Weekly Mailing to Parents and CarersÂ
Friday 16 December 2022
Dear Parents and Carers We had a joyous end to the term today with a wonderful House Assembly which celebrated student achievements across the school which are many and varied!  I have included as usual this week’s important information for parents/carers and students as well as updates on school events, activities and opportunities for your reference below. However, the most important thing I want to relay are my best wishes for a relaxing and well deserved seasonal break and a very Happy New Year; I really hope that you get to spend some special and important time with family and friends. Kindest regards, Ms Jo Butler Headteacher |
Important New Health Information - Please follow the link below to a very important letter from the UK Health Security Agency to all Parents and Carers. It is providing information for you about Scarlet Fever and Group A Streptococcal Infections |
Please click here to read and follow the advice given. If your child develops suspected scarlet fever they must NOT attend school and can only return 24 hours after the commencement of appropriate antibiotic treatment.Thank you for your support in following these requirements, this will help to keep the school and the wider community safe. |
Good News |
Keep us postedIt 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. Email us: weeklymailing@cotham.bristol.sch.uk |
Important New Information |
Flu Vaccination Catch-up Clinics - Years 7-9Flu vaccination catch-up clinics are available for all who did not receive their vaccination at school. Please book an appointment at https://imms.sirona-cic.org.uk/flu/2022/bookflu to book either nasal or injectable flu. If you have any queries please contact the Immunisation Team directly on 0300 124 5515 or email sirona.sch-imms@nhs.net. Invigilators RequiredWe are recruiting a number of exam invigilators to join our friendly and well-established team, overseeing examinations throughout the year.  This role will allow you to work flexibly on a casual (as and when) basis supporting Cotham School to ensure all exams are conducted in accordance with exam guidelines. There are no fixed or regular hours of work. Invigilators will be required from the end of January to February half term for mock exams. Then the main summer exam period, which this year runs from mid May to the end of June.  The role involves setting up examination rooms by laying out the correct materials and papers, ensuring correct exam procedures are followed, distribution and collection of examination papers and monitoring students during the examination periods. Morning exam sessions usually start at 8am (for an exam start at 8:45am) and afternoon sessions at 1pm (for an exam start at 1.45pm). The length of exam papers varies and sessions can last between 2-4 hours. All invigilators must complete statutory online safeguarding training and an online invigilation training module which takes approximately 2 hours before their first invigilation. We also need people who are willing to be trained as one to one readers and/or scribes for our access arrangement students. Pay: £10.60 per hour claimed by monthly time sheet and paid at the end of the following month. You will also be entitled to receive holiday pay in addition to this. All offers of appointment are subject to Disclosure and Barring Service Clearance as well as a range of other safer recruitment checks.  Early application is advised as applications will be considered as they are received and we reserve the right to appoint at any time in the process.  Please note we do not accept CVs. Please email recruit@cotham.bristol.sch.uk and request an application form or please look on the vacancy page on the school website to submit an application. Word of the WeekÂEach week at Cotham School we promote a Word of the Week. This is to help students expand the range of vocabulary they use. |
Reminders |
Week commencing Tuesday 3 January 2023 is Week A Please note that the return to school day is Tuesday 3 January 2023. Polite Reminder to Parents/CarersPlease do not come into School, unless you have a booked appointment with a member of staff. This is to protect yourselves and members of the school community in a continued effort to contain viruses such as Covid-19. Stomach BugsDiarrhoea and/or vomiting commonly affects children and staff and can be caused by a number of different germs, including viruses, parasites and bacteria. Infections can be easily spread from person to person (by unwashed hands), especially in children. General guidance recommends that any child or staff member with diarrhoea and/or vomiting symptoms must stay away from the school until they have been free of symptoms for 48 hours and in addition feel well enough to return to school (this is known as the ‘48 hour rule’). Personal hygiene whilst unwell with these symptoms must be adhered to very strictly. If your child is sick at school, we will ask you or your emergency contact to take your child home. Your child should not return for 48 hours. We appreciate that this can cause inconvenience and you may not consider that your child remains infectious for this period of time, but it is highly likely that they are.  We have a responsibility to reduce the risk of infection for the whole school community.  As an example, if your child is sick at lunchtime on a Tuesday, they should not return to school until after lunch on Thursday, and they should only return if there have been no further episodes of vomiting and/or diarrhoea and they feel well enough to do so. Thank you for your understanding and supporting us with this.  