Newsletter – Week 4, Term 2 2025 – Botany Downs Primary School

Week 4, Term 2, 2025

Tēnā koutou te whānau,

Class and individual photos will be taken on Wednesday 21 May, and sibling photos will be taken on Thursday 22 May.

Please ensure your child is wearing the correct winter uniform on both days. This includes black socks and black shoes/sandals.

School photos are a wonderful way to capture a moment in time and create a lasting record of your child’s school journey.

We kindly ask that our BDS whānau avoid parking across our neighbours’ driveways during drop-off and pick-up times. Our neighbours have shared concerns about being blocked in, which can be frustrating and disruptive. Let us work together to show courtesy and respect, helping to keep things safe and smooth for everyone in our school community. Thank you for your continued support.

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

Coming Up @BDS

Wed 21 May – PhotoLife class photos
Thurs 22 May – PhotoLife sibling photos
Fri 23 May – Interschool Rugby
Fri 30 May – Teacher Only Day
Mon 2 June – King’s Birthday (public holiday)
Tues 3 Jun – Interschool Hockey
Wed 4 Jun – PTA Jester’s Pie day
Fri 6 Jun – Interschool Rugby
Mon 9 Jun – PTA meeting, 7.00 p.m
Tues 10 Jun – Yr 4 Tip Top visit: Room19 & Room 17
Wed 11 Jun – Yr 4 Tip Top visit: Room18 & Room 20
Thurs 12 Jun – Soccer competitive day
Fri 13 Jun – No Uniform day / Soccer competitive day
Fri 13 Jun – World Vision 40 Hour Challenge begins

Reminder – Teacher Only Day

A reminder that we have a scheduled Teacher Only Day on Friday 30 May. If you need to arrange care for your child, sKids will be open on that day – please contact Wayne Johnson to book in: botanydowns@skids.co.nz or phone 021-616-513.

SCHOOL NEWS

Pink Shirt Day – Thank You!

Thank you to all of you who purchased a cupcake on Friday for Pink Shirt Day. The House leaders did a great job making the delicious cupcakes and we raised $268 for the Mental Health Foundation.

PTA Notices…

Whittaker’s Chocolate Fundraiser:
A big thank you to everyone who has already sold their box of chocolates and returned the payment, your support is greatly appreciated. The PTA is busy processing payments and organising additional box requests.

Each box contains 36 bars, sold at $2.50 each, totaling $90 per box. If you’re unable to sell your chocolates, please return the box as soon as possible so it can be passed on to another family.

Please ensure payment and the completed slip (included in the box) are returned by Thursday 29th May.

Keen to help even more? You can request an additional box by indicating this on the form.

Thank you for your ongoing support — every sale makes a difference for our school community.

School Assembly

We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9.10 am. We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks. This week our assembly item will be from Year 3 – Room 28.

Our Values

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown our focus value of Responsibility / Kaitiakitanga: Elijah Jooste, Selina Wong, Abby Bi, William McClintock, Majeztic Tumanako, Daniel Hollins, Kaius Oti, Thishen Gunasekara, Krystal Chen, Ryker McCallister-Lee, Keileb Dell, Mac He, Jax Bloem, Finn O’Neill, Oliver De Bruin, Jia Zhang, Adalyn Cox, Lisa Huang, Judi Tbakhi, Nathan Christians, Lachlan Marck, Nina Phanwa, Jordan Claasen & Tavis Lee.

Our Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Jason Van Wyk, Christiaan Meyer, Suzanna Kamakorewa, Titus Parsons, Anaisha Sharma, Caityn Grisselle, Cayden Chan, Landon Broodryk, Isher Singh, Stevie Lawrenson, Alice Chen, Nella Ranchhod, Chloe Jack, Grant Leslie, Xiyue Wang, Ethan Luo, Cordelia Prentice, Aaryan Verma, Oscar Wong, Samantha Tokai, Neville Arora, Austin Broodryk, Nelson Wang, Han Lin Hong & Mia Cajayon.

House Cup Competition

The winning house this week was Sheppard again – well done! This week Room 16 has the cup:

Fun & Learning @ BDS

Year 1: Room 7 had an opportunity to explore What the Tide Brings In through looking, touching, feeling, and sharing their ideas.

The Sea Onion is prickly.

The crab feels like it is pinching me.

The feather tickles my face.

I can see a honeycomb.

The Shells are soft on the inside and hard on the outside.

I can hear the whales.

Year 5: Room 15 learned about the importance of Pink Shirt Day, working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness. We got creative and added our flair to create unique designs for the official t-shirt.

Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!

Children Turning Five – Enrolment

If your child is turning five before June 2025 please ensure you
enrol them as soon as possible.

We are planning for classes and teachers into 2025 and this is made much easier if we have accurate numbers of new entrants even as far ahead as the middle of next year! Thank you.

Please collect your enrolment pack from the office, or email office@botanydowns.school.nz

Joanne Hughson DP/SENCo – Year 0-3 (joanneh@botanydowns.school.nz)

LIBRARY NEWS

Celebrating NZ Books in NZ Music Month