Week 9 Term 3, 2024
Kia ora koutou Parents and BDS Whānau,
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is an annual week-long celebration for all New Zealanders to show their support for the Māori language, an official language of this country.
The theme for Te Wiki 2024 is ‘Ake ake ake – A Forever Language’. It represents the resilience, adaptability and endurance of our language. It also reflects the commitment New Zealanders have to embracing and learning te reo Māori long into the future.
There is an amazing website that can help support your journey into Te Reo: www.reomaori.co.nz
Kia kaha te Reo Māori.
Friday is our PTA Disco. All information has been sent out in the PTA newsletter and it certainly is going to be an awesome disco. Thank you PTA.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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Coming up @ BDS…
Fri 20 Sept – PTA School Disco
Tues 24 Sept – Celebration of Learning:
classes open 3.15 pm – 5.00 pm
Fri 27 Sept – Last Day of Term 3
Mon 14 Oct – First Day of Term 4
Wed 16 Oct – Yr 2 trip to Botanical Gardens
Wed 23 Oct – Yr 5 trip to Butterfly Creek
Fri 25 Oct – Teacher Only Day
Mon 28 Oct – Labour Day (public holiday)
Tues 29 Oct – Yr 4 trip to Museum (Rm19 & Rm 20)
Wed 30 Oct – Yr 4 trip to Museum (Rm17 & Rm 18)
Thurs 31 Oct – Yr 0/1 trip to Butterfly Creek
Fri 1 Nov – Yr 4-6 Athletics Day
Mon 4 Nov – PTA meeting
Tues 5 Nov – Yr 3 trip to Museum (Rm 29 & Rm 30)
Wed 6 Nov – Yr 6 Howick Intermediate orientation visit
Thurs 7 Nov – Yr 3 trip to Museum (Rm 27 & Rm 28)
Thurs 7 Nov – Yr 6 Somerville Intermediate orientation visit
** click here to view more of the school calendar **
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Please note: a coffee van and Mr Whippy will be on-site for the Celebration of Learning
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HPPA Boys Soccer
Last Tuesday and Wednesday our Year 5 and 6 Boys Soccer Team competed in the HPPA Soccer Tournament. We faced tough competition but our team had trained hard and finished a very respectable 12th out of 21 teams. This placing is a massive improvement on last year’s result and we are very motivated to keep practicing and improving for next year’s competition.
Thank you very much to Mr Lewis Sharp for coaching our team.
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Interschool Speech Finals
Last Tuesday Ruby Buckley represented Botany Downs School at the HPPA Interschool Speech Competition held at Elm Park Primary. She was one of 12 finalists at the event and although she didn’t place, Ruby presented her speech about Unity in Tandem Biking with great enthusiasm and passion. We are very proud of her.
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Gymnastics Champ of Champs competition
On Thursday 12th September Miss Young and Miss Liu took 20 gymnastics finalists to the Champ of Champs competition in Mt Roskill. It was another fantastic day where the kids supported each other and gave their best. A special congratulations to one of our gymnasts, Jacob Kong, who secured second place for Year 6 boys, competing against over 60 of Auckland’s top gymnasts. Ka pai!
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Friendly Netball Game
Last Monday we played a friendly game of netball against Cockle Bay School. Goals were scored but in the spirit of a friendly match, no score was taken. It was a great show of sportsmanship and a fantastic way to finish off our netball season.
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Road Patrol and TravelWise
Thank you to our community for keeping the roads around our school safe for our tamariki – driving slowly, parking legally, walking to school, using the road patrol to cross, and only turning left into/out of the Drop and Go Bay.
We’d like to thank all our adult volunteers who help with road patrol. We’d love a supervisor for Monday morning and afternoon in Term 4 if you are free!?
Kia noho haumaru – stay safe!
Kylee Holmes – Road Patrol and Travelwise Co-ordinator (kyleeh@botanydowns.school.nz
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PTA Notice
Get ready for a fantastic night of fun and dancing at the school disco this Friday! It’s the perfect chance for students to come together, enjoy some great music, and have fun.
Kindo ticket orders have now closed, however, tickets and vouchers are still available from the school office between the hours of 8.30am – 9.15am and 2.45pm – 3pm daily. Alternatively, you can purchase them at the door on the night. Vouchers are used inside the disco to purchase food, drinks, lolly bags and glow items.
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School Assembly
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 a performance by our Kapa Haka Group.
Our BDS Capabilities
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: MacKenzie Kim, Annieheta John, Talei Tuwai, Lexi Jones, Amelia Mun, Jorawar Singh, Ethan Pope, Vaice Gasologa, Scarlett Blanco Zijp, Baran Amiri, Dayton Huggins, Harper Timms, Roxas Eason, Odette Apperley, Levi Perry, Gabriella Venter, Iraison Su, Rion Mose, Logan Swanepoel, Lisa Zhang, Ilaisaane Faletau, Violet Liu, Ava Tang, Anna Yu.
Our BDS Values
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our school values. Our focus value for the second half of Term 3 is Respect, Manaakitanga. Anyi Wong, Hannah Binning, Austin Broodryk, Minnie Zhao, Grace Zhao, Allen Maifea, Olivia Walsh, Nathan Tokai, Leah Cronje’, Nikit Nandan, Hanro Stoltz, Jeremiah John, Hadassah Shamuel, Chaz Grisselle, Fedya Chibel, Reuben Tate, Novan Leo Alex, Cynthia Liang, Guoshen Ma, Jaaveis Iese, Jacob Kong, Leo Tong, Shangyuan Cao, Yilin Mao & Alice Wang.
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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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 Some of the beautiful pukapuka we have in the library that celebrate te reo Māori:
Ake ake ake – A Forever Language
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We’re thrilled to be running confidence building Speech and Drama lessons at Botany Downs School, and we can’t wait to meet your children!
We are offering a free trial lesson for term 4!
Currently, we’re in the process of collecting enrolments for Term 4. To secure a spot for your child, please fill out the form below. Please note that spaces are limited, so enrolments will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis to ensure fairness.
Lessons are held after school on Tuesdays at Botany Downs School. Our dedicated teachers will provide a fantastic platform for students to nurture their confidence, public speaking skills, self-esteem, creativity, manners, and leadership abilities – all vital elements in shaping them into their best and most successful selves.
Through engaging activities and relatable scenarios, each 30-minute lesson promises to be exciting for your children! The fee is $220 per term and Speech and Drama classes are beneficial for all ages from Year 0-6. Everyone is welcome!
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