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.

• RLT Quicksticks Hockey Tournament

  Sat 26 Mar 2022 M Davis

  On Friday, an intrepid band of year 3/4 children went to Catmose College to represent our school in the inaugural RLT Quicksticks hockey tournament. Despite having had little practice, our team acquitted themselves well, playing some super defence and scoring three goals overall. 

   

  Although we didn't win, the children showed excellent sportsmanship and improved their play through each game. 

   

  Well done to all who took part.

• The Fearsome Giant

  Wed 23 Mar 2022 M Davis

  On Wednesday we were visited by The Conversation, in conjunction with Resilient Rutland, who performed a puppet play called the Fearsome Giant and then carried out workshops in classrooms relating to being resilient when we are anxious. 

   

  The morning started with a performance for our EYFS/Year 1 children of The Fearsome Giant! The children enjoyed the story - and were very brave when the giant (over 2 metres high) appeared! They then returned to their classroom for their workshop, where they undertook various activities to help their understanding of anxiety and develop their resilience strategies. 

   

  The joys of being a small school meant that years 4,5 and 6 were able to join the play performance, and find out a little about how the puppets were made!

   

  In the afternoon, it was the turn of year 2 and 3, who enjoyed the performance too. For these year groups it also provoked discussions around the power of music - as this can sometimes increase our fears when watching something more scary! Again, the children enjoyed meeting the puppets before taking part in their classroom workshops.

   

  A huge thank you to The Conversation, Stamford for facilitating the workshops, and to Resilient Rutland for funding the experience.

   

  

• RLT Quiz

  Mon 21 Mar 2022 M Davis

  On Monday, we took part in the inaugural RLT Annual Quiz, competing against other schools in the Rutland Learning Trust. 

   

  Each school was asked to enter a team of up to eight children - two from each year group in KS2. 

   

  We joined together with the other schools via Teams and Mr Alfieri asked questions in the following rounds: history, geography, science, maths, music and art.

   

  We were allowed to select two rounds for 'bonus' options - one where we could have a teacher's help, and the other where we could double our points - to Mrs Davis' surprise, we chose geography for the latter. This turned out to be an excellent choice as we answered all the geography questions correctly!

   

  The competition was very close, with schools all scoring within 6 point of each other. In the end it came down to a tie-break question between Exton & Greetham and Whissendine school, and we are very proud to announce that we won!

   

  We are looking forward to hosting the trophy until the competition next year. 

   

  Well done to our quiz team - you are all superstars!

• Lights, Camera, Action!

  Thu 17 Mar 2022

  On Tuesday the children in Cobalt and Navy classes had a fantastic time exploring the world of television. This was a unique chance to work with a professional TV production crew and enjoy a whistle-stop experience of creating their own piece of television. The project enabled the children to  get hands-on experience with cameras, lights, sound and even editing software.

   

  The day started with an introduction to some of the many activities and roles that go together to create a TV programme, from acting and presenting roles to practical work with cameras, sound and post-production software.

   

  During the morning the children had the opportunity to create short news broadcasts filmed on green screen, with the accompanying sound, which they then edited. 

   

  The afternoon was spent learning about the use of drones in filming and capturing aerial photography, as well as looking at techniques for capturing interviews. At the end of the day we were able to take the whole school outside and use the drones to take pictures of the children, staff and the school itself using the drone.

   

  An amazing day was had by all, and we look forward to receiving the final results. 
   

  A huge thank you to Resilient Rutland who provided the funding for this event.

  

• RMH Strings Project

  Thu 17 Mar 2022 M Davis

  Since Christmas the school has been ringing with the sound of string playing every Monday morning as our year 4, 5 and 6 children all take part in strings lessons provided through the Rutland Music Hub.

   

  The children are enjoying learning the skills need to play the violin or 'cello, from how to hold each instrument and the bow, to reading the note from the music. 

   

  The collective noise of 26 violins and 'cellos being played in harmony is amazing and the children are enjoying sharing their new skills.

   

  A huge thank you to Mrs Regan for coming and sharing her expertise!

  

• World Book Day

  Fri 04 Mar 2022 M Davis

  We love to dress up for World Book Day, so this year we celebrated a day later than usual in order that we didn't have to worry about dressing up and changing for swimming!

