Newsletter – Week 2, Term 1 2025 – Botany Downs Primary School

Week 2, Term 1, 2025

Tēnā koutou te whānau,

We have had a wonderful start to the year. Our tamariki are settled in their classrooms and they are enjoying catching up with friends from last year and making new friends.

Last week you will have been emailed your class teacher’s email address and the team leader’s in the team newsletter. All our email addresses are available on our website. You are also able to email:

Vicki Parkins, Principal vickip@botanydowns.school.nz

Mark Insley, Deputy Principal Year 4-6 marki@botanydowns.school.nz

Joanne Hughson, Deputy Principal Year 0-3 joanneh@botanydowns.school.school.nz

Kate Keenan, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teacher & International Director katek@botanydowns.school.nz

Susan Heath, Learning Support Coordinator susanh@botanydowns.school.nz

Trish Toussaint, Executive Officer accounts@botanydowms.school.nz

Aroha Bishop, Office Administrator office@botanydowns.school.nz

If your child is not coming to school absences@botanydowns.school.nz

Thank you to our amazing whānau who paid their school donations last year. This really does make such a difference to our school.

We have sent out our 2025 School Donation email and you can clearly see what your donations are spent on. It is very exciting that you can pay your school donation through KINDO and you do not need to come to the office. However, payment options are on the sheet. Thank you once again for your contributions to our school. The School Board will not be asking for an Activity Donation this year, instead this will be attached to specific trips.

A huge thank you to Cameron Pitcaithly from our School Board and our caretaker, Deon Stuart, for their hard work in assisting with the total refurbishment of our school pool. With new lane markings, rails, a fresh coat of paint inside and out, a brand-new cover, and a new fence; our tamariki now have an amazing space for their swimming lessons.

Our BDS Facebook page is a showcase of our celebrations of learning. Here you can see our amazing BDS tamariki and their achievements and learning at our kura.

We look forward to seeing you for our Whānau Picnic on Thursday.

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

Coming Up @BDS

Thurs 13 Feb – Whānau Picnic: 5.00-7.00 pm
Tues 18 Feb – Yr 6 Camp Parent meeting, 6.00 pm in Room 24
Wed 19 Feb – PTA Jesters Pie Day
Thurs 20 Feb – Yr 5 Camp Parent meeting, 6.00 pm in Room 21
Fri 21 Feb – No Uniform Day
Wed 26 Feb – Whānau conversations, 3.20 – 6.00 pm
Thurs 27 Feb – Whānau conversations, 3.20 – 6.00 pm
Wed 5 Mar – Yr 6 Camp (returning Fri 7th)
Mon 10 Mar – Yr 5 Camp (returning Tues 11th)

Important Reminders for the safety of our Tamariki

If your child is sick and not coming to school it is important that you let us know:

Ring the office 09 534 9848 or
Email absences@botanydowns.school.nz or
Notify us through the school website or school app (KiwiSchools).

Picking up your child during the school day:

Email the class teacher and the office office@botanydowns.school.nz with the time and day your child will be picked up
Come to the office to sign out your child on our ipad
Wait in the office, please do not go to the classroom
Mrs Bishop will phone the classroom and your child will come to the office if they are not already there waiting

BDS Whānau Picnic

Come along and meet our wonderful staff!

Bring a blanket, some picnic food e.g pizza, fish n chips, sushi etc, AND a water bottle and join us for…

BDS Whānau Picnic and Fun Activities!

Thursday 13 February 2025 5.00-7.00 pm at Botany Downs School

For Sale ….Mr Whippy!

Fun activities for our wonderful whānau will be set up on our field and courts ready to go from 5 pm. We will have a slip and slide and our swimming pool available so bring your togs and towel too!

Your child’s teacher will be there to chat and join in the fun too!

Parents/ Caregivers are asked to take responsibility for their own children at all times.
Please do not share food unless arranged due to possible allergies.
Please take your own rubbish home.
Note: Toilets-Room 11 /12 and 15 toilets will be open.

Teachers in charge of activities will ensure children line up in an orderly fashion and wait sensibly for their turn. They will also monitor the queue and do their best for all students to have an opportunity to participate.

NB: Our swimming pool will be open, however there are restrictions!

5.00-5:30 pm – Year 1-2 students only

5:30-6.00 pm -Year 3-4 students only

6.00-6:30 pm – Year 5-6 students only

Note: Numbers in each 30 minute block are restricted to 20 children. Teachers will be at the gate monitoring numbers into the pool. ALL swimmers MUST have a parent supervising inside the pool area and ALL non swimmers MUST have a parent in the pool with their child.

