Newsletter – Week 2 Term 2, 2024 – Botany Downs Primary School

Week 2, Term 2, 2024

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

We have a very exciting week planned for Book Week culminating in our book character dress-up parade on Friday. This will begin at 9.15 am and parents are welcome to attend. Thank you Mrs Hughson and her team: Mrs Jeffs, Mrs Fromont, Miss Chand, Miss Smith, Mrs Holmes and Mrs Hatley-Owen for making this week full of fun and learning with a huge focus on books.

Our Parent and Teacher Association (PTA) is doing an amazing job with our upcoming Bricks Show. The PTA will continue collecting donations of pre-loved books and raffle prize items outside the school hall each day from 8.30am – 8.50am until Friday 17th May. Thank you for your continued support.

The reopening of our ‘Drop and Go’ area in front of the school for morning drop-offs has been very successful. Please remember this is designed for parents to remain in the car to assist with a constant flow and avoid traffic congestion. Thank you for entering and exiting the correct way to keep our tamariki safe. Our TravelWise team has been a great support with their signs and hand signals.

Have a great week everyone.

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

Coming up @ BDS…

Week 2 – Book Week
Fri 10 May – Book Character Dress-Up Day
Wed 15 May – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Tues 21 May – HPPA Netball Day
Wed 22 May – PhotoLife Class & Individual Photos
Thurs 23 May – PhotoLife Sibling Photos
Fri 24 May – HPPA Rugby Day 1
Sun 26 May – PTA Bricks, Books and Bake Sale
Tues 28 – HPPA Netball Day 2
Wed 29 May – HPPA Girls Soccer Day 1
Fri 31 May – Teacher Only Day

** click here to view more of the school calendar **

Policies and Procedures –
SchoolDocs 2024 Term 2 Review

SchoolDocs provides a comprehensive core set of policies and procedures that are tailored to the needs of Botany Downs School. SchoolDocs updates, modifies and creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools and regular reviews.

Our SchoolDocs policies and procedures can be found via our school website on the link below:
Policies and Procedures – School Documents

If you would like to participate in reviewing the policies, please follow the instructions below. The review closes on 5th July.

Visit the website https://botanydowns.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
Enter the username (botanydowns) and password (best)
Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed
Read the policy
Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page
Select the reviewer type
Enter your name (optional)
Follow the prompts to show that you’ve read the topic and enter your feedback if you’d like to comment
Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”

For Term 2 the following policies relate to Learning Support and are up for review:

Employer Responsibility Policy
Appointment Procedure
Equal Employment Opportunities
Teacher Relief Cover
Safety Checking
Police Vetting
Classroom Release Time / Timetable

If you have any questions or queries please contact:
Mark Insley, Deputy Principal (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)

SCHOOL NEWS

Botany Values and Capabilities

Our BDS Values: at Botany Downs School we “live” by these four Values.
Our focus value for the first half of Term 2 is:

Our Capabilities: these capabilities represent the skills and knowledge for our ākonga to achieve success as they grow. These capabilities weave through all our learning areas.

Term 2 Clubs

For Term 2 we are very fortunate to have the following clubs available for students to be part of during lunch times. A big thank you to all of the teachers responsible for your time and effort.

Chess (Year 4-6): Mrs Lala and Miss Chand

Dance (Year 1-3 group and Year 4-6 group): Mrs Jeffs and Miss Smith

Kapa Haka (Year 4-6): Mrs Takaiti

Choir (Year 5-6) and Orchestra (Year 4-6): Miss Liu

TravelWise

Thanks to our TravelWise Leaders, Ariana, Maanvi, Ishnoor, Ruby, Minaya, and Arissa who have been helping guide the cars through our Drop and Go Bay each morning before school.

Book Week Is Here!

Special Guest Authors:
Tuesday, Anne Kayes – Year 4-6

Wednesday, Heather Haylock – Year 1-3

Friday is Book Character Dress-up Day!
Get your thinking hats on – who will you dress up as this year? Please remember that a costume doesn’t have to be expensive or bought from the store – get creative!
The following links might give you just the inspiration you are looking for:

30 Last Minute World Book Day costumes to make without a needle:
www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/30-last-minute-world-book-10976213

82 Last minute easy World Book costumes: www.madeformums.com/toddler-and-preschool/last-minute-easy-world-book-day-costumes/

38 Best Book Character Costumes That Are Easy to DIY:
www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/g22127013/book-character-costumes/

Scholastic Book Fair:
A ‘pop-up book store’ in the library with a wide range of exciting books and stationery for all ages and interests.

Open Mon-Fri morning 8.30-9.00am.
Open Mon-Thurs afternoon 2.30-3.30pm.
Payment by EFTPOS or cash.
Every purchase made helps to provide the school with books and resources for the library and classrooms – thank you for your support!

PTA Notices…

Jesters Pies – Wednesday 15th May:
Enjoy a pie for lunch. Pie purchases must be completed via Kindo before 11am on Tuesday 14th May.

Brick Show – Sunday 26th May:
Beat the queue and pre-purchase your tickets today, available now until 17th May on Kindo.

Lego ‘Mini Figure’ Donations Request

Miss Heath, our Learning Support Coordinator, is requesting that if there are whānau with Lego ‘mini-figures’ that are no longer needed at home, we would be very grateful for any donations.

Please send them to the school office or directly to the LSC office. Thank you.

Susan Heath, Learning Support Coordinator (susanh@botanydowns.school.nz)

Fun & Learning @ BDS

Year 1, Room 5: Room 5 wishes you all a Happy Mother’s Day!

Year 1, Room 6: Room 6 read the book ‘Anzac Ted’ by Belinda Landsberry. Anzac Ted is the story of a little boy’s teddy bear that was passed down to him from his grandfather. Battered, torn, missing an eye and an ear, he might look scary but he’s got a great story to tell. Anzac Ted went to war, keeping soldiers company and giving them comfort. Room 6 wrote why Anzac Ted is special.

Year 4, Room 20: We explored the Koru shape. Koru is the Māori word for spiral loop or coil. We used warm and cool tones to create colourful works of art. Aren’t they beautiful!

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.