Achievement | Diversity | Respect
10 March 2023
Parent Weekly Mailing
Keep us posted - It would be great if parents/carers could let the school know of any student achievements outside of school. We would like to find out what students are doing in their own time and celebrate their achievements. Email us: weeklymailing@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Week commencing Monday 13 March 2023 is Week B
Standing Items are now located at the bottom of the mailing.
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers
Please find this week’s mailing with important information for parents/carers and students as well as updates on school events, activities and opportunities for your reference below. With very best wishes for the weekend.
Kindest regards, Ms Jo Butler, Headteacher
We have had 66 responses to our feedback survey for the new weekly mailing so far. Thank you to all those that have contributed. Please let us know what you think if you have not already.
What do you think of the new Weekly Mailing format?
Tell us here!
Do you know our three school values?
Achievement
Progress- at Cotham every child matters and no child is left behind.
Academic, creative and sporting excellence - high standards of teaching; ambition for every student ; a top school in Bristol for examination results.
Potential - hidden talents, confidence and character are developed aided by excellent staff, facilities and opportunities to try new things.
Celebration - of student successes inside and outside of school.
Diversity
Environment - warm and welcoming; the school community is richly diverse and cohesive; we embrace our differences and are a school that gives its students and staff the tools to do so positively.
Curriculum - we develop curiosity and knowledge about the world and each other through our broad and inclusive curriculum.
Openness - we believe in being open with students and their families, colleagues in our school and beyond, sharing information and ideas to raise standards and life chances.
Respect
Caring for Others – staff understand that children only have one childhood.
Safe and Happy - all members of our school community have this right;
Empathy - we treat everyone as we wish to be treated ourselves.
Honesty – we act in a courteous and respectful manner in our dealings with everyone.
Social responsibility – we maximise our positive impact on the people in our communities while minimising our footprint on the world.
Thank you for the positive feedback 👍
A lovely piece of feedback we received this week from a Year 8 Parent.
Well Done L!
Well Done!
Dear Cotham,
I wanted to give you some feedback on an event that L attended on Saturday that he signed up for through the school.
He attended the CyberFirst Trailblazers held at the UWE on Saturday 4th March. It was aimed at Yr8 students across Bristol and he was pleased to see another student from Cotham there too and they quickly paired up to enjoy the session together. The event was designed to showcase the varied opportunities that can be achieved through the understanding of how technology is used in a workplace and set students on a path of considering which GCSEs to take and how Computer Science can play a key role in future career prospects.
He thoroughly enjoyed the event and was telling me how he learnt about website building, cyber security and how important Computer Science is within today’s communication and advertisement industry. He also enjoyed two thought-provoking videos that highlight where we could all be now without Computer Science, how important it is and why we need to keep it secure and safe to use.
He enjoyed getting an insight into the university experience, the environment, the modern technology there and even the auditorium where they had their speeches. L is currently exceeding in ICT and also attends Creative Makers each Wednesday so this was another great opportunity for him to attend thanks to Cotham.
I just want to say thank you for making him aware that this course was being held and I feel he has come away with a sense of where Computer Science can lead him.
Thank you, A Year 8 Parent
Word of the Week
Word of the week
Cling
Cling is a verb
It means: ‘to hold on very tightly to something’
New Announcements
St Paul's Carnival - We are taking part!
We are excited to let you know that 30 Cotham Students will participate in the Carnival this year, they are planning costumes and learning dance routines. After 3 long years away Carnival is coming back to the streets of St Pauls on Saturday 1st July. The day will be a fusion of Carnival culture and heritage, complete with a procession, sound systems, costumes, food, musicians, dancers and much, much more.
This year's theme will be ‘Learning From Legends’, as past, present and future legends are honoured.
World Book "Week"
This week saw Year 7 tutor groups each turning a large potato into a book character in our Potato competition. We had some highly creative entries and the winner is 7JBA's Long John Silver!
Some tutors were asked to read extracts from a book which has meant something to them. The students were rapt as tutors read and, we're sure, gained valuable insights into the reading journeys of others.
