Achievement | Diversity | Respect
19 April 2024
Parent and Carer 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 22 April 2024 is Week B
Standing Items are located at the bottom of the mailing
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Term 5.
Please find our weekly mailing which I hope you will find both useful and interesting!
With very best wishes for a relaxing weekend.
Kindest regards,
Ms Jo Butler, Headteacher
Positive Feedback of the Week 👍
Email sent to Heads PA
2 recent alumni from Cotham School have worked/are working on 3 of the West End shows that won Olivier Awards on Sunday 14 April 2024.
Hannah danced and acted in the part of Young Norma in Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre (7 Olivier Awards including Best Director, Sound Design and Best Actress in a Musical - Nicole Scherzinger). After Cotham School and NBP16 Hannah trained in dance and musical theatre at Urdang.
https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/hannah-yun-chamberlain
"My daughter Rose works as an assistant stage manager, currently on stage with Sarah Snook (Olivier Award for Best Actress) in The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Haymarket Theatre. Before that she worked briefly as an ASM on The Little Big Things (which won the Supporting Actress Award). Rose's next job will be as ASM book cover on Mean Girls, which opens at the Savoy Theatre in June. After Cotham School and NBP16 Rose trained in Technical Theatre Arts (Stage Management) at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
See attached pics of Hannah at the Oliviers on Sunday 14 April, and Rose on the set of Dorian Gray.
Please thank Ross Geoghegan and all the performing arts team for their encouragement and inspiration over the years at Cotham."
Best wishes
Rose's mum
Thank you
Announcements and Reminders
Professor Peter Higgs, Nobel Prize winner and Cotham Alumni (1929-2024)
As a school community we were very sad to hear of the passing of the esteemed physicist Professor Peter Higgs on Monday 8 April at the age of 94 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Peter Higgs obituary
Professor Higgs was one of Cotham School’s most well known and esteemed alumni.
He is commemorated at Cotham through the Science Block which he visited not long after it was built when he came back to Cotham to meet students and staff 66 years after he’d left the school !
Below is a link to the the news story of his visit containing a very youthful Mr King, our Maths Faculty Leader , who you will see sitting to the Professor’s right:
Please take a look here for more information on Professor Higgs' life and work.
Remembering Peter Higgs : A legacy that looks forward to the quantum future | World Economic Forum
Cakes4Syria
Year 9 SELT launched the Cakes4Syria campaign both here and at Bristol Metropolitan Academy. They attended Met and delivered assemblies to the students about the campaign and they took sales of the cakes at break time.
The total amount raised for the campaign was...
£2161.70!!
Here are some of the Tik Tok videos our Year 9 student leadership team made during their fundraising week 😁
They raised this money across both schools in a week! Well done Year 9 student leadership team!
GWR Updated Train Ticket Prices
Dear Parents and Cares
Please see the attached GWR Updated Train ticket prices here.
Kind regards
Dwain White
Deputy Revenue Manager (Central Region) | Great Western Railway
Platform 3 Management Offices | Bristol Temple Meads Station | Temple Way | Bristol | BS1 6QF
email : dwain.white@GWR.com
Lost Property at Student Reception
If your child has lost an item they should go to Student Reception and look in the lost property cupboard by Friday 26 April 2024 12.00pm. Any items not collected by then will be donated to charity. Please ensure that your child's items are clearly labelled to assist with returning any lost property.
Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities
SFSC is a popular 13-week evidence-based parenting programme for anyone raising children. They welcome parents and carers from all backgrounds who would like to work on their parenting skills and build positive relationships with their children. They can help parents to recognise and respond to the challenges of being a parent and the risks and concerns facing our children. Whether they want to help their child do well at school, deal with bullying, avoid online grooming or getting in with the ‘wrong crowd’, or just feel more confident: SFSC can provide parents with strategies to help them feel equipped as a parent and help them to keep children safe.
Every Thursday from 25 April 2024 for 12 weeks, excluding school holidays
Time : 9.30am to 12.00pm, Settle Site, Ducie Road, BS5 0AX
A4 FOLDED LEAFLET SFSC APRIL 2024.pdfA4 POSTER SFSC APRIL 2024 (1).pdfAuthor Holly Jackson is coming to Bristol
Author Holly Jackson, the UK's biggest-selling female crime writer is coming to Bristol on Thursday 9 May 2024. She will be talking about her new book plus her #1 New York Times bestselling series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. The talk is open to ALL and will be held at Redmaids' High School. Tickets start from only £5. Be quick as they will sell out.
