Newsletter 04/04/2025

 

Parent consultations will be taking place on the following dates:

5WL

• Tuesday 22nd April between 3:45 -18:30pm (Virtual online or face/face)
• Wednesday 23rd April between 3:45 -18:30pm (Virtual online or face/face)

ALL OTHER CLASSES (apart from 4OB)

• Wednesday 23rd April between 3:45-18:30pm (Virtual online or face/face)
• Thursday 24th April between 3:45-18:30pm (Virtual online or face/face)

This is an important meeting and provides you with an opportunity to talk to your child’s class teacher about school and the progress that your child is making.

You can book a parent consultation appointment via your child's Arbor account from Friday 14th March at 19.00pm until Monday 21st April at 22.00pm.

• Your child’s consultation will take place in your child's class room (or online).
• Please ignore the note that states staff room when you go to book.
• The appointments will last strictly 10 minutes, whether they are online or face to face.
• Please only book one day.
• When you are booking your Childs Consultation, please state if you would like this to be a face to face appointment or a virtual appointment in the notes section. If this is left blank, we will assume you will be attending in person (face to face)

This guide will help you with booking your time slot but should you need any assistance or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

We look forward to seeing you there

 

 

 

We have 4 spaces left on the bikeability course starting next term on the 29^th April. If you would like your child to take part please head over to Arbor to sign your child up.

 

 

 

For more info on Bikeability please see this short film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1_16Mr1lOI

  

 

Bristol City Council are providing Free School Meal vouchers up to the value of £30 per eligible child in order to provide extra support during the half term break. Parents of children in receipt of benefit-based Free School Meals will have received their voucher link via email to redeem online on Tuesday 01.04.2025.

 

Do I qualify for a food voucher?

All children in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 are entitled to free school meals. This is called Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). However, Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) is different to Benefit-Based Free School Meals (FSM).

 

Children are only eligible for Benefit-Based FSM and Pupil Premium funding if their parents receive certain benefits and have made a successful application with Bristol City Council. If you think you may be eligible for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium, please visit https://www.bristol.gov.uk/schools-learning-early-years/free-school-meals or contact

 

 

 

 

The Cotham Grove site are in need of some spare pants, leggings, trousers or shorts (age 7years+) for our spare clothing basket. If you have anything you are  happy to donate, please pop it into the office after the Easter break. Thank you in advance!

 

 

 

The Cotham Gardens girls football team have managed to place 3^rd in their first ever entry as a team in the SHINE league! 

They fought it out to the final whistle and finished just one point shy of the final -showing just how much effort they put into the team. Throughout the league, the  children (and parents!) have turned up no matter the weather and worked determinedly to improve their skills and climb the league. A huge thank you to all involved. 

Girls, you've done Cotham Gardens proud!

 

 

What a busy week for year 2! We have all tried our absolute best with all the quizzes and they smashed it. We also finished our Art unit “clay houses”. Today we added the last details to the clay tiles. It was wonderful to see how everyone was carefully following their designs. In reading, we finished the book about David Attenborough from the series of “little people big dreams” and they got to create their very own front cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 3 have had a fantastic term of learning! We have completed our ukulele lessons and performed to our families. We have learned about Antarctica and the famous explorer Ernest Shackleton. In art, we have learned to produce frottage (textured mark making) outdoors and then used the patterned pieces for flower pictures. Maths has centered around fractions and money recently, with the tricky challenge of finding change in pounds and pence! In French recently, we have learned parts of the body and colours - we have had fun singing heads, shoulders, knees and toes in French really fast! Our writing skills have been developed by spotting when sentences don't make sense or aren't complete, and choosing conjunctions that extend our sentences. Our scientific skills have been focussed on the parts of plants and dissecting flowers! Special mention goes to our Romans topic recently and our trip to Carleon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next Community Forum Meetings will be held on the following dates - all welcome!

• 23rd April in the Cotham Grove Hall at 9am (after open classrooms)
• 24th April online at 6pm

 

 

 

Please see below some of the trips that are happening over the coming terms. If you have not consented for your child to attend, please head over to Arbor to give consent as soon as possible.

