Thursday 15 November 2007

20th September 2007

Well done to S5 pupil Grant Conway who recently attended the Careers Scotland ‘Space School’, which was held at Ayr Racecourse. Grant completed a series of tasks and thoroughly enjoyed his experience. If officials choose Grant, from his attendance at the workshops, he will visit the NASA Space Centre in Houston. He will know whether he is successful in October. Good luck, Grant!
Congratulations to Ashley Mora who was elected Doon Academy’s School Captain. Vice Captains Russell Marshall, Leigh Teasdale and Stacey McCulloch will ably assist her throughout this year.
Mrs Cumming’s S1 elective class have been busy making Christmas stockings for the Christmas Shoebox Appeal.
Mrs Lake would like to ask pupils to bring in items for the Christmas Shoebox Appeal as soon as possible!
The European Day of Languages will take place on Wednesday September 26. Pupils in S1 and S3 will take part in a European Quiz. Pains au chocolat, croissants and coffee will be served to staff. Last year’s event was a tremendous success and we are all looking forward to another exciting day. Staff are avidly brushing up on their Gaelic, Spanish, German and Italian!

31st August 2007

The Social Subjects department held a Fair Trade Awareness Day on Thursday, August 30 for S2 pupils. The pupils took part in activities designed to raise awareness of the Fair Trade products as well as tasting some Fair Trade produce.
Senior pupils are welcome to attend a theatre trip to the King Theatre in Glasgow on October 11 to see the play Blood Brothers. Anyone who is interested should give their name and payment to Mrs McRoberts or Mrs Strachan.
Mrs Heggs is organising a Scolastic Book Club for S1 pupils. The pupils will be able to buy books from the Club and there are always bargains to be had! The first order goes on away on the weekend of September 8/9, so see Mrs Heggs for more information!
The artist Ewan McColl has written to the Art department with a view to working with pupils. Ewan, who worked with pupils on pieces of Art work last term, has informed Mrs Humes that he is very interested in developing the work he started with our budding artists!
Also in the Art department, pupils from S1/2 are busy designing a logo for the library for a competition. Good luck to everyone who is entering!
There are a number of clubs open to pupils both at lunchtime and after school, including Rugby, SFA Football Coaching, Trampolining, Swimming and Cricket. See the P.E. department for more information if you are interested!

23rd August 2007

Four probationer teachers have joined Doon Academy this year. In the Science department Ms Peacock and Mr McPherson teach Biology and Physics respectively. Ms. Borthwick joins the English Department and Mr. Craig in Technologies. In addition Mr Callaghan joined us as Principal Teacher of Technologies, and Ms McClue joined the Maths department. Everyone at Doon would like to welcome them and wish them well in the school!
The Strawberry Tea held before the summer break raised £259 for Breast Cancer Care. Well done to everyone who took part in this fundraiser for an excellent cause!
Pupils in S1 and S6 took part in Tree of Knowledge workshops on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 August. Everyone who took part had fun and found the workshops very interesting!
Preparation is underway for the Art trip to Barcelona, which takes place in June 2008. Everyone is looking forward to the trip and cannot wait to look around some of the famous Art galleries in the city.
Congratulations to Susan Miller, who was a member of the Business Education and ICT Department, who has been successful in gaining a post with the Support Base in the school. The Business Education and ICT Department has been very fortunate that Ian Power has agreed to join the Department on a permanent basis. Mrs Audrey Stewart, Principal Teacher of Business Education and ICT, very much looks forward to working with Ian and welcomes him to the department, hoping that his time at Doon Academy will be happy one.

Thursday 9 August 2007

15th June 2007




 


 

 


 

 


 


Mr O'Rourke, prizewinners and guests.

14th June 2007


Primary 1 pupils’ from Dalmellington Primary were delighted to attend Doon Academy where they heard stories, read by pupils from S2, from the Kate Greenaway competition entries. The primary pupils voted for the best book which was ‘The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon’ by Mini Grey.
Mrs Gormanley presented prizes to the readers of the winning story.


The Doon Academy Learning Partnership Primary 7 pupils attended Doon Academy for their two induction days.

Two new members of staff will be joining the Science Department . Probationer teachers Ms Peacock and Mr McPherson will be teaching Biology and Physics respectively. Also, Ms. Borthwick will be a probationer teacher in the English Department. Welcome to Doon!

Pupils from S1/2 took part in the annual Readers Cup Quiz at Loudon Academy on Wednesday June 6. Although the team tried well, they didn’t manage to snatch victory, and their advice to any competitors next year is to be confident!

