Newsletter – Week 5, Term 3 2023

Kia ora koutou BDS whānau,                                                                  Week 5, Term 3, 2023

Thank you once again to our amazing staff that supported our tamariki with the HPPA Cross-country, Travelwise “Slow Down Around Schools” and our BDS School Orchestra performing at the Baptist Retirement Village. Our tamariki certainly show their Botany Best at these events and we are very proud of their efforts.

Our new senior playground is very popular indeed. We do need to remind you that if you wish your child to play on the senior or junior playground after school you do need to be present as we have no staff on duty.

Thank you for emailing or phoning before you come to collect your child. This certainly saves your wait time as we are able to have your child ready and waiting at the office.

Thank you to our amazing PTA for their organisation for our bake sale. Our response from our Year 1 and Year 2 BDS whānau has been outstanding.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey questions that were emailed to you yesterday.  Your feedback is important to help us develop our future strategic direction for 2024 – 2026. We value our partnership with you and want to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week everyone.

Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)

Coming up @ BDS…

Wed 16 Aug – HPPA Gymnastics
Tues 22 Aug – ICAS Science
Wed 23 Aug – Junior (Yr 0-3) Cross-country / School Board meeting
Thurs 24 Aug – HPPA Speech Final
Fri 25 Aug – Daffodil Day / HPPA Lit Quiz
Wed 30 Aug – ICAS Maths
Fri 1 Sept – House Competition Day

SCHOOL NEWS

School Assembly Friday 9.10am

We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9.10 am.
We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks.
This week our item will be presented by Year 5, Room 26

Our Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Jennifer Wu, Lily Hodgson, Kyle Forrest, Ella Blake, Baghel Singh, William Faletau, Tyler Bernard, Minji Kim, Blake Sills, Shorya Saharan, Richie Lewis, Quintus Wang, Oliver De Bruin, Suzanna Kamakorewa, May Shawani, Liam Andrew, Katrina Guo, Sariah Hooker-Mason, Bella Hu, Aidan Sameer, Samantha-Nicole Tokai, Hadassah Shamuel, Sana Shikoda, Gema Yee & Angela Wang.

Our Values

Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our value of Responsibility-Kaitiakitanga: Varya Govender, Alice Wang, Connor Rudman, Braxton Sills, Luna Lopez Woo, Gracie Grainger, Ryan Hu, Elliot Cheng, Saane Fifita, Chloe Cooke, Jay Kim, Lieol Strickland, Allen Wang, Jonathan Huang, Stella McHardy, Mighael Nel, Tere White, Cooper Ellis, Jayden Bischoff, Kaylin Walker, Arlie Clements-Goh, Mary Yu, Shana Chen & Christopher Le.

House Competition Day

We’re eagerly anticipating our next House Competition Day at Botany Downs School, this will take place in Week 7 on Friday the 1st of September.  If we need to postpone due to the weather conditions, this event will take place on Friday the 8th of September. 

It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to showcase their teamwork and sportsmanship while proudly representing their Houses. Parents are warmly invited to join us and watch the fun and friendly competition unfold. Last term,  Batten House emerged victorious. Please see times below and stay tuned for more details!

On the day, children should come dressed in their PE gear with accessories in the colour of their house! Please do not dress your child in anything that may prohibit them from competing in sports events.

After School Activities

Please contact our Executive Officer for more details: trisht@botanydowns.school.nz

• Chess Class – Monday afternoon, Library
• Bricks Lego – Wednesday afternoon, Library
• Chinese Class – Friday afternoon, Library
• Music Classes – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: times 12.30 -5.30pm 
• Elite Soccer – Monday afternoon, Field

In the Evening:

• BTKD – Monday/Thursday/Saturday, Hall
• Dance Fitness  – Tuesday, Hall

Travelwise – Slow Down Around School

On Wednesday our Travelwise leaders went out near the main entrance to measure the speed of cars travelling around our school.   

We are pleased to announce that from 8.30-8.50am only two out of 83 cars were speeding.

Thank you for keeping us safe!

Please remember – no stopping on yellow lines or across driveways at any time. This is a big problem for our neighbours trying to leave their homes, vision for crossing roads and other drivers crossing the centre line to go around illegally parked cars.

Thank you BDS whānau for following the road rules around our kura and keeping our tamariki safe.

Kylee Holmes, Road Patrol and Travelwise Co-ordinator (kyleeh@botanydowns.school.nz)

Interschool Cross-country

Last Tuesday Mr Insley and Mrs Jeffs took 38 Year 4-6 students to the Interschool Cross-country event held at Lloyd Elsmore. Even though we didn’t get any placings, all the students tried really hard and did the best they could, never giving up even when they lost their shoes.

ICAS Assessment Exams – Practice Tests

If your child has borrowed any ICAS practice tests can they please be returned to Mr Insley in the school office as soon as possible.

Dates for remaining ICAS exams:

• Science: Tuesday 22nd August
• Maths: Wednesday 30th August

World Vision 40 Hour Challenge

Last term our School Councillors organised our 40 Hour Challenge to raise money for World Vision to supply clean water to people in need around the world. We had nine amazing students who completed their challenges and raised a fantastic amount of $773 for World Vision. He tino pai!

Orchestra Visit

Our school orchestra had a delightful afternoon at Howick Baptist Healthcare, sharing music and spreading smiles. The retirement village was filled with the beautiful sounds of our talented students. A heartfelt thank you to our parent helpers for making this day possible. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Iris Liu, Music Coordinator (irisl@botanydowns.school.nz)

Children Turning Five – Enrolment 

If your child is turning five in the next six (6) months please ensure you enrol them as soon as possible. Our roll is steadily growing and we need to plan for classes and teachers during the year.

Please collect your enrolment pack from the office, or email office@botanydowns.school.nz 

Joanne Hughson DP/SENCo – Year 0-3 (joanneh@botanydowns.school.nz)

Learning and Fun @ BDS

Year 4: Room 23 has been learning about the Polynesian culture and their journeys into the Pacific. We created our own tapa cloths to demonstrate the traditional artwork and culture. We discussed patterns, symmetry and colours that would work well in our designs.

LIBRARY NEWS

NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults –
2023 Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s best books awards! And extra congratulations to Mat Tait, winner of the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year, and the Elsie Locke Award for Non-fiction.

Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku presents a well-known creation story from te ao Māori in a ground breaking bilingual format, incorporating text into illustrations in an exciting design, reflecting the darkness, the pain and the hope inherent in this pūrākau. It brings mātauranga Māori into our understanding of how the world began, using tohu Māori or Māori design elements appropriate to the story. Judges were awestruck by its production qualities and by the bold, dark and fully immersive design, which will draw readers into a story that is so fundamental to Aotearoa.

The full list of awardees can be viewed here: NZ Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2023

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Pay the kindo way: https://botanydowns.school.nz/kindo/