* Parents are responsible for their own child at all times*

When a child leaves the pool area a new student may enter within their time slot.

Whānau Conversations –
Building Connections (February 26 & 27, Week 4)

During 2025, our focus continues to be on building connections and understanding to help support learning, progress, and achievement.

Whānau/parent conversations will be held in your child’s classroom:
Wednesday, February 26 & Thursday, February 27 From 3.20 pm until 6 pm on both days.
These discussions provide an opportunity for you as parents to share insights about your child.
A set of key questions will be sent home this week.
Please complete the questions before the meeting and bring them along

Your input is valuable in helping us support your child’s learning journey. We look forward to these conversations.

Book your interview here:

SCHOOL NEWS

Our BDS Values

At Botany Downs School we “live” by these four Values:

Our focus value for the first half of Term 1 is Relationships-Whanaungatanga:

Our Capabilities

These capabilities represent the skills and knowledge for our ākonga to achieve success as they grow. These capabilities weave through all our learning areas.

Term 1 Clubs

For Term 1 we are very fortunate to have the following clubs available for students to be part of during lunch times. A big thank you to all of the teachers responsible for your time and effort.

Travelwise
Student Leadership applications for Years 5/6
Choir
Orchestra
ESOL Games
Kapa Haka
Enviro
Dance – Senior and Junior

Term 1 Sports:
This term the class focus for P.E. is swimming. It is important that every child learns to swim in New Zealand as we are surrounded by water. Please make sure your child has their togs and a towel on their swimming day.

Interschool sports this term include:

Softball
Cricket
Swimming

Botany Downs School ‘Wheels’ Policy

Besides walking, active transport to and from school includes bicycles and scooters. Students must wear suitable footwear, a Standards-approved helmet, and any necessary safety gear.

Students using scooters must be considerate, give way to other pedestrians and be aware of sneaky driveways. A sneaky driveway is a driveway that has hedges, trees, or a fence at the end of it that prevents anyone reversing out of the driveway from seeing the footpath.
Students may not use wheels in the school grounds during school hours, unless it is an organised school event.
Students must place their cycles and scooters in the cycle stands in front of Mr Insley’s Office.
Cyclists are expected to observe the road rules – hand signals, looking behind, mounting/dismounting, keeping well left, etc. Cyclists may not “double” other students to school.
Each cyclist must wear a Standards-approved cycle safety helmet and have a roadworthy bicycle.

Policies and Procedures –
SchoolDocs 2025 Term 1 Review

SchoolDocs provides a comprehensive core set of policies and procedures that are tailored to the needs of Botany Downs School. SchoolDocs updates, modifies and creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools and regular reviews.

Our SchoolDocs policies and procedures can be found via our school website on the link below:

Policies and Procedures – School Documents

If you would like to participate in reviewing the policies, please follow the instructions below. The review closes on 11th April.

Visit the website https://botanydowns.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
Enter the username (botanydowns) and password (best).
Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
Read the policy.
Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
Select the reviewer type.
Enter your name (optional).
Follow the prompts to show that you’ve read the topic and enter your feedback if you’d like to comment.
Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.

For Term 1 the following policies relate to Learning Support and are up for review:

Health, Safety and Welfare
Safety Management System
Risk Management
Worker Engagement, Participation, and Representation
Healthcare
Recording and Reporting Accidents, Injuries, and Illness

Mark Insley, Deputy Principal (marki@botanydowns.school.nz)

PTA Notice

Fruju Friday are back this week!

Pay via Kindo by midnight Thursday or bring cash on the day. Frujus ($2) and icepops ($1) will be sold each Friday after school outside the staffroom until the end of term.

Year 5 and 6 Camp Parent Meeting Dates

Year 6: Tuesday 18th February 6pm in Room 24

Year 5: Thursday 20th February 6pm in Room 21

After both parent meetings, there will be specific meetings for all the parents attending each camp.

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

Granny McFlitter Book Launch

Author Heather Haylock and illustrator Lael Chisholm are celebrating the release of their latest Granny McFlitter adventure with a book launch at the Dorothy Butler Bookshop on Sunday February 23 at 4pm.

Join the celebration and meet these two award-winning picture book creators. And there will be cake!

Summer Reading

We hope you all enjoyed your Summer Reading! Thank you to those families who have returned their Summer Reading books today.

Please remember to find and return all your books this week. The library is closed for class visits and at lunchtime, however, students may pop in to return their books.