Further guidance on infection control may be found on the Public Health England Website. Contagious InfectionsPlease can all parents notify school if they have chickenpox, shingles or measles in the household. We have students and staff with compromised immunity and have been advised to notify them if these infections are present in the school community. How to get Cost of Living SupportThe rising cost of living is impacting people across Bristol in different ways. To help support people most impacted, including those who have not faced financial challenges before, the council has a cost of living support webpage: www.bristol.gov.uk/costofliving. It provides advice and guidance on topics including housing, benefits and financial help, employment and skills, mental health and wellbeing, and provides links to useful websites and community organisations. Bristol's Welcoming SpacesThe first of Bristol's Welcoming Spaces are now open. As the cost of fuel and food continues to rise, a network of warm, Welcoming Spaces has been set up for people to go to, to alleviate cost of living pressures this autumn and winter. Each venue will be responding to community priorities which means what happens in each space will vary, but is likely to include Wi-Fi, access to electrical charging points, activities and community meals. There will also be support and practical advice provided by city-wide organisations. Help for HouseholdsTo help with the cost of living crisis the government has launched a website detailing a range of support for households. This is available from the link below: Help for Households - Get government cost of living support. Wednesday 18 January 2023, 14.00 – 16.00  Redmaids’ High School Careers FairBEP students and staff are invited to a careers fair at Redmaids’ High School, bringing together a wide range of representatives from industry, further, and higher education. This event is open to students in year 10. If you are interested in bringing students to this event, please email careers@redmaidshigh.co.uk to confirm your interest. Attendance at SchoolFollow the link for the information leaflet produced by Bristol City Council, it gives advice about term time absence and the consequences of unauthorised absence from school. Uniform ExpectationsAs a student at Cotham School you are expected to wear full school uniform, including your school lanyard. It is also important to wear the correct PE / Games and Dance kit. Our school uniform suppliers are Monkhouse and Harris Sports. Please visit their shops or websites to view the approved skirts and trousers. The school rules will be enforced according to the Uniform Policy. Examples of suitable uniform can be found on the website. Pre-loved School Uniform Donations and SalesA very big thank you to the Parent/Carers that have donated items of pre-loved uniform, your donations are most welcome. If you wish to donate uniform both the Main/Visitor and Student Receptionists are very happy to receive your donations.  If you wish to purchase a pre-loved uniform please call our Main/ Visitor Reception in advance to say you wish to come in and to see what we have in stock.  Items are £1 each - cash only please. School trousers and skirts are available and there is no charge for these items.  May we remind you to always label your child’s uniform with their child’s name and Year/Tutor Group. School ShoesPlease can we remind parents/ carers that only all black leather (or leather look) shoes are permitted under our uniform policy. Shoes must fasten with laces, velcro or a buckle. Fabric, colour, bubbles in the soles or rubber toes are not allowed. Please bear this in mind when purchasing footwear for your child for the new school year. Nose StudsNose studs, rings and other facial piercings are completely banned at Cotham. Thank you for your support in not sending your child into school with a nose stud, nose ring or other facial piercing in September. Should this occur students will be asked to remove them immediately.  We will expect that they comply and that parents and carers will support us with this expectation. Free School MealsTo apply or check if your child is eligible for Free School Meals please click on this link  If you have any questions or need assistance please contact Mrs Hopkins at Student Reception.Library UpdateThe good library system is available to access from home at https://uk.accessit.online/cth05/. Please log in to the site, using your school email and password. You can then gain the full advantage of the online library resources, such as OneSearch. The library is open at break and lunch time, from Wednesday to Friday and afterschool from Monday to Thursday until 3:30pm. This is to allow students to exchange books, complete their homework, and to read quietly.  Please check the opening times on the library entrance as they vary daily.  We need our books back please Please have a really good look at home for all outstanding library books and textbooks. Students will receive weekly automated emails to their school email account. Please return books directly to the library or to the returns box outside the library. To check which titles are on your account, please login to AccessIt. Post-16 Textbooks Post 16 students must arrange their own textbook loans in person at the Charnwood Library. Year 12 will need to pay their £30 deposit on Wisepay or have a confirmed Bursary application before they are able to borrow. Please email our Post-16 Coordinator at iqbals@cotham.bristol.sch.uk  if you have any questions about the deposit scheme. Reading suggestions
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Extra Curricular Clubs and ActivitiesWe are currently compiling our extra curricular provision for students for the year ahead. Faculty teams are currently organising the clubs they will be running this year. The latest list of clubs is located here. Clubs will be starting soon. Attached here is a PE extra curricular timetable for Term 3. Booking is not required, just come along. |
Catering |
Autumn/Winter Lunch Menu - Term 3Please follow this link for the Autumn/Winter Lunch Menu for Term 3..  |
Student Wellbeing and Safeguarding |
