Newsletter Week 2 Term 4 2026 – Botany Downs Primary

Week 2, Term 4 2026

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

What a fantastic start to the new term last week.

I want to extend a huge thank you to our incredible PTA team for their amazing efforts organising Monday morning’s bake sale.

The time, energy, and enthusiasm you put into bringing our school community together, and raising funds for our students, is deeply appreciated. From coordinating the event to managing the busy tables, your hard work behind the scenes made the morning a huge success and so much yummy fun.

Parents and BDS Whānau, whether you spent time baking in the kitchen, donating treats, or stopping by to buy something yummy, we appreciate every single one of you. Your enthusiasm and support make events like this possible and directly benefit our school and your tamariki.

We are so excited to let you know that work on our new playground is well underway. Things are moving quickly, and we anticipate it will be fully completed and ready for our tamariki to enjoy in approximately two weeks.

It is so wonderful to see our tamariki wearing their sun hats and keeping SunSmart as we head into warmer weather.

From Labour Weekend (Term 4). Ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels increase significantly during this time, even on overcast or cloudy days.

To ensure everyone stays safe while enjoying the outdoors:

No Hat, Shade Play: Any child who does not have a sun hat will play safely under our covered canopy area in the shade.
Name Your Hats: Please make sure your child’s hat is clearly labelled with their full name so it can be easily returned if misplaced.

Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping our tamariki safe in the sun.

Ngā mihi nui

Vicki Parkins

Principal/Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)

Coming Up @ BDS

Week 2

Wednesday 21st Oct – NZ Shake out

Thurs 22nd Oct – Senior Athletics / no practice for Weetbix Tryathlon this day

Fri 23 Oct – Teacher Only Day. School is closed

Mon 26 Oct – Labour Day (public holiday). School is closed

Wednesday 28th Oct – HPPA Basketball

Wednesday 28th Oct – School Board Meeting

Thursday 29th Oct – HPPA Touch

Monday 2nd Nov – PTA Meeting

Friday 6th Nov – Gumboot Friday

Wed 16 Dec – Last Day of School Term 4. School finishes at 2pm.

SCHOOL NEWS

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our bake sale! We are so grateful to all the families who generously donated a wonderful selection of delicious treats. The students thoroughly enjoyed them, and your support helped make the day a success.

Thank you for supporting our school community!

Congratulations Eleanor Booth

Eleanor aged 10, has achieved her black belt in Hapkido, a Korean martial art, after around four years of training.

We’re incredibly proud of all the hard work and dedication she’s put in to get here. It’s been amazing watching her grow in confidence and develop her skills over the years. Achieving her black belt is a huge milestone!

Policies and Procedures – SchoolDocs 2026 Term 4 Review

SchoolDocs provides a comprehensive core set of policies and procedures that are tailored to the needs of Botany Downs School. SchoolDocs updates, modifies and creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools and regular reviews.

Our SchoolDocs policies and procedures can be found via our school website on the link below:

Policies and Procedures – School Documents

If you would like to participate in reviewing the policies, please follow the instructions below.

Visit the website https://botanydowns.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
Enter the username (botanydowns) and password (best).
Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
Read the policy.
Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
Select the reviewer type.
Enter your name (optional).
Follow the prompts to show that you’ve read the topic and enter your feedback if you’d like to comment.
Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.

For Term 4 the following policies relate to Learning Support and are up for review:

Curriculum and Student Achievement Policy
Reporting about Student Progress and Achievement
Learning Support
Maori educational Achievement
Health Curriculum
Privacy Policy

Mark Insley

Deputy Principal

marki@botanydowns.school.nz

Important Dates to Remember

End of Term Dismissal – Wednesday, 16 December: School will finish at 2:00pm on Wednesday, 16 December. (Please note this updated time—school will conclude at 2:00pm instead of 12:00pm due to the new Ministry of Education requirements).

Please note there is no training this week for the Weetbix Tryathlon

http://raceroster.com/events/2026/139448/south-auckland-weet-bix-kids-tryathlon-2026/register?team=1050966

Secondhand Uniform email address

Due to popular demand we have now set up a second hand uniform email address.
We only have limited stock and sizes available. If you require any second hand items please use
this email address: secondhanduniform@botanydowns.school.nz and put your child’s name,

room number, their size and the items you are looking for.

Enrol Now If Your Child Turns 5 in 2026 or 2027!

We are currently planning classes and staffing for 2027. To ensure we have accurate numbers of our Year 0 and Year 1 learners, we ask you to please contact the school office for enrolment information.

Thank you for your support in ensuring we can have a smooth transition to BDS!

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

Storylines Story Sparks Writing and Illustration Workshops are happening in Ellerslie on Saturday 31 October as part of the Storylines Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland Story Tour.

These fun, hands-on workshops give young writers and illustrators the opportunity to explore their creativity, develop new skills and learn from talented authors and illustrators from Aotearoa New Zealand. Choose from four creative workshops below.

????️ Places are limited, and bookings are essential.