Week 5 Term 1 2026
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
This is a very special week for our Year 6 students, who left yesterday for two nights at Chosen Valley Camp as part of their Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) experience. Camp is always a highlight of the year, and our tamariki headed off full of excitement for the team-building challenges, outdoor adventures, and new experiences ahead.
These opportunities beyond the classroom play such an important role in building confidence, resilience, and strong friendships. I am really looking forward to visiting today and seeing the learning, laughter, and teamwork in action.
A huge thank you to all our staff for their planning and dedication in organising and attending camp. Mr D’Ambrosio (Camp Leader), Mr Insley, Mrs Jeffs, Mrs Else, Miss Lu, Mrs Holmes and Mrs Hartnoll. Camp is an incredible experience, not just for our tamariki, but also for our amazing parents who generously give their time and energy to ensure everything runs smoothly. Thank you.
We have already begun sharing photos on our Facebook page so you can see what has been happening and there will be more to come.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
|
Coming Up @ BDS
Thurs 5 Mar – Tōtara Team Yr 5 Camp Parents Meeting, starting 6.00.pm
*please note corrected time of 6.00pm
Mon 9 Mar – Tōtara Team Yr 5 Camp (returning Tues 10 Mar)
Tues 10 Mar – Girls Smash Cricket Day
Wed 11 Mar – HPPA Cricket (Pool A) / PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Fri 13 Mar – Senior School Swimming Sports Day
Wed 18 Mar – Pōwhiri
Fri 20 Mar – No Uniform Day
Week 8: Mon 23 – Fri 27 Mar – BOOK WEEK
Wed 25 Mar – HPPA Swimming / Grandparents’ Afternoon, 2.00pm
Thurs 26 Mar – HPPA Cricket Finals Day
Fri 27 Mar – Book Character Dressup Day & Parade
Wed 1 Apr – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 2 Apr – Last Day of Term 1
Mon 20 Apr – First Day of Term 2
Mon 27 Apr – ANZAC Day (public holiday)
|
|
|
Year 5 Camp Meeting
The Year 5 Tōtara Team will be going on an overnight experience at Willow Park, Eastern Beach, from Monday 9 March to Tuesday 10 March.
All parents of students attending the camp are invited to a parent meeting on Thursday 5 March at 6:00 pm in Room 21.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grandparents’ Afternoon Invitation
We warmly invite all grandparents to join us for our Grandparents’ Afternoon in Week 8. This year our Grandparents’ Afternoon takes place as part of our annual Book Week.
We would like our grandparents to bring along a favourite picture book to share with their grandchild and friends. We also welcome other special people who play a grandparent-like role in our students’ lives. We look forward to celebrating this special time together.
Date: Wednesday 25 March
Location: In the classroom. Please come to the office if you are unsure.
Time: 2:00 pm
|
|
|
Senior Swimming Sports
Next week is our senior swimming sports for the Year 5 and 6 students. During our swimming sessions, we will be selecting students to compete in the competitive races based on their ability to swim the length of the school pool. From this we will select our HPPA swimming team. All other students will choose two races from the novelty races to participate in.
Parents/guardians are welcome to come along and watch the races. Seats will be provided on the changing room side of the pool for you. Please do not sit with your child as space is limited.
On Friday the 13th March our swimming sports will look like this:
|
Year 6: First session 9:00-10:30ish
Year 5: Second session 11:00-12:30ish
|
|
Freestyle heats
Ball push
Backstroke heats
Board and cup
Breaststroke heats
Noodle pull
Freestyle finals
T-shirt relay
Backstroke finals
|
|
|
|
HPPA Cricket
On Thursday 26th February, our boy’s cricket team attended the HPPA Interschool Tournament. We played four games and came away with a win and three losses.
The boys demonstrated our school values all day, showed good sportsmanship to the other teams, always tried their best and enjoyed a great day of cricket.
Thank you to Mrs Jeffs for taking the team and those parents who came to support us on the sideline. We have three more games on the 11th of March.
 Ansh Patel
 Charlie Pirie
|
|
|
PTA Notice
Lunch Orders via Dollar for School:
Just a friendly reminder that families can order lunches for their child to be delivered directly to school. St Pierre’s Sushi is available on Wednesdays and Domino’s Pizza on Fridays, with $1 from every order going back to our school to support our students.
Available on Wednesdays |
 Available on Fridays |
— an easy and tasty way to support our school community!
PTA AGM – Monday 9th March:
Our PTA meeting has been rescheduled to Monday 9th March at 7pm in the staffroom. This meeting is the AGM. We welcome new members so please come along if you would like to join or find out more.
|
|
|
School Assembly – Juniors
This Friday is our Junior (Year 1-3) assembly at 2.15pm. We will be handing out Botany Best awards, and Values Bookmarks to the following Year 1-3 students. This week’s assembly item will be Pōhutukawa team, Room 29. All whānau are welcome to attend.
Our BDS Capabilities
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Vick Feng, Mila Blake, Raizel Chowdhury, Ovia Pirapakaran, Kayden Tseng, Amalia Mahabeer, Ava Krishna, Kaylen Pillay, Dana Al-Sarraf, Vincent Wang, Inaya Galahitiyawa, Isabella Hudson, Samson (Junior) Taeiloa, Patrick Sun, Daniel Hollins, Riley Hughes, Grace Zhao, Taia Vaolele, Luna Lopez Woo, Dhrishiv Katal, Thea Moir & Yeray Limones Navarro.
Our BDS Values
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our Value of Relationships – Whanaungatanga: Harley Hine, Marcus Botha, Zach Claasen, Timothy Parsons, Joseph Maifea, Bridie Bird, Kobe Barlow, Kaily Kodithuwakku, Charlotte Else, Ranaya Galahitiyawa, Cayden Chan, Sakura Strickland, Titus Parsons, Madison Hall, Dina Shahamiri, Anaisha Sharma, Jorawar Singh, Newyear Lealamanua, Sachie Ogura, Nicolas Long, Boston Bills & Angela Wang.
|
|
|
Enrol Now If Your Child Turns 5 in 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)
|
|
|
|
|
Over the past few weeks in the library, we have been talking about book care. Please encourage your children to respect and care for the books they bring home to enjoy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The BNZ Kiwi Hoops – Hoops & Dreams Tour is coming to Auckland! Free, fun basketball events for tamariki aged 8–13 with no experience needed. There will be skills, drills, games, music, prizes, and special appearances from pro players, all in a supportive environment where everyone belongs.
Auckland – Bruce Pulman Arena, 7 March 2026
Sessions: 9:30–11:30am or 1:30–3:30pm
Grab three friends, form a team of four plus a team manager, and lock in your spot today at BNZ Kiwi Hoops – Hoops & Dreams Tour | Basketball New ZealandBasketball New Zealand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dilworth School Open Days
Dilworth School supports great young men to make the most of their talents and opportunities with fully funded scholarships, strong academic performance, outdoor education, and numerous extracurricular opportunities.
Now is the time to consider whether Dilworth might be for your son. While predominately a boarding school, day students are accepted for 2027 in Years 7, 8 & 9. This gives more students the amazing opportunity without the need to board. Check out the links below to find out more and consider registering for one of the upcoming Open Days. These positions are highly sort after!
Register HERE for one of the Open Days:
- Junior Campus: Sunday 8th March and Sunday 24th May, 2pm
- Senior Campus: Sunday 29th March 2pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Maori
Portuguese
Russian
Samoan
Spanish
Thai
