PDO 

School  Newsletter

  May 11th 2023

Dear Parents,

We have had a great week of learning at PDO School again, with some notable performances by our school swim teams and some excellent results in out of school achievements also. Our children are truly talented in all areas! If you are able to support the PTA (and have some fun!) please come to our International Market Day this Saturday, details are below.  

Please take some time to view the Class Pages for more detailed information about your child's learning this week and any class notices here. 

Early Years

Children in FS1A have been developing their understanding of the world by exploring the properties of different materials in our outdoor area.  They looked at what happened when they dropped different items into the water tray and used new vocabulary to describe what happened to each of the objects.  Children have practised gross and fine motor skills in many ways, for example riding and washing the bikes outside and painting in the messy room. 

Miss Dawn, Leader for Early Years

Foundation Stage 2 to Year 1 Transition

An important element of FS2 is ensuring a smooth transition for children as they move into Year 1.  So far, children in FS2 have come together for special transition lessons in Writing and Maths and have started attending assembly in the main school.  In the next few weeks, they will begin swimming lessons in the main pool as well as attending Read Write Inc. sessions in the Phase 1 corridor.

Last week, FS2 parents were invited to an information meeting and a tour of the main school.  We would like to thank parents for their attendance and invite them to provide feedback and ask any further questions by completing this form.

Miss Dawn, Leader for Early Years

Miss Amy, Leader for Phase 1

Year 3

The children in Year 3 have been learning a wide variety of new knowledge and skills this week. In our IPC unit, ‘Island Life,’ they have been developing their knowledge of the difference between physical and human geographical features. Y3s have used Google Maps to identify the different geographical features of an island of their choice.  In Maths, the children have developed their skills in reading and writing the time on an analogue clock. Having read the chapter 'Laughing Gas' from Mary Poppins,  Y3s created a freeze frame to capture the different emotions of the characters.

Miss Naomi, Miss Maalia and Miss Liz, Year 3 Teachers 

Y3N identifying human and physical geographical features 

Y3M learning to tell the time on analogue clocks

Y3L and Y3N freeze frame of a scene from Mary Poppins 

Ras Al Hamra Club Spelling Bee Competition

Congratulations to Hala  in 4E who took part in the Spelling Bee competition at RAHC Library last weekend and won first place in her age category! We are all very proud of your achievement Hala!

Miss Eimear, Leader for Phase 2


PDO School continued with their winning streak as Aashta and Aslan took first and second place respectively in the 9-10 age category. This victory is especially impressive as Aslan competed with children older than him as his own age bracket was full! Well done to these super siblings!

Miss Munira & Miss Maalia 


Dar Al Atta'a Writing Competition

This year many of our PDO pupils submitted entries for the 17th year of the Let's Read - Writing Competition. Entrants were tasked with writing an original story set in Oman, or to re-write a traditional Omani tale in their own words. 

 We are absolutely delighted to announce the following winners:

Category: 8 - 10 years old 

 1st Prize: Fiadh, Y4E    

"My story was titled 'Little Miss Oman', based on the style of Roger Hargreaves' writing (the author of the Little Miss and Mr. Men series).  I hope to share it with you all soon!" - Fiadh Donnelly, Year 4E Student

Category: 11 - 14 years old 

2nd Prize: Veda, Y6N

"My story was about a girl following her dreams. I wanted other people to experience that feeling through my story. Harry Potter, one of my favourite books, inspired me to write my story as he tries to help the wizarding world, even if challenges stand in his way." -Veda Anoop, Year 6N Student

Category: 11 - 14 years old 

 3rd Prize: Isabella, Y6L

"My story was based on how kind Oman and its people are by helping those in need. I hope people are inspired to help others too." -Isabella Jones, Year 6L Student


Muscat Primary Sports League Swimming Gala

On Wednesday, our swim team took part in the MPSL swimming gala at ABA School. It was the first swim competition for many of our swimmers and we had as many butterflies out of the water as we did in the water. It was a great experience for our young team and we look forward to building on the success in the near future. We had lots of personal best times and top 3 finishes with all swimmers gathering points towards an overall team score.

Our Under 9 Team came in 2nd place overall, narrowly missing out on 1st place and our U11s came 4th. We are very proud of them all and hope it will inspire them to continue their training for upcoming events. 

Well done Scorpions! 

Mr Scott

Leaving Oman -  please let as know as soon as you can

We request that parents who have plans to move away from Oman, to please provide us with the details as soon as possible by emailing Ms Kath, kmorgan@pdoschool.com or Ms Zoe, zmcintyre@pdoschool.com .  This will allow us time to prepare the Transfer Certificate and other documents your child may require for their application to a new school, as well as to be able to give your child a traditional school farewell.  

Muscat Combined Choir, Wind and Brass Workshop  

Friday May 19th 

For those Year 3 to Year 6 children in PDO Band and PDO Choir, we have been invited to participate in the above event on Friday May 19th  9.00am-1.3opm at BSM. The aim is to run both a combined Choir and a combined Wind Band workshop culminating in a short performance at 1pm for parents. The format will be very similar to the one we held in November and open to children in Year 3 to 6. We hope that as many children will be able to participate as possible. Children have been made aware of the event for several weeks, however, the details have only just been confirmed with BSM.


Early next week, we will send out a sign-up form so if your child is interested, you will need to complete it as soon as possible as we are working to a tight deadline.


Full details will be made available next week but if you have any queries, contact me on the usual email.


gruston@pdoschool.com 


Gary Ruston - Leader of Music

Nut Free School

We would like to remind you that PDO School is nut free.  Therefore, please do not include any peanuts, tree nuts, or nut products in snack boxes, lunches, bags or birthday treats, or any food brought to school.  Please check any cereal bars carefully to ensure they do not contain nuts.

Thank you for your support.


Medication

If your child is on any medication, the medication should be labelled clearly with the child's name, dose and time to be taken.  It should be transported to the school by an adult and handed directly to the School Nurse. Please do not allow your child to carry his or her medication. 


Nurse Munira

International Market Day - Music Performances

There will also be musical performances to enjoy during the International Market Day.  Below is a list of groups and an approximate timetable of those performing.  Children should be at the school at least 30 mins before the commencement of their performance.  All performances will be in the Learning Souk.  Performers will NOT be required to dress in school uniform.  The whole performance will be finished by around 12.15.  All times may be subject to minor changes.  If you have any queries, my email is: gruston@pdoschool.com.

Gary Ruston, Leader of Music




International Market Day - Indoor Event

The PTA are hosting the highly popular International Market Day on Saturday 13th May from 10am to 2pm. This is a great opportunity for the whole community to come together and share some cultural delights ranging from food, art and various other activities which celebrate our diversity.  There will be lots going on throughout the day to keep the whole family engaged: face painting; singing from the choir; fairground games; a raffle and much more. Please show your support by coming along with friends and family to help us celebrate this special event. You can find more details regarding the event on the poster below.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Mr Mohsin and the PTA Team

Dates for your Diary








Wishing you a pleasant weekend,

Miss Kath      Acting Headteacher

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 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 Acting Headteacher, Ms. Kath Morgan.

Mr. Hamed, our School Manager, is also happy to listen to any parental concerns that have not been resolved successfully.