals.

• Exton Art Day - Celebrating 100 Years of Disney

  Fri 15 Dec 2023 M Davis

  After a very busy week of Christmas performances, it was lovely to spend Friday looking at the animations of Disney as part of our termly Art Day. Thank you to Miss Barker for organising this.

   

  Each class took a different focus, and explored the animation and art techniques used. Aqua Class focussed in on the movie 'Frozen' and explored creating backgrounds and characters to be placed in front of these. Teal Class looked at the Lion King and creating animal characters; whilst Cobalt looked at early Disney animations and learnt how to make 'flick books' using early animation techniques. 

   

  There was some super discussion on art techniques throughout the day, and a good time was had by all!