 

 

• YR6 DT Trip - Look Draw Build - 24th April
• Y1 Bristol Zoo Project - Tuesday 13th May
• Y2 Aerospace museum - Thursday 15th May 
• YR Farm Trip - Tuesday 20th May 
• 5B Tudor Boat trip - 12th June
• 5WL Tudor Boat Trip - 17th June
• 5MC Tudor Boat Trip - 20th June
• YR5 Children's Theatre Trip - 27th June
• Y6 Residential Camp -  Wednesday 2nd July - Friday 4th July 

 

 

Our new Spring Menu is live and ready for you to pre order your children's

lunches for Term 5. 

Please find the link below for the new menu:

https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/School-Meals-12082020162846/

 

 

 

As stated in our school attendance policy, only exceptional circumstances warrant an authorised leave of absence. Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure, recreation or visiting family would not constitute an exceptional circumstance.

If seeking permission for exceptional circumstances leave of absence, the parent/guardian should complete a Leave of Absence Request form. The request should be submitted as soon as it is anticipated; and wherever possible, at least four weeks before the absence. Leave of absence cannot be approved retrospectively.

The school will consider each application individually, considering the specific facts and circumstances. Parents may be required to provide the school with additional evidence in order to support the request. The expectation of the school is that term time holidays should not be planned or booked as a matter of course, as they are likely to be unauthorised.

 

1. A Penalty Notice

The penalty is £80 per parent, per child payable within 21 days, rising to £160 per parent, per child if paid between 22 and 28 days. (Failure to pay will result in prosecution.) If a second Penalty Notice is issued within a rolling 3-year period the penalty is £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days. There will be no option to pay a lower amount.

2. Prosecution

Prosecution could lead to fines up to £2500 and /or up to 3 months imprisonment. (See DfE’s statutory guidance on School attendance parental responsibility measures for more information and Bristol City Council’s Penalty Notice Code of Conduct, available here).

Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy and in the Penalty Notice Leaflet from Bristol City Council.

  

 Term Dates

    Term 4: Monday 24 February 2025 - Friday 4 April 2025

Term 5: Tuesday 22 April 2025 to Friday 23 May 2025

   Term 6: Monday 2 June 2025 to Tuesday 22 July 2025

 

INSET days remaining this year 

Friday 4th April 2025

Monday 2nd June 2025

 

INSET days for next academic year are now confirmed as follows:

Tuesday 2nd September 2025

Friday 24th October 2025

Monday 3rd November 2025 

Monday 5th January 2026

Monday 23rd February 2026

Friday 3rd July 2026

Wednesday 22nd July 2026

  

As previously communicated, we want to remind you that there is now a new CONSENT section within your child’s Arbor account.

If you have not already done so, please take a moment over the weekend to log onto the Arbor ParentPortal or App and review these sections to ensure we have the most up-to-date information for your child:

• PHOTO/VIDEO CONSENT
• LOCOAL TRIP CONSENT
• CLASSDOJO CONSENT 
• SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER CONSENT
• LOCAL MEDIA CONSENT
• YEAR 6 LEAVERS' BOOK CONSENT (YEAR 6 ONLY)

Thank you for taking the time to review and update your consent preferences.

 

If your child normally walks home from school but you book them in to attend a Shine or Zebras after school club - please let the office know, so they can inform the teacher before the end of the school day. 

You can let us know by either calling on 01173772610 or emailing office@cothamgardens.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Please find below a link to the Computing Newsletter and Cotham Gardens Loves Reading Newsletter below that was shared this week.

 

https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/News/

 

 

Bristol Parent Carers have asked us to share their April newsletter. Inside you will find some uplifting podcasts and other media, a new free course running across Bristol to support parents wellbeing and help you advocate for your child, information on an important event to share your views on SEND and you and their SENDIAS service plus much more!

 

Juggling the busy demands of parenting can be tough, inside this newsletter you will find handpicked information on the stuff that matters. We want to be in this together. 

 

Please click the link below for more.

https://midd.me/0Zou