Kia ora koutou BDS whānau, Week 4, Term 2, 2023
Last week was a very busy week despite the weather and our tamariki were engaged in many different activities. Thank you to Mrs Keenan and Mr Yoon who took our Leaders to the National Young Leaders Day, Mrs Jeffs for organising the Neverland Dance studio to work with our Year 5/6 students, Mr Insley and our School Councillors for taking part in the 40-Hour Famine Challenge Workshop, Mr Huskinson for his Garden to Table Bake Sale and Schoolwide Waste Audit with our Envro Group, and our Year 4 parents who baked for the bake sale.
We have received an update from the Ministry of Education about our six-classroom build this week and they are still on target to have these classrooms open by the start of 2024. Further down in the newsletter you will find a photo of the build as it is at the moment.
This week our staff all received an umbrella from Kevin Barber who works for Bayleys Real Estate. The timing is perfect and we are very appreciative of the support from Bayleys to keep our staff dry.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Coming up @ BDS…
Wed 17 May – No Uniform Day (Crazy Hair theme)
Wed 17 May – School Board meeting
Friday 19 May – PINK SHIRT Day- Wear a PINK shirt WITH your
uniform or add a PINK accessory to your uniform to
make a stand against Bullying!
Tues 23 May – Yr 2 MOTAT trip / HPPA Netball Fun Day Yr 5&6
Wed 31 May – HPPA Girls Soccer tournament
Thurs 1 June – Yr 4&5 MOTAT trip
Mon 5 June – King’s Birthday (public holiday)
Tues 6 June – PTA meeting
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Botany Best and Values Award
Value – Respect: Ariyan Atrushi, Ela Uguz, Yuki Masias, Brody Tynan, Sujin Yu, Ryan Hu, Athena-Lyn Parkin, Aria Zhang, Kyle Gouws, Micah Harrison, Adalyn Cox, Nathan Chiang, Keddy Wang, Tai Smith, Luise Peng, Bella Hu, Isla Jones, Sidney Chai, Vivaan Sharma, Alexander Ong, Zayne Van Niekerk, Magda Snyman & Amber Belcher.
Botany Best Awards: Devansh Manseta, Terry Sui, Braxton Sills, Hugo Liang, Kylo Chad, Tavis Lee, Aahana Perera, Elizabeth Valentine, Ayla Richards, Julius Ming Peterson, Akchai Arunchayan, Victor Zhang, Jade Lundgren, Ruby Chen, Tere White, Dylan Davies, Dillon Jardine-Trail, Emma Lee, Anya Fang, Aryan Karthick, Dayton Huggins, Jacob Kong & Rion Mose.
These certificates will be presented at Friday’s assembly.
Assembly begins at 9:10am; please be inside and seated by 9:05am.
This week’s item – BDS Choir.
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Property Update of our Six-Classroom Build
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Reminder from your PTA – No Uniform Day
TOMORROW (Wednesday) is Crazy Hair Day – this is a No Uniform Day. You are able to pay your $2 via Kindo or with cash to be given to the teacher in the classroom.
With thanks from your PTA.
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Garden-to-Table Bake Sale
Thanks to all those Year 4 parents who baked delicious cakes and treats for our Bake Sale last week – you are AMAZING.
Thank you also to those parent volunteers who helped on the day, it was fantastic to have that support.
The sale raised a grand total of $633.80 which we can use to buy kitchen equipment and seedlings for our gardens and classroom kitchen.
We also are in need of some volunteers on Friday afternoons from 1-3pm to help teach the students cooking skills. Anyone who is interested, please email Tom Huskinson on tomh@botanydowns.school.nz
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Important Reminders for the safety of our Tamariki
If your child is sick and not coming to school:
Please let us know if your child will not be at school. If you have not let us know then Mrs Bishop will need to contact you and this can be very time consuming. Thank you.
Please sign in at the office between 9.15 am and 2.45 pm: it is very important to sign in at the office if you are coming onto the school site between the hours of 9.15 am and 2.45 pm.
Thank you to our office staff, teachers, and teacher aides who helped support our parents during the recent weather event. Thank you for your patience if you were picking up a child and needed to wait for them to be collected and signed out.
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Please Be Considerate
Please remember, and follow these parking rules from the New Zealand Road Code – even if you are only stopping ‘for a minute’. They help keep our tamariki safe, and also show consideration for our neighbours and other road users.
