Newsletter – Week 10 Tuesday 28 September – Botany Downs Primary School

Term 3, Week 10 2021

Kia ora koutou to our BDS Community,

In this final newsletter for Term 3 we would like to extend a sincere thank you for being so supportive and caring when working alongside your child with their home learning, and the BDS staff during lockdown. Your many messages have been greatly appreciated. I have enjoyed being part of online meetings for classes and seeing our tamariki happily interacting with each other.

To the staff at BDS I would like to acknowledge the dedication, passion and resilience you have shown. It truly has been a team effort.

We are coming to the conclusion of our home learning at the end of this week and we are very hopeful we will move to Alert Level 2 during the holidays. We are looking forward to seeing everyone back at school: we have missed you.

If we are in Alert level 2 at the start of Term 4 we will be sending out an email on the last Friday of the holidays about how this will look at BDS and our health and safety procedures.

Wishing you all a relaxing holiday.

Ngā mihi,
Vicki Parkins
Principal
vickip@botanydowns.school.nz

School News

Enrolling your 5 Year old to start at BDS

If you have a child turning 5 either this year or in 2022, please contact our school office for an enrolment form. We really appreciate early enrolments to assist us with our staffing.

If you have neighbours or friends that live within our school zone please encourage them to enrol their children too.

All enquiries to: office@botanydowns.school.nz

Second Teacher Only Day on Tuesday 26 October
is Postponed Until 2022

Due to lockdown we have also needed to postpone our Teacher Only Day attached to Labour day on Tuesday 26 October as we are no longer able to attend our Professional Development that we had booked in for staff.

Lockdown Tips for Whānau

We have attached a short, but helpful video hosted by Dr Hinemoa Elder and Nathan Wallis for tips during lockdown. It is well worth a look: https://parents.education.govt.nz/essential-information/covid-19-information-for-parents-and-whanau/lockdown-tips-with-dr-hinemoa-elder-and-nathan-wallis/

Chinese Language Week

Nĭ hăo New Zealand Chinese Language Week is being held this week between 26 September and 2 October. New Zealand Chinese Language Week is an initiative aimed at encouraging New Zealanders to discover Chinese language and culture. Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world and the number of people in the world learning Chinese is on the increase.

New Zealand Chinese Language Week celebrates the identity, language, and culture of students of Chinese descent, supporting this group of learners to engage, feel a sense of inclusion, and achieve success.

Learning a new language gives us insight into new ways of thinking, and into different beliefs and cultural practices. New Zealand Chinese Language Week helps all New Zealanders journey towards shared cultural understandings.

Earlier in the year you may remember our Experience China week where all classes learnt about Chinese culture. We had a special assembly, open morning and dumpling day to celebrate this learning.

On Tuesday 21 September Evan Gu and Kezia Tong participated in the HPPA Mandarin and Cantonese Speech Competition. This event provides students with the opportunity to represent their school and celebrate their language and culture. It is the first time Botany Downs School has participated in this competition and we are very proud of both Evan and Kezia who have worked hard during this lockdown to write and practise their speeches at home. Congratulations to Kezia who came first in the Cantonese competition. Special thanks to the students’ parents and Ms Liu who supported them.

Kate Keenan, ESOL Teacher (katek@botanydowns.school.nz)

BDS Home Learning

Room 3 has been very busy taking part in the te Reo Moment during te Wiki o te Reo Maori, setting up obstacle courses, and making “Creative Creations with Loose Parts at Home”:

Room 20 have shared their thoughts on lockdown with poems titled Surviving Lockdown:

Lockdown is like being in jail,

I’ve got very pale,

Sometimes I play with my pet snail.

Lockdown is torture,

I wish it was a scorcher,

So that we could play 1 2 3…“Caught Ya!”

Lockdown feels like forever,

I’d rather play with someone clever,

Will we ever have to do this again?….NEVER!!
By Leo Bennett-Walton

Together my family likes to talk,

We have fun and go for a walk.

No more MacDonald, KFC or takeouts.

Now we’re only left with workouts.

