PDO School Newsletter

24th January 2019

Dear Parents,

We have had a very busy week. Ray Maher, our Maths consultant has been working in classrooms and with teachers and students to develop thinking skills in Mathematics. Thank you to all those parents who attended the parent presentation on Monday, it was a really well attended and good fun. We hope that you have gained an insight into how we teach Mathematics and that you will be able to help and support your children's learning journey.

We had our Milepost 1 Sports day today which was great fun. Please see your class blog for pictures. We are looking forward to our Milepost 2 and Milepost 3 Sports days will be on the 6th and 7th February.

Please keep you eye on the school calendar for the next set of activities.


A Fantastic Start to Enrichment Activities

This week has seen our Enrichment Programme for Term 2 begin and it has been a delight to see so many children involved across the school. This term we have increased the range of courses available and we hope that all of the children who wanted to have managed to get a place on a course which they are now enjoying.

This term there are over 800 spaces available on the Enrichment Programme and Home Languages courses. Of these, 467 places were available for after school courses and a further 335 spaces in clubs which run during break times.

In Milepost 1, 73% of children are now involved in the programme after school, whilst in Milepost 2 and 3 that figure rises to 90%. When break time courses are included both of these figures rise significantly. We are continually striving to broaden the opportunities on offer.

If any parents or friends of the school would like to discuss possibilities to offer to run or support courses in Term 3, please contact jtalbot@pdoschool.com


ABA Concert Band Weekend - 18 & 19 January

We were delighted that ABA invited us to join their Concert Band Weekend with some of the PDO musicians. Meriem, Ruchita, Matthew, Sai Amogha and Natalia enjoyed a fantastic weekend of music making, along with senior school children from ABA, BSM and TAISM. The children worked with tutors from all over Muscat, including The Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, and were fantastic ambassadors for the school, not only with their musical skills but also in holding their own among a large number of much older children.

We now look forward to our turn when we will host the other primary schools here at PDO on March 9th.

Visit by the Defense Attache from The Embassy of The United Kingdom

In recognition of the school's regular participation in the Service of Remembrance each November, we were delighted that P6 and P7 were presented with a book - Poppy Fields - during a visit to the school by Commodore Henry Duffy of the UK Royal Navy. As well as presenting the book, which will now be available in the school library, he also spoke to the children about the importance of Remembrance and remembering. Following his talk, the children were able to ask him many questions about his life working in the Royal Navy, where he has worked on aircraft carriers and commanded two different ships, amongst many other roles and responsibilities.

Commodore Duffy talking to P6 & P7

The children asked many excellent questions including what life was like on an aircraft carrier and why submarines don't have windows!

Faith is presented with the Poppy Field Book

The Poppy Fields book by Michael Morpurgo was presented to Faith and Thomas who both participated in the Remembrance Service.

Thomas is presented with the Poppy Field book

The book is now in the PDO School library.

IMD 2019 9th February 1100-1400

Not long now until International Market Day!

24 countries will be represented at our flagship community event. Please come to PDO School to enjoy entertainment, games and food from around the globe. Everyone welcome!

Stall Holders, we will meet Sunday 27/1 and Sunday 3/2.

If you would like your child to do a cultural dance or song, please get in touch by emailing notices@pdoschool.com.


Learning Shared in the Class Pages:

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

Early Years

We are very happy to welcome Hippo Class to the Pre-Nursery team. The children have settled in very nicely and have been busy making new friends. We have been making the most of the beautiful weather and have been enjoying our learning outside. The classes joined together for a shared picnic outside looking at our garden and sharing information about the flowers and plants.

Milepost 1

As part of the start of our unit, Buzzing Around the Garden, we enjoyed our walk to the Quarry Park recently. We were trying to identify living and non-living things. Pupils named them, took photographs on the i-pads and drew some careful pictures of things we saw. We followed up our learning by sorting the photographs from our visit into groups of living and non-living things. We also showed our understanding by explaining how we know if it is a living thing.

Milepost 2

P4 have got off to a great start to their new IPC unit about materials. After activities and games to learn new vocabulary we then used these to describe objects and materials around us. We looked at what objects in our classroom were made from, their properties and suitability. We then used our knowledge and linked our learning to our previous IPC unit and compared a house on Ras al Hamra to a tribal house in the rainforest.

Have a look at the different materials used in your house and the objects around you.

Milepost 3

As part of their IPC unit focusing on tourism, P7 children took on the role of 'Travel Agents', providing them with the opportunity of investigating suitable destinations to meet the needs of 4 tourists. Presented with profiles detailing each tourist's profession, likes, dislikes and travel requirements, the pupils set about the task of finding each tourist’s 'Perfect Holiday' using geographical and cultural information from a variety of top travel destinations. In-depth discussion, debate and analysis took place before the children reached their final proposals. A very stimulating, rewarding and enjoyable learning experience!

Punctuality:

Please can I politely remind all parents that school starts promptly at 7.55am for our P2 to P7 children and by 8.15am for our children in P1 and Early Years.

Many classes will be starting their ‘Maths Passport’ lesson at this time, for 10 minutes each day. If your child is regularly late they are going to miss a great deal of teaching and learning in this area of the curriculum. 10 minutes each day is equivalent to over 30 hours per year and this is time we can not get back.

The occasional late may be unavoidable. There are millions of things that can cause us to run behind but if your child is frequently late (two or more times each month) you may need to change your routine to ensure a successful start to your child's school day.

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.

Dates for your Diary:

January

  • 27th January - First stall holders meeting at 0810 in PDO School Training Room
  • 29th - MPSL - U9&U11 - Boys&Girls - Biathlon - Royal Flight (Invited children)

February

  • 3rd February - Second and final stall holders meeting at 0810 in PDO School Training Room
  • 4th February - MPSL - U9 - Boys&Girls - Athletics - at PDO School (1530-1730) (Invited children)
  • 6th February - MP3 Sports Day - 0810-0940
  • 7th February - MP2 Sports Day - 0810-0940
  • 9th February - International Market Day 1100-1400 at PDO School
  • 10th February - MPSL - U11 - Girls - Basketball Tournament- ABA (Invited children)
  • 19th/20th/21st - Mid Term Holiday (No school on these days)

Parent Portal and class pages: www.pdoschoolparent.com


Wishing you and your family a very restful weekend.

Cheryl Fox