Over the first few weeks of school, the BDSC Lion Dance team had the opportunity to celebrate Chinese New Year by performing at several places within our community. We are extremely grateful to be given so many occasions to perform, especially so early in the school year, and we all had an amazing time at all the events!

In Week 4, we performed twice for young students at Pigeon Mountain Primary School, and also for Saplings Daycare. It was a great start to our performing year to be able to share culture with so many young people, who were so excited and eager to see us. It was also nostalgic to see ourselves in those students, probably never expecting to be the ones performing. Not only was it fun to perform, but it was also very helpful for us to get back into our old routine and find our rhythm to prepare for this new year.

The following week, we had the pleasure of going to Metlifecare in Beachlands. This performance was a new experience for us, and we were able to try out new moves so that we could weave them into our routine. The old folks had a wonderful time watching us and interacting with the lion, and we hope to have impressed them as they’re sure to have seen many lion dance performances like ours.

These events were not only fun and exciting, but memorable for us to help prepare for the future. We look forward to more opportunities in the future and are hopefully able to take some new recruits as the year progresses. Big thanks to Ms Yu for organising these performances for us, and to Dr Fu for driving us to the events! Keep an eye out for us, as we have more performances coming up!

~ Mia Chin 12D3

Making a Difference, One Hour at a Time

Service is at the heart of what makes Botany Downs Secondary ���߲ݴ�ý special. Through the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) Service Award programme, our students have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to their communities, transforming hours into impact and compassion into action.

Our Service Journey: 2023-2025

The numbers tell a powerful story. Over the past three years, 447 BDSC students embraced the challenge of giving back, collectively creating ripples of positive change throughout our community and beyond. Their dedication earned:

• 27 Gold pins – recognising exceptional service commitments
• 57 Silver pins – honouring sustained volunteer efforts
• 153 Bronze pins – celebrating emerging community leaders
• 210 Members’ badges – welcoming students beginning their service journey

These aren’t just pins and badges—they’re symbols of countless hours spent tutoring younger students, supporting local organisations, protecting our environment, and strengthening our community bonds.

What is the SVA Service Award?

The SVA Service Award is a national framework that gives students across New Zealand—from Year 7 through Year 13—a way to record, track, and receive recognition for their volunteering efforts. Best of all, it’s completely free for all students.

The programme follows a simple philosophy: Log. Earn. Build. Use.

Students log their volunteering hours through the user-friendly SVA App or website. All forms of service count—whether it’s helping with school events, volunteering in the community, or supporting family and neighbours at home. As students reach hour milestones, they earn recognition pins that acknowledge their growing commitment. Over time, they build a comprehensive Summary of Service—a powerful document that strengthens university applications, enriches CVs, and opens doors to leadership opportunities.

Your Service Journey Starts Here

Ready to begin your own volunteering story? Getting started is simple:

1. Download the SVA App from the App Store or Google Play Store
2. Or create an account at volunteer.sva.org.nz
3. Start logging your service hours immediately

Your Service Record becomes more than a list of hours—it’s a detailed account of your volunteering journey, showcasing the events you’ve contributed to, the causes you’ve supported, and how your efforts align with global sustainability goals. This comprehensive record serves as invaluable documentation for student leadership roles, university and halls of residence applications, scholarship submissions, and future employment opportunities.

At BDSC, we believe that service isn’t just something we do—it’s who we are. Whether you’re just beginning your volunteering journey or aiming for your Gold pin, every hour matters, every action counts, and every student has the power to make a difference.

Join the movement. Log your hours. Change the world.

��~ Shraddha Sharma, SVA Teacher in Charge

Monday 11 – Saturday 16 August was a very busy but successful week at the KBB Music Festival. Both the Orchestra and Jazz Band received Bronze awards at the Gala concert on Saturday evening.

The Jazz Band performed on Thursday evening. Unfortunately, our drummer was unwell and unable to perform. Luckily, Hamish was able to organise the drummer from the Howick ���߲ݴ�ý Jazz Band to play with BDSC. The student did an amazing job sight-reading the charts with the band.

