cotham gardens primary school
weekly newsletter 19/12/2025
MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
This week we have held our Autumn term Golden Champions celebrations. Two children from each class have been nominated by their teacher(s) as role models who ALWAYS keep our four golden rules:
- Be kind
- Try your best
- Be responsible
- Show respect
Well done to Manal H, Ruby, Luna, Anaheil, Kitty, Tahani, Harriet, Hila, Yasmine, Seren, Tilly, Lazslo, Lyra, Munasar M, Imogen, Ivo, Georgia, Jack R, Annayah, Freya S, Orla H, Ruwayda, Harry, Reeva, Tia, Uya, Holly and Leo. Look out for them proudly wearing their gold star pin badges.
Congratulations also go to Kilian and Max from Birch class who won the hotly contested Term 2 Times Tables challenge that took place on Wednesday. All classes in Year 4-6 participated and it was a fantastic display of maths fluency under extreme pressure. Well done!
Parents and carers of children in Year 1-6 will receive a summary attainment data report today. This is a new feature this year to provide a clearer picture of your child’s progress throughout the year. These reports will be sent home after the summative assessments that take place in Term 2 and Term 4. In Term 6 we will provide our usual end of year report, complete with teacher comments.
In addition to the three reports, we continue to hold two parent consultation evenings each academic year. Parents and carers of children with SEND, also are invited in for Learning Plan reviews three times per year. We hope this enhanced offer strengthens the partnership between home and school in supporting children’s learning.
Finally, I would like to thank you all for your continued support in making our school such a vibrant and welcoming community. Your encouragement and involvement truly make a difference. Whether you are celebrating Christmas or not, the staff and trustees of Cotham Gardens wish you a very happy holiday and hope you manage to have some rest, happiness, and time with family and friends. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in the new year on Tuesday 6th January.
PTAF RAFFLE WINNERS AND A BIG THANK YOU
Don't forget to collect your prizes from the main office at Cotham Grove before the end of term.
Please bring your winning confirmation email with you to collect your prize.
Thank you again for your generous support!
COMING UP FIRST WEEK BACK IN TERM 3....
MONDAY 5th JANUARY
INSET DAY - SCHOOL IS CLOSED
WEDNESDAY 7th January
Reception Open Event-
Prospective parents for Sep 26 start - Information session in the Elmgrove hall 9:30-10:30
THURSDAY 8th January
Cricket taster session
GOLDEN CERTIFICATE WINNERS
ATTENDANCE WINNERS AND REMINDERS
This week’s class attendance winners are: Birch and Ladybirds with 99% - Well done!
This week’s class punctuality winners are: Birch, Kingfishers and Ladybirds with 100% - Well done!
🎄 December Winter Attendance Challenge 🎄
WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT
Congratulations to PINE CLASS
You are our attendance champions and Cotham Grove site winners!
🌟 BEST COMBINED PERFORMANCE
✨ 96.4% Attendance - 3rd Highest!
⏰ 0.9% Late - 2nd Best Punctuality!
Amazing work, Pine! You've shown the perfect balance of excellent attendance AND outstanding punctuality. This is exactly what we were looking for! 👏
A HUGE well done to HEDGEHOGS class too - our Elmgrove site winners!
You had the Highest Attendance overall with 98% - this is an amazing achievement and shows fantastic commitment!
📊 Top 5 Classes
| Position | Class | Attendance | Late % | Overall Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Pine 🌲 COTHAM GROVE WINNERS | 96.4% | 0.9% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 🥈 | Birch 🌳 | 96.0% | 0.6% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 🥉 | Hedgehogs 🦔 ELMGROVE WINNERS | 98.0% | 2.4% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 4th | Ash 🌳 | 97.1% | 2.6% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 5th | Oak 🌳 | 96.1% | 2.6% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Class Results
| Position | Class | Attendance | Late % | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st 🥇 | Pine 🌲 | 96.4% | 0.9% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 2nd 🥈 | Birch 🌳 | 96.0% | 0.6% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 3rd 🥉 | Hedgehogs 🦔 | 98.0% | 2.4% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 4th | Ash 🌳 | 97.1% | 2.6% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| 5th | Oak 🌳 | 96.1% | 2.6% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| 6th | Maple 🍁 | 93.6% | 1.2% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| 7th | Eagle 🦅 | 93.4% | 0.7% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| 8th | Starling 🐦 | 93.7% | 2.8% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| 9th | Kestrel 🦅 | 95.6% | 2.9% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| 10th | Kingfisher 🐦 | 94.6% | 1.6% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| 11th | Foxes 🦊 | 89.8% | 1.5% | ⭐⭐ |
| 12th | Rabbits 🐰 | 89.5% | 1.0% | ⭐⭐ |
| 13th | Ladybirds 🐞 | 89.3% | 1.3% | ⭐⭐ |
| 14th | Honeybees 🐝 | 83.3% | 2.9% | ⭐⭐ |
Special Recognition
Best Punctuality: Birch Class 🌳
Only 0.6% late - outstanding time-keeping throughout!
