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.

• Solar Eclipse

  Fri 20 Mar 2015 M Davis

  We were outside with our pinhole camera paper plates this morning to try and see the eclipse as it happened. Once we had worked out how to use the plates and line up the pinhole, we were soon able to view the moon moving across the sun.

   

  It didn't go as dark as we expected, but we noticed that the birds stopped singing as it got darker, and we were able to see the shape of the sun change using the pinhole projections.

   

  Once the birds started singing again we went inside an enjoyed a day filled with Solar Eclipse themed activities. KS2 even considered what would have happened if the eclipse had got 'stuck' and the sun hadn't reappeared!

  

• A Visit from the Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan MP

  Fri 20 Mar 2015 M Davis

  This afternoon we had a very important visitor to school. Sir Alan Duncan, MP, visited our school to see what we were doing and to speak to Mrs Davis.

   

  Mrs Davis wrote a letter to the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan MP,  a few weeks ago, telling her all about our school and what it is like to teach in a small school. She copied the letter to Alan Duncan as our local MP. Alan Duncan then contacted the school to arrange to come and visit us and see us in action.

   

  Alan Duncan visited each class and spoke to the children about the school. He asked Class 1 what they knew about the government and where he worked and they were able to share what they had learnt about taxes in their RE lesson on Zaccheus the day before! In Key Stage 2 the children were writing about the eclipse and talked to him about what it would be like if the sun disappeared permanently.

   

  Mrs Davis, Mr Chalkley (our Chair of Governors) and Mrs KK were able to talk to Mr Duncan about the challenges small schools face and a little about the way our school works.

  

• KS2 Rutland Water Trip

  Wed 18 Mar 2015 M Davis

  KS2 enjoyed some lovely weather today on our trip to Rutland Water.

   

  Following work with Mr Marks in the classroom looking at the creation and use of Rutland Water, we took a trip out to see it for ourselves and talk to people who work for Anglian Water.

   

  Our two guides were very informative.

   

  We started the morning on the dam at Sykes Lane, looking at how and when Rutland Water was made, how long it took to complete and when it was eventually full. We also talked about how the dam is constructed. (Did you know that when you walk on the top of the dam, you are actually walking on the top of a triangular prism?) We peered through the mist to try and see Normanton Church and also discussed the function of the limnological tower.

   

  We then travelled further round Rutland Water to Whitwell to look at and discuss the different groups that use Rutland Water and how Anglian Water provide for all the different activities.

   

  Our last stop was the Bird Watching Centre at Egleton, where we ate lunch before spending time designing our own reservoirs. We started the activity by looking at a map and deciding the best place to put our reservoir. This was more difficult than it first looked as we had to consider contour lines, towns, villages, woodland, roads, bridges and archaeological sites! Once we had decided on our location, we were then asked to decide what activities we should provide. This also led to some interesting discussions as to where the money comes from to build reservoirs!

   

  The children had a lovely day, as did the staff, and it was great to complimented not only on the behaviour of the children, but also on the varied and interesting questions that they asked.

• Red Nose Day 2015

  Fri 13 Mar 2015 M Davis

  The school was a riot of red on Friday 13th March for Red Nose Day.

   

  The school council organised a variety of activities to raise money for Comic Relief. The children all came in non-uniform and many of them had made their faces 'funny for money'. During the day the children took the opportunity to guess the number of sweets in the jar. The results were announced in assembly, and Ellie was very pleased to win the jar of sweets with the closest guess to the actual number (132). Then came our 'funniest joke' competition. All the contributions were funny, and Mr Marks and Mrs Davis may 'magpie' a few ideas for the next pantomime. After a lot of discussion by our expert panel (thank you Olly, Sky and Mr Marks), Katie was declared the winner. She not only told her joke, but dressed to match the punch line!

   

  Mrs KK is still counting our total, which will be added here as soon as possible.

• Assembly on Judaism

  Thu 12 Mar 2015 M Davis

  Our assembly today was led by one of our governors, Mrs Linda Edwards, who came to tell us all about her faith, Judaism.

   

  Linda came to share with us what it is like to be Jewish and particularly what happens on the Jewish Sabbath.

   

  Linda has two different sets of crockery; one for meat and one for dairy. She also has different sets of saucepans and different washing up cloths and brushes for the two different sorts of food. We learnt all about the tradition of sharing a family meal together on a Friday night. We heard some of the prayers that are said and saw the family candles and crockery that Linda uses each Friday when she shares her Sabbath meal with her family.

   

  The children always look forward to the special food that Linda brings with her when she visits. This time she bought some special bread to share with us, and we also all shared some grape juice. These are both shared by Jewish families at the beginning of their Friday night meal.

