As usual Picnic Day was a lot of fun and it was great to see staff and students alike getting in to the spirit of the day. We had almost perfect conditions, not too hot and a bit of cloud cover. Lots of energy was out there on the field with everyone giving it their best shot in the classic Picnic Day games such as the Sack Race, Egg and Spoon race, Sponge Relay and Cornhole.

Congratulations to SPIRIT who were the overall winners on the day!!

After the picnic day activities, students enjoyed a shared lunch with their whanau before they made their way to the courts to perform the school Haka which they have all been practicing. Each whanau went in turn, then came together at the end for one huge Year 9 and 10 Haka. It was really awesome to see!

Congratulations to all our students who were recognised with certificates and prizes at Year 11 Prizegiving on Monday 18 November. A special congratulations to our trophy and cup recipients below:

The Myriad is a new inter-whﾄ］au event held at lunchtime. Due to its success, it will become an annual fixture for the Whﾄ］au Shield. With half of the student body cheering them on, each whﾄ］au competed in relay form in:

• Basketball
• Soccer juggle
• Rubic cube
• Hula hoop
• Reciting Pi
• Reciting the periodic table
• Hiragana alphabet
• Corn hole
• Piggyback tennis ball balance
• Tennis ball juggle
• Volleyball set
• Run

Congratulations to Blake whﾄ］au who were the winners for 2025.

Kate Sole 13J5 and Georgia Sole 13J11 participated in the Regional NZ Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge (NSSCC).

For this, they had to produce two identical entrﾃｩe portions of a dish containing lamb loin, kumara, two locally grown vegetables and one rescued kitchen product.

The dish that they produced was: Herb crusted lamb loin, on cauliflower purﾃｩe served with hand-crafted kumara gnocchi, tossed in a sage-infused brown butter. Accompanied by peas, broad beans, parmesan tuile, walnuts, and blue cheese.

Winning the Regionals has earned them a spot in the national finals being held Thursday 28 August, where they’ll compete against the top five teams from around the country! We’re beyond proud and wish them all the best.

While Kate and Georgia’s achievement is remarkable, it’s important to recognise the other talented students who also participated in this year’s Regional NSSCC; Taki Chen 13E8, Lily Chisholm 13J11, Miley Hoo 13K18, Thalia Loo 13J17, Angus So 12S16 and Erin Van Schalkwyk 12J5. Their dedication and culinary skills contributed to an exciting and competitive event.

On Wednesday 11 June, the Pasifika Council hosted our first Fono for 2025. We gathered to talanoa, share kai, and connect with our students and whﾄ］au. The aim of the Fono was to provide an opportunity for whﾄ］au to express ideas and thoughts regarding the future aspirations of our Pasifika students at BDSC.

The evening began with a warm welcome, an opening prayer, and some icebreaker activities. We then shared a presentation on the council窶冱 goals for the year. In 2025, the Pasifika Council aims to strengthen the presence of Pasifika culture at BDSC, establish cultural dance groups, and ensure that the achievements of our Pasifika students are celebrated. We also highlighted some impressive sporting, cultural, and academic successes of our Pasifika students.

As a council, we were excited to prepare for Pasifika Languages Week窶蚤n event that celebrates the rich cultures of the Pacific. The council窶冱 responsibilities included decorating each whﾄ］au whare, preparing performances, and serving food at the stalls.

Our aim is to raise the visibility of Pasifika culture at school and inspire pride in our Pacific identities.

We would like to extend a special thank you to Bernadine Russell, who generously taught and helped us create the beautiful kahoa we proudly wore on the night.

The support we receive from our Pasifika community is deeply appreciated, and we look forward to hosting our next Fono in Term 4.

~ Aleisha Coleman 13D9

Each year, our school proudly celebrates Cultural Week. This vibrant event is a highlight of the school calendar, showcasing the rich diversity within our community.

Throughout the week, flags representing various countries are displayed across the school, and a range of cultural performances took place under the bridge during lunchtime. These performances, delivered by different cultural groups, are always a hit with students and staff alike, creating a lively and inclusive atmosphere.

Cultural Week is a time to celebrate diversity, embrace different cultures, and take pride in our heritage. In addition to the performances, the week features a cultural mufti day and whﾄ］au cultural displays.

This year, cultural mufti day consisted of students dressing in cultural attire to earn points for their whﾄ］au as part of the ongoing competition for the whﾄ］au shield.

The theme for this year窶冱 whﾄ］au cultural display was ‘Legacy’, focusing on the unique legacies of each whﾄ］au. Every whﾄ］au cultural team contributed to decorating and setting up displays in their respective areas. These displays were judged by the senior management team, and the most outstanding display was awarded the cultural cup.

We are proud to announce that the 2025 Cultural Cup was awarded to Discovery whﾄ］au for their exceptional creativity and representation of their cultural legacy.

A huge thank you to all students, staff, and whﾄ］au who contributed to making cultural week a meaningful and memorable event. Your creativity, pride, and teamwork truly brought our school窶冱 values to life.

