Newsletter – Week 8, Term 4 2025

                                         Week 8 Term 4, 2025

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

We are certainly enjoying this beautiful weather. Our tamariki are making the most of our field, playground, gaga pit, and sandpit, and there is lots of sporty fun happening on the field.

As we begin preparing class numbers for 2026, please let us know if your child will not be returning next year. This helps us with our planning and organisation.

If you have any friends, neighbours, or 5-year-olds who are due to start at BDS in 2026, please encourage them to get in touch with the office. Early enrolments are incredibly helpful for our planning.

Our students had a fantastic day at the HPPA (Howick and Pakuranga Principals’ Association) Athletics event, achieving some great results and showing wonderful sportsmanship throughout. A big thank you to Mrs Jeffs for her organisation, and to Mr Insley and Mrs Stewart for supporting our students at the high jump.

Our tamariki truly showed their Botany Best. We are very proud of them.

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

Coming Up @ BDS

Wed 26 Nov – Junior Athletics Day
Fri 28 Nov – No Uniform Day: Festive Fun Theme – Charity Food Drive
Mon 1 Dec – Whānau Helpers Morning Tea, 10.30am
Wed 3 Dec – PTA Jester’s Pie Day

Wed 17 Dec – Last Day of Term 4: School Closes at 12.00pm

End Of Year Important Dates

Thurs 4 Dec  – Rimu Team Year 0/1 Celebration, 9.15am
Mon 8 Dec – Rimu Team Year 0/1 Big Day In
Tues 9 Dec – Kōwhai Team Year 2 & Pōhutukawa Team Year 3 Prizegiving, 9.15am
Wed 10 Dec – Kōwhai Team Year 2 Big Day In
Wed 10 Dec – Tītoki Team Year 4 & Tōtara Team Year 5 Prizegiving, 9.15am
Thurs 11 Dec – Pōhutukawa Team Year 3 & Tītoki Team Year 4 Big Day In
Fri 12 Dec – Kauri Team Year 6 Prizegiving / Graduation, 9.15am
Mon 15 Dec – Kauri Team Year 6 Big Day In
Tues 16 Dec – Tōtara Team Year 5 Big Day In

Students Who Arrive Early To School
– Before 8.30am

A reminder about morning drop-offs

If at all possible, please do not send children to school before 8.30am, as school grounds do not open until this time.  

Please note that due to renovations currently taking place in our school hall, the hall deck is out of bounds. If you do need to drop your child off early (before 8.30am), children must now go to the green netball court under the canopy, located between Year 4 (Tītokī) and Room 3.

Thank you for your support.

Mark Insley, Deputy Principal (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)

Whānau Helpers Morning Tea Invitation

Last week, invitations were sent home to thank our wonderful BDS Whānau Helpers for their support throughout the year — whether in classrooms, on trips, with choir and orchestra, at camps, in sports, on road patrol, at cultural events, helping in the gardens, or as part of our PTA and School Board.

Please check your child’s school bag for your invitation,
and remember to RSVP for catering – thank you!

Yearbook / School Magazine 2025!  

This year’s yearbook planning is well underway and we are super excited to announce it will be even bigger and better than previous years. Full colour memories! It’s a FABULOUS memory of the year and your child will love reading it and looking at pictures in years to come.

Purchase TODAY via Kindo or eftpos at the office.
Only $20 for a new and improved 2025 yearbook!

Please pay by Wednesday 26th November (tomorrow). 

SCHOOL NEWS

Order your child’s 2026 stationery here: myschool.co.nz

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

With the end of the year fast approaching, this is an update on BYOD for Year 3-6 students and whānau.

Thank you to those who were able to attend the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) meeting.
If you were unable to attend, I have sent you the presentation to review.

Current Pōhutukawa Year 3 Parents:  Next year, Tītoki Year 4 students are welcome to bring their own devices to school.

Current Tītoki Year 4 and Tōtara Year 5 Parents:  There is nothing you need to do at this stage. Your child’s school account will automatically roll over to the next school year. If your child did not bring a device in 2025 and you are considering BYOD for 2026, the information in the presentation will be helpful.

Current Kauri Year 6 Parents:  As Kauri Year 6 students graduate, their school accounts will be suspended and deleted. The Kauri Year 6 teachers will support students through the Google Takeout process so they can transfer their files to a personal account.

Ngā mihi,
Sojung Yoon,  BYOD Coordinator (sojungy@botanydowns.school.nz)

Junior Athletics

A reminder that our Junior Athletics event will be held this Wednesday 26th November for all Junior Students (Years 0–3).

Student requirements:
Students are to come to school in full PE uniform, which includes their house PE shirt, shorts, running shoes and school hat (Year 0 students may wear a top in their house colour if they do not yet have a PE uniform.) A school jumper or fleece may also be required. Please ensure your child brings a water bottle and a substantial lunch for the day. 

Programme:
The first rotation will begin promptly at 9:00am, with subsequent activities to follow.

Whānau attendance:
We warmly welcome parents and caregivers to attend. Your support is greatly valued. We do ask that all supporters remain clear of the running lanes to ensure the smooth running of events.

HPPA Athletics

On Friday Mrs Jeffs, Mrs Stewart and Mr Insley took a group of 48 Year 4, 5, and 6 students to compete in the HPPA Athletics Day at Lloyd Elsmore. It was a fantastic day with everyone trying their Botany Best and we came away with some awesome results. 

Summer Reading – Register NOW!

After a successful Summer Reading programme last year, we are excited to offer this opportunity once again for our students. 

