Newsletter – Week 9, Term 3 2025

                                         Week 9, Term 3, 2025

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

At the start of Term 4, we are delighted to welcome back Eve Carson from maternity leave. She will be teaching in Room 18. We would like to thank Katy Brown, who has taught in Room 18 throughout the year, and Tanya Jacobs, who joined the class in Term 3. Their dedication and care have been greatly appreciated, and our tamariki have been fortunate to learn from such experienced teachers.

We love seeing tamariki enjoying the playgrounds after school. Just a reminder that they do need to be supervised by a parent or caregiver during this time to help keep everyone safe.  

We also kindly remind whānau to ensure children bring only the essentials they need for learning each day. We strongly recommend that children do not bring key chains or toys to school, as these can be distracting in the classroom and may be easily lost or broken. Thank you for your support in helping us keep our school environment focused, safe, and positive for all tamariki.

A huge thank you to our wonderful PTA (Parents and Teachers Association) for their energy and generosity in providing a delicious breakfast for our fathers and the special men in the lives of our tamariki. This event was very well attended and much appreciated by our school community.

We would also like to thank Miss Liu and Miss Young for coaching our gymnastics team, and Miss Young and Mr Insley for transporting our tamariki to the gymnastics competition. Our students represented BDS with confidence and enthusiasm making us very proud.

We also held our Junior Cross Country, superbly organised by Mrs Holmes and Miss Chand. It was great to see our tamariki trying their best and having fun, and wonderful to have so many of our BDS whānau there to cheer them on.

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

Coming Up @ BDS

Wed 10 Sept – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 11 Sept – Year 2 Kōwhai Trip to Howick Historical Village
Fri 12 Sept – PTA School Disco
Thurs 18 Sept – HPPA Chinese Speech Competition
Thurs 18 Sept – Visual Arts Evening
Fri 19 Sept – Last Day of Term 3

Mon 6 Oct – First Day of Term 4
Fri 17 Oct – No Uniform Day
Wed 22 Oct – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 23 Oct – Senior School Athletics Day
Fri 24 Oct – Teacher Only Day
Mon 27 Oct – Labour Day (public holiday)

SCHOOL NEWS

Junior School Cross Country

We were lucky to have a beautiful day to run our Junior Cross Country on Thursday last week.  Thank you to all whānau who came and supported our tamariki. Congratulations to all our runners for doing your Botany Best.

Tri Star Gymnastics Competition 

On Thursday 4th September, 14 gymnasts competed in the Champ of Champs Competition in Mt Roskill. The students showed great determination, encouraging one another and performing with pride. A special congratulations to Huntr Bishton, who achieved 3rd place in the Year 6 boys category, competing against more than 60 of Auckland’s top gymnasts. Ka pai!

Chinese Speech Competition 

Congratulations and tino pai to our tamariki who took part in the Chinese Speech Competition!

Last Thursday we held our School Chinese Speech Finals. Our tamariki showed amazing confidence, resilience, and passion in their speeches, and we are so proud of the effort and courage shown by all our speakers. 

A big thank you to our judges –  Daphne Tam, Ellie Wang, and Miss Liu –  who had the very tough job of choosing the winners. 

Congratulations to all our contestants and thank you to our presenters: Nora Khong and Jennifer Wu, and musicians: Vito Feng, Angela Wang, and Jon Wu. 

Cantonese Speech Finalists:
1st place – Kacey Wang
2nd place – Memphis Kwok

Mandarin Speech Finalists:
1st place equal – Rafa Zhao and Lucas Chen
3rd place – Sophia Wang

Ka rawe tamariki mā – you have shown true resilience and are shining examples of our school values!

PTA Notices

School Assembly

We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9:10am. We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks. This week our items will be from Year 1 Rimu  Room 6, and the BDS Orchestra.

Our Values

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown our focus value Respect Manaakitanga: Jason Van Wyk, Tiara Mathewson, Amelia Mun, Archie Brown, Hayley Bauer, Amara Pavadia, Victor Phanwa, Joseph Maifea, Vick Feng, Joshua Chuah, Charlotte Pitchcaithly, Madison Else, Selina Mulipola, Rhythm Sharma, Liam Oostendorp, Yara El Chami, Advik Advik, Mia Jack, Vivaan Sharma, Lance Miguel, Harley Key, Vincent Liu, Hannah Binning, Han Lin Hong & Blake Sills.

Our Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Newyear Lealamanua, Selina Wong, Fraser Shadbolt, Jeson Wang, Damon Chen, Nazem Alymayah, Hosanna John, Kayden Tseng, Zyad Bshennaty, Juping Qi, Anton Birchler, Charlotte Walsh, Ela Uguz, Carter Limu, Logan Hunter, Gus Mccrindle, Rowena Luo, Claire Zhou, Raewyn Bua, Ayden Sharp, Rosie Chin, Isabella Liang, Mira Ong, Corwin Zhang, Makarios Tufue & Finn Roosenbrand.

Fun & Learning @ BDS

Year 0 Rimu, Room 10: The students of Room 10 have been enjoying the new Junior Playground! There are so many new challenges to try and imaginative places to play! We just love it! 

Student Successes…

Congratulations to Oscar for his outstanding achievements in swimming this year! At the recent Auckland & Northland Short Course Swimming Championships, Oscar proudly brought home a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke and placed 4th in the 200m backstroke for 11-year-old boys.

That’s not all—over the past few months, Oscar has also shone at several regional meets, including the Auckland Junior Championships, Swimming NZ Junior Festival, and the Golden Home Swimfest, where he collected an impressive haul of silver and bronze medals across multiple backstroke and freestyle events.

Oscar’s dedication and talent were also recognised at his swim club, where he received a special award at the HPK Club Champs. We are so proud of your hard work and commitment, Oscar—well done!

Piano Practical Exams:

NZ Modern School of Music held their annual practical exams in Parnell recently and the following piano pupils of Glenda C (relieved by Esther C), received wonderful results:

Chevy Davis: Initial Piano – Honours 
Andrew Liang: Preliminary Piano – Distinction 
Louis Hunter: Preliminary Piano – Honours
WYynand Bloem: Preliminary Piano – Honours

Congratulations to all pupils for their amazing efforts and hard work – keep it up! 

Enrol Now if Your Child Turns 5 Before April 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)

LIBRARY NEWS

COMMUNITY NOTICES

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