Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a wonderfully relaxing and happy Christmas break. Thank you, from all of the staff in our Team, for the cards and gifts that you gave us at the end of last term – they were all much appreciated.
We are excited for the term ahead - it may be short, but it is packed with engaging topics and activities! For details about what each Year group will be covering in their units of work, please see the Cottenham Primary School - Knowledge Organisers that are available on this website. We do encourage you to read these with your children and talk about what they are learning at school.
Year 1 and 2 will be exploring the concept of monarchy, with a focused look at how the role of the monarch has changed over time. In Science, they will learn about keeping healthy, considering diet, exercise, and hygiene. Building on this, they will investigate healthy eating in DT and create their own healthy salads. Their focus artist this term will be Hans Holbein the Younger, and in Music they will study Rock and Roll. In RE, they will explore special places, with particular attention to the Church and Synagogue. To enrich their History studies, they will visit Oliver Cromwell’s House in Ely to learn about Cromwell’s significance and his impact on the British monarchy.
Year 1 have also begun the term by learning how to write instructions in English while continuing to develop their understanding of accurate sentence punctuation and spelling through phonics and learning common high frequency words. Year 2 pupils are working towards writing an animal narrative, developing their understanding of story structures including build up, problem and solution. They are also regularly deepening their awareness of grammar, spelling and simple punctuation.
In Maths, both Year 1 and Year 2 are working on place value and the number system before moving on to addition and subtraction, building on the work they covered in the Autumn term.
Year 3 will continue their study of pre-Norman Britain by exploring the Roman invasion of Britain and its impact. Drawing inspiration from the mosaic work typically found in Roman villas, their focus artist will be the street artist Ememem. In Geography, they will study volcanoes and earthquakes, using Vesuvius and Pompeii as a case study. Their Science work will focus on rocks, how they vary and how fossils are formed. They will also finish the term by exploring forces and magnetism. In DT, they will demonstrate their growing knowledge of a healthy diet by creating a fruit salad. For Music, they will be learning about Reggae.
In English, Year 3 pupils are also developing their narrative writing skills, taking inspiration from stories from other cultures to aid their creativity. They will continue to strengthen their technical writing skills through regular grammar, spelling and punctuation study.
We are always happy to welcome parents into classrooms at the end of the school day to have a look at books.
Homework
This term, we will continue using our simplified homework format. We ask that children:
- Read regularly with an adult throughout the week.
- Spend around 30 minutes each week on Times Tables Rock Stars or Numbots. This can be split into as many sessions as you like, but shorter, more frequent sessions tend to have a greater impact than one long session.
- Practise spellings using the lists we will be sending home shortly for this term.
Your support at home plays a vital role in helping us build strong foundational knowledge and skills for the children. It compliments and reinforces the work we do together in school, and we greatly value your contribution.
A couple of requests/ reminders for the start of term:
- Please make sure your child’s clothing is named - we accumulated a large amount of lost property last year.
- Parents will not be able to enter the school building before the whistle has blown in the morning. Children are able to hang their bags up on their pegs at the start of the day with their teachers.
- We ask that you leave the school site as soon as the whistle has blown. The children cope much better when entering the building by themselves.
- CPS is a mobile phone free site. Please do not use your phones on the playground.
- Please be reminded that the toilets are for the use of the children only. Should you need to use the toilet, or have a younger child who needs accompanying to the toilet, please use the toilets at the front of the school.
I am looking forward to working with you and your children this year. You will have an opportunity to speak to your child’s teacher (Year 3) and Maths and English teacher (Year 1 and 2) formally at Parent Consultations in February, but in the meantime, individual class teachers are always available at the end of the day for small problems and questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact me through the School Office or speak to me on the gate if you have any questions which cannot be answered by your child’s teacher.
Key Dates for the term
Tuesday 3rd February - 1/2TO, 1/2GT and 1/2LW trip to All Saints Church (confirmed)
Wednesday 4th February - 1/2SR and 1/2HR trip to All Saints Church (confirmed)
Tuesday 10th February - Parent Consultation Meetings
Thursday 12th February - Parent Consultation Meetings
Monday 16th - Friday 20th February - Half Term
Tuesday 3rd March - First Year 1/2 trip to Oliver Cromwell’s House, Ely
Wednesday 4th March - Second Year 1/2 trip to Oliver Cromwell’s House, Ely
Wednesday 4th March - Maths Workshops for parents
Thursday 5th March - World Book Day (more information about this day will be shared nearer the time)
Friday 20th March - Red Nose Day
Friday 27th March - End of term 2pm
Many thanks for all your help and support, and I hope everyone has an enjoyable, exciting and happy Spring Term 2026.
With best wishes,
Chris Hemmings
Acting Deputy Headteacher
123 Team Leader