Family Lives - Support for Parents and CarersFamily Lives are a free service offering a confidential helpline, online chat, parenting videos and more to help support families. Helpline service - 0808 800 2222 Email - askus@familylives.org.uk Online chat - Live Chat service. You can also visit the online forum community to share dilemmas, experiences and issues with others who understand. SafeguardingOur safeguarding duties no longer stop at the school gates. The boundaries between in-school and out-of-school incidents are now blurred, as social media and technology give students 24/7 access to each other. Problems may be more pervasive now, but screenshots and chat logs have made them easier to evidence. Whisper is an anonymous reporting tool for any member of our school community (students, parents, staff), or members of the public to have a safe way to disclose any issues or concerns in confidence.The tool allows you to report your concerns without fearing consequences and allows the school to investigate the information that we receive. You can find out more about the tool here. The link to our Cotham School Whisper tool for reporting anonymously is here and can also be found on the school website under the 'Useful Links' section. Online Safety Newsletter - December Edition |
Subject Area News |
Visual Art Work of the WeekUsing half a photo of their face as a guide, these year 8 students have been drawing detailed portraits using tone and texture. Bronze and Gold DofEWe are proud to announce the launch of Bronze (year 10) and Gold (year 12) Duke of Edinburgh Award. If you are at all interested please click the link below. Gold DofE - Here Bronze DofE - Here Any more questions please email Mr Barber at BarberJ@cotham.bristol.sch.uk Flash Fiction Competition in French and SpanishUniversity of Oxford Faculty of Modern Languages is delighted to announce that this year’s Flash Fiction Competitions in French and Spanish are now open!  Our annual Flash Fiction Competitions invite secondary school pupils to submit a complete story of no more than 100 words, in French or Spanish, for the chance to win up to £100. Entries are judged by a panel of academics who are primarily looking for creativity, imagination and narrative flair, as well as linguistic accuracy. Pupils’ language skills will be considered in the context of their age and year group: in other words, we will not expect younger pupils to compete against older pupils linguistically. The judges will award a top prize of £100, as well as prizes of £25 to a maximum of two runners up, in each category. Certificates will also be awarded to pupils who have been highly commended by our judges. Results as well as the winning, runner up, and highly commended stories will be published on our blog, Adventures on the Bookshelf, if entrants give us permission to do so. More information and links to the submission forms can be found on the faculty website. Pupils may only submit one story per language but are welcome to submit one story in French AND one story in Spanish if they would like to. For some inspiration, they can have a look at last year’s winning entries in French and Spanish. Please note that pupils must enter the competition themselves: teachers cannot enter on their behalf for reasons of GDPR compliance.  The submission deadline is 12 noon on 31 March 2023.  Bonne chance à tous! ¡Buena suerte a todos! Sporting Achievements Outside of SchoolAs in previous years, it would be great to hear about students' achievements outside of school. Please email info@cotham.bristol.sch.uk for the attention of the PE Faculty, also you can tweet us at @cothampe |
Post 16 News |
We would like to wish our P16 students a very well deserved break. For a more detailed breakdown please see 'This Term at NBP16 Bulletin' from the Director of Post 16, Ms Potter. |
Community News |
St Paul’s Adventure Playground - Winter ProvisionFollow the link for the Winter Holiday timetable. |
Cotham Futures |
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Careers ("Futures") team here  at Cotham.  Here is the latest Bulletin to help you find work experiences, Apprenticeships and other insights to professions.  If you cannot find what you are looking for, please email careers@cotham.bristol.sch.uk and let us know.  Here to help you find your dream occupation. Weston College and Luke Wheaton Legacy Trust - Apprenticeship Careers Event - 11 January 2023A select number of employers have been invited to attend this event in order to meet learners and their parents to discuss ‘live’  apprenticeship opportunities for 2023.  Employers such as GKN, MOD, Wessex Water, Oxford Instruments, National Composites Centre and many more will be attending to promote their vacancies.  The evening will also have a rolling presentation about apprenticeships from our teaching faculty and participants and will be centred around Engineering, Construction and Digital. There will also be a presence from the team who will be offering information, advice and guidance to those needing support with applications, CV’s etc.  Please see attached flyer which has a QR code on it for those wishing to attend.  You are able to book a slot at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and each slot will have a presentation and a chance to engage with employers.  Year 10 Work Experience UpdateWork experience meetings have been underway for the last 5 weeks. Students are being invited to attend on a tutor group rota basis and all students should have been offered a meeting by the end of January.  I have been so impressed with the positive attitudes shown by so many students. Many have started their research, several have sent off applications and some have even secured a placement already!  The 'can-do' attitude students are showing is a real credit to them. Support will continue into the New Year. From 3 January, we will be running a weekly Tuesday lunchtime drop-in where students can write letters or CVs and send off applications with support from staff.  