Limited numbers of free books and World Book Day money off tokens were on offer in the library which also ran a book fair with proceeds going to the Turkey/Syria earthquake appeal.
Exciting News for Cotham School Year 7 Students
Author and TV comedy actor Joseph Elliot is coming to visit the Year 7s to talk about the Award winning books he has written, on Tuesday 14 March.
Joseph is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadow Skye trilogy - an epic fantasy series set in a mythical version of Scotland, featuring magical beasts, deadly shadows and a protagonist with Down syndrome. For more info please click here
His first book, The Good Hawk is available to borrow in the library now. His other 2 books will be available to borrow from the library next week. We are also planning to offer the chance to buy his books on WISEPAY at a discounted price. Please look out for more information about this soon.
FUN FACTS: He helps write the BBC TV show HORRIBLE HISTORIES and you may also recognise him from the Cbeebies show SWASHBUCKLE.
For more information about Joseph himself please click here
Term 3 Digital Platform Awards Winners
Well done to all the winners!. Who will be the winners in Term 4?
Are you following us on Social Media?
We have been working hard to improve our use of social media to keep parents and carers more informed about what is happening here at Cotham. It is a work in progress and we are getting better so please follow us on our social media feeds to keep up to date. 😊
Strike Action by NEU on Wednesday 15 March and Thursday 16 March 2023
Please read your emails for important updates. You can also read the Letter re: NEU strike action here
Cotham School will again be closed to students on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 March due to ongoing industrial action by Teaching Staff in the NEU. You should not send your child into school on these Days.
Monitoring your child's Home Learning
As a school we use Google Classroom to set all our home learning tasks for students. On this platform, we can set work with deadlines and attach digital resources and links to the assignments. Each subject has its own classroom that groups all work together for that subject making it easy to see. Students use their school google accounts to log in and check their work.
There are no specific parent accounts so to view all the home learning that is being set for your child you will need login using your child's school login details to access the platform.
Parent Email Summaries
We have enabled Google Classroom email summaries for parents and carers.
If you would like to receive the email summaries for your child please please email us on GCSupport@cotham.bristol.sch.uk with the name of your child and their tutor group and we will send the invitation to you.
Please see the above video for how to use Google Classroom effectively. This would be great to watch alongside your child.
Year 7 Hundertwasser competition winners
Year 7, inspired by the artist Hundertwasser, have been tasked with promoting some important global issues. Our competition for best poster winner, as chosen by the ALEVEL ART group and Art Teachers is Ella Pickles.
Thank you to year 7 for all of their effort. These are our runner up entries.
year 7 Hundertwasser competition winners 2 .jpgyear 7 Hundertwasser competition winners.jpgYear 8 Bug Sgraffito Art
year 8 bugs.jpgCotham Careers Fair - Thank you
On Thursday the 9 March 2023 we had over 30 different organisations, businesses and further education providers come in to Cotham to talk to our year 10 and 11 students about the many different pathways and careers available to them. Our students conducted themselves professionally and there were many wonderful conversations throughout the day. A massive thank you to our careers team and all the outside professionals who came in and made the careers fair such an overwhelming success.
Post 16
Congratulations
Congratulations to the five Cotham Post 16 students who have secured offers to study at Oxford or Cambridge for September 2023, after a gruelling series of applications, interviews and admissions tests.
A Level Film Studies
Whilst the school was closed due to snow on Wednesday 8 March, twelve A Level Film Studies students braved the elements to visit Screenology in Temple Quarter.
The event was part of a combined project involving artists, local people, Bristol Council and Screenology First Year Degree students.
They took part in a combined set of activities during the afternoon. These included a screening of Screenology student films, a tour of the studios and a chance to have their say on regeneration in the city. The films demonstrated a wide range of approaches to the task of documentary making which was really valuable.
Students were able to see what the Film Production degree looks like and speak to students and tutors at the film school which specialises in helping students become independent content producers.
Staff at Screenology were really impressed by our students and have offered help with future projects.
