PDO School Newsletter

14th February 2019

Dear Parents,

A very Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

One of the highlights of the school calendar is International Market Day! This was a wonderful event, where the whole community celebrated cultural diversity whilst demonstrating community cohesion.

Volunteers from many nationalities proudly represented their countries and shared some of their traditional culture, food, games and costumes.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the event a great success.

We took in over 3000 OMR for Dar al Hanan, a residence for children receiving cancer treatment. The money is going to buy new beds/mattresses, bedding and toys for the residence, which is being renovated.

Please check the the Parent Portal where we will publish all of the photographs of the event.

News from the PE Department

The PE Department have had a very busy term thus far. We have had more than 200 children involved in our Enrichment activities which take place at 2nd break and after school. We have taken great pride in organising these challenging activities and are very proud of the progress and commitment the children have made.

This term we completed our Athletics and Fitness unit and we are now moving forward with Fielding and Striking with MP 2 and 3. MP1 children are also working on their catching and throwing whilst learning various games involving spatial awareness.

The Early Years students have really developed their gross motor skills, in fact they have made considerable progress in all areas of PE and physical development and it has been our pleasure to see them succeed.

Sports Days

MP2 & MP3 Sports Days were held the week of February 3rd. It was great to see so many parents out to cheer on the students. Many thanks to all those who attended. We designed the activities based upon the learning the children have been focusing on over the past 5 weeks. There were lots of great activities including running, jumping and throwing and the children had a great deal of fun. It was a very close call, but the winners of the Inter House Competition, for this half term, were the Red Team for MP2 and the Blue Team for MP3.

Congratulations and well done to all students for creating such a positive, enthusiastic school spirit on the day. Also a huge thank you to the P7 Playground Leaders for leading the MP2 students in all of the exciting activities - we couldn’t have done it without you!

Muscat Marathon

After training for almost a month, 63 nervous, yet excited children from PDO School joined together at Al Mouj for the 2019 Muscat Marathon Kids Race. The children experienced the feeling of a real race, which was exhilarating, and every child received a medal for their efforts. Congratulations to all those who participated.

MPSL

The winter term is always a busy one for MPSL events, trying to fit in all outdoor activities before the warmer weather approaches. January began with a Cross Country meet at The Sultan’s School. This was very well attended, as 22 boys and girls from P4-7 ran over 1.5 km of rough terrain. I was very proud of the resilience these children showed, especially just after a long holiday break.

Royal Flight School then hosted another difficult, but enjoyable event for both boys and girls from P4-7 - the annual Biathlon, which included a 600 or 800 meter swim and then a 1 km run. Some of our athletes found the swim tough, but because of their athletics training, their running was fantastic. Although we did not have any placements, all of the children were pleased with their performance, as was I. Great job!

The most recent event was the U9 boys and girls Athletics Meet hosted by PDO School. PDO athletes were very strong, coming close to some of the top teams in the standings. The day was a great introduction to how a competitive athletics meet is run - with high jump, long jump, javelin and a number of running races organized. This group of children displayed a great deal of respect and sportsmanship. Yet again, the staff volunteers and the P7s were amazing in helping to run the meet - thank you so much!

Watch this space for more exciting upcoming events after the Mid-Term break.

Jamie Kemp

PE Leader

Keep fit and Have Fun!

GECKO Maths

During Ray Maher's visit the P2 - P7 children enjoyed participating in GECKO maths. This is a team based maths challenge where the children had to work cooperatively to solve logic and reasoning problems. They received points for getting the correct answer, explaining their thinking, as well as bonus points for more challenging questions. Each team had one 'envoy' who had to share the answers with the teachers. This required the children to explain their thinking clearly to each other as well as their teachers. When asked to reflect, all the children said they enjoyed the challenge of participating in this activity. One child described it as 'The best day ever."

Green Day 2019

The PDO School Green Day this year was a great success. Thank you for the donations of 1 rial, as a school we managed to raise 420 rial. This money will support the purchase of rainforest so it can be protected, as well as our ongoing adoption of orangutans at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre in Malaysia. The P4 children also got to share their 'Save the Rainforest' t-shirts which they created as part of their IPC topic - Saving the Rainforest.

Library Book Bingo

It has been wonderful to see so many children reading with great enthusiasm for the Library Book Bingo Challenge! We have handed out many Bingo prizes in the last couple of weeks and look forward to handing out more after the half term break. Please continue to encourage your students to read their books. You can help in their success, especially in the younger grades, by assisting in writing the book titles in the square and signing when they have read the book. The bingo challenge will continue until the end of term two. Bingo cards with a full house will need to be handed to the librarian by Wednesday the 10th of April. Happy Reading!


Learning Shared in the Class Pages:

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

Early Years

As part of our IEYC Unit 'Journeys', P1 have been going on imaginary journeys. Recently, we were shipwrecked on a desert island! We wrote a message in a bottle to a friendly pirate cat asking him to save us! Children used their phonic knowledge to sound out the words and practised using capital letters, finger spaces, full stops and even exclamation marks!

Milepost 1

As part of our IPC learning - Beautiful Oman, P2 went on a trip to the PDO Golf Course. We were looking at the trees and birds that are native to Oman. We saw many different birds and we looked at them in more depth when we returned to the classroom. We also drew some trees and did some bark rubbings from various plants and rocks.

Milepost 2

In P5 we have been exploring the organs of the body, learning about their location and functions. Using a range of sources the children researched, took notes and rewrote information in their own words. To continue cultivating an environment where we learn from each other, children became resident 'experts' in their assigned organ, and taught their peers what they had discovered. We are continuing our exploration by learning about the different organ systems.

Milepost 3

In P6, we have been learning about being a journalist and the different formats for reporting the news, including paper and online articles, podcasts and video broadcasts. The children have relished the opportunity to learn how to produce their own news broadcasts by using their Chromebooks to capture and edit their videos and photographs. They learned how to layer audio, video and pictures, use different camera angles for effect, incorporate green screen technology and add video transitions.

Attendance and Punctuality:

It is very important to your children's learning that they attend school regularly. Absence from school disrupts the continuity of learning and can cause some children a great deal of stress because their peers have a greater knowledge or understanding than they do due to missed learning opportunities. At PDO school learning starts at 7:55 and so arriving on time is very important. You can help your child to be successful by arriving at school a few minutes before the bell and maximising their learning time. If your child is unable to attend school they should contact the school office on the first day of absence to explain the reason for their absence.

Dates for your Diary:

February

  • 17th/18th - All Enrichment Activities are cancelled next week
  • 19th/20th/21st - Mid Term Holiday (No school on these days)
  • 25th - MPSL U11 - Boys&Girls - Athletics - Sultan School (1400-1800) (Invited children)

March

  • 5th - MPSL - U11 - Boys - Basketball - BSM
  • 6th - MPSL - U9 - Mixed - T-Ball Tournament - PDO
  • 9th - Muscat Primary Brass & Woodwind Day 2019
  • 10th - MPSL - U9 - Girls - Basketball Clinic - ASIs


Parent Portal and class pages: www.pdoschoolparent.com


Once again, it has been a very busy few weeks at PDO School, filled with fun learning opportunities. Thanks must go to all the staff for continuing to provide such excellent education and care for all the children, and also thanks to the parents and friends of PDO School for your continued support.

Have a lovely weekend

Cheryl Fox