This has been communicated to students through their tutors. Once a student has been offered a placement, they should collect a form from the careers office or email us to ask for an electronic version. This needs to be completed by the student, the employer and the parent/carer and then returned to school once it is complete. All the resources shown to students in tutor time, including guidance on writing letters and CVs are available on the students' google classroom careers page.  Deadlines for the return of completed forms are:  For placements outside Bristol - 10 March 2023 For placements in Bristol - 17 April 2023 If you have any queries, please contact careers@cotham.bristol.sch.uk and we will be happy to help. Women in engineering visit to HydrockLast Tuesday, 11 of our Year 9 female scientists spent a day with women engineers at Hydrock, an international civil engineering firm with offices in Central Bristol and Almondsbury. We were very interested to learn about their large scale projects, including the Wave, right here in Bristol and the English National Ballet in London. Students learnt about career pathways into engineering and we were all surprised to learn that the most commonly studied degree among the Hydrock employees we met was actually Geography! Students enjoyed practising skills of communication, negotiation and assertiveness in a series of fun activities and also put their planning and problem solving skills to the test by designing a new community in an area of land prone to flooding. Students benefited enormously from this day and we are looking forward to a return visit in the spring. Lunchtime pop up under the canopyWe are so very grateful to representatives from the NHS, Access Creative College and TrustFord who braved sub-zero temperatures last Thursday to speak to our Y10 and Y11 students about options for their future study and careers. We received positive feedback about how well informed our students already were about certain career paths which was great to hear! Routes into STEM careersEDT are thrilled to announce that their highly popular Routes into STEM programme is open for applications, and our students don’t need to wait long; the next course is running in February half term 2023! Places are limited, apply as soon as possible. Early Careers Information Evenings with RenishawRenishaw is a global provider of manufacturing technologies, analytical instruments and medical devices. Renishaw are hosting a series of early careers information evening events to give students in years 10 and above and their parents/carers the opportunity to find out more about how to begin a career in STEM. Renishaw will outline their work experience opportunities, range of apprenticeship schemes and the different levels they offer, as well as their summer and industrial placement schemes and graduate schemes available once one has graduated from university.  Virtual meeting - Thursday 9 February at 18.30 - 19.30. For more information about these events or to register for tickets please visit their Eventbrite page. Futures BulletinTake a look at this week’s Future Bulletin, a wonderful array of opportunities for you to consider and take part in.  If you have questions or need support to apply please email careers@cotham.bristol.sch.uk and either Mrs Shute or myself will be delighted to help. Are you a Parent or Carer who is Clueless about Careers?Please follow the link for a guidance sheet to find out more. |
Staff Vacancies |
Cotham School are currently recruiting for the following positions:
For more information and to apply please click here. |
Useful Links and Information | ||||||||||||
Previous weekly mailingsPlease visit our website to find information previously circulated within our latest weekly mailings. Term Dates
INSET Days
Early Finish Times
Diagnostic questionsClick here to access. This site contains self marking quizzes with lots of templates including some from a range of exam boards. It’s easy to make your own questions in Microsoft PowerPoint too. Students sign up with their school Google account using the G+ button to automatically create a school account. SenecaAll students and teachers now have free access to Seneca - a revision and homework platform making studying more fun. Seneca is an interactive way to learn official course content. Their web app covers 150+ exam board specific courses condensing what students need to know for their exams. The software is able to identify gaps in learning. For instance, when you get a question wrong, the platform will repeat the topic in different formats and their smart algorithm has proven to make students remember topics 2x faster. Seneca is totally free for students, teachers and parents. You can sign up via senecalearning.com. Free GCSE Pod Parent WebinarWe have invested in the award winning GCSEPod, a resource that helps your child achieve their goals and supports you on their GCSE journey.
Visit our GCSE parent page on our Digital Learning portal to find out how to use GCSEPod with your child. Sign up for a free GCSEPod Parent Webinar here. Google Classroom email summaries for parents and carersSummaries will be sent to parents and carers on either a daily or weekly basis depending on the option that you selected when you signed up. You can check and amend the frequency of your emails by visiting https://classroom.google.com/gs. If no work has been set for your child since your last email, you will not receive an email until the next piece of homework is set.  Google has written a comprehensive user guide which can be found here. If you have misplaced the invitation link, please email us at GCSupport@cotham.bristol.sch.uk with the name of your child and their tutor group and we will resend the invitation to you. Contact detailsPlease note the following telephone numbers and email addresses if you need to contact the school:
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