Week 6, Term 2, 2024
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
We welcome our BDS whānau to walk through our new building between 3.00 pm and 4.00 pm on Wednesday 12 June, next week. Our new furniture will not have arrived so you will need to imagine our wonderful new classrooms with new furniture as well. We are also still waiting on some bag hooks but we are getting there.
We have identified a flooding area to the side of our new building and the Ministry of Education Property team has been notified. This will be fixed but this could take a while and we could not be given a date when it would be completed. Therefore, if it has been raining heavily, the pathway from Kadina Place past the new building will only have a small pathway at the edge of the flood to get through to our school. We do apologise for any inconvenience on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Coming up @ BDS…
Tues 4 June – PTA meeting
Wed 5 June – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 6 June – HPPA Soccer Field Day
Fri 7 June – HPPA Rugby Day 2
Tues 11 June – Yr 4-6 Cross-country, 1-3pm
Tues 11 June – HPPA Chess Championship
Wed 12 June HPPA Girls Soccer / New Building Walk Through
Tues 18 June – HPPA Hockey Field Day
Wed 26 June – No Uniform Day
Thurs 27 June – Whānau Matariki Visit
Friday 28 June Matariki Public Holiday
** click here to view more of the school calendar **
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Notice from Botany Downs Kindergarten
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Netball Funday
Last week Mrs Jeffs and Miss O’Driscoll took 33 Year 5 and 6 students to the netball funday. The four teams played five games each and improved over the day. It was a fun day had by all.
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New Library Collection!
We are delighted to share our library’s new collection of books in other languages.
 These beautiful books (and more) are ready for borrowing and are available for our tamariki to read and enjoy in their home languages. At present, we have books in the following languages:
- Afrikaans
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Cook Islands Māori
- French
- Hindi
- Japanese
- Korean
- Samoan
- Spanish
- Tongan
We would love to add more books to our collection – if you have any great children’s books in these languages, that are in good condition and are suitable for primary-aged children, please consider donating them to our library.
** Did you know? We also have a beautiful selection of pukapuka available in te reo Māori:
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Fun & Learning @ BDS
Room 7, Year 1: This term, Room 7 visited the Life Education Caravan. Lesley and Harold helped us learn all about the different feelings we have. In class, we are learning to share our feelings each day. Room 7 children are happy at school, we love learning and playing with our friends.
Sometimes we are sad and miss our families when we are at school and that is okay.
On Fridays, we are excited for the weekend.
We would like to share with you our Harold portraits and our photo with Harold.
Room 17, Year 4: Samoan Language Week.
Last week our class practised Sāmoan words and phrases and explored the Sāmoan culture for Sāmoan Language Week.
Our class studied a variety of Siapo patterns and combined a few of our favourites to create our individual pieces. These were combined to create a class masterpiece! The bright and beautiful colours were a highlight in contrast to the dreary weather last week.
Room 22, Year 5: Tālofa lava!
Last week was Samoa Language Week. The 2024 theme is “Tautua i le alofa, manuia le lumana’i – Serve in love for a blessed future.” Room 22 has learned about Samoan traditions, greetings, food, celebrations and the rich heritage.
Our class has engaged in research, created mini posters, made tapa cloth and even planned a trip to Samoa to learn about financial literacy during maths time.
Given the recent weather in Tāmaki Makaurau, we can only dream of being in the beautiful islands of Samoa.
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Botany Best & Values
We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9.10 am. This week our item will be from Room 28, Year 3.
Values
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our value of Responsibility, Kaitiakitanga: Ryan Hu, Sarah Tbakhi, Leo Minto, Joanna Qiao, Grayson Visser, Boston Bills, Olivia Walsh, Uriel Su’a, Neus Limones Navarro, Leo Cowarin, Muhammad Abdullah, Rhythm Sharma, Oliver de Bruin, Archie Barson, Emma Sun, Sebastian Birchler, Mia Swartz, Reuben Apperley, Kayla Fegen, Harper Annan, Jumping Qi, Tristin Van Rooyen & Hannah Jung.
Botany Best
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Aahana Perera, Zachary Bradbury, Kylo Chad, Minnie Zhao, Selina Wong, Nathan Miguel, Suzanna Kamakorewa, Jason Van Wyk, Jiyu Kim, Rex Zhao, Mene’ Nel, Amisha Clarke, Cherry Nguyen, Rosie Chin, Caleb Moukarzel, Leroy Singh, Connor Henderson, Joy Turner, Shana Chen, Ariyan Atrushi, Si Fan Zhu, Emily Green & Ela Uguz.
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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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Speech and Drama Lessons
We’re thrilled to announce the start of Speech and Drama lessons at Botany Downs School, and we can’t wait to meet your children!
Currently, we’re in the process of collecting pre-enrolments for Term 3. To secure a spot for your child, please fill out the form below. Please note that spaces are limited, so enrolments will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis to ensure fairness.
https://forms.gle/Bkt8uphTKVFnVGDc6
Lessons will be held after school on a Tuesday, at Botany Downs School. Our dedicated teachers will provide a fantastic platform for students to nurture their confidence, public speaking skills, self-esteem, creativity, manners, and leadership abilities – all vital elements in shaping them into their best and most successful selves.
Through engaging activities and relatable scenarios, each 30-minute lesson promises to be exciting for your children! The fee is $220 per term and speech and drama is beneficial for all ages from year 0-6. Everyone is welcome!
For more information visit our website www.thrivespeechanddrama.co.nz, or feel free to email Kelly at kelly@thrivespeechanddrama.co.nz with any questions you may have.
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Howick and Pakuranga Times – Now Online!
The Howick and Pakuranga Times has updated to an online, digital paper. Be sure to subscribe to keep up with all the latest news and happenings in the local area: https://www.times.co.nz/subscribe/
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English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Maori
Portuguese
Russian
Samoan
Spanish