The Honours Programme was held on Friday evening. We had four students selected for the two ensembles: Tiffany Ong 13D9, Candice Wang 13K6 and Rick Zhao 11J5 in the Chamber Orchestra, and Cici Wang 11K6 in the Concert Band. They all really enjoyed the experience.

~ Mrs L Treneman, Head of Music

This term, BDSC celebrated the debut of an exciting new initiative: the BDSC Volunteering Club. With over 240 members already signed up, our very first event was a large-scale success. 164 students took part across the week, creating a total of 50+ care packages.

Each day featured a creative activity that contributed to a meaningful care package for children living with serious health conditions:

• Day 1 – Stickers:��Students designed unique stickers using templates and videos for inspiration.
• Day 2 – Cards:��Heartfelt cards were decorated and filled with uplifting messages of support.
• Day 3 – Crocheting:��Both beginners and experienced crocheters worked together to create incredible handmade items.
• Day 4 – Bookmarks:��Students designed bookmarks to include in the packages.
• Day 5 – Designing Paper Bags:��To bring it all together, students decorated paper bags to hold the finished care packages.

At the end of the week, co-founder Neha Babu 11J5 and I,��sorted all the creations into 50 complete care packages, which have now been delivered to the Kidney Kids Society of New Zealand��to support children in need.

This helped us start to create a culture and principle in BDSC that volunteering isn’t just about how many hours you have, it’s about the people you affect, the impact you make, beyond us as people, beyond us as a school, but to the people who need it the most.�� Thank you to everyone who took part in this activity. We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events. Stay connected, keep volunteering, and see you soon!

~ Irene Arora 11J5

Mid-way through Term 3, two of our co-curricular dance teams competed in the Dance NZ Made competition.�� This was held at the Trusts Arena in Henderson.

Both teams were led by students who came up with their idea and theme, chose and cut their music, created and refined their choreography, and trained their dancers for two rehearsals a week through Terms 2 and 3.�� Our two groups were Bohemian Rhapsody, led by Ivy Liong 12J11 and Shona Singh 12B1, and Goo Goo Muck, led by Amelia Irwin 12D3, Tayla Penman-Gates 11J11, and Cara Tang 11K6.�� A big thank you to Mrs Singh and Mrs Saunders for their help supervising the rehearsals.

Our two groups competed in the Open division of the Dance NZ Made competition, against 22 other teams.�� Unfortunately, neither group received a placing, but the Goo Goo Muck leaders were awarded Excellence in Choreography.�� Mrs Saunders and I were very impressed by all our students and how well they handled the very long day, beginning at 8:45 in the morning and finishing at 10:30 that evening.�� The dancers were focused, rehearsed hard during the day, and performed beautifully in the evening show.�� We are incredibly proud of both teams.

~ Mrs L McKenna, HOD Dance

Over three nights in Term 3, the Dance department was very excited to present our showcase, Pulse, to the school community.�� Pulse serves as an assessment for our Year 10, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 students.�� It is also a chance for some of our co-curricular groups, duets, and solos to perform.�� It means a lot to be able to celebrate the hard work and progress of all these students.

Pulse included choreography by present students, HOD Mrs Laura McKenna, BDSC dance teacher Mrs Danielle Saunders, trainee teacher Miss Brooke Davies, teachers at the uNZipped contemporary course, and by external tutors: Sooji Choi (alumna), Alex Page (alumna), and Ella Wildbore.�� As it is every year, Pulse included a varied programme of dance as our students work on learning a wide range of styles.

An event like this is never achievable without many people helping and I’d like to say a big thank you to the staff and students who contributed their time and energy that enabled this showcase to go ahead.

Our 2025 show has been incredibly well received by students, staff, parents, and the wider community.�� I am so proud of all our dancers and their amazing, beautiful performances.�� The standard of dance was very high.�� Thank you to all who attended to support our dancers.�� Our audience numbers grow every year and our Friday night show sold out.

Looking forward – 2026 marks the 20 year anniversary of the very first Pulse.�� To mark this occasion, we will be dipping into our archives and will see you next year for a celebratory showcase mixing old and new!