Tickets are available here!
Readathon Results
I would like to thank all the students who took part in the Read for Good Readathon. Our results were delayed in the post! But I am now happy to say YOU helped raise £385 for children in hospital AND book tokens for our school library! Please see the attached poster for more information.
READATHON RESULTS 2024 - Della Payne.docxCotham Parents Network
We are thrilled to invite you to join the Cotham Parents Network: a vibrant community dedicated to fostering connection, support, and collaboration among parents of our students. Our first meeting will be on Wednesday 15 May 2024 and will happen twice on this day to cater for different parent schedules. You can either attend:
1. The Coffee and Cake morning from 10.00am -11.00am
OR
2. Cake and Tea from 5.30pm-6.30pm.
Please email Ms van der Berg to express your interest! Can't wait to see you there!
Contact details : vanderberga@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Changing Minds Conference
Nilaari is a well respected organisation which provides mental health support for Black and Minoritised communities in the South West.
Nilaari are a BAME- led charity offering culturally appropriate and sensitive support, including talking therapies, direct support, and support groups. Specific projects target women generally, BAME migrant women specifically, and men with complex needs, including those with a history of offending.
Nilaari Agency, Raymond Veria and E5 Church have partnered to put on this free conference that aims to equip parents, young people, and practitioners with real solutions to the youth violence currently affecting our City.
Please join the conversation on Saturday 11 May 2024 from 9.30am to 1.30pm.
Changing Minds Flyer .pdfThe Alternative Parents ' Evening - Therapy
Please join for a free online event on Zoom, designed for parents who are feeling under pressure.
Date : Tuesday 23 April 2024
Time : 7.00pm to 8.00pm
Alternative Parents Evening 23 April 2024 Flyer.pdfSupport for inter-Parental Conflict
SIPCo is a project to improve Parents' relationships. Referrals can be taken from both parents or one parent. This is a FREE support programme available for parents in conflict. The help on offer will be relationship therapy.
Please contact Gina Pazienza for more information.
email : relationshipsmatter@bristol.gov.uk
SIPCo Relationship Support Parent's Leaflet Dec 23Year Group News
Year 7
Year 7 Egg and Spoon Race
On Wednesday 27 March the Year 10 SELT team organised and ran a Year 7 Egg and Spoon race. At lunch time the crowds gathered and the students lined up to take part in race. Students were given a hard boiled egg and spoon and raced the finish line, the 1st one over could exchange the boiled egg for a Cadbury cream egg. The noise from the crowd as they cheered on their friends was amazing and fun was had by all.
Year 8
Year 8 Update
This week we welcomed back our Year 8's to nicer weather and there's already a good atmosphere among the year group with exciting reward trips and treats on the horizon.
This term, we are placing an increased emphasis on reading, allocating two sessions of our morning tutor program specifically for silent reading. We kindly ask that you check if your child has a book of their choice for these sessions and encourage them to explore our school library for inspiration. Ms. Payne, our esteemed librarian, will be available to provide assistance and support.
Year 9
This week in Year 9
This week in Year 9 we enjoyed students from each tutor group competed in the Easter bake off. Students all had a two hour time limit to make and bake 12 identical Easter cookies. Everyone produced something they could be proud of however the winner come from 9GC.
Year 10
Welcome back!
It has been lovely to see all Year 10 students return after the two week break. We started our week with the Year 10 assembly. This week we concentrated on our Year 10 Mock exams. We had factuality leaders talk about revision tips and how best to revise. The exams start on Monday 29 April and the timetables have now been shared with the students. We will also use tutor time to go over timetables, preparation, revision and how best to prepare our own wellbeing for exams.
Year 10 Exams - Monday 29 April to Friday 10 May
Please find attached a Year 10 Examination Timetable here which will provide you with full details of which exams are taking place and when. All exams will be taking place in classrooms during lesson time.
Please also find attached an Exam Preparation Booklet here which provides details about each examination as well links to resources.
Year 10 SELT team
The Year 10 SELT team finished term 4 with an Easter extravaganza. They worked hard and put on three fabulous events. The Easter raffle was a great success followed by a Year 7 Egg and Spoon race. Year 7 cheered on their friends as they raced to the finish line to see who would win a Cadbury cream egg. The finale was the Easter Bake sale, Lila, Vismaya, Zoya, Rosie and Gen all stayed and baked Easter Cookies and chocolate nests. These were popular with the students and sold out in no time.
