Newsletter – Week 8, Term 1, 2022 – Botany Downs Primary School

Kia ora koutou BDS whānau, Week 8, Term 1, 2022

Monday certainly was a wet and stormy start to the week. Thank you to all our drivers who obeyed the road rules and did not park on yellow lines or over driveways so that our tamariki remained safe when coming to school.

We are very pleased to see the increase in the number of students returning to school since the isolation period has been moved to 7 days. We are continuing to have very few positive COVID cases and on Thursday we did not have any. School is the best place for children to learn and socialise so it is great to see so many children at school.

We have been informed that our third canopy will begin completion on April 11. This will be such an asset to our junior area and the amazing turfed playspace underneath will make this a very special place indeed. Further down in the newsletter are photos of our two completed canopies that are already being used on sunny and wet days.

A reminder that parent Interviews are this week with your class teacher and also with our ESOL teacher Mrs Keenan.

Have a good week everyone.

Ngā mihi nui,

Vicki Parkins Principal vickip@botanydowns.school.nz
Mark Insley marki@botanydowns.school.nz
Joanne Hughson joanneh@botanydowns.school.nz

Coming up @ BDS…

Wed 23 Mar – Parent/teacher interviews (online)
Thurs 24 Mar – Parent/teacher interviews (online)
Please note: bookings for Parent Interviews will close at 12.30 pm, Wednesday 23rd March
Thurs 14 Apr – Teacher Only Day
Thurs 14 Apr – Last day of Term 1
Fri 15 Apr – Good Friday (public holiday)
Mon 2 May – First day of Term 2

SCHOOL NEWS

Botany Best & Values Awards

Well done to the following children who will receive their awards on Friday:

Botany Best: Odette Apperley, Oliver de Bruin, Joy-Ellen Tokai, Willow Cox, Charlie Gao, Azalea Ngo, Braxton Sills, Keileb Dell, Gabriel Jin, Baran Amiri, Jess Bredenbeck, Sidney Chai, Kayden Gillespie, Lily Karouso, Indy Clifton, Dana Kim, Luke Chang, Cael Mose, Sariah Hooker-Mason Maanvi Patel, Abigail Harrison & Ziyu Qi.

Values Award: Hannah Shadbolt, Christian Perry, Anthon Song, Ekko Wong, Zinique Du Plessis, Isher Singh, Yasser El Chami, Ethan Luo, Mariam Alwaidh, Skylar Yip, Gloria Wang, Oscar Wong, Tyler Sanders, Angela Ni, Samreet Thind, Pamela Sekona, Emily Su’a, May Shawani, Mila Carr, Harmony Hemi, Annie Li & John Kereama.

Swimming Sports

We will be having a Yr 5-6 swimming sport competition on Monday of week 9. In line with COVID protocols, the students will be swimming at separate times throughout the day and the pool area is outside to allow for sufficient airflow.

Joe D’Ambrosio, joed@botanydowns.school.nz

School Donations

Thank you very much to those who have paid their school donation and activity donation. If you pay your donations before 31 March 2022 you would be entitled to a 33% tax rebate. Payments can be made:

Through kindo/school shop: Botany Downs School Kindo
Using our school bank account: 12 3089 0059300 00
By EFTPOS at the school office

When paying through myKindo, you will see an invitation to ‘amply your donation’. If you do not claim your rebates, we would appreciate you choosing YES to further support our school.

Our New Canopies

It is wonderful to see our students enjoying the cover from the sun and rain provided by the fabulous new canpoies. Work on the remaining canopy space will begin again this term.

Canopy courtyard by Rooms 7, 8 and 11

Canopy courtyard by Rooms 3, 18 and 19

Uniform Footwear

The above photo shows examples of suitable sandals and shoes that can be worn throughout the year.

Shoes are to be worn with black ankle socks for girls or grey with green stripe uniform socks for boys (purchased from John Russell Schoolwear).

Parent Interviews – Online

This term our Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held online on the dates and times below:

Wednesday 23rd March 3.20pm to 5pm
Thursday 24th March 3.20pm to 7.30pm

Please note: bookings for Parent Interviews will close
at 12.30 pm, Wednesday 23rd March.

To book your interview, go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz click ‘Make A Booking’ and enter the event code 8cwhz to access the bookings. You will then need to follow the steps below:

Enter your email address, name, phone number and student’s name.
If you need to book for more than one student, change the ‘Book for x students’ setting and enter the other students name. When booking times for more than one student please leave a 10 minute gap to enable you time to join your next interview.
On the next page, select the teachers you want to meet.
You’ll then see a timetable showing when your chosen teachers are available. Click on the times that suit you.
When you have finished, a confirmation email will be sent to you. You can return to the site and enter the event code above if you need to change or cancel your booking.
If you have any questions about booking please contact our school office.

On the day and time of your Parent Interview you will need to:

Connect by clicking ‘Join video-conference’, which is found on your confirmation email.
Once the online video opens you will need to click ‘Ask to join’. This will put you in a waiting room and the teacher will then let you in for the interview.
When you have finished your Parent Interview click the red phone icon to leave.

We ask that you please join your Parent Interview at your selected time
as early arrivals may cause system errors.

Booking Code: 8cwhz

ESOL Parent Interviews

Thank you to the families who have already registered for an ESOL online parent interview. Mrs Keenan is looking forward to connecting with the parents of students who attend ESOL classes and sharing information about their learning. Please note that you can book an interview with Mrs Keenan and your child’s classroom teacher. If you still need to book in a time please see further details above.

BDS Learning and Fun

Room 14 artists have been looking at one point perspective with our art. We started by doing it with our names to give the effect of our names jumping out of the page. Then we tried something different with a path leading to a different world. We used paint for this piece. We think that the sunset effect in the doorways looks really cool.

Room 25 wonderful writers have been using WOW words to create effect:

In The Night, By Jacob Kong

In the night I hear dogs barking like a fire alarm going off.

In the dark trees rustle like crunching paper into a ball.

I saw cats scratch each other like they were at war.

I felt peaceful in my bed at night.

In The Night, By Kyle Gouws

In the black night the dogs howl.

In the dark, cats scream and scratch like a fork scraping on a chalkboard.

I see the moon’s glow on the sea like waves.

I see a shooting star.

I felt a cat scratching me with its sharp claws.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish… What can I see under the sea?

By Room 3 tamariki

EZ Lunch

Ezlunch is now available for lunch ordering until the end of term on: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Lunches are ordered via the Ezlunch website with payment made via your Kindo account: https://ezlunch.co.nz/

The menu available for Botany Downs can be viewed on the Ezlunch website, and is also attached to this newsletter.

Self-Isolation Guides

LIBRARY NEWS

Scholastic Book Club

Brochures for Issue 2 have been sent home, and orders will close on 28 March. Online ordering and payment is preferred please: https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz/Parent/Login.aspx

Every order not only supports your child’s love of reading, it also helps provide resources for the school – thank you so much!

WIN! A family pass to see ‘The Bad Guys’ movie is up for grabs – check out the colouring competition on the back page of the Issue 2 brochure. More details can be found here: https://scholastic.com.au/thebadguys