Most Improved Punctuality: Eagle Class 🦅
Only 0.7% late - brilliant improvement!
CHALLENGE COMPLETE!
Thank you to ALL classes for your amazing effort throughout December!
🏆 The winning classes from each site (Pine and Hedgehogs) have both received a tasty whole class treat!
🎁 The two lucky attendance raffle winners, who achieved 100% attendance and perfect punctuality, have both received a £10 toy voucher!
🌟 All of the children who achieved 100% attendance and perfect punctuality have received a special certificate.
💫 What We Learned
This challenge showed us that success means BOTH excellent attendance AND punctuality working together. Well done to everyone who made the effort to be in school, every day, on time!
Let's keep this fantastic momentum going into the new year! 🌟
LUNCH BOOKINGS FOR TERM 3
We have some exciting news regarding lunches for Term 3. After receiving valuable feedback, we're thrilled to announce that we will be bringing back roast dinners every Wednesday!
To ensure a smooth lunch experience and to save valuable time in the mornings, we kindly ask that from the start of Term 3, all lunches are booked through Arbor. This includes those opting for a home-packed lunch or for children who are eligible for universal or free school meals.
You can find the menus here - Menus for Term 3
Thank you for your cooperation.
NURSE DROP IN SESSIONS
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:
WE STILL HAVE FOUR SLOTS FREE FOR THE 20TH JANUARY.
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.
PTAF NEWS
The PTAF would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support.
Every hour of your time, every cake bought or baked and every event attended helps us raise money for the children in our school.
In the new year we have many more things to look forward to:
Bake sales
Play streets
The sponsored read
The Easter egg hunt
As always we welcome new faces and new ideas. If you would like to come along to a meeting to see what we do and get involved then please join us on January 14th at 7.30pm. You can also contact us at cgpsptaf@gmail.com
We hope you all enjoy time with your loved ones over the winter break.
From Helen, Ali, Karen and the ptaf team.
Join the Festive Holiday Fun in Henleaze / Horfield!
We have loved seeing so many children come along to Shine Holiday Clubs and look forward to welcoming more of you.
For children in years Reception to Year 6, days run from 09:00-15:30 with late stay hours available if you need them. There are different activities running including Cracking Creative, Merry Mash Up, Jingle Gymnastics / Cheer, Xmas & New Years parties and Festive Football Fundays.
Shine are Ofsted Registered so you can pay via Childcare Vouchers and the Tax-Free Childcare Scheme.
Click here Shine Sports Hall Henleaze, BS9 and Shine Sports Ground Horfield, BS6 to see what’s on.
See you at Shine!
CREATIVITY CLUB
The OG Creativity Club is bookable for next year now! Tuesdays @ Cotham Grove for yrs 3-6. Devised by Emma from Chandos Atelier and delivered by a professional maker with years of experience, these are an hour of creative exploration using art materials. Enriching and imaginative, they develop skills and resilience, teaching techniques and methods rather than giving follow-along instructions - perfect for creative kids and art adventurers!
https://www.chandosatelier.co.uk/bookings
“His creativity at home and his attitude to materials and projects has exploded, which includes scientific endeavours, inspired by your materials and attitude to creativity.”
COMMUNITY NEWS
Flu Immunisation Still Available
Children’s Flu vaccination (nasal and injection) catch-up clinics are still available for Reception to Year 11 students who did not receive their vaccinations at school. Please book an appointment at https://imms.sirona-cic.org.uk/flu/2025/book?v=4
If you have any queries please contact the Immunisation Team directly on 0300 124 5515 or email sirona.sch-imms@nhs.net
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