School Year 2014-2015 Issue 1 – The PDO School Newsletter is compiled by ………….

Newsletter

Date: 29th January 2015 Issue: 11

Dear Parents,

Parent-Teacher Consultations:

We hope to see you at next week’s Parent-Teacher Consultations. These meetings are for the parents of all

children with exception of our very new Pre-Nursery children who have only recently started school. Please

contact the School Office to make an appointment, but be aware that the deadline for bookings is Sunday

1st February. At the end of the meeting you will receive a short written summary of your child’s overall

attainment in Literacy, Mathematics and IPC, with future targets. I regret that we will be unable to send this

summary home to parents who have not attended the meeting, because it is a summary of the dialogue

held during the meeting. Please also take time to fill in and return the exit questionnaire at the end of the

meeting so that we can further improve our partnership with you.

There will be no After School Activities week beginning 1st February due to the consultation meetings. NTC-PO

will continue as normal.

Absence:

If your child is absent from school, please ensure you contact the school Office on the first day of absence to

explain why your child is not in school. Children who are absent from school should not attend After School

Activities on the same day. If you need to take your child out of school for an extended period of time, for

example, to return to your base country, please make an appointment to see me so that we can find a way

to ensure your child’s progress is not disrupted.

International Market Day – 28th February

This is a highlight of our school calendar and I am looking forward to experiencing my first International Market

Day at PDO School. Please remember that without your support the day will not be a success. Please ensure

your home country is represented. If you are interested in being involved in any way, please email

arshiya.sohale@gmail.com .

Also, there is a reminder for all children in P3 – P7 who are interested in performing Global Peace group

dance to be performed at the International Market day, practice days are Monday and Wednesday first

break. Again, if you are interested, please email arshiya.sohale@gmail.com

Keeping our Children Safe in School

Perimeter doors are locked each day from 8.15am. Access into school is via the main entrance doors,

monitored by the guards. Upon entry, please sign in at the guards’ desk and take a visitor’s badge. Please

then report to the School Office for your appointment. Please do not go directly to classtooms or offices

unless you know your are expected. All visitors must ensure they adhere to our fire safety rules.

Thank you, for your continued support,

Joanne Speller

Head Teacher

PDO School

PO Box 81, Muscat 100

Sultanate of Oman

Website: www.pdoschool.com

Tel: (+968) 24675864

School Year 2014-2015 Issue 1 – The PDO School Newsletter is compiled by ………….

Literacy Learning is Fun in P2K

In P2K we have been linking our IPC learning with our Literacy work. We have started to look at Information

Texts when we are reading and writing. We wrote information texts about “Trees”, “Fruit Trees” and “Fruit”

using the “Describing Bubble”.

For writing an information text on “Fruit trees”, we focused particularly on date, banana and papaya trees.

Before our writing activity, we went on an investigative walk to find the fruit trees that grow around the

school. We compared the bark, size of leaves and looked at how the fruit grow on the trees.

After tasting, smelling, touching and looking at the fruits we described banana as “yellow” and “sweet”,

papaya as “juicy” and “slimy” and finally we described dates as “wrinkly” and “black-brown”.

School Year 2014-2015 Issue 1 – The PDO School Newsletter is compiled by ………….

A Musical Update

Music is now a thriving subject at PDO School. I am sure that many parents and guests were surprised by the

quality of performances by the Milepost 1, 2 and 3 Choirs, both at MAF, RAHRC and in assemblies last term.

We now hope to have the children performing as often as possible. There is a popular music After School

Activity and break- time timetable of activities. Please encourage your children to join up to these. After all, if

you are not joining in, you are missing out!

Many parents have been asking about what we learn in the Music Curriculum and so I thought I would share

a little more with you:

The Music Curriculum is diverse and highly active in its approach to the children’s development.

The curriculum is designed not only to develop musical strength but also to support the work that children do

in IPC, especially the personal goals and international mindedness.

But… as they say, a picture tells a thousand words so here are a few to give you a flavour of music this term.

Children in Early Years are learning about controlling sound and developing their fine motor skills. We are

enjoying using tuned and un tuned percussion to learn about rhythm and pitch.

In Milepost 1 we have been learning to use our voices properly. This also helps us with our English

pronunciation and diction. We have started to learn how to play the recorder. This helps us to develop our ear

and our timing, as well as general musicianship skills.

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In Milepost 2 we are practicing for our show on March 11. In P4 we have started to play the keyboard. In P5

we have started a very exciting project – we are all learning to play the clarinet. We have to be very resilient!

