Week 8, Term 1, 2025
Tēnā koutou te whānau,
What a fantastic Grandparents’ afternoon we had! Over 200 special guests joined us, including not only grandparents but also other cherished people who hold a grandparent-like role in our tamariki’s lives. It was so special to see our students proudly showing their classrooms, sharing their learning, and even engaging in a fun quiz together. The afternoon was a wonderful way to showcase how learning happens in today’s classrooms, with students playing, exploring, and working in new and exciting ways. A huge thank you to everyone who made this afternoon so memorable.
Thank you to Wayne Johnson our Specialist Swimming Instructor, and his assistants Taylor Holmes, and Summer Johnson, for your engaging and educational lessons in our school pool over the past seven weeks. We value having specialist swimming teachers at our kura and this has made a huge difference to our tamariki and their swimming.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Parkins, Principal – Tumuaki (vickip@botanydowns.school.nz)
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We are proud to be a KINDO school, making it easier than ever for our families to manage school payments online. KINDO is our trusted platform for purchasing school-related items, paying for trips and events, and even ordering lunches, all in one convenient place.
Using KINDO means no more searching for cash or last-minute trips to the office. Instead, you can take care of everything from the comfort of home, anytime that suits you. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to set up your KINDO account and enjoy the ease of managing payments digitally.
For more information or to get started, visit www.botanydowns.school.nz/kindo or contact the office for assistance.
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Coming Up @BDS
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
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Book Week is Coming!
Our annual Book Week celebration will be taking place
in the first week of Term 2.
Here are a few things we are excited to share:
Two special guest authors coming to visit our students!
PJ & Teddy Day! Thursday 1 May
Wear your cosy pyjamas to school and bring your teddy (or soft toy) to read to!
Book Character Dress-up Day! Friday 2 April – The last day of Book Week is a celebration of our favourite book characters. Get your thinking hats on – who will you dress up as this year?
Please remember that a costume doesn’t have to be expensive or bought from the store – get creative! The following links might give you just the inspiration you are looking for:
Last Minute World Book day costumes: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/30-last-minute-world-book-10976213
Last minute easy World Book costumes: https://www.madeformums.com/toddler-and-preschool/last-minute-easy-world-book-day-costumes/
Fun Book Character Costumes: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/g22127013/book-character-costumes/
Scholastic Book Fair! All week! – A ‘pop-up book store’ in the library with a wide range of exciting books and stationery for all ages and interests.
The Book Fair will be open:
Mon-Fri morning 8.30-9.00 a.m
Mon-Thurs afternoon 2.30-3.30 p.m
Payment by EFTPOS, Credit Card, or cash. Every purchase made helps to provide the school with books and resources for the library and classrooms – thank you for your support.
PLUS: Te Hikoi Korero Storywalk, fun lunchtime activities, competitions, and classroom activities!
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Enviro Team – Moth Plant Competition
Our Enviro Team has signed up with the Howick Local Board, Pest Free Auckland, to help stop Moth Plant spreading in our community. It is a pest plant that climbs and winds itself around other plants, smothering them.
The competition is for schools to see who can collect the most pods, which, of course, will help eradicate this plant from our community. The pods are large green fleshy pods that contain thousands of small black seeds on white fluff. As the pods open, all the seeds are released to drift in the wind.
If you have this plant in your home please cut the pods off, put them in a plastic bag, and bring them to Mrs Kylee Holmes in Room 2. Remember to wear gloves and protective clothing when you are cutting the plant.
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PTA Notices
Fruju Fridays – 3 more to go!
Fruju Fridays continue to the end of term, buy yours each Friday outside the staffroom. $2 for Frujus and $1 for icepops. Payment can be made in cash or via Kindo.
Funny Friday No Uniform Day – 28th March
Get ready for a day of laughter and fun — Funny Friday No Uniform Day is happening on 28th March! Wear your funniest, wackiest, and most outrageous clothing to school and join in the fun. To take part, simply bring $2 in cash or pay via Kindo. Let’s make it a day to remember with lots of smiles and giggles!
Bakers Delight Hot Cross Buns
We are partnering with Bakers Delight Howick to bring you delicious Hot Cross Buns just in time for Easter! Order your 6-pack today via Kindo, no payments will be accepted at the office. Orders must be received by 10 am Friday 4th April, with buns being delivered to school on Thursday 10th April.
Dollar for Schools Lunch Orders
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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 from Year 1, Room 4.
Our BDS Values
Congratulations to the following tamariki who have displayed our value of Manaakitanga, Respect: Nathan Miguel, Olivia Walsh, Hope Avau, Kiano Gillespie, L.A Sieleelea, Hirad Jamalidogaheh, Vincent Wang, Dante Eason, Teagan Andrew, Whitney Chan, Anton Birchler, Charlotte Walsh, Zahara Williams, Farah Almayah, Gus McCrindle, Bruno Hussey, Mika Nel, Jiyu Kim, May Mei, Darcey McCrindle, Yugo Tsuchiya, Lauren Hayes & Saane Fifita.
Our Capabilities
Congratulations to our following tamariki who have shown their Botany Best by displaying our Capabilities: Mawada Khammas, Yunxiao Yan, Liam O’Neill, William McClintock, Jenuki Perera, Daniel Hollins, Charlotte Else, Cherry Nguyen, Lucas Chen, Anashe Mlilo, Skyla McCallister-Lee, Hokan Liu, Minsung Kim, Lieol Strickland, Helaina Jamalidogaheh, Skyla Hubbard, Sidney Chai, Cameron Ellis, Isabella Liang, Elizabeth Valentine, Minnie Zhao, Tyler Bernard & Blake Sills.
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Fun & Learning @ BDS
Year 3, Room 28 – This term, Room 28 has been learning about the ‘Old Howick’ and how things used to be compared to now. For writing, we pretended to ‘time travel’ and used adjectives and adverbs to describe what we saw.
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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)
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Dilworth Now Offering
Day School Option From 2026
Dilworth is an exceptional private school offering an amazing educational experience for boys from Year 7 to Year 13. Located in Remuera, every Dilworth student receives a fully-funded education with all expenses covered including music tuition, uniforms, and school trips.
We want more students to access the benefits of a Dilworth education experience, including small class sizes, specialist teachers and extra-curricular opportunities. From 2026, a day school option is available for Years 7, 8 and 9. This provides the same best in class schooling without the requirement to board.
If your son has a great attitude and you want to give him the opportunities you know he deserves, a Dilworth scholarship could be the stepping-stone he needs to reach his full potential.
Register for our upcoming Open Days to find out more. These are on Sunday 23 March and 18 May at Junior Campus for Years 7 and 8, and Sunday 30 March at Senior Campus for Year 9-13. Find out more about Dilworth Now! Visit www.dilworth.school.nz or call us on 09 523 3179.
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