Newsletter – Week 7, Term 1 2025

                                         Week 7, Term 1, 2025

Tēnā koutou te whānau,

Our Year 5 students had an amazing time at Willow Park Camp, making memories, building friendships, and embracing new challenges. A huge thank you to Mr Insley and Ms Antrobus for their organisation and leadership, and the wonderful teachers and parents who supported the camp. We could not have done it without you.

Our Year 5 and 6 Swimming Sports was a fantastic event, filled with enthusiasm, determination, and team spirit. A huge thank you to Mrs Jeffs for her excellent organisation, as well as to our teachers and supporters who helped make the day such a success.

We are all looking forward to our Grandparents’ Afternoon on Thursday, starting at 1.30 pm in the hall.

 Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)

Coming Up @BDS

Wed 19 Mar – School Board meeting, 6.00 p.m
Thurs 20 Mar – Grandparents’ Day; 1.30 p.m (meet in the hall)
Tues 25 Mar – Yr 3 Howick Historical Village (2 classes)
Wed 26 Mar – HPPA Swimming day
Wed 26 Mar – Yr 3 Howick Historical Village trip (2 classes)
Fri 28 Mar – Cricket final day / No Uniform day
Wed 2 Apr – PTA Jester’s Pie day
Mon 7 Apr – PTA meeting
Tues 8 Apr – Pōwhiri, 10.00 a.m
Fri 11 Apr – ANZAC Special Assembly / Last day of Term 1

Week 1 Term 2 – BOOK WEEK
Mon 28 Apr – First day of Term 2
Fri 2 May – Book Character Dress-up Day & Parade

Grandparents’ Day Invitation

We warmly invite all grandparents to join us for Grandparents’ Day. This is a wonderful opportunity for tamariki to share their learning, show their school environment, and spend time with the special people in their lives. We welcome other special people who play a grandparent-like role in our students’ lives. We look forward to celebrating this special time together.

Date: Thursday 20 March
Location: Meet in the School Hall then you will go to the classrooms
Time: 1.30 pm

We are often asked how whānau can help support their child’s learning at home. 
Below are some suggestions…

To support the learning they do at school, you can help your child develop reading, writing and maths skills by: 

• having your child read to you
• reading to your child and talking about books and stories 
• encouraging your child to share what they think about a book (or video game, podcast, or movie), and being positive about the material they are reading, listening, or watching 
• letting your child see you enjoy books, audiobooks, podcasts, games, movies, or videos in your first language
• encouraging your child to write, and talking with your child about what they are writing 
• showing your child that you write for lots of reasons too, such as replying to an email, filling out a form, or writing an invitation or letter
• involving your child in activities where you use maths (for example playing games with cards or dice, grocery shopping, cooking, and DIY activities) 
• encouraging your child to share how they solve mathematics problems (they may use different mental or written strategies to the ones you were taught) 
• being positive about your child’s reading, writing, and maths experiences, and praising their efforts

SCHOOL NEWS

Book Week is Coming!

Our annual Book Week celebration will be taking place in the first week of Term 2. Keep an eye out for more information coming in the next couple of weeks!

Call for Donations – Games for Our Hauora Room

We are seeking donations of board games, LEGO blocks, and other games for our Hauora Room. This is a welcoming space where our tamariki can connect, relax, and engage in creative play. If you have any new or pre-loved items to contribute, we would love to give them a new home.

Donations can be brought to the office or sent with your child to give to their classroom teacher.

Thank you for your support.

School Property

We are pleased to let you know that our school gate is now fixed. Please continue to use the colourful crossing in front of the gate when you walk up the path.

Swimming Sports

On Thursday last week, we had our Year 5 and 6 Swimming Sports. This year we ran it slightly differently with all the students involved, by having some fun novelty races in between the competitive races. It was a great atmosphere with all the students cheering each other on. It was awesome to see so many students involved.

Rachael Jeffs (rachaelj@botanydowns.school.nz)

House Competition

The winning house this week was Batten. Room 26 and 29 buddies are here together with the cup.