In Milepost 3 we have been getting very energetic with our Samba drumming. This teaches us all about

timing, accuracy and teamwork. It really strengthens our resilience, cooperation and other personal goals. It

is great fun and we have enjoyed working out in the sunshine.

John Talbot – Specialist Music Teacher

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Home Languages Programme

This term saw the start of our first ever Home Languages Programme. We

started with 6 language groups; Arabic, Spanish, Urdu, Russian, Tamil and

Serbian. Although there were some initial hiccups in getting started, thanks to

the hard work of volunteer dedicated parent coordinators and treasurers helping

to set up each language group, we have finally started our very first classes.

ARABIC

The Arabic group is currently split into two classes; P1-3 and P4-7. This has

been a popular course and is almost full. The classes are taught by Ms Ghada

(P1-3) and Ms Amira (P4-7). In total there are 33 children studying Arabic.

URDU

The Urdu group is also split into two classes; P1-3 and P4-7. It is also a popular

course with 27 children studying the Urdu language. Both classes are taught by

Ms Farhana.

P1-3 Arabic P4-7 Arabic

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SPANISH

There are three separate Spanish classes to cater for different age groups of

children. The children are taught by Ms Santi. At the moment there are 18

children studying Spanish at different levels.

SERBIAN

Although this is a small group, these children (and their parents) are dedicated

and determined to keep their Home Language alive while here in Oman! There

are three children in the Serbian class and their teacher is Ms Tatjana.

TAMIL

The Tamil group has 14 children studying their

language. You may see some familiar faces in this

group…..Ms Lakshmi and Ms Yamini can be found

helping these children to study!

Spanish for 5-6 year olds

Can you see what they

are writing?

Spanish 7-9 year olds

Spanish 10-11 year olds

Spanish 5-6 year olds

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RUSSIAN

Although this is another small group, these children are committed to learning

Russian at Level 2/3. This Russian class is taught by Ms Tatiana.

We would also like to find a teacher for the younger Russian children. If you

know anyone, please email kjones@pdoschool.com.

Growing and growing!

At home, you can help your children continue to improve their literacy by

encouraging them to make connections between what they are learning in their

Home Language and what they notice about the similarities and differences in

English.

Our fledgling Home Languages programme is in it’s infancy and we hope it will

grow and continue to be a great success. It is wonderful to see so many people

willing to work together towards the goal of raising standards of literacy and

language, no matter what background you come from. A massive THANK YOU to

everyone who has helped get this programme started!

‘You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be

great!’ (Zig Ziglar)

Karen Jones, EAL Leader

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P2 and P3 Sports Day

P.D.O School will be running the P3 & P2 annual Sports Day this year on Thursday 5th February. The event will

be a carousel of activities that display skills learnt in PE lessons.

Sports Day start time – 08.30am

Sports Day finish time – 10.00am

We would like to invite you to come along and watch your child participate in various running, throwing and

team building events. The event will take place on the P.D.O School field and all teams will begin to assemble

on the grounds at 08.15am. Children should still arrive at school at 07.55 and go to their classrooms as usual.

Please note all pupils will need to wear their PE kit to school, apply sun screen, bring a bottle of water and

wear their school hat.

We hope you and your children will enjoy the day.

If there are any queries please contact Andy Pounds (PDO School PE teacher)

Email: Andrew.ap.pounds@pdo.co.om

Dates for your Diary

Please find below important dates that are coming up soon, as well as an

overview of the dates for the next academic year. A reminder that all

term dates are available on the school website.

Date Event Time and Venue

29th January Assembly P2A 10.40am Gym Hall

1st February No After School Activities this week due to Parent-

Teacher Consultation Meetings

2nd February Early Years Fun and Sports Day 8.30am School Field

2nd February MP2 Mangrove Tidy Up

3rd February Parent Teacher Consultations 2.30pm – 6.30pm

4th February Parent Teacher Consultations 2.30pm – 5pm

5th February MP1 Sports Day 8.30am School Field

8th February Book Week – Animal Character Theme Details to follow

11th February MP3 Trip to the Oil and Gas Centre Details to follow

12th February Book Week Dress Up Parade School Field 8.15am

15th February Health and Safety Week – Reduce. Recycle, Re-use Details to follow

18th and 19th

February Mid Term Holiday – School Closed

School Year 2014-2015 Issue 1 – The PDO School Newsletter is compiled by ………….