Tēnā tātou katoa/Greetings to everyone, Week 10, Term 4, 2023
Last week was very special as we celebrated with our tamariki and BDS whānau at our Junior School Prize Giving Celebration. This week we celebrate with our Middle and Senior School tamariki at their prize giving; and the Graduation of our Year 6 students. Congratulations to our tamariki who received awards last week and to those who will receive Class Awards and Cups this week. We also wish to acknowledge and congratulate all our tamariki for progress in their learning by living our vision of “Our Best Always” by showing our school values during the year.
Our teachers, Team Leaders and Deputy Principals have been working hard over the last few weeks to place our tamariki in their classes. This process is taken very seriously and involves many factors. Our classes are now finalised. On Friday your child will be told their teacher for 2024 and visit their classroom for a meet and greet. Our Year 5 and 6 students will not go to the new build as it is not ready but they will still go to meet their teacher and be told which floor they will be on and their room numbers for next year. Year 5 will be on the lower floor and Year 6 on the top floor. Leighs Construction has kindly made arrangements for our Year 6 students to walk through the new build on Thursday; as they will not be here next year to join us for the walk through when we have the opening.
To our staff I wish to acknowledge the passion, dedication and continued mahi that is evident in our school. We certainly have a very special place where we have a sense of belonging, pride, learning and fun.
From all of us at BDS we would like to thank you for being such a supportive and enthusiastic part of our school. We wish you and your whānau a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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End-of-Year Dates
Wed 13 Dec – Yr 5/6 Prizegiving & Yr 6 Graduation 9.15-11.30am
Thurs 14 Dec – Yr 5/6 Big Day In
Fri 15 Dec – Last day of 2023 – school closes at 12 noon
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Dates for 2024
Term 1: Thursday 1 February – Friday 12 April
Waitangi Day – Tuesday 6 February (public holiday)
Good Friday – Friday 29 March (public holiday)
Easter Monday – Monday 1 April (public holiday)
Easter Tuesday – Tuesday 2 April (school holiday)
ANZAC Day – Thursday 25 April (public holiday during term holiday)
Term 2: Monday 29 April – Friday 5 July
TEACHER ONLY DAY – Friday 31 May
King’s Birthday – Monday 3 June (public holiday)
Matariki Holiday – Friday 28 June (public holiday)
Term 3: Monday 22 July – Friday 27 September
Term 4: Monday 14 October – Tuesday 17 December
TEACHER ONLY DAY – Friday 25 October
Labour Day – Monday 28 October (public holiday)
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Reminder – Last Day of 2023
The last day of term is this Friday 15 December at 12 o’clock.
Please ensure your children are collected promptly at 12 o’clock.
SKids will be available from 12 o’clock if you need supervision for your child; to book a spot please contact Wayne: 021-616-513
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BYOD – Bring Your Own Device
This is a reminder that Year 4, Year 5, and Year 6 students can bring their own devices in to school for learning in 2024. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Sojung Yoon: sojungy@botanydowns.school.nz
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School Board Update
We would like to inform you that Brook Tate has been appointed to the Botany Downs School Board. Brook brings a background of experience and perspectives that will contribute to the effective governance of our school.
We appreciate Brook’s willingness to serve in this capacity and look forward to his contributions to the School Board.
BDS Presiding Member, Jess Storey
School Board: Jess Storey, Matthew Cooke, Kerry Budd, Bhavna Prentice, Cameron Pitcaithly, Vicki Parkins (Principal), Rita Lala (Staff representative)
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Important Notice…
If your Year 0-5 child will not be returning to BDS in 2024, please ensure you contact our school
office to let them know. Please email to: office@botanydowns.school.nz
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Back to School Stationery – Order Now!
We’ve teamed up with OfficeMax to your back to school shop super easy.
Your child’s class list is already loaded. Just go to myschool.co.nz/botanydowns. Simply add your details, check that you want everything on the list, then click and confirm — and OfficeMax will get your delivery underway with free delivery on orders over $70^.
You can pay by internet banking, credit card or debit card. Laybuy* is also available, so you can pay in 6 weekly, interest-free payments and still get your order right away. Plus you’ll be helping our school earn school rewards* that we use to purchase much needed extra resources for our school.
We encourage you to order early to ensure your child has all their stationery requirements ready to go in plenty of time for the start of Term 1.
So go ahead and beat the back to school rush, order today and give them the best start possible.
*Terms and Conditions apply, see myschool.co.nz/laybuy for details. ^Exclusions apply, see myschool.co.nz/delivery for details
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Congratulations to Sheppard House!
As a reward for earning the most house points this year, students in Sheppard House received a free non-uniform day yesterday (Monday 11th December).
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PTA Update
Final Fruju sales for the year on Thursday 14th December at 3pm outside the staff room. $2 Frujus and $1 icepops available. Fruju stock is limited. Pay via kindo by midnight Wednesday or bring cash.
Thank you to everyone who donated to the PTA Charity Can Drive last week. We were blown away by the generosity from the school community, especially in these tough economic times. All Saints Church were hugely appreciative and said our school has donated more than any other, including a local college. Thank you!
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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)
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Fun and Learning @ BDS
Year 1, Room 7: We are ‘Busy Bees’ this Summer. Room 7 is excited to welcome back the warm sun and gorgeous flowers. Therefore, we learnt about the most hardworking insects during this time of the year. Bees!
‘I see a lot of bees. They drink flowers. There are 2 different bees, a bumblebee and a honey bee. The bees live in hives. There is a queen bee. The bees make honey in their hive. The bees are very special insects. They have 6 legs.’ – Sujin
‘I made a bumblebee. My bumblebee’s name is Blue. Bumblebees like to collect nectar. They have stingers to protect themselves. Bumblebees love Spring.’ – Sebastian
Year 6, Room 18: In Room 18, we have been doing a lot of talking and writing about our favourite memories from Botany Downs School. What an amazing 6 years we have had! Here are some of the highlights that we have been writing about:
- Adventures on camp during Year 5 and Year 6. We loved the food there too!
- Being a part of sports teams and representing our school.
- Having roles around the school like Ambassador and Wet Day Monitor.
- Being in the Choir, Orchestra and Kapa Haka.
- Making friends and spending time with our wonderful teachers.
We have created a book of memories and funny stories from our time at Botany Downs School. We have gifted it to the school library so you can read and enjoy it next time you visit.
Some of the Room 18 authors proudly displaying their book of memories
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Student Success…
Raymond and Sonny Palalagi-Waru have finally hung their boots up for the year. They played in the 2023 NZ Kiwi Tag Junior Nationals in the 2-day weekend competition for Counties Manukau.
Sonny walked away with Best Defence AND Attack for his team. They both played outstandingly through all the wind and rain and had fun doing so. Onto the Oceania Touch Competition next March – as a school we congratulate these talented athletes and wish them the best of luck!
Leo Minto has been dancing at Jaye’s Dance for four years and in the competition hip-hop crew ‘Micro Pack’ for the last two, competing against other dancers from around Auckland.
Last night his crew received a medal and certificate each for “most entertaining group” and Leo received the trophy for “Male Dancer of the Year”. Congratulations Leo!
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 A variety of different sports each week!
Thursdays after school. Get your kids into Active!
Click here for more information and to book in: Botany sKids Active
Cost per session: $15 – includes kids going straight to skids for afternoon tea,
then walking over to sports shed at 3.30pm
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