PDO School Newsletter

29th November 2018

Dear Parents,

National Day at PDO school was a great success!

The children really enjoyed the parade with the Omani band as well as snacks provided by our PTA and all the National Day activities. Mr Laurence and one or two other teachers pulled off their best dance moves and entertained us all. The parental support for the event was much appreciated and it ensured that the event ran smoothly and the fun went on all day.

P8 Class, Presentation to parents:

The school team have been working hard planning an exciting curriculum and activities for our new P8 Class starting in September 2019.

We would like to invite all current P6 and P7 Parents to come to our presentation, which will be held on Wednesday 12 December at 1630 hrs in the School’s Conference Room.

We look forward to sharing our presentation with you.


Football Champions:

The U9 boys MPSL team brought home the Championship Cup in an exciting tournament hosted by ABQ School on November 13th. The boys went undefeated in the tournament without a single goal being scored against them. Congratulations on a job well done boys!

Jamie Kemp

MPSL Boys Swim Meet

The annual MPSL Boys Swim Meet was held at PDO School this week, with over 80 U9 & U11 boys swimming from 9 International schools. Our team did very well, with Thomas Rees winning 3rd place in U11 25 meter freestyle, Jude Derbershire-Willcox coming 1st in U9 25 meter breaststoke, 3rd place in U9 medley relay and 2nd place in the U9 freestyle relay. There were many close races, with PDO students coming very close to placing in a number of events.

Congratulations to all swimmers

Jamie Kemp


PDO Take Ten Wows the Royal Opera House

On the 24th November, the members of Take Ten (Ruchita, Sai, Nynke, Isabel, Ian, Meriam and Natalia) were great ambassadors for PDO School, performing at perhaps the most prestigious venue in the Gulf - The Royal Opera House Muscat. They enthralled a wide ranging audience with their ensemble renditions of a range of keyboard music.


We look forward to welcoming all of the PDO family to our upcoming performances at The Hormuz Grand Hotel (06 December at 1800) and to our Picnic in the Quarry Park (15 December 1400 - 1530)

National Day Assembly

We Celebrated National Day on 15th November, for more photos please see our Parent Portal and Class Pages.

Whole School Parade

Everyone joined in and enjoyed the fun!

Early Years Celebrate National Day

The children had a wonderful time with musicians, Omani snack and activities all day.

Learning Shared in the Class Pages:

Here is a selection of images from each Milepost showing recent learning.

Early Years

Our new IEYC unit in Nursery is My Toy Shop. As part of our entry point to the unit the children received a letter from an Inventor asking them to follow the clues to solve a mystery puzzle. They then worked as a team using the puzzle pieces as a starting point to design and build their own robot.

The children used loose parts and recycled materials as a starting point for their design. They shared ideas during the construction process and were very proud of their final product.

Milepost 1

In P3 the children have been learning through the text type of procedures. To link this with our IPC learning, Seeing the Light, pupils made a nocturnal animal.

First pupils worked in groups to follow steps to make salt dough and then they used the dough to create an owl. Pupils then wrote the procedure of how to make the owl. Pupils know that each step (instruction) begins with a 'bossy' verb. They have also been learning to add detail by including adjectives and adverbs in their writing.

Milepost 2

To help us understand the BIG QUESTION: "Why are rainforests important? P4 researched rainforest products, many of which sustain life in and beyond the rainforest.

Now we are focusing on finding similarities and differences between our lives and that of rainforest people. We started with a Thinking Routine to stimulate our thoughts before investigating the lives of people in the rainforest. To record our learning we completed a table to compare the similarities and differences.

Milepost 3

As part of the IPC unit The Great the Bold and the Brave, P7 pupils took on the role of history detectives as they tried to prove that the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur may actually be true! Questioning, analysing, interpreting and making judgments through investigating historical sources allowed the children to learn in a more active way about the past. It also allowed them to further develop key problem solving, research and critical thinking skills. P7 now realise that historians need to think critically about the clues they find and question their evidence as they cannot immediately believe everything they see!

Community Notice:

A number of school staff and school students will be performing in this year's RAHADS Pantomime: The Wicked Witches of Oz. Tickets are now on sale at the RAHRC office. Tickets normally sell out quickly, as the performances are greatly enjoyed by children and families together.

What is Pantomime?

Pantomimes are comedy plays aimed at children and families with a high level of jokes, silliness and, most of all, audience participation. For example, there will always be a baddy that the audience will be expected to 'boo'. Please come and join in the fun!

Concerns:

Parents who have any concerns should first speak with their child’s class teacher. We are confident that our teachers will be able to resolve the vast majority of your questions; in the unlikely event that they are unable to meet your need, please make an appointment to speak with Mr. Laurence, Miss. Margaret or myself.

Safety:

Please ensure that all children and adults are wearing appropriate seat belts in our car park.

Please ensure that children walk on our school footpaths rather than the roads during collection and drop off - please use marked crossings where possible.

Dates for your Diary:

December

  • 2nd - MPSL - U11 - Boys - Football Tournament - AIS&TSS (Invited children)
  • 3rd - P1 Reading Meeting for P1 Parents 1600hrs - Early Years building - (This is an adult only event, please arrange child care)
  • 3rd - School Board Meeting
  • 5th & 6th - P6 Residential Experience
  • 5th - Sleeping Beauty visit to Opera House for invited choir children
  • 6th - PDO School Choir singing at the Hormuz Hotel - 1800 - Parents and families welcome to support
  • 6th - Last day for Term 1 Enrichment Activities
  • 9th - MPSL - U11 - Girls - Football Tournament - BSM (Invited children)
  • 10th - P1 Blast Off Show - For P1 Parents - 1315 - Early Years Building
  • 11th - 13th - P7 Residential Experience
  • 12th - P3 Show 'The Moon Thieves' for P3 Parents - Main Hall - Details to follow
  • 12th - Presentation to Parents regarding the future provision at PDO School for P8 children - P6 and P7 parents invited
  • 15th - Winter Celebration - 'Picnic in the Park' Musical performances (Ras al Hamra Quarry Park) - Further details to follow
  • 20th - International Lunch for children - PTA - Children invited to wear their own National Dress or colours from their nations' flag - Details to follow

January

  • Week beginning 13th - School Photographs (Lensman)

Parent Portal and class pages: www.pdoschoolparent.com

Our school Parent Portal has a great deal of information to support parents. Please take some time to visit the class pages. You will find many photographs, recording the learning which has taken place in the classrooms.

Have a lovely weekend.

Cheryl Fox