Week 4, Term 1, 2024
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
Our Meet the Teacher and Whānau Picnic was a wonderful event. Building that connection between teachers and families is so important for supporting children’s education and well-being. If you were unable to attend, please do take time to connect with your child’s teacher. It was great to see such involvement from our school community.
Jess Storey has resigned from our School Board after five years of supporting our school. During this time Jess has also spent time as our Presiding Member. Jess has provided valuable support and expertise in many different areas while on our Board. We extend a huge and sincere thank you for all her mahi. Kerry Budd will be taking up the role of Presiding Member to lead the School Board into 2024.
We are looking forward to seeing you all in no uniform day on Wednesday, with the option of wearing summer colours.
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Coming up @ BDS…
Tues 20 Feb – Yr 6 camp: parent meeting, 6-7pm
Wed 21 Feb – No Uniform Day: Summer Colours
Mon 26 Feb – Senior Bake Sale Fundraiser
Tues 27 Feb – Yr 5 camp: parent meeting, 6-7pm
Mon 4 Mar – PTA AGM, 7pm in staffroom
Wed 6 Mar – Yr 6 camp (returns Fri 8 Mar)
Mon 11 Mar – Yr 5 camp (returns Tues 12 Mar)
** click here to view more of the school calendar **
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Botany Best & Values
We invite you to attend our school assembly on Friday at 9.10 am. We will be presenting our Botany Best Certificates and Values Bookmarks. This week our item will be from Year 1, Room 11.
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Atlas Timpson, Sujin Yu, Maxton Fung, Odi Hika, Daniel Turner, Uriel Su’a, Lucas Bercich, Ariana Reikop, Ezra Boyter, Michael Booth, Farah Almayah, Movindu Konara Mudiyanselage, Aaryan Verma, Henry Tuwai, Harper Annan, Braxton Sills, Jax Bloem, Jennifer Wu, Shoryaveer Saharan, Samarveer Parmar, David-Lee Bezuidenhout & Yongha Kim.
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our value of Relationships, Whanaungatanga: Nelson Wang, Yasmine Alsharefi, Finn Roosenbrand, Jack Berkett, April Adams, Nathan Tokai, Zoe Neemia, Arvi Ahir, Schyler Daniels, Isabella Liang, Qitei Ramlall, Quintus Wang, Liah Van Wyk, Ethan Liu, Breeannah Clark, Violet Liu, Nella Ranchhod, Jermyan Mose, Kyle Gouws, Wiandre Nel, Tatum Budd & Gabriella Venter.
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Student Leaders
Botany Downs offers lots of opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. These Year 5 & 6 students have expressed an interest in becoming a House Leader, School Councillor, Ambassador, or Peer Mediator. They have completed their application forms and are taking part in problem-solving tasks.
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Travelwise and Road Safety
We hope you are enjoying the colourful footpath and crossing that lead you into our front school gate. We love seeing lots of children walking or riding to school during the sunny summer months.
Thank you to those families who are following the road rules and parking appropriately to drop off your children. Remember you can park further away and walk into school too.
Don’t forget to use our Road Patrol so we can teach our children how to cross safely.
Kylee Holmes, Road Patrol and Travelwise Co-ordinator (kyleeh@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Whānau Picnic and Meet the Teacher Evening
Thank you for coming along last Thursday, it was great to see everyone out enjoying the beautiful weather!
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PTA Notices…
No uniform Day – Wednesday 21st February
Wear clothes of your choice in your favourite summer colours. Donate $2 via kindo, or give cash to your class teacher.
Bake Sale – Monday 26th February
The senior school are hosting a Bake Sale to help contribute to the costs of the senior camps.
If you have a child in Year 5 or 6, we would be grateful if you could provide a small plate of home or store-bought baking on Monday 26th February to sell to the whole school for morning tea.
Contributions can be dropped off at the hall between 8.30am – 9.30am. Cost: $1 per item, payment via kindo or cash on the day. More information will come home with your child this week.
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Fun & Learning @ BDS
Room 1, Year 2: We have had a wonderful start to the year. We have been talking about what makes us special. Our culture is something that makes us special. Some of our wonderful Chinese speakers were great leaders and taught us some Chinese words. We then all made a Chinese dragon to bring in the Chinese New Year. The Dragon represents good luck, strength, and health.
Room 15, Year 5: We work together in class and with our buddies! Room 15 is all about working together and learning together!
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Children Turning Five – Enrolment
 If your child is turning five in the next six (6) months please ensure you enrol them as soon as possible. Our roll is steadily growing and we need to plan for classes and teachers during the year.
Please collect your enrolment pack from the office, or email office@botanydowns.school.nz
Joanne Hughson DP/SENCo – Year 0-3 (joanneh@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Returning Books…
A reminder that books may be returned:
- to the library – use the returns slot in the main desk (even if the library is closed during school hours, students may always pop in to return their books)
- to Botany Bob – our after-hours returns bin located in the front office
** Please remember to return library books on time so
that other students may enjoy them.
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East Tamaki Brownies has space to take more girls aged 7-9½ keen to join in on the fun GirlGuiding NZ offers.
We offer a non-competitive learning environment that is open-minded and values-based. It’s a supportive place to grow confident, adventurous girls ready to be tomorrow’s leaders. We offer a programme where the girls themselves have a say in their activities and offer experiences like camps, crafts, and real-life experiences, rewarding them with badges as they learn new skills.
To register your interest and learn more about our rewarding programme, complete the form here: Register Your Interest – GirlGuiding New Zealand – You be the Guide! (girlguidingnz.org.nz)
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Incredible Years Parent Programme – FREE
This is a highly recommended programme, offered in English, Hindi and Mandarin. I ask you to consider attending, as expert advice can be very helpful.
Location: Uxbridge Community Centre, Howick
Time: 9:30-12:00
Dates: 7 March 2024-20 June 2024
Length: 14 sessions
Cost: FREE
Contact: Avashni.Gopicherran@education.govt.nz or
StaceyLouise.Corney@education.govt.nz to enrol
If you have any questions or need further information please contact Joanne Hughson – joanneh@botanydowns.school.nz
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English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Maori
Portuguese
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Samoan
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