PDO
School Newsletter
8th September 2022
Dear Parents
Although this week may have been disrupted by the power cut, the children have all shown resilience and a great deal of learning has taken place at PDO School. All Class Pages are operational, providing the information you need as parents and for our learners too . If you have not already viewed your child's Class Page, please use the link here to do so. Below is a snapshot of your child's learning this week, and other important news about how you can learn with your child in class in the forthcoming weeks.
Early Years
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Children in Early Years continued learning through the 'Wild Animals' theme, reading 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. They enjoyed role playing the story on a large scale in our themed role play area and were delighted to find pictures of themselves in our small world area. These activities extended the children's vocabulary and ability to retell a story as well as encouraging lots of communication and imaginative play.
Phase 1
Year 1 children used pictures of different animals from the "Oi Frog" story to write rhyming words which match the animal from the story. Working collaboratively to find the answers was a great success! We were very lucky to be visited by 'Chunk' the tortoise this week. What a treat! As part of our IPC Unit "The stories people tell" we read the fable The Tortoise and the Hare which helped the children to understand the importance doing things slowly and steadily than rushing.
Phase 2
Students in Year 4 had a wonderful time collaborating and building model villages for our new IPC unit "Active Planet"...only for the models to be destroyed! What do you do in a disaster? What important resources will be needed in an emergency? What is a volcano and why does it erupt? Students began exploring the causes of natural disasters as well as practice their research skills to learn all about famous volcanoes!
Phase 3
In IPC, we are currently exploring animal adaptations. During our Entry Point, the children went on a scavengers hunt in order to find definitions of words, descriptions of habitats and animal adaptations. They are now working to create a quiz based on their research of desert animal adaptations.
IPC - Animal Quiz
Reader of the Week!
This week we celebrated 'Reader of the Week' during assembly.
Every week in class and in assembly we are hoping to celebrate those who have made a special effort to develop their reading skills, both at home and in school. Please comment in your child's home reading diaries if your child impresses you with their reading at home and we will be sure to celebrate this in school too.
Well done to Sryanshu and Suryanshu for taking the time to read together, whilst waiting to be picked up after school this week!
Family Learning Sessions
We would like to offer the opportunity for all parents in Years 1 to 6 to experience either a Maths or English lesson with their child in their classroom. Teachers will invite you to sign up for a lesson supporting your child in their learning, using an appointment system. The lesson will last approximately 45 minutes and there will be a maximum of 3 adults in a lesson at any one time. This will give parents a unique insight into their child's everyday learning. Please note this session is for you to support your child's learning within the classroom environment. Any questions that you may have for the teacher cannot be answered at this time, but can be addressed at the Parent Teacher Consultaions (PTCs), which we will be having shortly. Please see 'Dates for Your Diary' at the end of the newsletter for exact timings. We warmly look forward to welcoming our parents to share in their child's learning in their classroom in the forthcoming weeks.
Enrichment
The PDO Enrichment Programme started with a bang this week, though not quite the way we had intended it to. My sincere apologies for the disruption caused to the after school programme, due to the power outage on Monday. Despite the best efforts of the school, an ongoing and ever increasing series of issues caused by the power cut meant that for safety reason, it was much wiser to cancel the activities.
Under such exceptional circumstance, thanks must go to the staff who supported to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children. Also, to the children themselves, who regardless of there disappointed, handled the situation very maturely.
I certainly hope that next week will be smoother and more successful.
Gary Ruston
Nurse Munira - medical update
Dear Parents, we are so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. We welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education, and look forward to working with you and your children. I need to to remind you again about your child's vaccinations, please be aware that we are targeting DT
(Diphtheria and Tetanus) and Polio vaccine at PDO School, in accordance with the Ministry of Health school requirements.
Please be aware that you can contact me by 'phone or send me an email, if your child is due to receive a DT vaccination.
DT vaccination for children aged 6-8 years
DT vaccination for children aged 10-12 years
Please ensure that you review your child's vaccination record, prior to scheduling. We will contact you as soon as possible. If you need any support, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
nursemunira@pdoschool.com
Gentle reminder - hats and bags
School hats, book bags and library book bags are available to buy at the main school reception desk.
School Hats 4.5 OMR
Green Book Bags 3 OMR
Red Library Bags 2.5 OMR
Your child should wear a hat to school every day.
Dates for your Diary:
Family Learning Sessions
Week 4 and 5 - Sunday September 11th to September 22nd (Please refer to the email sent by your class teacher for appointment times)
PTC Dates
16th to 19th October inclusive - your class teacher will contact you with appointment times closer to this date
IPC Exit Points
Year One - Exit Point "The stories people tell"
17th October @ 10:30 am
Year Two - Exit Point
"From A - B"
18th October @ 10:45 am
Year Three - Exit Point
"Dinosaur"
18th October @ 1:20pm
Year Four - Exit Point
"Active Planet"
19th October @ 1:20pm
Year Five Exit Point "Extreme Survivors"
19th October @ 11:00 am
Year Six - Exit Point "Ancient Greece"
17th October @ 12:45 pm
Parental Concerns:
At PDO School we acknowledge that, from time to time, parents may wish to express concerns about specific aspects of their child’s education. We are always happy to investigate and respond to these concerns. Please note that, for the Class Teachers, it is important that even informal discussions take place outside of their teaching time.
What do I do if I have a concern?
Please make the Class Teacher your first point of contact if your concern is not successfully resolved, please contact the school via notices@pdoschool.com to make an appointment with the Headteacher, Cheryl Fox, or the Deputy Headteacher, Ms. Kath Morgan.
Mr. Hamed, our School Manager, is also happy to listen to any parental concerns that have not been resolved successfully.