PDO
School Newsletter
15th September 2022
Dear Parents
It has been great to see may of you in school this week attending the Family Learning Sessions, where you have worked with your child in class, either in a Maths or English lesson. This is now possible due to the repealing of Covid restrictions, which allow us to begin a return to a more normal way of working. It is clear from the wonderful compliments which our teachers have received this week, that you are enjoying this too! Additionally, it has also given parents a greater opportunuty to get to know their child's teacher.
This year we have many new staff who are buzzing with great ideas, which we hope to implement in the coming months. We would also like to hear from yourselves with any suggestions that you might have for our children. If you have an idea that you have seen work well at a previous school, or you have a new idea that you feel would work particularly well at PDO School, we want to hear from you! Please get in touch with notices@pdoschool.com or your child's class teacher to share your idea, alternatively, you can post an idea in our new suggestion box at reception.
In order to view the Class Pages, please click the link here .
Early Years
'Free Flow'
We successfully introduced 'free flow' sessions, where children are able to choose which area of provision they want to play in. This has enabled children to gain independence as they explore the environment more freely and make choices about their learning.
PE and Swimming
Each class has now had at least one PE and Swimming session and the children have been excited to participate in the fun and engaging lessons. It has been wonderful to see them gain confidence with these new routines.
Thank you to parents who have dropped off the items requested earlier this week, to support with large and small scale construction and role play. We will continue to leave out the collection boxes by the main entrance doors.
Phase 1 - Family Learning Session
Phase One Family Learning Days have been a treat for all. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing you interact and enjoy the session with your child. Pupils have been practising counting backwards and giving one less of a number up to twenty. Parents had a chance to see a variety of teaching strategies used to teach number. We are so looking forward to next week.
Miss Amy
Phase 2
In Year 3 this week we have been putting everything in order. We used alphabetical order to find words in a thesaurus to help us find synonmys for sad. Then after a group discussion we placed them in order on an intensity scale. In Maths, we ordered 3 digit numbers in ascending and descending order and in IPC we created our personal timelines in chronological order. Y3L also practised alphabatical order in their class PE lesson. The whole class had to order themsleves alphabetically without falling off the bench which required great communication, cooperation and respect.
Miss Eimear
English
Alphabetical Order
IPC
Chronological Order
Class PE
Alphabetical order
Maths
Numerical Order
Phase 3 - Family Learning Sessions
It was a pleasure to welcome parents into Phase 3 classes this week. We hope that you enjoyed this unique opportunity to experience what school life is like for the children at PDO school. In Year 6 English lessons, we explored the theme of relationships in Skellig and took a closer look at the blossoming friendship between Michael and Mina.
Mr Neil
Discuss
We predicted what the might happen next in the story.
Role Play
We acted out the conversation between main characters Michael and Mina.
Write
We wrote the dialogue by accurately punctauting direct speech.
Bienvenue à la Classe Française!
I am delighted to have the opportunity to teach all of the children from Year 1 to Year 6 French this year and I am really looking forward to leading them on a journey to instill a love of language learning in Primary school. Many children are already sharing what they have learnt in class with their peers and class teachers, as well as at home with their families.
As the vast majority of the children are learning French for the first time, they have learned some facts about France and French speaking countries, learnt how to greet each other, introduce themselves and count from 0 to 10 through role play, songs and games. Year 1 and 2 also have a French friend (puppet) called Sabine to help them.
Apart from learning new vocabulary and phrases, Phase 2 and 3 pupils have been looking at the skills of deducting the meaning of new words from the context, as well as developing their listening skills.
Due to many requests by the children, I will be adding a French link to the class pages.
Miss Becky
Swimming
It was great to finally get all of the children in the pool this week, after last weeks closure. Our swimmers enjoyed being back in the pool as we continue last year's hard work developing their water confidence and swimming skills. Following this week, our swimmers will be split into small groups and guided through the STA School swimming framework, to become safe and confident in the water.
