cotham gardens primary school

weekly newsletter  12/12/2025

 

The Christmas trees are up (thank you PTAF) and we have had some special events this week. Monday’s assembly was all about acts of kindness and charitable giving and as part of this, all children took a kindness pledge and committed to helping others where they can. I hope you see the benefits at home!  

Massive well done to the 43 strong Y4/5 choir for their excellent performance at Bristol Beacon on Wednesday. It was a sellout crowd on all three tiers, and over 500 performers on stage - a truly glorious experience that those children will remember for the rest of their lives. Thank you to Mr Millington and Miss Bayat for their dedication in rehearsing the children weekly during lunchtimes and making it all happen. 

We have also had theatre trips to the panto and to the Old Vic and our amazing reception children put on their own outstanding performance of Little Jo and Bo. Every year I marvel at how much the children’s confidence and attention transforms from their first days in September to the December performance. What stars! 

As well as all the events and festivities, the day job continues for both children and staff. We will be teaching full timetables right up until the Friday parties, and our staff professional development this week was external training on teaching gymnastics with all the equipment. We can’t wait to get going with those wall bars! 

Finally, it is with great sadness that I inform you that one of our staff members, Paul Reid, passed away earlier this week. Paul had worked at our school as a cleaner for thirty years and saw many changes over that time. He lived alone and one of the reasons he kept working at Cotham Gardens as he approached his 80th birthday was because the school was his family, routine and stability in later life. He will be missed.  

Best wishes 

Emmeline Smith 

 

✨NEWSFLASH - The Cotham Gardens PTAF Winter Raffle CLOSES on Sunday 14th December at 8pm ⏰

Tickets are just £1 each and available online:

https://raffall.com/404372/enter-raffle-to-win-lots-of-amazing-raffle-prizes-hosted-by-shellie-barwick

Amazing prizes up for grabs:

🎁 A Brand New Apple Watch!
🎁 Festive Hamper of Treats
🎁 Minecraft Lego Set & Little People, Big Dreams Books
🎁 £25 Book token & Chocolates
🎁 £30 Amazon Voucher
🎁 Bottle of wine from Grape & Grind
🎁 £20 M&S Voucher
🎁 Pauline Quirke Academy Course Voucher
🎁 £20 Corks of Cotham Voucher
🎁 Wolf & Bear 'Disco Cherries' Print
🎁 £15 Panunzio's Kitchen Gelati Italiani Voucher
🎁 £10 Pullin's Bakery Voucher
🎁 Trio of Red Wines and Chocolates and more!

🏆 Winners will be notified by email after the draw closes and can collect their prizes from the main office at Cotham Grove from Monday 15th December.

Good Luck! 🍀

 

 

MONDAY 15th December

YR4 Swimming - please remember to bring in swimming kits and a snack.

 

Y6 Girls football -  Shine Sports ground 3:45- 5pm. 

 

TUESDAY 16th December 

Coffee morning - Come and join us for our full packed coffee morning! Drop off until 10.00am in the Cotham Grove hall, all welcome! We also have our Maths morning - How we teach times tables at Cotham Grove and be will suitable for KS2 parents and carers

 

WEDNESDAY 17th December

YR3 Pantomime - Kingfisher 

We will be walking to The Redgrave Theatre to watch the Sleeping Beauty pantomime. The children will need to bring a packed lunch  and an interval snack if they would like one.

 

FRIDAY 19th December - LAST DAY OF TERM

Author visit - Charlie Nutbrown YR5/YR6 

 

 

This week’s class attendance winners are: 

 Ladybirds and Eagles with 99%  - Well done! 

This week’s class punctuality winners are:

Hedgehogs with 98%  - Well done! 

 

 

 

🎄 December Winter Attendance Challenge 🎄

Leaderboard Update

1st December - 12th December 

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🏆 Current Leader: HEDGEHOGS CLASS 🦔

Excellent Performance!

• ✨ 98.8% Attendance - Highest in School!
• ⏰ 2.7% Late

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📊 Top 5 Classes

Position	Class	Attendance	Late %	Overall Performance
🥇	Hedgehogs 🦔	98.8%	2.7%	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥈	Ash 🌳	97.1%	2.7%	⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥉	Oak 🌲	96.3%	2.5%	⭐⭐⭐⭐
4th	Kingfisher 🐦	96.2%	2.3%	⭐⭐⭐
5th	Kestrel 🦅	96.0%	2.9%	⭐⭐⭐

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🌟 Special Recognition

Best Punctuality Award: Eagle Class 🦅

• Only 0.7% late - outstanding time-keeping!

Consistent Performance: Hedgehogs Class 🦔

• Maintaining top attendance position - well done!

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🎯 The Challenge

100% attendance + perfect punctuality
Monday 1st December – Friday 19th December

Individual Prize: Entry to our Winter Wonderland Prize Raffle + special attendance certificate
Class Prize: Best overall attendance wins a whole class treat on the last day of term!

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📢 Classes Needing Extra Support

A reminder to Honeybees, Ladybirds, Rabbits and Foxes - we know you can do better! Let's work together to get everyone in school, every day, on time.

