Newsletter – Week 9, Term 4 2025

                                         Week 9 Term 4, 2025

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

On Friday, your child’s report will be emailed to you. Our teachers have done a fantastic job with these reports. We appreciate the care and dedication they have put into capturing each child’s learning, and we look forward to sharing the progress your child has made. In 2026, we will be introducing a new report format that reflects the new English and Mathematics and Statistics curriculums, along with the new assessments the Ministry of Education will provide early next year.

We wish Mrs Kaur all the very best as she leaves us to go on maternity leave for one year, and look forward to welcoming her back. Thank you for a wonderful year of fun and learning in Room 9.

Mrs Lynette Radue, Mrs Diana Ellis, and Whaea Toni are concluding their fixed-term appointments as teachers of our start-up Year 0 classes this year. We are grateful for the positive, warm, and happy start they have given our new tamariki as they begin their schooling journey at BDS.

A special thank you also to Katy Brown, who began in a job-share role and then moved into our CRT position. We appreciate her flexibility and the wonderful support she has provided across the school.

Thank you to our incredible road patrollers, Miss Smith, and the parents and grandparents who have provided unwavering support throughout the year. Whether it was raining, windy, sunny, or cold, your dedication has been invaluable in keeping everyone safe, we couldn’t do it without you. To celebrate their hard work, our road patrollers enjoyed a well-deserved day of fun at Rainbow’s End.

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

Coming Up @ BDS

Wed 3 Dec – PTA Jester’s Pie Day

Wed 17 Dec – Last Day of Term 4: School Closes at 12.00pm

Wed 4 Feb 2026 – First Day of Term 1

End Of Year Important Dates

Thurs 4 Dec  – Rimu Team Year 0/1 Celebration, 9.15am
Mon 8 Dec – Rimu Team Year 0/1 Big Day In
Tues 9 Dec – Kōwhai Team Year 2 & Pōhutukawa Team Year 3 Prizegiving, 9.15am
Wed 10 Dec – Kōwhai Team Year 2 Big Day In
Wed 10 Dec – Tītoki Team Year 4 & Tōtara Team Year 5 Prizegiving, 9.15am
Thurs 11 Dec – Pōhutukawa Team Year 3 & Tītoki Team Year 4 Big Day In
Fri 12 Dec – Kauri Team Year 6 Prizegiving / Graduation, 9.15am
Mon 15 Dec – Kauri Team Year 6 Big Day In
Tues 16 Dec – Tōtara Team Year 5 Big Day In

Teachers and Classes for 2026

** Amendments to the Athletics results from last week:
Mikaele Atoa was 1st Year 5 boys Age group 70m. 
Apologies to Mikaele for leaving it off last week’s newsletter

SCHOOL NEWS

Order your child’s 2026 stationery here: myschool.co.nz

New School App

We are transferring to a new school app which integrates with our school student management system. This will streamline the app making it easier to use.

Once it is ready to go, you will be emailed instructions and your own personal login details. Download the app, follow the instructions to set up your account, and you are ready to go!

Kauri Team Year 6 Uniform Donations

Kauri Team Year 6 – Congratulations on completing your final year at Botany Downs School.  

On the last day of school, Wednesday 17th December, you may choose to wear no school uniform. The reason for wearing no uniform is so you can donate it to our school. These uniform donations are used by our school PTA to sell to other families in our community.

If you would like to donate your school uniform to the PTA, please drop it into the box in the school office foyer.

Thank you for your kindness! We wish you all the best for 2026.

Weetbix TRYathlon

After weeks of training, the day finally arrived for our Weetbix Tryathlon team to compete.
Fifty-two students represented Botany Downs. It was a great day out at Mountfort Park and everyone tried their best. 

Junior Athletics

The Year 0-3 students and teachers had a wonderful Junior Athletics Day last Wednesday.
The students showed our school values of manaakitanga (respect), manawanui (resilience), whanaunatanga (relationships) and kaitiakitanga (responsibility) as they took part in each activity. 

The students below will be receiving their certificates at this week’s full school assembly (Friday 5th December).

Library Books to Return

We still have a large amount of school library books that need to be returned. Please double-check at home (on shelves, in bedrooms, in the car, under the couch, etc…) and in your child’s classroom for any books and return them this week.

This is particularly important for our Kauri Team Year 6 students, and any other students who will be leaving BDS at the end of term.

Summer Reading – Register NOW!

After a successful Summer Reading programme last year, we are excited to offer this opportunity once again for our students. 

• For BDS students in Years 0/1-5 only. Students must be returning to BDS in 2026.
• By giving permission to take part, parents agree to ensure books are cared for and returned in the first week of Term 1 2026.
• Parents/caregivers also agree to reimburse the school for any lost or damaged books.
• Only students who have had a form signed are able to borrow books. Borrowing will be available in Weeks 9 & 10.
• Registered students will be able to borrow up to 10 library books for the summer.

Why sign up for Summer Reading? The best way to improve literacy skills is to keep practising them. This is particularly important over the long summer holidays and helps keep students reading levels up. Plus, it is a fun thing to do!

Developing a love of reading for pleasure helps to improve wellbeing, develops empathy, builds focus and stamina, builds vocabulary and general knowledge, and encourages curiosity and imagination (key factors in innovation and problem-solving skills). 

If you would like your child to borrow school library books over the summer, please complete and submit this form:

Summer Reading – Register Here!

Fun & Learning @ BDS

Tītoki Team Year 4, Room 19: We have been learning all about how magnets work, exploring magnetic force and the different ways magnets can move objects without touching them. We had lots of fun experimenting with magnet strength and testing which materials are magnetic in our classroom. To finish our learning, we designed and created our very own magnet mazes, using our knowledge to guide objects through twists, turns, and challenges.

School Assembly

We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9.10 am. We will be presenting our End of Term Principals’ Awards for Term 4 and Junior Athletics certificates.

Congratulations to these students for their End of Term Certificates: Boston Bills, Yunxiao Yan, Nav Kaur, Lennon Wallace, Ava Shahsavari, Ryker Christian, Lloyd Singh, Kaisley Zhang, McKayla Dell, Bhevin Verma, Umama Adil, Raewyn Bua, Whitney Chan, Jaskiran Kaur, Mengxi Lu, Finn O’Neill, Joy-Ellen Tokai, Cordelia Prentice, Aaryan Verma, Mika Nel, Rosie Chin, Neus Limones Navarro, Riley Wu, Elizabeth Ilalio, Zemira Manu & Hannah Biddick.

PTA Notices…

Fruju Fridays – kindly supported by Pak’nSave Highland Park!
Fruju Fridays are up and running every Friday until the end of term! Come and buy your Fruju $2 or icepop $1 outside the staffroom from 3pm.  Pay in cash or via Kindo.

 

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)

LIBRARY NEWS

Fun, FREE and chances to WIN!
Find out more information here: Raumati Reads Auckland Libraries

COMMUNITY NOTICES

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!

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