Newsletter Week 6 Term 3 2026 – Botany Downs Primary School

Week 6, Term 3 2026

Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,

A huge congratulations to our amazing tamariki who represented our school at the HPPA (Howick Pakuranga Principals’ Association) Gymnastics Competition. We are so proud of the enthusiasm, determination and skill they showed throughout the competition. We have photos below in the newsletter.

A special thank you to Miss Liu and Miss Young for the many lunchtime coaching sessions, encouragement and excellent organisation that made this opportunity possible for our students.

We are also very excited to see our new gymnastics leotards in action. A huge thank you to our PTA for fundraising to help make these possible. They look fantastic and certainly added to the team spirit.

If you use Facebook, the PTA (Parent and Teachers Association) regularly shares updates that complement the PTA Botany Bulletin that is emailed to you. It’s a great place to keep up to date with important dates, upcoming events and all the wonderful things our PTA is doing to support our school.

Ngā mihi nui

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

Coming Up @ BDS

Wed 26 Aug – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Fri 28 Aug – Daffodil 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
Week 9 – Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Tues 15 Sept – HPPA Mathex
Wed 16 Sept – PTA Jester’s Pie Day
Thurs 17 Sept – HPPA Mandarin Speech Competition

SCHOOL NEWS

HPPA Gymnastics

Last week, 28 students represented Botany Downs Primary at the HPPA Gymnastics Competition. The students trained hard leading up to the competition and did a fantastic job on the day. We were proud to see several students place in their events. We also debuted our stunning new gymnastics leotards, a big thank you to Karen Pitcaithly for organising these, as well as our PTA and the students who helped fundraise to make them possible. Well done to all our gymnasts!

Individual Results:

Year 3
Girls

Year 3
Boys

Year 4
Girls

Year 5
Girls

Year 6
Girls

Yunxiao Yan 2nd place

Fraser Shadbolt 2nd place

Christiaan Meyer 5th place

Lincoln Takaiti 7th place

Cassia Griselle and Rylee Thompson 7th place

Lexi Tsai 7th place

Eleanor Booth 8th place

Sophie Klee 5th place

Team Results:

Year 3 Girls	Year 3 Boys	Year 5 Girls
2nd place – Yunxiao Yan, April Adams, Hazel McNeill and Newyear Lealamanua	1st place – Fraser Shadbolt, Christiaan Meyer, Lincoln Takaiti and Liam O’Neill	3rd place – Lexi Tsai, Eleanor Booth, Charlotte Pitcaithly and Whitney Chan

Room 4 – Math Meets Art in Year 2!

Our Room 4, Year 2 mathematicians have been blending creativity with fractions to construct these incredible fraction robots! Using halves, quarters, and eighths, the students carefully divided, colored, and assembled geometric shapes to bring their colorful creations to life. It was a fantastic hands-on way to explore how equal parts make a whole while showcasing our class’s amazing artistic flair. Be sure to check out our vibrant display wall next time you pop by the classroom!

Weet-bix TRYathlon

The Weet-Bix TRYathlon is happening again this year. It is being held at Mountford park in Manurewa on November 24th. This is an opportunity for your child to try a triathlon. They get to swim, bike and run in a fun supportive environment. It is open for 6 year olds to 11 year olds. As long as you have a bike and can get your child to Manurewa you can enter.

Click on the link to join the school team.

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

Daffodil Day Friday 28 August

Friday is Daffodil Day. The House Leaders will be selling daffodil stickers before school, outside the hall. Please bring a gold coin to support this very worthwhile cause. Daffodil Day is the Cancer Society’s most important fundraiser. The money raised is used to support patients with cancer and their families.

PTA Notices…

Father’s Day Morning – Friday 4th September:
Celebrating the Special Men in Our School Community | 8:00–9:00am | Under the Junior Canopy

We would love to invite the special men in our school community to join us for a relaxed morning together. Come along and enjoy a hot drink and a bite to eat while catching up with other dads, fathers, grandads and male caregivers. To make the morning extra special, everyone who attends will go into the draw to win one of two $50 Bunnings vouchers, generously provided by the PTA.

Please note: Food and drinks will be provided for fathers and male caregivers.

PTA School Disco – Welcome to the Jungle!
It’s time to get wild! Our Botany Downs School PTA Disco is back on Friday 11th September, and this year we’re heading into the jungle. Get ready for an evening of music, dancing, fun and plenty of jungle-inspired excitement.

Years 0–3: 5.30–6.30pm
Years 4–6: 7.00–8.30pm

Tickets: $6 per student via Kindo, or $7 at the door on the night

Make things easy by purchasing prepaid vouchers through Kindo, available in $4, $6, $8 and $10 amounts. Vouchers can be used to purchase food, drinks and treats during the disco for just $2 per item. Additional vouchers can also be purchased on the night, however, there will be no cash sales inside the hall.

Kindo sales close Monday 7th September, so make sure you get your child’s tickets and vouchers sorted before then.

Dollar for Schools:
Order delicious fresh lunches for your child delivered directly to their classroom from St Pierre’s Sushi (Wednesdays) and Domino’s Pizza (Fridays) $1 from every order goes to our school. Register and order at www.dollarforschools.co.nz. Order online by 9am same day delivery.

School Assembly

We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 2.10pm. We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks. This week’s items will be from Tītoki Year 4 Room 20 and Tōtara Year 5 Room 23. All whānau are welcome to attend.

Our BDS Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Han Lin Hong, Bianca Zhang, Malika Wineera-Selwyn, Jude Al-Khazraji, Hannah Jung, Noah Ellis, Leo Tong, Carol Ma, Carter Limu, Micah Harrison, Lucas Pope, Aaryan Verma, Jannat Jaidka, Ryleigh Herbert, Louie Takaiti-Kerr, Ella Chan, Ava Krishna, Zane Williams, Nazem Almayah, Caityn Grisselle, Grace Ren, Reshitha Perera, Zoe Neemia, Grayson Visser & Jayson Holmes.

Our BDS Values

Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our Value of Relationships – Whanaungatanga: Makarios Tufue, JB Fajardo, Danika Naude’, Tyler Bernard, Ella Blake, Elaina He, Wilde Li, Whitney Chan, Kiaan Kapadia, Mene’ Nel, JY2 Fajardo, Krystal Chen, Benie Kazaroho, Harley Hine, Azhaan Laghari, Oliver Jones, Zakaria Hamayun, Esther Ong, Archie Brown, Theodore Salomon, Junior Taeiloa, Riley Hughes, Christiaan Meyer, Dhrishiv Katal & Keren Muruganathan.

Enrol Now If Your Child Turns 5 in 2026!

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)