I miss my class and friends at school,

No more swimming in the pool

We have to stay here in our bubble,

Otherwise we will get into trouble.

Lockdown Lockdown go away,

Never come back any day.
By Caden Van Niekerk

Roses are red violets are blue,

Lockdown stinks and covid does too.

I miss all my friends and teachers too

I can’t wait to get back to see all of you.

I love watching movies at home the most,

But I’m SO sick of eating eggs on toast.
By Mandy Belding

Lockdown, lockdown lock the door,

Shut the lights off, say no more.

Go behind the desk and hide and wait,

Only come out when it’s safe.

Lockdown, lockdown it’s all done,

Now it’s time to have some fun!
By May Shawani

Cultural Dress-up Day

We have been celebrating the many different cultures at our school. On Friday 24 September, children were encouraged to dress up in clothes that represent their culture. Here are some photos of the “Bubble” children.

Go Springboks! By Anuscke

I am wearing my netball jacket because it reminds me of when I played
netball back in South Africa. By Chante

Today we are wearing special things from our culture.
I am wearing my necklace. By Mia

On my cultural clothes there is a badge with a jewel in the
middle. I am wearing Indian clothes. By Tanush

I am wearing my Indian clothes because it reminds
me of when we celebrate Diwali. By Henil

I am wearing a Beefy Boertjie shirt because it reminds me of South Africa. I am
also wearing a Springbok rugby shirt because it makes me feel proud! By Landon

I am wearing a Black Caps hat because I live in New Zealand. By Huntr

Room 17 –

Bonjour, Ni Ha, Kia Ora, Guten Ta, Talofa lav, Bula Vinaka, Molo

Last Friday was meant to be Cultural day at Botany Downs School. Room 16 wore traditional clothing to their google meet and shared information about their cultures and the country their families originate from. It was fantastic to see and hear how multicultural our class was.

Aere rā, Adios, Ka kite anō, Au Revoir, Totsiens, Annyeong

Room 3 –

Isaac

Mika

Shane

Vivaan

Evan Guo (Room 8) and Eric Guo (Room 21) –

LIBRARY NEWS

Overdue Library Books

Please don’t worry about your overdue library books – these can be returned when we are back at school. In the meantime, please enjoy re-reading them!

(ReadBrightly.com)

Have You Checked Out the eLibrary Yet?

Follow this link to find out more about the eLibrary, and how to log in: https://www.botanydowns.school.nz/learning-at-home-links/ (Scroll down to the ‘Additional Learning Links’ section)

Your child has been set up with a log in and will be able to borrow books to read on any device (via a downloaded app).

The eLibrary will be available from now until 27 November 2021.

Please help your child to login, and enjoy browsing the eLibrary together. Some titles are age restricted and will not be available to your child if they are not in the appropriate year level. The eLibrary is curated by Wheelers New Zealand.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

GirlGuiding NZ

GirlGuiding New Zealand is New Zealand’s largest girl-only organisation and it’s our vision to see that all girls and young women are inspired and empowered to act to change their world, through adventure and fun activities!

We currently have spaces for girls in our units in Bucklands Beach Pippins and Brownies. We would love to welcome any girl between 5-9years old who would like to come along and visit, and check out the activities we offer. NO Cost for visit.

There is no better time to join – your adventure awaits – funding options available
Please visit https://girlguidingnz.org.nz/join-us/ and register your interest- we’d love to hear from you!

Enrolment at Howick Intermediate 2022

A reminder from Howick Intermediate to please return your enrolment form to their office. More information can be found on their school website: https://www.howickint.school.nz/our-school/enrolment-information

Ministry of Social Development –
Assistance with Essential Costs

Information sheets from the Ministry of Social Development can be found on the school website here: https://www.botanydowns.school.nz/2021/09/20/information-from-ministry-of-social-development/, and they contain information outlining how the Ministry can assist with paying essential costs. The sheets are available in te Reo, Samoan, Tongan, Chinese, Hindi, and English.

Please also check the MSD website to find out what you may be eligible for: Check what you might get (msd.govt.nz)