   

  We are very grateful to Linda for coming in and sharing her faith with us. She is always very supportive of the school in her role as a governor and we are very lucky to have her on our governing body. The children always enjoy her assemblies.

• Whole School Non-Fiction Writing Morning

  Thu 05 Mar 2015 M Davis

  On World Book Day years 1-6 worked together in the hall to develop their non-fiction writing using the 'Grammar Rainbow' created by Jane Considine. This followed on from our Fiction Writing Morning in November.

   

  We began the session by sharing our World Book Day costumes, then played some concentration and coordination games to get our brains moving.

   

  We again took the fairy tale of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' as our inspiration, but this time, instead of writing our own version of the story, we were to become newspaper reporters and write a newspaper report.

   

  First we listened to the story, and then we split into small mixed age groups and were challenged to write a quick report about the story. It was very interesting to see what we already knew about report writing, and to see how difficult it is not to just retell the story.

   

  We then used real newspaper reports to look at example headlines, including those that use puns, then we used the Grammar Rainbow to help us brainstorm headlines for our reports. We then chose our favourite one for each group.

   

  After a quick break, we came back to practise adding detail to sentences using the grammar rainbow. We looked at adding adverbs, and how these can be moved around the sentence. We also added adjectives. Then we looked at how to use subordinate clauses to add more detail.

   

  Finally we worked together in our groups to rewrite our reports, this time making sure they were definitely reports, not stories! You should be able to spot the change in language, the opening sentence, clear headline and quotes.

   

  You can see both our first and final attempts on the powerpoint in the gallery. http://www.extonschool.co.uk/gallery/

   

  It was a great morning, and the staff again enjoyed learning alongside the children. It was lovely to see older children supporting younger children, and everyone working together to produce some fantastic work.

• Bright Day

  Fri 27 Feb 2015 M Davis

  We need our sunglasses on in school today, as the children are all dressed in their brightest clothes!

   

  Our Junior Road Safety Officers, Kira and Katie, organised Bright Day to remind us all how important it is that we can be seen on the roads. This is especially important on the country roads around the villages where there are no pavements.

• Prayer Space Day

  Wed 11 Feb 2015 M Davis

  Today was a day of peaceful reflection in our Learning Zone, which was transformed for the day into a Prayer Space.

   

  The children were split into small groups, and each group had the opportunity to spend an hour in the Prayer Space, to explore the activities and spaces within the room, and to spend the time in peaceful reflection. There were opportunities to ask questions about God, to think about others, to say a prayer for someone and to reflect on those less fortunate than us. More than anything it was a time to give the children some space to be and think for themselves without the pressures of normal school life.

   

  It was wonderful to observe the children taking their time to explore and to think about themselves, their families and friends, and those further away. The children were all very positive about the experience and one even declared it was 'the best hour we have had in school!'

   

  In such a busy, noisy world, and an active school, sometimes our children need permission to take time to be at peace with themselves; and this project showed that it was certainly worthwhile.

   

  See the pictures below to get a flavour of some of what was going on.

   

  Many thanks to Cathy Dyson, Chris Cassady and Sue Bamber for giving up their day to make this happen. It was a special experience for the children, and one we hope we can repeat.

  

• Cross Country Competition

  Mon 09 Feb 2015 M Davis

  A huge congratulations to those children who represented the school in the County Cross Country Competition on Saturday. It was cold weather, but Mrs Ranson reported that you all gave it your best and were a credit to the school.

   

  Mrs Ranson reported: "They all ran strongly over a difficult course that saw them starting off down hill, before climbing a hill to the halfway point then crossing some uneven ground and ending on a very challenging uphill 40m to the finish. I couldn't get exact numbers of entries but was told it was between 40 -50 for each event (I think nearer the 50). Olly came in smiling and strong 21st in Y5 boys. Laura (Y6) came 18th and still looked like she had loads of energy when she crossed the line. Callum and Max (Y6)completed a gruelling longer course and came in 38th  and 39th respectfully. They ran together giving each other encouragement. 

  I was very proud of all their achievements and it was lovely to see them and their supporters cheering on every Exton runner."

   

  Well done to all our runners and their families for cheering them on.

  

• KS2 SATs Parents Information Meeting

  Thu 05 Feb 2015 M Davis

  It was good to be able to chat through what happens in the Year 6 KS2 SATs with some of our parents this evening, and Mr Marks and I hope we have put some fears and worries to rest. SATs can be worrying for children, parents and staff! We hope to make the process as stress-free as possible.

   

  The powerpoint used is in the 'Useful Documents' section of the website.

   

  Do speak to class teachers if you have any further questions.