Latest News

E-Safety Parents Information Evening

Thu 05 Feb 2015 M Davis

Thank you to those parents who were able to join us for our E-safety evening this evening. It was interesting to be able to share some statistics and advice on keeping our children safe on-line, including data on what our own children know about E-Safety. The good news is the majority of our KS2 children already know about the importance of keeping themselves safe. Mr Marks will be working in ICT to develop their knowledge after the next holiday.

Please look in our 'Useful Information' section of the website to find the Powerpoint used at the information evening.

Basketball Competition

Mon 02 Feb 2015 M Davis

We were very proud of the year 5/6 children who volunteered to become our Basketball team to represent the school at the recent Rutland Basketball Competition. There was some great teamwork, and even some cheerleading from the side-lines!

Well done to all those who took part. Mrs KK and Mr Chalkley were very proud of you all and said that you were a credit to the school.

Exton Gets Technical!

Mon 02 Feb 2015 M Davis

We have had a new server fitted at school and we are moving to a new technological age for the school! Eventually all the children will have their own login, which will enable them to be able to access their work from any computer in the school, instead of the old system of remembering which computer they last worked on! Our internet should be quicker too, and we are looking forward to making good use of the technology.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Thu 08 Jan 2015 M Davis

We had a lovely time at the pantomime in Nottingham on Thursday. (Oh yes we did!)

After a lovely coach journey we ate our lunch in the theatre foyer before entering the auditorium. We had prime seats at the front of the dress circle and were soon joining in with all the pantomime antics. There were lots of special effects and super dancing, singing and acting. The dame was very funny and had some magnificent outfits.

All the adults agreed it was a great trip. The behaviour was exemplary and the children were all very polite. We were loud when we needed to be (oh, no we weren't!) and quiet when required too. What a delight the children are to take out on a trip!

Tinsel Day

Thu 18 Dec 2014 M Davis

Many thanks to all those who wore Tinsel on Thursday 18th December and bought in a pound in support of Thorpe Hall Hospice. Miss Mewes, our lunchtime assistant, had asked if we could support the fundraising of two former pupils who were raising money for the Hospice in memory of their mother who sadly died in October. We raised £36 towards their collection.

Singing at Oak House

Wed 17 Dec 2014 M Davis

KS1 ventured out on the last Wednesday of term to Oak House Residential Home in Greetham to share with the residents some of our Christmas celebrations.

The children happily dressed up in their nativity finery, and sang and acted their way through the songs from their nativity. It was lovely to be able to take some of our Christmas festivities out into the community.

All their efforts were rewarded with drinks, biscuits and mince pies! Many thanks to the staff of Oak House for inviting us, and for making us all feel so welcome.

Christmas Plays

Wed 17 Dec 2014 M Davis

Yet again, our two Christmas plays were well received by packed audiences. We even had people at the dress rehearsal in order to try and let as many people see our plays as possible!

Class 1, through 'The Donkey Seller', told the traditional nativity story from the point of view of the donkeys of the time. Every child, from the youngest reception child to the oldest year 2, had lines to say. The singing was hearty and clear, and the acting was superb. I don't think anyone will forget the donkeys 'No, no, no!' when a game of pin the tail on the donkey was suggested!

Key Stage 2 then produced their annual pantomime, this year following the story of Dickens 'A Christmas Carol', penned by Mr Marks and Mrs Davis. Again, every child had lines to learn and say, and these were delivered clearly and articulately with lots of expression. We have many a budding actor in Key Stage 2 at the moment! A special mention should go to our ex-Headteacher, Mrs Whitehead, for making a brief cameo appearance as the ghost of Christmas past, before being removed by the real ghost of Christmas past! The singing was magnificent. It is hard to believe the quality of the sound and diction that the children give, despite there being less than 20 of them. This year there were many keen soloists; and 5 children had a turn in the limelight. Mrs Davis will soon be out of a singing job!

After seeing such fantastic performances from all taking part, the Headteacher's second highlight was the many comments afterwards congratulating the children and staff on such outstanding performances. We spend a lot of time in school talking about 'adding value' to the children's education. It is opportunities like this, where every child gets a moment to shine, that really add value to the learning experiences of our children.

Samba Workshops

Tue 02 Dec 2014 M Davis

It was very noisy in school today, as we all had a go at Samba Drumming!

The first people to have a go were our Reception children, who all threw themselves into finding rhythms and playing the instruments. We have found some budding drummers!

After break, KS1 were able to try some samba rhythms. They learnt about how to play the different samba instruments and also experimented with rhythms.

In the afternoon KS2 worked together to make a complete samba piece to perform to the rest of the school. We learnt 3 different samba rhythms that could be played together on the agogo bells, the tambourim, and the surdo drums. We learnt how to do the different parts of a samba piece, including how to start and how to do a break.

Not only were we able to work on our musical skills, but our concentration skills were put to the test too. It is not easy to play one rhythm and keep it going when people around you are playing something different! We also had to listen to different signals from the leader as well.

Whole School Improving Writing Morning

Thu 27 Nov 2014 M Davis

On 27th November years 1-6 worked together in the hall to develop their writing using the 'Grammar Rainbow' created by Jane Considine. Mrs Fowler recently went on a course led by Jane Considine and was keen to share with staff and children what she had learnt. What better way to do that, than for us all to learn together!

After watching a short video story of Goldilocks to make sure we all knew the same story, we set about writing the story together. First we mapped the story through as a large group. Then we split into smaller mixed age groups and each had to write a small part of the story.

While the story we wrote was okay, it was not very exciting! We then looked at how to use the Grammar Rainbow and FANTASTIC to help us add detail and make our writing more exciting.

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 it was lovely to learn alongside the children. We are all excited to start using the techniques we learnt back in our classrooms. Look out for some budding authors!

FOEGS Bingo Night

Tue 25 Nov 2014 M Davis

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to make our Bingo evening last Friday such a success. There was much fun to be had, and lots of laughter in the school hall. We are particularly grateful to Andy Saunders for his delicious fillings for the baked potatoes and to Wendy Saunders for her expert Bingo calling.

It was great to see members of the community and from the school come together to share in the warmth we were able to provide at school, particularly for those from Greetham who were without water for 24 hours! Water bottles were provided to enable people to go home with enough water to brush their teeth and have a drink.

Apologies for the clarity of the photographs below. Hopefully you can see some of the fun we had.

The event raised over £350 which FOEGS puts straight back into supporting the work of the school.