Week 8, Term 3, 2025
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
Thank you to all our whānau who took the time to complete our recent survey. We are really pleased with the results and it’s great to see such positive feedback about our school. Your input helps us celebrate what’s going well and also guides us in planning for the future.
Thank you.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
|
Coming Up @ BDS
Thurs 4 Sept – Junior Cross Country / Chinese Speech Competition
Fri 5 Sept – No Uniform Day / Father’s Day Morning
Tues 9 Sept – Netball Competitive Day
Wed 10 Sept – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 11 Sept – Year 2 Kōwhai Trip to Howick Historical Village
Fri 12 Sept – PTA School Disco
Thurs 18 Sept – HPPA Chinese Speech Competition
Thurs 18 Sept – Visual Arts Evening
Fri 19 Sept – Last Day of Term 3
Mon 6 Oct – First Day of Term 4
Fri 17 Oct – No Uniform Day
Wed 22 Oct – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 23 Oct – Senior School Athletics Day
Fri 24 Oct – Teacher Only Day
Mon 27 Oct – Labour Day (public holiday)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HPPA Lit Quiz
On Friday, six senior students represented BDS at the HPPA Lit Quiz, held at Baverstock Oaks School. The Lit Quiz group prepares for this annual event by reading a set list of 10 books created by New Zealand authors. The quiz comprises five rounds of questions and quotes from the books, along with chances to win books and, this year, a guest appearance by award-winning local author Leonie Agnew.
Up against 17 other schools, the Lit Quiz is a tough competition, nonetheless, our students did very well and enjoyed the experience; well done to Lillias, Henil, Mackenzie, Oliver, Quintus and Alexander.
On display in the library are the books the group read, with three words the students chose to describe each one as recommendations for their peers.
|
|
|
Daffodil Day Success
We raised $373.80! Thank you to everyone who supported this cause, and a special thanks to our councillors for their help.
|
|
|
PTA Notices
Father’s Day Morning – Friday 5th September
Celebrating all the special men in our school community, 8:00am – 9:00am under the junior canopy. Come along for a hot drink and a bite to eat, and enter the draw to win a hamper of goodies. Food and drinks provided for male caregivers only.
No Uniform Day – Friday 5th September
Pay $2 to wear your own clothes. Please pay via Kindo or bring cash to give to your class teacher.
Disco – Friday 12th September
Tickets on sale now! $6 via Kindo or $7 on the day. Kindo sales close 8th September. Please note the disco will now be in the school hall, not the Year Four Tītoki canopy as advertised.
Years 0-3 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Years 4-6 7:00pm – 8:30pm
|
|
|
School Assembly
We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9:10am. We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks. This week our item will be a Chinese dance.
Our Values
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown our focus value Respect Manaakitanga: Lucas Bercich, Lynda Li, Liam O’Neill, Ranaya Galahitiyawa, Jenuki Perera, Isabella Hudson, Cayden Chan, Cooper Jack, Ava Krishna, Mia Jack, Vion Lee, Daisy Wu, Ilaisaane Faletau, Emily Green, Alexander Ong, Liah Van Wyk, Harper Timms, Leo Cowarin, Elani Venter, Sidney Chai, Kate Henry, Neville Arora, Elizabeth Valentine, Minnie Zhao, Aahana Perera & Baraa Almayah.
Our Capabilities
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Rubleen Kaur, Taia Vaolele, Daniel-Ezekiel Turner, Jireh John, Evelyn Han, Hirad Jamal, Scarlett Hudson, Dina Shahamiri, Athena Manuela, Emma Sun, Hoor Laghari, Nathan Zhu, Lexi Tsai, Daniel Bayani, Riaan Karthick, Braxton Bills, Arlie Clements-Goh, Bruno Hussey, Sui Gu, Nikita Winterstein, Anya Fang, Mannat Gahunia, Acen Wu, Amanda Kim & Tavis Lee.
|
|
|
Fun & Learning @ BDS
Year 1 Rimu, Room 7: To celebrate the start of Spring and to show support for Daffodil Day we worked really hard to sketch and colour some “Dancing Daffodils”.
We also worked on descriptive writing:
The petals on the daffodil look like the yellow sun and the green stems look like grass. The orange in the middle reminds me of fruit. Daffodils make me happy and the daffodils look like they are dancing in the wind like fairies and like they are alive.
Isabella Hudson
|
|
|
Enrol Now if Your Child Turns 5 Before April 2026
We are currently planning classes and staffing for 2026, and having accurate numbers of new entrants — even those starting mid-year — greatly helps us with this process. Thank you for your support.
Enrolment packs are available from the school office, or you can request one via email: office@botanydowns.school.nz
Rachel Ryan, DP/SENCo – Year 0-3 (rachelr@botanydowns.school.nz)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Poetry Day
Friday 22 August was National Poetry Day, and throughout the week, students enjoyed creating their own poems in the library…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HJ Elite Academy –
Holiday Soccer Development Programme
Registration is now open!
Looking for a fun and active way to keep the kids engaged, entertained, and learning during the school holidays?
Join our Holiday Soccer Development Programme with HJ Elite Academy!
Click here to register
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Maori
Portuguese
Russian
Samoan
Spanish
