Week 4, Term 2 2026
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
Today we were fortunate to practice our Lockdown process. This is the procedure we follow to ensure all staff and students are kept safe if we were to have a real lockdown. All students participated very well and displayed an amazing ability to stay calm and follow instructions. Ka pai!
A reminder as we start coming into colder, wetter weather that all students should be wearing the correct school uniform to stay warm and dry. This particularly applies to footwear which should be black shoes/sandals and black socks.
We are also very lucky to have two new clubs starting in the junior part of the school. Our junior students now have the chance to be part of a singing group and Kapa Haka roopu. It is great to see these opportunities come up.
Last Friday I was informed by Rick Moller from Cook Brothers who are doing all of the work on our school hall that one of our Kōwhai Year 6 students, Mené Nel, had done something extremely special. Rick emailed to say…
“I received the attached from one of your students this morning.
During this final stretch of the project, when stress levels are running high, I really appreciated the kind gesture from Mené .
It is great to see that your students are still being taught the importance of kindness, consideration, and empathy. It also speaks volumes about the next generation that Botany Downs School is preparing for the world ahead. These are qualities that make for a truly great person.”
So good to have our students recognised for their outstanding way of being!
Mark Insley
Acting Principal/Tumuaki (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)
|
Coming Up @ BDS
Fri 15 May – Pink Shirt Day / HPPA Dodgeball
Wed 20 May – HPPA Girls Soccer Day 1 / School Board Meeting, 6.00pm
Fri 22 May – HPPA Rugby / PTA Sausage Sizzle, 3.00pm
Wed 27 May – HPPA Girls Soccer Day 2 / PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Fri 29 May – TEACHER ONLY DAY
Mon Jun 1 – King’s Birthday (public holiday)
Fri 5 Jun – No Uniform Day
Mon 8 Jun – PTA meeting
Wed 10 Jun – School Board meeting, 6.00pm
Mon 15 Jun – PTA Bake Sale
Tues 16 Jun – HPPA Soccer
Wed 17 Jun – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Mon 22 Jun – Pōhutukawa Yr 3 Stardome Trip
|
|
|
|
|
Pink Shirt Day – This Friday!
This Friday is Pink Shirt day. Our wonderful house leaders are going to be holding a cupcake sale. Each house leader is going to make some cupcakes and will be selling them before school on Friday the 15th of May. Each cupcake will be sold for $1 and once they are gone, they are gone. We will be selling them from 8:30am in front of the staffroom where Frujis are sold.
We are also encouraging students to wear a pink t-shirt with their school skort, shorts, pants or dress. However if you do not own a pink shirt, like Mr Insley, you are encouraged to wear a pink accessory to support the cause. Let’s make the school pink for the day!
Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!
|
|
|
2026 International Competitions and
Assessment for Schools (ICAS)
Year 5 and 6 students have the opportunity to participate in the 2026 International Competitions and Assessment for Schools (ICAS). ICAS assessments are designed to recognise academic excellence. Students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills.
It is important to note that these assessments are not related to our New Zealand Curriculum. This means that ICAS results are not taken into consideration when determining progress, when reporting to parents or when selecting academic award recipients for our prize givings.
This year we are offering Year 5 and 6 students the opportunity to participate in English, Science and Maths assessments. All assessments are supervised at school and completed online. You will be notified of your child’s results when they are ready and they will also receive a certificate. Top performers will be eligible for medals and special ceremonies to recognise their academic excellence from ICAS assessments.
Dates of assessments:
English: Monday 10th August 9-10.30am
Science: Monday 17th August 9-10.30am
Maths: Monday 24th August 9-10.30am
Each assessment has a cost of $22.95. For payments, we will be using the Parent Payment System so you must make your payments directly to ICAS. All payments must be made by Monday 20th July. We will not be accepting payments at school. See below for payment details.
- Log in using the PPS code: Visit the ICAS website shop and use the PPS code to log in: XNF939
ICAS tests shown for selection are at the school’s discretion. After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records.
Mark Insley (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)
|
|
|
Fun & Learning @ BDS
Kōwhai Year 2, Room 2 – Repeating patterns.
We have been learning to read patterns, find the rule for the pattern, and make our own patterns. We enjoyed using lots of different equipment to do this.
Kauri Year 6, Room 16 – Space Adventures!
In Room 16 we have started delving into the amazing world of space, researching planets, moons, the sun and much more. To start with we had to design a spaceship that we would use to fly us to space and travel around to become experts. We had to research what was inside a spaceship and go deeper and look into what these were if we didn’t know, for example some of us researched what a control room inside a spaceship was like.
After our spaceship was drawn and for every task after that we earn battery points for our spaceship based on the depth of our answers and use these to gain a reward at the end of our unit. Exciting! I can’t wait to see what rewards Room 16 ends up with and how much they will learn about space!
Check out some of our spaceships so far!
|
|
|
PTA Notices…
Join us after school on Friday 22nd May for a PTA Sausage Sizzle!
Chicken sausages will be available for purchase for $2 each from 3:00pm outside the staffroom — the perfect end-of-week treat for students and families.
Please note that this will be a cash-only event, and numbers are limited, so be sure to get in quick before they sell out!
Lunch Orders via Dollar for Schools:
Order delicious fresh lunches for your child delivered directly to their classroom from St Pierre’s Sushi (Wednesdays) and Domino’s Pizza (Fridays) – $1 from every order goes to our school.
|
|
|
School Assembly – Seniors
This Friday is our Senior (Year 4-6) assembly at 2.15pm. We will be handing out Botany Best awards, and Values Bookmarks to the following Year 4-6 students. This week’s assembly item will be Kauri, Room 26, and the choir. All whānau are welcome to attend.
Our BDS Capabilities
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Jasgun Mavi, Acen Wu, Sakura Erskine, Dean Sun, Eva Liu, Minnie Zhao, Leo Minto, Chloe Jack, Emily Green, Matthew Samuriwo, Nancy Mao, Skyla McCallister-Lee, Daisy Wu, Luke Buckley, Ariel Wang, Micah Harrison, Adam Hamayun, Rex Zhao, Sophie Chen, Troy Viljoen & Angela Chen.
Our BDS Values
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our Value of Responsibility / Kaitiakitanga: Zachary Bradbury, Arzoyi Arora, Daniel He, Connor Swanepoel, Darcey McCrindle, Amylee Meile, Saane Fifita, Naoki Yamagata, Varya Govender, Jasmine Yip, Jamal Anthony, Carlo Larita, Tiffany Qu, Louis Hunter, Laurayne Soafa, Cherry Nguyen, Quintus Wang, Joy Qu, Oliver Wu, Kai Du Plessis, & Zean 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)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Maori
Portuguese
Russian
Samoan
Spanish
Thai