You must not park or stop your vehicle:
- on, or closer than 6 metres to, the approach side of a pedestrian crossing
- on a marked bus stop or taxi stand
- closer than 6 metres to a bus stop marked only by a sign
- in front of, or closer than 1 metre to, a vehicle entrance (eg the driveway of a house)
- alongside another parked vehicle – that is, you must not double-park
- on ‘no stopping’ lines (broken yellow lines) marked within 1 metre of the edge of the road, which you may see near pedestrian crossings, intersections, driveways or narrow roads
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Neverland Dance Studio Working with
Y5/6 students and Dance Groups
On Friday we were lucky to have Erin from Neverland Dance Studio come in and teach our students some dance moves. She was able to spend 45 minutes with each group teaching them some great hip-hop moves.
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National Young Leaders Day
Our House Leaders attended this exciting event with Mrs Keenan and Mr Yoon last week; here is what they had to say about their day:
There were many people speaking, each person’s speech was unique and special. They gave good advice on how to lead others and how to lead yourself. My favourite speaker was Graci Kim because her story is so heartwarming. She inspired me and I loved hearing how she kept trying and never gave up. (Vera)
NYLD was bursting with excitement with NZ’s future leaders hearing from guest speakers ranging from All Black Sevens players to authors. Graci Kim was my favourite speaker at NYLD, it was inspiring to hear her speak about the challenges she has faced in her life and how she has never given up, even when faced with failure. (Arya)
I loved all the stories of being brave and not giving up. Especially Graci Kim’s story. (Cooper)
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School Councillors and the
World Vision 40-Hour Challenge
On Friday 12th May our School Councillors had the opportunity to meet with Hemi, a representative from World Vision to learn about leadership, giving back to the community, and planning how to organise fundraising for the 40-Hour Challenge. Look out for information regarding the 40-Hour Challenge in the coming weeks!
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National Pink Shirt Day – Friday 19 May 2023
Pink Shirt Day is about reducing bullying by celebrating diversity in all its forms and supporting schools, workplaces, and communities to be safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive of all.
Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying after a new student was harassed for wearing pink. The Mental Health Foundation has run Pink Shirt Day in Aotearoa since 2012.
Did you know: Aotearoa has the third-highest rate of school bullying out of 36 OECD countries.
THIS Friday our tamariki may wear a pink shirt or any pink accessory; e.g. a pink clip, pink headband, pink socks… WITH their school uniform.
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Congratulations Miss Smith!
On Wednesday 3rd May, Miss Smith in Room 9 graduated from the University of Auckland. Congratulations! Botany Downs School is very lucky to have you.
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Come Along… Year 0/1/2 Maths
Information Session
THIS Wednesday 17 May from 9:15 -10:15 am (in the staffroom)
Joanne Hughson (D.P/SENCo Year 0-3), will present this session to provide our whānau with information about the teaching and learning of Maths in our Year 0, 1 & 2 classes. The session will also cover ways that parents can support their tamariki with their learning at home too.
This is also a time to mix and mingle with other Year 0, 1 & 2 parents over a cup of tea/coffee and will be held alongside our existing Bright Sparks sessions.
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Art Project
We will be completing an art project for our school using milk bottle tops in all colours. Please could you send your milk bottle tops to school over the coming weeks. Thank you!
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Learning and Fun @ BDS
Year 3, Room 25 – Room 25 has been learning about blending during our visual art sessions this week. We used two similar shades of pastels in order to create an effective mix of colours. From there we used our blending technique to create a collaborative piece of art.
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Parents – Join the Reading Tribe!
The library wall is filling up with photos of our tamariki being Caught Reading. We would love to have photos of parents to add to it! Please get caught reading and send us your pic! This is a great way to encourage reading by showing that reading is for everyone – children and grown-ups alike.
Photos can be emailed to: vanessah@botanydowns.school.nz Thank you in advance!
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Free Event – Pukapuka Adventures
The Auckland Writers Festival begins this week and features the popular Pukapuka Adventures at the weekend. These are FREE sessions for families, with authors reading their books and book signing afterward.
Saturday 20 May –
Fall in Love With Books:
Hear it in Te Reo:
(with our very own Mrs H reading her book – Farewell, Anahera!)
Sunday 21 May –
Fantastic Fun:
Amazing Wordly Things:
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Measles – Reminder from Te Whatu Ora –
Auckland Regional Public Health Service
Measles is highly infectious and babies, young children, and non-immune pregnant women are vulnerable to serious illness. Please prepare for measles as there will be more imported cases.
- Adults born after 1969 should check if they have had two MMR vaccinations or having had measles.
- If you haven’t had two doses of the MMR vaccine, or are unsure if you have, contact your doctor to check if you need it.
- Children and young people should have two MMR vaccinations to avoid disruption to their education.
- Vaccination records are in the Wellchild/Plunket book or ask your doctor.
If you are concerned about measles call Healthline on 0800 611 116 or see your doctor or practice nurse.
Link to information and resources: Measles | ARPHS
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