• For BDS students in Years 0/1-5 only. Students must be returning to BDS in 2026.
• By giving permission to take part, parents agree to ensure books are cared for and returned in the first week of Term 1 2026.
• Parents/caregivers also agree to reimburse the school for any lost or damaged books.
• Only students who have had a form signed are able to borrow books. Borrowing will be available in Weeks 9 & 10.
• Registered students will be able to borrow up to 10 library books for the summer.

Why sign up for Summer Reading? The best way to improve literacy skills is to keep practising them. This is particularly important over the long summer holidays and helps keep students reading levels up. Plus, it is a fun thing to do!

Developing a love of reading for pleasure helps to improve wellbeing, develops empathy, builds focus and stamina, builds vocabulary and general knowledge, and encourages curiosity and imagination (key factors in innovation and problem-solving skills). 

If you would like your child to borrow school library books over the summer, please complete and submit this form:

Summer Reading – Register Here!

Fun & Learning @ BDS

Rimu Team Year 1, Room 9: We read the story Grey Glasses-Itis. The book taught us that sometimes our feelings can make the world look grey and gloomy. We talked about how we can change our “glasses” to see things in a happy and colourful way. 

Each child chose their own bright, colourful glasses to wear and shared how they felt when they put them on – happy, excited, relaxed, or creative! It was so much fun seeing the world in rainbow colours.

Kauri Team Year 6, Room 25: Cultural Dress Day was a colourful celebration for our rūma 25! We teamed up with our buddy class for a lively game of Two Truths and a Lie – with a cultural twist. Our tamariki shared fascinating facts about their heritage, from traditional foods to special customs, while everyone else tried to spot the sneaky lie.

There was plenty of laughter, learning, and “aha!” moments as we explored cultures from all around the world. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our diversity and strengthen our connection with our buddies!

School Assembly

We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9.10 am. We will be presenting our Principals’ Awards for Term 4.

Our BDS Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities:  Rona Walters, Tiara Mathewson, Otto Ward, Aiden Piladuwa Madduma Bogahawattage, Caityn Grisselle, Vincent Wang, Megna Swaraj, Noah Wei, Eason Han, Nyrah Chand, Louie Takaiti-Kerr, Alisa Yang, Aashvi Singh, Charlie Pirie, Louis Hunter, Ryder Yang, Taye Yon, Jonathan He, Braxton Sills, Alice Wang, Anika Du Preez, Jenna Van Zyl, Mila Biddick, Jeremiah John, Liam Oostendorp, Roxas Eason, Zean Wang, Zoya Khan, Adalyn Cox, Charlie Gao, Aidan Sameer, Ezra Boyter, Isaac Su’a, David-Lee Bezuidenhout, Leo Han, Memphis Kwok, Ethan Du, Hugo Liang, Veilomani Eliesa & Datis Bassam.

Our BDS Values

Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our Value of Resilience – Manawanui: Dhrishiv Katal, Jorawar Singh, Daniel-Ezekiel Turner, Jireh John, Amara Pavadia, Parris-Praise Singh, Corbyn Grainger, Thea Smith, Wimarie Key, Max Harlum, Ali Moshtagh Askari, Dillon Jardine-Trail, Antonio Vatuvei, Yunyi Yan, Willow Cox, Nathan Zhu, Connor Rudman, Kainan Wang, Kyle Forrest, Ayla Mii, Tina Tian, Mary Manu, Alofa Vaolele, Rex Zhao, Skylah Hubbard, Kiaan Kapadia, Jayden Bischoff, Jasmine Wu, Shane Hwang, Abraham Atoa, Tiana Parsons, Kadu Kunde Pinheiro, Elizabeth Valentine, Ahana Ahana, Aaron Qu & Luca Takaiti-Kerr.

PTA Notices…

Friday 28th November – No Uniform Day – Festive Fun – Charity Food Drive: 
We’re excited to host a Festive Fun No Uniform Day on Friday 28th November.  Students are welcome to wear their favourite festive outfits—bright summery shirts, themed clothing, reindeer antlers, or anything that shows their seasonal spirit.

Instead of a gold coin, we ask each child to bring a canned or non-perishable food item to donate. Baked beans, spaghetti, and canned fruit are especially needed. All donations will go to the All Saints Food Bank in Howick to support local families. Please make sure items have at least 3 months left before their use-by date. Donations can be dropped off outside the staffroom between 8.30am and 8.55am.

We look forward to seeing everyone’s festive outfits and supporting our community together!

Calendar Art:
Thank you so much for all of your Calendar Art orders. The response has been fantastic and we’ve had great feedback. We’ve also had a number of families asking for extra items or letting us know they missed the first order window. To make things easy for everyone, we are opening one final short order period to include all remaining requests.

Orders close 11:59pm Monday 1st December – with no extensions.

Follow these instructions to place your order online:

1. Go to www.kidsartworks.com
2. Use the Entrance Code: KZ791
3. Enter your child’s room & name when prompted

Fruju Fridays – kindly supported by Pak’nSave Highland Park!

Fruju Fridays are up and running every Friday until the end of term! Come and buy your Fruju $2 or icepop $1 outside the staffroom from 3pm.  Pay in cash or via Kindo.

 

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

Please make sure all your library books
are returned to the library this week!

COMMUNITY NOTICES

HJ Elite Academy –
Holiday Soccer Development Programme

 Registration is now open! 

Looking for a fun and active way to keep the kids engaged, entertained, and learning during the school holidays? Join our Holiday Soccer Development Programme!

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