BEP: Moses McKenzie talk
Last week, the English department took several Year 12 A Level Literature students to a fantastic talk by renowned poet Moses Mckenzie at Bristol Grammar School, as part of the Bristol Education Partnership.
Moses' debut novel An Olive Grove in Ends, focuses on the life of a young man growing up in Stapleton Road in Bristol and vividly captures life on the east side of the inner city, reflecting the melting pot of cultures in its skilful blending of modern English, Jamaican Patois, Arabic and multicultural slang. The author spoke about his experiences as a school pupil, student and writer growing up in Bristol, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Severn Beach Line Train
We are working closely with GWR to ensure all students can get the best deals possible when using the train to get to school. Please have a look at the embedded document to see the best tickets to buy.
GWR SVB Line Tikcet Prices.pdfUCAS Convention
Y12 students will be attending the UCAS exhibition at Westpoint Exeter on Wednesday 22 March 2023. This letter was sent out at the start of the week with more information. Places are first come first served so please book places as soon as possible.
OTR Resilience Lab
Off The Record are launching their second Resilience Lab for Young Adults, a free mental health support programme for young people aged 16-25. The workshops mix lively group activities with a safe space for reflection, and will meet weekly at the St Paul’s Learning Centre from 4.30pm-6pm for a period of 5 weeks, starting from Monday 20 March. Please follow this link for further details as well as a 'Sign Up' form. If you have any questions, please contact the facilitator, Georgia, at georgia@otrbristol.org.uk
Coming Up Soon...
Easter GCSE and A-Level Revision Courses @ Clifton College
We would like to inform you about Clifton College's Easter Revision courses this coming Easter Holiday.
They are running their 2023 Easter Revision Courses for all GCSE and A Level students in the local Bristol community.
More information and booking can be found on their website which is linked here. Please also see their brochure for more detailed information.
Any queries may be directed to revisioncourses@cliftoncollege.com
How are you supporting your students over the Easter break?
Many of our partner schools have started planning for the holiday, particularly focusing on Y11s and Y13s preparing for their exams. We’ve specially opened up our Easter Programme to more schools, helping you support your students over the break. These are 1 or 2 week tuition Superboosts, tailored to exam year students to reach or exceed their target grades. You can find out more just here.
Average of 1+ grade improvement after the programme
Great for learning continuity, covering gaps or bolstering high achievers
Subsidised by the National Tutoring Programme – 60% fully funded
There is availability for just 30 schools and the deadline for signing up is Monday 13 March.
MyT Easter Programmes 2023 (A4) v4.0 INT.pdfAnd don't forget from last time....
Thank you to all parents and carers who attended the Year 11 Parent Information Event on Wednesday
Please see the attached slides if you missed. it.
Digital Literacy Corner
Latest Parent Online Safety Cheat Sheet
What Parents need to know about iPads!
Did you know that iPads come with a host of parental controls that you can use to regular your child's use of the device?
Check out all the hints and tips in the embedded sheet.
Parents - Ipads what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-ipads.pdfOur latest GCSE Pod Usage
Welcome! GCSEPod is the perfect resource to help your child learn, retain and recall all the information they need to achieve their GCSE goals.
Pods watched this academic year
4,770
Number of Pods watched so far in Term 4
732
Most watched subject this week
Biology
Our latest Seneca Learning Usage
Seneca offers high-quality free online learning courses for students to study from a computer, tablet or phone. The courses are suitable for students aged 13 and above and cover KS3, KS4 GCSE and KS5 A Level subjects.
We are Premium subscribers to this service which unlocks further features of the platform.
Seneca Learning sessions completed this academic year
193610
Total Seneca Learning study time for Term 4
2,179 hours
Total Seneca Learning study time for this academic year
21,754 hours
Staff Vacancies
Cotham School are currently recruiting for the following positions:
Teacher - Specialist Assessor (Exams access arrangements)
Humanities Teacher
Science Teacher
Maths Teacher
KS4 Safeguarding Lead
For more information and to apply please click here
