Week 3, Term 3 2026
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
Thank you to everyone for the wonderful acknowledgement during Principal Appreciation Day last week. It was a very special time, and I truly felt so valued and appreciated. It is a real privilege to lead such an amazing school. Every day I have the opportunity to work alongside dedicated staff, wonderful tamariki, supportive whānau, and a committed Board, and I never take that for granted. Thank you for making me feel so valued and appreciated. I am incredibly proud to be part of the Botany Downs School community.
Congratulations and thank you to Katie Smith, Rachael Jeffs, and Sam Jeffs for their outstanding leadership of our Dance Festival. Our talented students represented Botany Downs School with confidence, creativity, and pride at Somerville Intermediate. Their vibrant performances, clever choreography, and bright smiles lit up the stage and brought so much joy to everyone watching. We are so fortunate to have staff who create these memorable opportunities, allowing our tamariki to have such amazing opportunities and to celebrate their talents.
A huge thank you also goes to Rachael Jeffs and her wonderful team for organising our Cross Country so exceptionally well. The event ran smoothly from start to finish, and it was inspiring to see our tamariki proudly demonstrating their Botany Best values as they challenged themselves on the course, encouraged one another, and enthusiastically cheered on their friends. It was a fantastic day that celebrated participation, perseverance, resilience, and school spirit.
Have a great week everyone.
Vicki Parkins
Principal/Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Coming Up @ BDS
Wed 5 Aug – School Board Meeting
Mon 10 Aug ICAS English
Tues 11 Aug – HPPA Cross Country
Mon 17 Aug – ICAS Science
Wed 19 Aug – HPPA Gymnastics
Thurs 20 Aug – HPPA Gymnastics
Fri 21 Aug – Daffodil Day / HPPA Gymnastics
Mon 24 Aug – ICAS Maths
Tues 25 Aug – Netball Fun Day
Wed 26 Aug – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Fri 4 Sept – PTA Fathers’ Day Morning
Fri 4 Sept – HPPA Lit Quiz / Junior Cross Country
Mon 7 Sept – PTA Meeting
Wed 9 Sept – HPPA Netball Day / School Board Meeting
Fri 11 Sept – PTA School Disco
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Students and Parents on Site After School
At 3.00pm, all children must go home. If children are on the school grounds after this time, they must be with and supervised by a parent or caregiver at all times.
Thank you for helping us keep Botany Downs School a
safe and welcoming place for everyone.
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Policies and Procedures – SchoolDocs 2026
Term 3 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 3 the following policies relate to Learning Support and are up for review:
- School Community Engagement Policy
- Inclusive School Culture
- Enrolment
- Student Attendance
- Student Uniform/Student Dress Expectations
- Concerns and Complaints Policy
Mark Insley, Deputy Principal (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Remember to follow us on FaceBook to keep up to date
with all our fun, learning and celebrations!
 BDS page
 BDS PTA page
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Senior Cross Country
Last Thursday we held our Senior School cross country at Millhouse Reserve. It was a beautiful day for running and all our students did a great job and tried their best. Here are the results:
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Senior School Cross County Results
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Year 4 Boys
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Year 5 Boys
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Year 6 Boys
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1st Gabe Jacobs
2nd Blake Sills
3rd Blake Coxen
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1st Vito Feng
2nd Noah Ellis
3rd Xavier Marck
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1st Logan Hunter
2nd Charlie Pirie
3rd Troy Viljoen
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Year 4 Girls
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Year 5 Girls
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Year 6 Girls
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1st Rylee Thompson
2nd Cassia Grisselle
3rd Darcy McCrindle
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1st Violet Liu
2nd Nella Ranchhod
3rd Skyla McCallister-Lee
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1st Ashley Cajayon
2nd Sophie Klee
3rd Cordelia Prentice
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PhotoLife Keycodes
The keycodes to access your child’s photo have been emailed out. Please check your junk, spam, or promotions folders, in case the message was filtered.
Free delivery applies to orders placed before midnight on Sunday, 9 August 2026.
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Fun & Learning @ BDS
Tītoki Year 4: Room 18 has had lots of fun in our specialist class making treehouses! They have also displayed great artistic talent making stunning colour wheels!
Pōhutukawa Year 3: Room 29 has been exploring the fascinating world of Ancient Egypt as part of our Inquiry learning this term. Students created symmetry artwork, carefully imagining and drawing what the other half of their picture would look like. They began by sketching their designs before adding vibrant colours to bring their Ancient Egyptian inspired creations to life.
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Student Success…
Hoor Laghari achieved an outstanding 3rd place nationwide in both the First Round and Grand Final of the SIP Abacus NZ Prodigy Competition, held at The Trusts Arena in Auckland on 19 July.
This fantastic result reflects Hoor’s dedication and hard work. Abacus is a learning method that develops fast mental maths skills while improving concentration, memory, confidence, and problem-solving.
Congratulations Hoor!
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School Assembly
We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 2.15pm. We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks. This week’s item will be from Rimu Year 1 Room 7, and the Cook Island Dance Group. All whānau are welcome to attend.
Our BDS Capabilities
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Corwin Zhang, Blake Coxen, Annieheta John, Baraa Almayah, Agnes Xian, Keileb Dell, Ayeza Zahidani, Brian He, Kezia Muruganathan, Liam Oostendorp, Joy Qu, Krystal Chen, Heiton Fung, AJ Van Niekerk, Olivia Huang, Leshan Wijayaratna, Isabelle Tynan, Mia Gong, Kelly Yu, Thishen Gunasekara, Lennon Wallace, Sunny Sagatea, Nav Kaur, Abby Bi & Boston Bills.
Our BDS Values
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our Value of Relationships – Whanaungatanga: Sarah Tbakhi, Bianca Zhang, Olivia Leaumoana, Mannat Gahunia, Lucas Li, Jaskiran Kaur, Tommy Ma, Yahya Khan, Hanro Stoltz, Movindu Konara Mudiyanselage, Athena-Rose Hamilton, Braxton Bills, Jannat Jaidka, Victoria Gakhovich, Angel Mose, Copper Jack, Mackenzie Joll, Aahan Prasad, Parris-Praise Singh, Jayden Lo, Allen Maifea, Hosanna John, Yifan Zhang, Lucas Bercich & Ayat Arham.
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Enrol Now If Your Child Turns 5 in 2026!
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We are currently planning classes and staffing for the remainder of 2026. To ensure we have accurate numbers of our new entrants— even those starting in 2027— we ask you to please contact the school office for enrolment information. 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)
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Cook Islands Language Week
Kia Orana! We are celebrating Cook Islands Language Week with lots of fabulous books available to borrow and enjoy!
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Scholastic Book Club – Latest Issue!
Orders will close Wednesday 5 August, 3.00pm.
Brochures of the latest Scholastic Book Club will be sent home this week. As ever, it is filled with popular, and engaging books for all ages and interests!
Each purchase not only supports your child’s reading skill development but also helps the school to fund valuable resources for the library and classrooms – thank you!
Orders are preferred online via the Scholastic Loop website: https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz/Parent/Login.aspx
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 Enrolment forms available from the school office
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HJ Elite Academy’s After School Soccer Development Programme is back for Term 3!
Please note: day has changed to Friday!
This fun and engaging programme is designed for both boys and girls who are new to soccer or looking to further develop their existing skills. Our focus is on:
- Recognising and nurturing each child’s individual abilities
- Supporting age-appropriate skill development
- Most importantly, making sure every child enjoys the journey
To register: click here *payment plan available ”
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