PDO School Newsletter

24th October 2019

Dear Parents,

We have been back in school for just eight weeks. When I reflect on this half term, the children and staff have been very busy and we have all achieved a great deal. This newsletter provides a taste of what has been happening over the past few weeks.

After such a busy time, we are all looking forward to the half term holiday for a well deserved break. Many of you may be going to holiday destinations but I am sure a good number of you will remain in Oman to enjoy the beautiful weather. We want our children to enjoy their holiday and return to school accident free. Please ensure that young children are supervised at all times and especially in the parks near busy roads. Older children need to be reminded about keeping themselves safe.

Follow the company life saving rules and we can all enjoy this holiday, and many more in the future.

MPSL

We had 23 nervous, yet excited P6 & P7 students travel to ABA School last week for the first MPSL tournament of the year - Skittleball. This is always a fast and fun tournament to kick off the season. The boys and girls all showed great effort and sportsmanship, making us very proud to represent PDO School. In the end , the boys were tied for 2nd place and chose to have a play off game, coming 3rd overall. The girls' team was undefeated throughout the entire tournament, placing 1st overall! Congratulations to both teams, as they have been working very hard over the past few weeks in MPSL training.

The next MPSL event is U9 Boys & Girls Benchball on Tues., November 12th. A Google Form permission slip has been sent out.

Mileage Club

This enrichment club is held 4 days per week during 2nd break for P4 & P6 students. It has been a very popular club, with over 50 children taking part. This is a running/walking club aimed at increasing fitness levels and encouraging children to better themselves in a fun environment. The program allows children to go at their own pace and work toward individual goals while being supported and encouraged by their peers. The students collect their "Toe Tokens" which keep runners working towards filling their bracelet.

P6 students are running Sunday and Wednesday at 2nd break and P4 on Monday and Tuesday. There is no sign-up necessary, just show up on the field in sports kit with your water bottle.


Muscat Marathon/Morning Run Club

As the Muscat Marathon is fast approaching (January 18th, 2020) boys and girls from P4 - P7, have been up bright and early Sunday mornings (0655hrs), meeting to go outside of the school gates for a leisurely jog with Miss Robyn, Miss Stephanie and Miss Jamie. As the weather begins to cool down, children are trained to pace themselves, while pushing their limits. Most runs are approximately 2km, and hopefully building to 3-4km. There are still spaces available and all levels of ability are invited to attend. Please email myself jkemp@pdoschool.com for further information.

In the near future, there will be a sign up form sent out to students 7 years old and above, for the Muscat Marathon. Again this year, we will be putting together a PDO School team, hoping to win the title of 'Most Active School in the Sultanate' and being awarded a trophy to display, along with OMR 1,000 worth of gym equipment!

Playground Leaders:

We are very proud of our P7s who applied to be Playground Leaders. Following a rigorous selection process and training they are now able to put their newly acquired skills into practice.

Playground Leaders is all about encouraging other children to get active, interact, be fit and have fun together. P7 pupils have been specially trained to organise games and activities for our younger children. Playground Leaders are easily identified on the playground as they wear a special uniform and cap. The Leaders are enjoying leading games and activities and the children are enjoying using the exciting new equipment too!

Some of the many benefits of the Playground Leader scheme include:

  • Improved behaviour and reduction of playground incidents
  • Improved general levels of health and fitness
  • Improved levels of co-operation and trust / self control / greater inclusion
  • Improved co-ordination, speed, reaction, strength and endurance
  • More opportunities provided for social interaction
  • New friendships encouraged
  • Language and listening skills developed
  • Children find activities they enjoy doing and have FUN!
  • More opportunities to be successful, and raise confidence and self-esteem
  • and of course, development of the Leadership skills of our Playground Leaders in P7!

Some of the activities the children participate in are: circuit or team games, parachute games, drama, skipping club, football skills, Lego and list goes on. There is something for everyone!

Ms Jamie, Miss Naomi & Miss Gillian

Snapshot of Posts from the Class Pages:

Here is a post from each phase showing recent learning.

Phase 1 (PN - P2)

The P1 and P2 children are all really enjoying the new phonics programme Read Write Inc. Over the past six weeks, the children have all learned new sounds and are using these sounds to read more complex words and sentences. After the mid term holiday the Nursery children will join in the fun when they start the Nursery RWI programme.

Phase 2(P3 - P5)

In IPC , the P3 children worked cooperatively, in groups, and used different books and videos to gather information about the sun. They created posters and presented their work to their classmates. They were all so excited to share their findings.

Phase 3 (P6 - M1)

In IPC, P7 have been developing their knowledge and understanding of the different forms of government used in ancient Greece: monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny and democracy. This gummy bear freeze frame photo is of a scene which the children think captured the essence of the different forms of government.

M1

The first eight weeks in M1 have flown by; the students have adapted brilliantly to the change in demands and challenges encountered in secondary education. In English Literature, the students have come to the end of the study of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The focus of the topic has been to identify how different characters influence the structure of society and what happens when the balance of order and chaos is tipped. Art has been a particular favourite of the students, they have produced some excellent work particularly in their study of cross hatching and pointillism - next half term see the start of the Design and Technology unit. Golf has been a great success and will be continuing until the winter break, the students are looking forward to meeting the new golf pro after half term.

Music Enrichment

Once again the PDO School corridors have been filled with the sound of the Music Enrichment clubs. So far all have got off to a great start. Congratulations to the children for their continued enthusiasm and commitment and we look forward to some great performances inside and outside school very soon. If you would like your child to join any of the musical opportunities available at PDO School, please contact Mr Gary for further details.

Seussical Jr - Auditions

On Sunday, Miss Rosie announced the details of the audition process for the School Production of Seussical Jr The Musical.

All details and the sign-up form are on the Seussical Jr website.

Here is the link: Seussical Jr website

The auditions will be held during lunchtimes during the first week back after the half-term holiday. Those children in P4-M1 who wish to audition are encouraged to practise the two songs given in the website during the holiday. We are not looking for perfection, we are looking for children who can sing along to the music with expression, learn some simple dance moves and be part of a team.

Rehearsals for the show will start in the first week of Term 2 in January. They will be on Mondays and Thursdays 2-5pm (including a break time).

The show itself will be on 6th and 7th April 2020.

We will also soon start looking for adult volunteers to help with many aspects of show production, so please watch this space!

We are looking forward to seeing lots of talent at the auditions - Break a Leg!

Dates for your Diary:

November

  • 12th - Parent Teacher Consultations - All Year Groups - School closes at 1130hrs - No enrichment
  • 12th - MPSL - U9 Boys & Girls - Benchball Tournament at ABA - (Invited children only)
  • 13th - Parent Teacher Consultations - All Year Groups - School timings as normal - Enrichment takes place
  • 14th - National Day Celebrations at PDO School (Details to be confirmed)
  • 20th - MPSL - U9 Boys - Football Tournament at ABQ - (Invited children only)
  • 25th - MPSL - U9 & U11 - Boys - Swimming Gala hosted at PDO School - (Invited children only)

December

  • 2nd - MPSL - U11 Boys - Football Tournament at MIS - (Invited children only)
  • 5th - PDO School Choir leading the Grand Hormuz Lighting Ceremony (Approx. 1730 - 1930hrs -Details to be confirmed)

Parent Portal and Class Pages: www.pdoschoolparent.com


Wishing you and your family a happy and safe holiday.

Cheryl Fox

Have a safe Half Term holiday, from your PTA!