Newsletter – Week 7, Term 2 2026

                                   Week 7, Term 2 2026   

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

Whaowhia te kete mātauranga – Fill the basket of knowledge.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Hayley Jeon to the Year 0/1 team and Heather Kamsteeg to our teacher aide team: we wish you both all the best at Botany Downs School and are excited to have you both on these teams.

Thank you to our community and whānau for taking part in our recent surveys. The feedback we receive gives us valuable insights into how we can improve teaching and learning for our ākonga.

You will have noticed the scaffolding and fencing has been removed from our school hall. This week we are having air conditioning installed which means we will very soon have the hall back for use.

The Botany Downs School Little Library box is located just outside the school’s front gates:

• Children can donate, take or swap a book.
• Only children’s books from home can be used in this box please. 
• Please also ensure no school library books are placed in it.

Mark Insley
Acting Principal/Tumuaki (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)

Coming Up @ BDS

Wed 3 Jun – Kauri Yr 6 Stardome Trip (2 classes) / Hockey Fun Day
Fri 5 Jun – No Uniform Day / HPPA Rugby Day 2
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
Fri 19 Jun – Sun 21 Jun – World Vision 40 Hour Challenge
Mon 22 Jun – Pōhutukawa Yr 3 Stardome Trip
Wed 24 Jun – HPPA Soccer Day 1
Thurs 25 Jun – HPPA Soccer Day 2
Wed 1 Jul – PhotoLife Class and Individual Photos
Thurs 2 Jul – PhotoLife Sibling Photos
Fri 3 Jul – Matariki Morning / LAST DAY OF TERM 2

SCHOOL NEWS

Scholastic Book Club – Issue 4

Brochures for the latest Scholastic Book Club will be coming home tomorrow. Filled with a wide range of popular books for all ages and interests, they are a great way to support your child’s literacy development. Every purchase helps the school to provide books and resources for the classroom and library – thank you!

Orders will close: at 3.00pm on Friday 12 June.

Please note orders and payments are preferred via Loop – the Scholastic Book Club app:
Loop – Scholastic Book Club ordering

World Vision 40 Hour Challenge

This is it whānau! It’s that time of year when youth across Aotearoa come together for The World Vision 40 Hour Challenge – happening from June 19th-21st 2026.

We’re challenging you to go offline for 40 hours and raise funds so children in Solomon Islands can get the nutritious food they need. Whether it’s no phone, gaming, social media, or even power. You get to choose what you’ll do and how you’ll do it.

Step away from screens. Step up for real change. 

Girls Football

Over the past two Wednesdays Mr Wakerley and Mrs Jeffs took our Competitive Girls to the HPPA competition.  They had lots of fun and scored lots of goals, finishing on a high with both teams winning their last games 1-0. 

PTA Reminder…

Sushi and Pizza lunch orders available every week –

Order a tasty lunch for your child at www.dollarforschools.co.nz: 

St Pierres Sushi is available every Wednesday and Domino’s Pizza every Friday. 

Remember: $1 from every order goes directly 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 16. We will also be handing out our Chess certificates. All whānau are welcome to attend. 

Our BDS Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Blake Sills, Ryan Hu, Navya Kumar, Arzoyi Arora, Minji Kim, Thevindu Manikkuwadura, Hunter Collins-Preiss, Ilaisaane Fifita, Azalea Ngo, Nathan Zhu, Zahara Williams, Taika Murray, Ilaisaane Faletau, Ethan Symons, Abdullah Farooq, Beau Scott, Yasser El Chami, Lieol Strickland, Mene’ Nel, Isabella Mackay, Oliver Aye, Zoya Khan, Zerahiah Turner & Aryan Karthick.

Our BDS Values

Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our Value of Resilience / Manawanui: Elizabeth Ilalio, Corwin Zhang, Jack Berkett, Erik Hu, Andrew Chan, Odi Hika (Puke), Aaron Qu, Veilomani Eliesa, Jonathan He, Rosanna Siew, Warren-Leigh Paul, Jiaying Lin, Hannah Shadbolt, Selina Mulipola, Eleanor Booth, Jacky Liu, Skylah Hubbard, Zayne Van Niekerk, Adam Hamayun, Francis Sekona, Farah Almayah, Lucas Pope, Angela Chen & Elani Venter. 

Enrol Now If Your Child Turns 5 in 2026!

We are currently planning classes and staffing for the remainder of 2026, and having accurate numbers of new entrants — even those starting later in the 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

Talofa! Samoan Language Week

COMMUNITY NOTICES

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