cotham gardens primary school

weekly newsletter  05/12/2025

 

 It was lovely to see so many of you at the Winter Fair last Saturday. Big thanks to all the volunteers (adults and children alike) who gave up so much time to organise, create, tidy, sing and generally be festive. I’m very much looking forward to having the assistance of Elliot and Cali who won the ‘Headteacher for a day’ competition – please say hello to them on the gates next Thursday and Friday . The online raffle is still open and has some amazing prizes – including a brand new APPLE WATCH! Thanks to the amazing Shellie for organising. Scroll down for more details or click here. Tickets only £1 each.

We are also delighted to tell you that our Golden Bookshelf wishlist is now completely sold out! Thank you so much to the whole community for your incredible generosity in supporting our Reading for Pleasure programme – it really does make a difference. We have also taken delivery of over £3500 worth of colour banded reading books to support readers across the middle of the school as they move from phonics based reading to fluency. We are busy labelling and cataloguing the books ready for distribution straight after Christmas. Keep your eyes peeled for more information from Mr Brett and the team.  

Finally, I’d like to say a big thank you to Miss Jess Wakeham who has taken up a promotion in another setting. Jess has been a wonderful member of staff over many years and we will sorely miss her. We also welcome Mr Stanley Bridges, Miss Ayan Ibrahim and Miss Vee Stevenson to our support staff team.  

Christmas trees are on sale from 8am until they sell out (or 11.30am - whichever comes sooner). 

Best wishes 

Emmeline Smith 

 

 

MONDAY 8th December

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

 

TUESDAY 9th 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 a SEND Coffee morning happening hosted in partnership with Bristol Parent Carer Forum where you can find out more information on what support is available locally for your child with special educational needs and disabilities,

 

Starlings Panto Trip

Starlings will be walking to Redgrave Theatre to watch the Sleeping Beauty pantomime. Please remember to bring a packed lunch. They will also need to bring their water bottle in their bag. The snack must be a ‘dry’ snack (no yoghurt / drippy fruit / messy food!).

 

WEDNESDAY 10th December

Choir4 Bristol Beacon rehearsal

Packed lunch is required for the day and children will need to make sure they have a waterproof coat and sensible shoes for walking down to Bristol Beacons.

 

Choir Bristol Beacon Performance

Doors open at Bristol Beacon at 18:30pm

 

THURSDAY 11th December

Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day  and Santa Dash

We know times are tough, so please remember that whatever you can spare is fine - and if you can’t spare anything that’s fine too.

 

YR1 Bristol Old Vic

Please remember to bring in packed lunches as they will be leaving school early to watch Antarctica.

 

SATURDAY 6th December 

Christmas Tree sales - 8:00 - 11:30 in the Cotham Grove playground

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s class attendance winners are: 

 Hedgehogs and Maple with 99%  - Well done! 

This week’s class punctuality winners are:

Rabbits with 99%  - Well done! 

 

  

🎄 December Winter Attendance Challenge 🎄

 100% Attendance and Perfect Punctuality from 

Monday 1^st December – Friday 19th December

🏆 Current Leader: MAPLE CLASS 🍁

Outstanding Performance!

✨ 99.2% Attendance

⏰ Only 0.8% Late - Best Punctuality!

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📊 Top 5 Classes

Position	Class	Attendance	Late %	Overall Performance
🥇	Maple 🍁	99.2%	0.8%	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥈	Hedgehogs 🦔	99.2%	2.3%	⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥉	Kestrel 🦅	99.0%	2.1%	⭐⭐⭐⭐
4th	Ash 🌳	98.3%	2.5%	⭐⭐⭐
5th	Kingfisher 🐦	97.3%	1.9%	⭐⭐⭐

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🎯 The Challenge

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

Individual Prize: Entry to our Winter 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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⏰ 12 School Days Remaining!

Every child, every day, on time counts!

Well done to all classes working hard to improve. Let's make December our best month yet! 🌟

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Remember: We're looking at both attendance AND punctuality. Maple Class is showing us how it's done! 

 

 

 

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.

When Should I Keep My Child at Home?

If your child has a high temperature, please keep them at home until the temperature has gone. This helps protect other children and staff, and gives your child time to recover properly.

Helping to Prevent the Spread of Illness

Please encourage your child to:

• Throw away any used tissues immediately
• Wash their hands regularly throughout the day

These simple steps make a big difference in keeping our whole school community healthy.

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/

 

 

PLEASE REMEMBER TO GIVE CONSENT ON ARBOR IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY. YOUR CHILD WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO ATTEND SWIMMING ONCE THIS IS DONE.

Year 4 will have a series of 12 lessons, every Monday afternoon, from Monday 8th December to Monday 30th March.

Please ensure your child brings the following to every lesson:

• Swimsuit (no two-piece suits) or trunks (not baggy or below the knee)
• Swim hat and/or hairband (as needed)
• Goggles
• Towel
• Drink and snack for after swimming

The school funds the swimming lessons as part of our curriculum. However, to help cover the rising costs of transport, we kindly ask for a voluntary contribution of £86.10 per child for the year. 

You can pay in full or in instalments via your child’s Arbor account. Any amount you are able to give is greatly appreciated.

If you would like to sponsor another child’s place, you can do this through the School Shop on your child’s Arbor account and selecting ‘School Trip Donations’.