Don't forget swimmers need to bring their costume, towel, flip flops and goggles to lessons. With regard to costumes, can you please refer to the parent handbook on our website for guidance. Costumes should be sufficiently tightfitting to ensure the children's safety. Link to swim costume guidance.
Mr Scott
Physical Education
This week our Year 6 pupils took part in a skill related fitness lesson. We discussed what skill related fitness means and which sports demonstrate which skills. Our pupils worked cooperatively in small teams to challenge each other and identify their own strengths and areas of development. As we discovered, all of these skills can be improved with practice. It was great to see the friendly competition between pupils and watch them challenge their speed, power, reactions, coordination, balance and agility.
Year 1 - Year 6 Parent Guest Library Readers
We would like to invite you to come to the PDO School Library to read a short story or poem to your Year 1 - Year 6 child's class, during their Library Time, this term. This will be a short story, or poem which will take no longer than 10 minutes to read to the class. You can also get to see our lovely new mural (pictured above) in the library!
You are welcome to bring a cherished book with you, however, we have a wide range of stories and puppets in the library if you would prefer to use some of our resources.
If you are interested, in reading to your child's class, please follow the link below:
Miss Zoe
Enrichment
I am very pleased to announce that this week's enrichment programme ran smoothly and without interruption. Thanks to all of the staff who give up their time each week to facilitate the programme. I hope to include a few more photos in next week's newsletter.
Just a couple of reminders to parents:
If your enrichment pickup arrangements have changed for the end of day, please inform the activity leader or the school reception by lunch time if possible. Teachers are not always in a position to read or respond to emails immediately so this allows time for the message to be disseminated and saves any unnecessary confusion.
If your contact details have changed, can you please ensure that your the are correctly logged on our school system.
Gary Ruston
Enrichment - Art Portraiture
Our Portraiture students began their self-directed projects that will lead them to completing a final portrait piece of art, using a medium of their choice. Along their journey, they will learn new skills and techniques. This week, we began exploring facial features using different drawing techniques, both in pencil and charcoal. It was really wonderful seeing the students working together in a very creative, calm and supportive environment.
Miss Leanne
Home Languages - Hindi
We are pleased to inform you that Anshupriya Agrawal will be offering Home Language classes for speakers of Hindi on Thursday afternoons, after school this term, starting next Thursday 22 September 2022 from 2.10pm - 3.10pm.
If your child is a Hindi speaker and you are interested in enrolling them in this Enrichment Activity, please let us know by informing notices@pdoschool.com and we will provide further details on joining the activity.
Nurse Munira - medical update
Dear Parents,
With regard to DT and Polio vaccinations, (Child Diphtheria / Tetanus and Polio vaccinations), when an appointment is booked for your child to receive the vaccine at PDO Clinic, I do ask you which day is the most suitable for you. PDO Clinic prefers not to vaccinate all children on the same day of the week, therefore 10 appointments are booked over the week.
If you are unable to attend your vaccination appointment, for any reason, please inform me at least one day before, in order that I can give that appointment to another child.
We are not yet able to obtain the DT vaccine for children aged 10-12 years. Hopefully, we will be able to start booking appointments for these children from 25th September/2022 onwards. I will keep you updated on this.
NB. Please remember to take your child's vaccination record with you to your child's appointment.
Gentle reminder - Please don't take your child on the day of the appointment, if they feel unwell. Please give 24 hours notice of appointment cancellation, wherever possible.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)) of the Parent Teacher association (PTA)
We would like to invite interested parents to attend the PTA AGM. For further information please click here.
Family Learning Sessions
Family Learning Sessions will continue next week. If you have not yet signed up for a session, please contact your child's class teacher directly by email to do so.
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)
PTA AGM
5th October 5:30 pm (please see link above for further details)
PTC Dates
16th to 19th October inclusive - your class teacher will contact you with appointment times closer to this date
IPC Exit Points
Early Years - Exit Point "Wild"
20th October @ 9:15 am
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.