Niho Ora ki Manukau –
AUT University’s New Oral Health Clinic in Manukau

We’re excited to share some fantastic news with the school. A brand-new oral health clinic has opened and is offering a range of dental services, from assessment and diagnosis to prevention and treatment. Our focus is on keeping children’s teeth healthy and tackling periodontal (gum) issues in adults, all while promoting oral health as something to be enjoyed by everyone.

Oral health care is provided by registered oral health professionals alongside students studying a Bachelor of Health Science (Oral Health) at AUT University. We are working in collaboration with Auckland Regional Dental Service to help reach more children as well as provide care for their parents too. 

The best part? Care is completely free for children up to age 18 and for hapū (pregnant) māmā and pēpē (baby).

Parents and teachers can access comprehensive check-ups, diagnostic x-rays, and professional tooth cleaning at significantly reduced costs.

If the thought of the dental clinic brings back memories of the old “school murder house” you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Our modern, bright, and friendly clinic is designed to put you and your family at ease. With state-of-the-art equipment and a strong focus on prevention, we’re here to help you prevent tooth and gum problems.

Children’s enrolment forms will be included in new student packs and are also available at the school office or directly from the clinic.

Plus, once your child leaves primary school, they can continue receiving care up to age 18, and then as adults can still access affordable check-ups and cleans with us. 

For more information, visit our clinic website https://adc.aut.ac.nz/ or email us at oralhealthsouth@aut.ac.nz or phone on (09) 921 9668. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Clinic Location:
AUT South Campus
ME Building
640 Great South Road 
Manukau Auckland 2025

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 from Year 6 classes.

Our BDS Values

Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our value of Manaakitanga, Respect:  Sachie Ogura, Avery Ip, Lalofau Sieleelea, Charlotte Koka, Kelly Yu, Cheng Lin Hong, Jayden Lo, Umama Adil, Khleigh Velasco, Kacey Wang, Christian Perry, Jaskiran Kaur, Lily Hodgson, Eli Adams, Logan Hunter, Athena-Rose Hamilton, Lianie Vorster, Ayden Sharp, Mackenzie Scott, Hasrat Dhillon, Zainab Ali, Mannat Gahunia, Aliya Christian, Gabe Jacobs & Olivia Chen.

Our Capabilities

Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Daisy Huang, Starzia Erskine, Grayson Visser, Titus Parsons, Reshitha Perera, Grace Marshall, Grace Ren, Hadassah Shamuel, Nehansa Athukoralalage, Varya Govender, Matthew Samuriwo, Noah Ellis, Andrew Liang, Lucas Pope, Micah Harrison, Elani Venter, Jayden Bischoff, Nora Khong, Jasper Gu, Charlie Carson, Sebastian Fisher, Maxton Fung, Aahana Perera & MacKenzie Kim.

Student Success…

Five boys from BDS were part of the team who stole the show at the weekend, winning the ABA (Auckland Baseball Association) Under 10 tournament representing the Howick Pakuranga Hawks. 

Congratulations to: Oliver de Bruin, Levi Perry, Christian Perry, Xavier Marck and Lachlan Marck.

Fun & Learning @ BDS

Year 1, Room 8 – This term for Art we decorated some beautiful Koru. The Koru is a symbol for growth, new beginnings, and change. We have talked about how moving to a new year level and starting school is a big change and a new beginning for everyone. We also discussed how every day that we come to school we grow. We grow by learning new things, making mistakes and learning from them, making new friends, and always trying our best. Here is our Koru art.

Children Turning Five – Enrolment 

If your child is turning five before June 2025 please ensure you
enrol them as soon as possible.

We are planning for classes and teachers into 2025 and this is made much easier if we have accurate numbers of new entrants even as far ahead as the middle of next year!  Thank you.

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)

LIBRARY NEWS

Scholastic Book Club

Reminder – Orders close:
Wednesday 19 March, 3.00 p.m
Order and pay online via the Scholastic website: Scholastic Book Club orders
Instructions can also be found on the back page of the brochure.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Pay the kindo way: https://botanydowns.school.nz/kindo/