PDO
School Newsletter
29th September 2022
Dear Parents
The weather is turning a little cooler after a long summer and it is lovely to see so many of the children arriving at school on their bikes and scooters. In the interests of the children's safety, we strongly encourage all children to wear a helmet when riding to school and around Camp.
The children have continued to enjoy their learning both in school time and in the after school enrichment activities which take place daily. Below is a just a snapshot of their learning this week, which also includes an exciting competition from Miss Amy which is open to all children at PDO School.
In order to view the Class Pages for more detailed information about your child's learning this week and any class notices, please click the link here .
Early Years
Children in Early Years have had plenty of opportunities to be creative and imaginative. They have enjoyed the open-ended nature of the large loose parts brought in by parents and displayed many of the characteristics of effective learning, for example creating and thinking critically.
Labelling the boxes with different coloured numbers and shapes enables children to consolidate their understanding of mathematical concepts as they stack the boxes to tidy them away.
Miss Dawn
Phase 1
In IPC in Year 1, we have been looking at the topic The Stories People Tell. We have learnt about different stories from various cultures and the way they are told.
Recently we have been learning about Aboriginal Dreaming stories. Aboriginal Dreaming stories mean ‘to see and understand the law’. It is the way the Aboriginal people pass on important knowledge, cultural values and belief systems to future generations. These are some of the oldest stories that exist today. Stories were told in the form of song, dance, paintings and story tellings.
After looking at some of the popular stories we had a go at creating our own Aboriginal dot painting with the animals from these stories. The children did an amazing job using this technique and independently produced some fabulous paintings!
Mr Mohsin and Miss Emma
Phase 2 - What a Wonderful Word!
In English, Year 3 have been studying 'The Bear and the Piano'. The story is about a talented bear who leaves his quiet life in the forest to go and achieve fame and success in the city. This week the children have been writing letters from the bear to his friends back home in the forest. They have been focusing on explaining how the bear is feeling about his experiences. The Year 3 children have developed their vocabulary and have loved sharing their ideas with each other. Their writing has followed a process in which they began by exploring vocabulary, planning a letter, writing the letter, editing and improving it and finally publishing it. The writing Year 3 have produced this week has been phenomenal!
Miss Maalia
Science - what in the world have they been up to?
Year 2
Living Things and Their Habitats
Year 2 have been finding out what defines all living things - ask them about MRS GREN! They have also been exploring micro habitats and finding mini beasts in the school grounds.
Year 3
Rocks
Year 3 have been finding out about different types of rock. They have been doing some great investigations including making their own sedimentary rock using layers of dark and white chocolate!
Year 4
States of Matter
Year 4 have been defining and investigating the different states of matter. They have carried out some interesting investigations involving changing state, temperature transformations and simulating the water cycle.
There are some excellent science study support information, games and activities available should your child wish to find out more about their topic. Click Here for Link.
Mr Joe
Music
Well done to Year 3 and Year 5, who have started particularly well this year on keyboard and guitar respectively.
Mr Gary
International Primary Curriculum
Personal Learning Goals
PDO School are conducting a competition in which the students are given the opportunity to design a logo for the school in relation to our core values. We will be cooperating across the curriculum and with parents to credit students who have an active understanding of our core values.
Adaptable - Our students are changing and meeting new circumstance all the time to which they need to respond effectively and positively.
Resilient - Life is not always smooth and students need to be strong when facing small setbacks.
Collaborator - Working with others gets the best results in life at home and at school.
Ethical - Students need to be aware of what is fair and good behaviour.
Respectful - We all need to behave properly with other people and show the right attitude.
Communicator - being able to express understanding, questions and feelings is a key to achievement.
Empathetic - As our students mature they can identify the feelings and attitudes of others.
School is more than learning facts and the school shares an appreciation of assisting students in becoming global citizens. As a learning community we look for the expression of these values by all students personally at home and across the curriculum in school.
The values are a matter of personal attitude and daily behaviour. Perhaps you can discuss these within your family thinking of active examples.
Design logo deadline: Thursday 13th October – Kindly remind your child to submit their logo design to their class teacher.
Miss Amy
Enrichment
A few more photos from some the enrichment activities that take place throughout the week. This week, Ukulele with Miss Zoe and Mr Alex, plus a very large African Drumming group with me!
Mr Gary
PDO School Aquarium - almost!
We are very excited to show off our new mural in our souk near the main hall. All of the underwater animals seen in the mural can be found in Oman. How lucky we are! There is also also an important quote on the mural from Sir David Attenborough which also reminds us of our duty to protect this environment.
Year 1 - Year 6 Parent Guest Library Readers
We would like to say a special thank you to Hamiz and Alman's mum who came to read a story to each of their classes this week. All of the students thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the big dragon and lion!
If you would like to read a short story or poem to your Year 1 - Year 6 child's class, during their Library Time, this term, please follow the link below. This will be a short story, or poem which will take no longer than 10 minutes to read to the class.
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.
Miss Zoe
Nurse Munira - medical update
Dear Parents
We will be welcoming a team of student dentists from the Ministy of Health to PDO School next week to put on an educational fair for pupils in Year 3 and 4.
Next newsletter I will be including some health tips for all children about their dental hygiene.
If you have any questions related to this or any other medical issue, please do not hesitate to contact me for support:
nurse@pdoschool.com
PDO School Board Members
PDO School is looking for volunteers to join the School Board. If you are interested, please send an email to cfox@pdoschool.com expressing an interest.
Dates for your Diary:
PTA AGM
5th October 5:30 pm (please see link above for further details)
PTC Dates
18th and 19th October - 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.