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⏰ Keep Pushing Forward!

Every child, every day, on time counts!

Hedgehogs are showing us what's possible! Remember - we're looking for both excellent attendance AND punctuality to win the class treat!

Let's make December our best month yet! 🌟

 

We understand that deciding whether to keep your child at home when they're feeling unwell can be difficult. To help support you in making these decisions, we'd like to share some guidance about managing mild illnesses.

When Can My Child Attend School?

Coughs and Colds

It's absolutely fine to send your child to school if they have:

• A slight cough
• Common cold symptoms such as a runny nose
• A sore throat
• A mild headache

As long as they're otherwise well and do not have a high temperature, they can attend school as normal.

Further Information:

The NHS has produced helpful guidance called 'Is my child too ill for school?' which provides detailed information about managing various childhood illnesses and when to keep children at home.

You can find this guidance at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

 

 

✨ A HUGE THANK YOU! ✨🎄

On Thursday 11th December, our children and staff joined forces with more than 2 MILLION PEOPLE across the UK for Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day & Santa Dash!

We're thrilled to announce that together we raised £240.91 to help children in the UK and around the world! 🌍❤️

 

 

  

Still want to donate? You can still contribute via our dedicated Save the Children - JustGiving page.

 We know times are tough, so please remember that whatever you can spare is wonderful – and if you can't donate right now, that's absolutely fine too.

#ChristmasJumperDay #SaveTheChildren #CothamGardensPrimary #MakingADifference

  

 

🎉 Please make sure you have booked your child's lunch choices on Arbor for our festive lunch menu next week.

primary christmas menus .pdf

 

Please note: On Wednesday the Halal option is - Halal Chicken with Halal Chicken Sausage. This has been updated on the Arbor booking system.

 

Former Student and Author Charlie Nutbrown to Visit Cotham Gardens

We are thrilled to share some exciting news with our school community! As an end of term treat on Friday 19th December, we will welcome back Charlie Nutbrown, a talented author and proud former student of Cotham Gardens.

Charlie will be speaking to our Year 5 and Year 6 pupils about his debut novel, The Feathered Book, which has already received glowing reviews. This special event is more than just a talk—it’s an opportunity for our students to discover the creative journey behind writing and publishing a book, ask questions, and find inspiration for their own stories.

Having a newly published author who once walked the same halls as our pupils makes this visit even more meaningful. We hope it will encourage our young readers and writers to dream big!

The publisher has offered The Feathered Book at a discount price of £5.06. If you would like to buy a copy or more for your child, please head over to Arbor and order via the School Shop. (This can be found by clicking Quick actions followed by school shop)

The deadline for order is Monday 15th December - to allow us time to get the orders to the publisher, ready for the last day of term. 

Thank you for your continued support in fostering a love of reading among our students.

Happy reading,

Duncan Brett

  

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 December half-term. Families already in receipt of Pupil Premium will receive these vouchers on the week commencing the 15th December.

If you think you may now be eligible for benefit-based Free School Meals and Pupil Premium, please follow the steps below to apply:

• To apply online – please visit https://parent.bristol.gov.uk/web/portal/pages/parents/travel-and-free-school-meals
• Or contact the school office on 0117 3772610, who can apply on your behalf.

 More information

If you have any questions or specific concerns, please contact the school office.

You can also find more information at www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals.

 

The school nurse will be dropping in for some sessions with parents and carers on the dates below - please click on the date to book your lot:

• Tuesday 20th January 2026
• Tuesday 17th March 2026
• Tuesday 5th May 2026
• Tuesday 23rd June 2026

The sessions will be about offering support and information around topics such as emotional support and relationships, sleep, healthy eating, exercise, being healthy, smoking/vaping.

The sessions will be running between 9am-10am and are held in the hall at Elmgrove. There are four 15 minute slots available per session and are offered on a first come, first serve basis. You will be able to join in with coffee morning whilst you wait to be seen.

If you do book a slot with the Sirona Nurse and are then unable to  attend, please let us know in advance so we can offer out that sessions to another family.

 

 

Birch Class recently read Amulet: The Stonekeeper, the first book in Kazu Kibuishi’s exciting graphic novel series and a popular addition to our Golden Bookshelf. This story follows siblings Emily and Navin as they move into an old family house after a tragedy. What seems like a fresh start quickly turns into an adventure when they discover a mysterious amulet and a hidden world full of strange creatures, danger, and secrets.

We loved the way the illustrations brought the story to life - the colors and details make every pages feel magical. The characters are brave and relatable; the mix of suspense and humour have kept us turning the pages. It’s a story about courage, family and making tough choices.

If you enjoy fantasy, adventure (and stunning artwork!), this book is a great pick. But be warned: once you finish, you’ll want to read the next one right away!

 

 

 

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

 Need help? Pop in or call the office at any time. 

 

• Y3 - Kingfisher - Tuesday 16th December
• Y6 - Residential Camp - Monday 1st June - Wednesday 3rd June