Year 11
Maths GCSE Exam Practice - with video solutions
Over the year we have set students various Maths GCSE papers with full video solutions, so that they can mark it themselves and learn and improve on the trickier topics and questions. Some of these were optional and some were compulsory homeworks.
Most students will not have completed all of them. This is a particularly valuable revision resource and we recommend that students aim to complete all of them before their GCSE exams start.
Please find the GCSE Maths - Walking Talking Mock video links here for the full set.
Year 11 Revision Resources
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the resources that are available on google classroom to support your child's revision. They are also attached. The revision to do sheets provide your child with revision activities for each subject. The Walking Talking Mocks provide your child with videos showing students how to answer exam-style questions.
We hope you find these useful.
December Walking Talking Mocks
Student Wellbeing
It is really important that your child takes good care of their health and mental wellbeing in the run up to summer examinations. Keeping your mind, body healthy and your environment positive while you prepare for your assessments is a vital component in achieving the best possible outcomes in your assessments.
Here is a link to our website on how to look after yourself in preparation for exams.
Anilla Khan
Assstant Headteacher
Year 11 - It's about time!
Year 11 Prom - Wednesday 26 June 2024 at The Bristol Hotel - Please save the date in your diaries.
Tickets will be available shortly on WisePay!
Year 11 Prom Request - Sue PriceNorth Bristol Post 16
Post 16
Geography Field Trip
This week the Year 12 Geography students enjoyed another successful trip to the Harbourside and Temple Quarter with Ms Meek. Please check out the NBP16 Instagram to see them.
Y12 Mocks
Year 12 mocks will be running next week from Monday 22 April to Friday 26 April. This week they had an assembly on all the key information, these slides were also sent out to students. Parents and carers can access them below. We wish them luck and encourage them to look after themselves and reach out if they need support. Please find the Year 12 mocks 2024 Assembly slide show here.
Subject Announcements
English
Sparxs Reading Homework
We have launched Sparx Reader for KS3. Students are set a weekly homework to gain 300 Sparx Reader Points (roughly 30 mins of careful reading). The platform tailors reading to each student to build crucial academic reading skills. A range of interesting texts are available for students to select. Reading can be completed on devices with internet access. All are expected to complete this homework in line with the school's homework policy and to support their progress in reading.
STEAM
Shape My City 2024-25 programme
Shape My City is a programme of monthly evening workshops for teenagers aged 15-18 who are interested in the Built Environment. Each workshop is run by a different company, and gives the students experience of and insight into a different discipline.
Shape My City 2024-25 - Applications Now Open - Laura Bridgeman.pdfLiteracy
KS3
Word of the Week
Ominous
'Om-i-nuhs'
Meaning:
Something that suggests something bad will soon happen (adjective).
Example:
Those dark clouds are very ominous. I'm glad I brought my umbrella with me.
There was an ominous silence as she stormed into the room.
Synonyms:
Threatening, unpromising, sinister....
KS4
Word of the Week
Plausible
'Plaw-zuh-buhl'
Meaning:
When an argument or statement seems reasonable and believable (adjective).
Example:
Claiming that her dog ate her homework was not a plausible excuse.
He expressed a plausible argument.
Synonym:
Likely, reasonable, believable
Digital Literacy Corner
Topic: Poppy Playtime?
It is important that you are aware that whilst the name and characters suggest a playful game, it is a survival horror game with graphics that may not be suitable for your child. It includes characters such as 'Kissy Wissy' and 'Huggy Wuggy.' Please view this game before allowing your child to play it as it may not be appropriate for them – particularly young children.
Children may be playing the game or just watching videos of it on sites such as YouTube or playing replicated versions on Roblox for example.
Further information
Safer Schools NI have produced this informative:
https://saferschoolsni.co.uk/hugg-wuggy-online-safety-review/
Our latest: Seneca Learning and GCSE Pod 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.
Total Seneca Learning Assignments Set for Term 5
35
Total Seneca Learning
Study Time for Term 5
160 Hours
Total Seneca Learning Study Time for this Academic Year
7676 Hours
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
1966
Number of Pods Watched so far in Term 5
61
Most Watched Subject This Week
Geography