~ Mrs L McKenna, HOD Dance

This year, 21 BDSC students participated in the Eye On Nature Wearable Arts Competition run by the Manukau Beautification Trust.

The competition is all about making captivating and creative environmentally conscious garments featuring recycled or repurposed materials (or even better – materials that can be returned to the earth).

This year’s theme was ‘Wellbeing – Taiao and Me’ which focused on how caring for and connecting with nature can result in a healthy self and also how a healthy environment can nourish healthy people. Each of our 11 BDSC garments tackled this theme in different ways.

On Wednesday 30 July, our team of designers and models headed to the Due Drop Events Centre for a busy day of photos, plenty of runway walks, and a dress rehearsal. This was also a great opportunity to see everyone’s garments up close.

The Eye on Nature Fashion Show took place on Thursday night. It was an electrifying night, showcasing the hard work our BDSC students put into their garments this year. A special congratulations to Cybele Stone 10K12 who came home with 1st Place Prize ($1,000) in the High School Category for her garment, ‘Unique Spirit’.

~ Hannah Hutchings 10S4

We are so proud to announce that our talented students, Kate and Georgia Sole, have won the prestigious New Zealand Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge (NSSCC) 2025! The twin sisters wowed judges with their exceptional skills, creativity, organisation, hygiene, and teamwork, taking out the top spot in this highly competitive national event.

The NSSCC is an annual competition that brings together the best young culinary talent from across Aotearoa. Teams of two students compete in regional heats, preparing a restaurant-quality entrée in just 45 minutes. This year’s challenge featured Silver Fern Farms lamb loin and New Zealand-grown kumara as the hero ingredients, they must have also included a Kapiti branded product, one NZ grown green vegetable, one Rescued Kitchen, Kapiti and Anchor branded product, with a strong focus on sustainability, seasonality, and presentation. For the national final, they add a dessert dish featuring a choice of Kiwifruit or Apple, a sauce that includes another fruit, Whittaker’s peanut chocolate, and a Kapiti and Anchor branded product. They must prepare four portions of each dish in 100 minutes.

Kate and Georgia’s winning entry into NSSCC not only impressed the judges with its flavour and finesse but also demonstrated their deep understanding of culinary techniques and local produce. Their victory earned them a prize package valued at over $12,000, including professional kitchen equipment, scholarships, and industry experiences.

As national champions, the twins also took part in the NZ Culinary Journey, a unique opportunity to learn from top chefs, explore professional kitchens, and gain insight into careers in hospitality. Their success is a testament to their hard work, passion, and the support of our Food Technology department.

Congratulations Kate and Georgia—you’ve made us incredibly proud!

~ Mrs A Thomson, Head of Food Technology

We entered the 2025 Howick Local Board Moth Plant Competition, which ran from Monday 3 March to Friday 9 May. The competition aimed to control the spread of the invasive moth plant, which spreads rapidly and threatens native plants. This year, 43 teams registered and took part in this event, removing a total of 246,302 pods and seedlings, stopping over 6.1 million potential seeds from spreading. Despite being a small team, we removed 71,713 pods and seedlings. In the end, we proudly won first place in the Open Category, as well as the prize for ‘most small vines removed’ section.

We spent hours, including the holidays, searching local parks, and other areas like other people’s homes (with permission) for moth plants. Truthfully, at first, we stumbled upon this event as a chance encounter. It was our first time, but knowing it was for a good cause, together we decided to lend a helping hand, joining many others to help conserve and restore our environment. However, as we progressed, we began to also appreciate the smaller details of nature. The lively chirps of the birds, the cool breeze of the morning, and the satisfaction after a round of hard work was evident. These are all mundane factors that can be easy to miss in day-to-day life but once you dig deeper, nothing feels more refreshing. Additionally, going out regularly had its own merits, assisting us in building a healthy body with the exercise and sweat we shed. Although we faced multiple challenges and had to maintain strong determination to break this record, it is no doubt that this experience left us with more than one reward.

~ Jennifer Choi 13B1, Angela Jin Choi 11B1