 

 

Come along to our SEND Coffee morning hosted in partnership with Bristol Parent Carer Forum where you can find out more information on what support is available locally for your child with special educational needs and disabilities. It doesn't matter if you don't have a diagnosis, we are here to support every family in Bristol and we are parents ourselves so we get it!

There is no need to book, but if you would like to register your interest then click the link here.

Date: Tuesday 9^th Dec
Time: 9 – 10am
Location: Elmgrove hall

 

 

On Thursday 11^th December, our school will be taking part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day. This is a fundraising event where children wear a jumper or other festive outfit and donate money to help children in the UK and all around the world. We also using this day to participate in the 2025 Santa Dash, a fun, free event that encourages students to be active by walking or running in a festive, non-competitive event.

We know times are tough, so please remember that whatever you can spare is fine - and if you can’t spare anything that’s fine too.

If you want to get creative and decorate a jumper, the Christmas Jumper Day website contains lots of fun craft ideas.

Cash donations can be sent in with children on the day or you can donate online via our Just Giving page here: Cotham Gardens Primary School - Christmas Jumper Day Just Giving Page

The money we raise could go towards some amazing things like: £2 could buy a packet of seeds for a family in Kenya to grow their own food, after drought has killed their crops, £8 could buy a blanket to keep a child in Ukraine warm through winter, £15 could pay for two weeks of super-powered peanut paste to help a child beat hunger, £20 could buy enough supermarket vouchers for two children in the UK.

We’d appreciate your support to make Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day & Santa Dash a success. Together, we can make the world better with a sweater.

Thank you for your support

Useful Websites:

For frequently asked questions about Christmas Jumper Day:

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day/about/faq

For upcycling inspiration and sustainability information:

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day/about/sustainability-and-inclusivity

For more information on how your donations help:

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day/how-you-help 

 

 

🎉 We are excited to let you know that our festive lunch menu is now available for booking.

This delightful menu will be served from Monday 15th December to Friday 19th December! Please see the menu below:

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.

Thank you for attending the Maths workshop for parents and carers on Monday. Please find PowerPoint below.

fluency for parents and carers 002 .pdf

There has been a change of date for the times tables workshop. The times table workshop will now be on Tuesday 16^th December in the coffee morning slot. We will go through how we teach times tables at Cotham Grove. This workshop is aimed at KS2 parents and carers.

   

We are excited to announce that Charlie Nutbrown, a talented author and ex-student of our Cotham Gardens, will be visiting our school on Friday 19th December. During the visit, Charlie will be talking to children from year 5 and 6 about his debut novel, The Feathered Book, which has already received rave reviews.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to learn more about the creative process behind writing and publishing a book, as well as to ask questions and gain inspiration for their own reading and writing. Having a newly published author who used to go to our school will no doubt provide extra encouragement.

The published 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.

Children in reception, year 1 or year 2 get free school meals anyway through a different scheme. But if they are eligible for free school meals, we still really want you to register – see why below.

Why register for free school meals?

Children who are registered for free school meals don’t have to eat them if you prefer them to have packed lunches.

But registering them is still important because for every child registered for free school meals in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the school gets an extra £1,480 (in 2024/25) and £1,515 (in 2025/26) through ‘pupil premium’ funding.

Every child registered for free school meals makes a big difference to the school.

You can find more information about pupil premium on our website: https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/Pupil-Premium/

Is my child eligible for free school meals?

If you receive these benefits, your child may be eligible:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (as long as you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit) if you have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
• Working Tax Credit run-on - but not if you receive Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit, if your earned income after tax is £616.67 per month (£7,400 per year) or less

How do I register?

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.

Children in households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

Children in households with NRPF may be eligible if their household income is less than:

• £22,700 for families with 1 child
• £26,300 for families with 2 or more children

You can find out more about the NRPF condition on GOV.UK.

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 you would like to book:

• 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.

We are thrilled to share some exciting news from Year 3. Our most recent Design and Technology topic has been all about constructing castles, and what a fantastic adventure it has been! Each student has been so creative, and their unique castles showcase their imagination and skills.

Take a look at the pictures we have below to see the wonderful variety of castles that the children have crafted. It’s truly impressive to see how different each one is!

We are so proud of efforts and the dedication shown throughout this project. It’s been a fun-filled learning experience for everyone!

 

 

Year 4 have started reading The Girl who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook. Chaya has stolen the queen’s jewels to pay for her friend’s mum’s medication. Noor brought the box with the jewels in and was about to give them back when… what will happen next?

 

 

 

 

Well done to all those involved and a big thank you for parents supporting with lifts to and from the event.

 

 

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 - Starlings - Pantomime trip - Tuesday 9th December
• Y4 - Bristol Beacon Winter sing - Wednesday 10th December
• Y1 - Bristol Old Vic Theatre to watch Antarctica - Thursday 11th December
• Y3 - Kingfisher - Tuesday 16th December
• Y6 - Residential Camp - Monday 1st June - Wednesday 3rd June

  

 

Bristol Beacon offer music tuition to pupils at Cotham Gardens Primary School in years 3-6. Lessons are taught during the school day at our Cotham Grove site.

For more information, please visit: https://bristolbeacon.org/learn-to-play/

To register for music lessons, please click here.