   

  Although we were a day later, that didn't stop us sharing some fabulous activities in class and some amazing costumes. The children all had a fantastic day sharing stories and doing activities linked to the books they have been reading.

   

  A huge thank you to all the parents who pulled together favourite book character costumes!

• RLT Virtual Maths Day

  Tue 22 Feb 2022 M Davis

  The whole school took part in the Rutland Learning Trust Virtual Maths day.

   

  The challenge this year was to start from a book, and to see what maths could be inspired from this. Each class chose a different book and there was much maths to be seen across the school, including creating patterns and calculations, measuring angles in mountains, exploring nets, investigating chocolate and even creating their own fair!

   

  We then met together virtually with other RLT schools to share what we had all been doing. Cobalt Class were lucky enough to be awarded an RLT Maths Challenge Award for their work - well done year 4 and 5!

  

• Safer Internet Day

  Tue 08 Feb 2022 M Davis

  We hope your children came home from school on Tuesday talking about some of the things they had learnt on Safer Internet Day.  Safer Internet Day is celebrated across the globe in over 170 countries, with thousands of children joining in across the UK. It’s a day when we celebrate all the great things about being able to be online, as well as reminding ourselves how we can stay safe.

   

  We started with a whole school assembly where we talked about all the amazing things we can do online - including video calling, chatting to friends, watching videos and playing games - and how important some of these have become through COVID.

   

  Many of our children talked about ‘playing’ on Youtube without parents in the room. We would encourage parents to check what their children are ‘clicking through to’ whilst on Youtube. Often the ‘suggested clips’ that appear down the right hand side are not always age appropriate, and can lead children to see things that perhaps are not so suitable, particularly if there is no child filter on your computer.

   

  The vast majority of our children indicated that they play games online. Whilst it was great to see lots of hands up showing that their parents know what they are playing, there were a few who indicated that their parents don’t always know what games they are playing on. Many children also indicated that they talked to people in chat rooms alongside these games - mostly with people they know in the ‘real world’, but also with people they have met online. The most important thing we shared with the children was around being honest with parents about what they are doing online and who they are talking with. If something happens that makes you feel uncomfortable, it is much easier to seek help from an adult if they know what you are doing!

   

  We would encourage all parents to ask their children about the games they are playing and who they are talking to, to help keep communications open. We stressed to the children how important it is to work together with their parents to make sure they are keeping safe online. There are some short films on keeping your child safe online for parents on the school website, in the parent section under ‘useful links’.

• Christmas in a Day

  Fri 17 Dec 2021 M Davis

  Thursday was our traditional Christmas in a day.

   

  We started by walking up to Exton Church to share our Christmas Carol service. Children from Cobalt and Navy classes led us through the story of the nativity, ably assisted by children from Teal and Aqua creating a nativity tableau. The story was interspersed with carols and Christmas songs, including an Exton favourite - 'Sheep, Sheep, Sheep'. As promised, as the children sang so well, Mrs Davis sang the descant for Hark the Herald! 

   

  We then returned to school in time for playtime and some Christmas activities, before we sat together to eat a delicious Christmas dinner prepared by Lizzie. Thanks, Lizzie - it was scrumptious!

   

  After lunch we changed into our party clothes before joining together in the hall for our Christmas party. Musical statues and four corners were played, before a special visitor arrived... We were very lucky that Father Christmas was able to make a brief visit and we wished him luck on his travels over the next week or so. 

   

  It was lovely to be able to be together again for a traditional Exton & Greetham Christmas after spending last year in bubbles. A good time was had by all!

• Snow White and the Multiple Dwarves

  Wed 15 Dec 2021 M Davis

  This year's pantomime was another resounding success - oh yes it was! Cobalt and Teal classes excelled themselves with their comic timing, dancing, singing and great characterisation. We will all remember the poor prince, desperately trying to persuade someone to marry him, and eventually finding Snow White, as well as the wicked stepmother, wooden Woody and the multiple dwarves. 

   

  Thank you to the staff for working tirelessly to ensure that the children were word-perfect with their lines, footwork-perfect with their dances, and song-perfect with their singing. What a triumph!

   

  Thank you to our audiences for joining in readily with both the traditional pantomime responses and with the song at the end. The audience put the icing on the cake!