~ Mrs G Kaur, Cultural Co-ordinator

Congratulations to all our students who were recognised with certificates and prizes at Year 11 Prizegiving on Monday 18 November. A special congratulations to our trophy and cup recipients below:

Earlier this term we welcomed ninety students and staff from our sister school (Lelean Memorial) in Fiji. As part of the choir group tour, they spent three days with us sharing their culture and attending classes.

Lelean Memorial School and Botany Downs Secondary ｺｬﾐﾟｲﾝｴｫﾃｽ have been sister schools for seventeen years. During this time, we have travelled to Fiji six times with a focus of providing service activities and our last trip was in July last year. This was Lelean窶冱 third group tour to our school.

Our school kapahaka group led by Whaea Roimata welcomed our sister school with a formal powhiri. During the three days at BDSC, Lelean students and staff were given a tour of the school, attended some classes and enjoyed the hospitality provided. It was great to see how well the students from both schools got on together.

The choir group performed to a houseful on Thursday night and the audience was treated to some great songs and hymns. Prior to the performance, our school hosted a dinner for our visitors. Students and staff of our school were treated to another amazing performance by the choir group on Friday at lunchtime. As we said our goodbyes, the BDSC first fifteen team farewelled our visitors with our powerful school haka followed by a moving performance of the Fijian farewell song Isa lei窶� from our sister school choir group.

My thanks and appreciation go to staff and students who helped with hosting students and staff from Lelean Memorial School.

~ Dip Achary

This year, our school窶冱 Pasifika Council was blessed with the opportunity to coordinate our very first Pasifika Languages Week at BDSC! The week was jam-packed with many activities related to Pacific Island culture including crafts workshops, dance performances, as well as a food sale with some of our Pacific Island窶冱 finest dishes and comforting favourites.

Theﾂ�Pasifika Language Week was createdﾂ�to recognize, celebrate and uplift our Pasifika community here at BDSC. Pasifika students make up just about five percent of the school窶冱 population.ﾂ�In 2023, the Pasifika Council had recognized how Pacific Islander students were unable to celebrate heritages during respective language weeks such as Samoan Language Week and Tongan Language Week. This was due to numerous reasons. However, this year, under the leadership of Mel Vaka 13J5 and the support of the Pasifika Council members, we had a week dedicated to celebrating the beautiful languages of the Pacific nations.

Pasifika ethnicities in our school like Cook Islanders, Niuean, Tokelauans, and more also could not have the opportunity to celebrate our language weeks due to our smaller population at school. We wanted to unite and help our Pasifika students embrace their heritage more at school, as well as promote and educate others who weren窶冲 quite familiar with our culture.

Each day of the week was allocated to the five largest Pacific Island populations at our school to be celebrated: Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands, Fiji, and Samoa. Students and teachers were encouraged to celebrate these nations by using their language throughout the day, showcasing their flags around the school, promoting their individual culture, and delivering a speech to the school using their language on the intercom every morning of the week.

Workshops unique to the Pasifika culture were hosted during lunchtimes on Monday and Wednesday. Monday窶冱 workshop was about teaching students about tapa cloth designs, the meanings behind it and encouraging them to create their own design special to them.ﾂ�Wednesday窶冱 workshop taught students how to craft their own Lolly leis (a garland of lollies). Lolly leis are a unique part of islander tradition and are also very universal among the Pacific Islands. They are mostly made to be given to someone celebrating a special occasion.

On Tuesday and Thursday, our proud Pasifika students showcased and performed dances from different island nations. This included a Siva Samoa, Tongan Ta窶冩lunga, and Cook Island Ori. Pacific island dances are all distinguishable from other islands and tell a story through its actions. Dances hold deep significance to our culture and are usually performed for special occasions and to celebrate life.

The week concluded strong with a food sale involving all kinds of delicious and common islander cuisine. Comfort foods such as chop suey/sapa sui, panikeke, suafa窶冓, raro drinks, cupcakes decorated with pacific island flags, and lolly leis were sold during lunchtime.

We hope our BDSC Pasifika Community felt more heard and embraced through Pasifika Week, and we thank everyone for joining us in celebrating Pasifika Week and Pacific Island culture. The Pasifika Council deeply appreciated all the love, support and encouragement we received in making the Pasifika Language week a success.

~ Pasifika Council 2024ﾂ�

Last term, the Science Council hosted its annual, iconic Science Week.

During week six, we held four thrilling events. On Tuesday, a long line stretched outside the doors as students eagerly waited to mix and make their own sherbet, which they enjoyed afterwards. The following day was the most exhilarating event, where students experienced the thrill of holding fire in their hands.

Thursday brought one of our most popular events. As soon as the bell rang, we heard the thunderous stomps of students running to make their own slime. And when Friday arrived, we had the rats ready for students to practice their dissection skills. This was by far the most popular event, with the whole classroom packed with students in gloves and aprons, eagerly standing at each station.

Seeing students running and lining up for our events was one of the most rewarding parts and truly made all the planning and organization worthwhile.

~ Ryan Kan 13E2 and Parita Yump 12D9