Mrs Cummings S2 elective class, including Steven Robertson and Neil McManus, have designed and made a friendship quilt. Well done to everyone in the class!

The S1-S3 school trip to Alton Towers takes place on Tuesday 19th June. Wishing you all a great day out!

25th May 2007 - Podcasting Day

S3 Students recently took part in a French Podcasting Day at Doon Academy. The event was organised jointly by the Modern Languages Department at Doon, headed by Mrs Anita Neilson, Acting Principal Teacher and Partners in Excellence Coordinators Mark Pentleton and Kay McMeekin.
In the first part of the morning session, students were shown how to compose, record and edit a radio broadcast (podcast), before moving onto the next stage of actually creating their own podcast. The French Assistante, Anne Campan, was there to lend a hand, as was Mrs. Iris Smith from the Modern Languages Department.
In the afternoon session, students were also given a Language Challenge. They had to listen to a podcast in a completely new language, and then present this to the rest of the Group. Prizes were given to each student who gave a presentation. Mrs Neilson and Head Teacher, Patrick O’Rourke, praised all the Students for taking part with great enthusiasm in such an innovative project in modern languages learning.
To hear the finished podcast, log onto: http://www.doon.e-ayr.sch.uk (and go into the French Dept. page).

Survey of Achievement
The Scottish Survey of Achievement is trying to find out what pupils from across Scotland can do. The focus this year was on science and selected S2 science pupils from Doon Academy were involved in the survey. Pupils took part in a variety of practicals, assessments and writing tasks. Two field officers also visited the school to interview pupils.

Leadership
Our S3 Leadership graduates made a presentation on our leadership programme to visitors from Braeview Academy in Dundee. The visitors were very impressed not just by our programme but by the quality of the presentation and the confidence displayed by our pupils. Our leadership programme is achieving national recognition through Schools of Ambition, and East Ayrshire is also looking closely at it with a view to providing something similar to all other East Ayrshire secondary schools.

3rd May 2007

This week a group of S3 pupils with 4 members of staff are taking part in Doon Academy’s Leadership Academy in Dalguise. The Academy is being led by some of our S3 pupils who recently graduated from the Columba 1400 Leadership Academy in Skye. Mr McCrorie, Mr Taylor and Mrs McLay are assisting the leaders. We hope they all had their high factor sun cream on as the sun has shone all week for them! Look out for the tanned faces returning to school next week.
Mrs Neilson’s S1 Podcasting Club met for the first time this week. Watch this space for more information on the club and the podcasts coming soon!
Pupils in S4-S6 are taking part in SQA exams this month. Good luck, everyone!
Miss P. McClue will be joining the Mathematics department after the summer break. The Press Group would like to take this opportunity to wish Miss McClue the very best of luck in her new job at Doon Academy.
Pop Idol Michelle McManus and Radio Scotland’s favourite broadcaster Fred McAuley will be at the school on Thursday, May 17 to unveil the plastic bottle greenhouse as part of the school’s Eco-School Project. Keep your eyes peeled for information and pictures coming soon!
Student teachers have now returned to us for their final placement of five weeks. Miss Shepherd in the Art department and Miss Borthwick in the English Department.
Eoghann MacColl will be our ‘artist in residence’ again in the Art department working with S3 students from the beginning of June. Welcome back Eoghann! It really is exciting tapping into your expertise!

26th April 2007

The S3 exams begin after the Easter holidays on Wednesday 18th April.
Doon Academy’s staff and pupils bid farewell to Mr. Shevlin, ICT Department, who leaves the school at the end of this term.
The GOALS S6 Top-Up programme has now finished. Well done to all those who took part in the programme.
A group of twelve Doon Academy pupils, accompanied by Mrs McLatchie and Mr Taylor, attended the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Challenge. There were four teams from the three local authorities and they undertook a series of activities to come up with an idea to encourage teenagers to visit Ayrshire. The group then had to present their idea to an audience of 150 people. Doon Academy’s pupils had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The S1 girls’ netball team played Queen Margaret Academy recently and although everyone played well they lost the game. Better luck next time, girls!
Senior students took part in the Ayr Senior Seven-A-Side rugby tournament on Wednesday, March 28 at Marr College in Troon. Watch this space for the results next week! Meanwhile, the S2 rugby team had a successful first tournament and out of three games, they won one, lost one and drew one. Well done boys!
Miss McMenemy is organising a badminton tournament for pupils in S1 and S2. See the P.E. department for more information!
On Tuesday, March 27 Bradan won the S1 Reader’s Cup Quiz in what was a very closely fought competition! The previous week, Finlas won the S2 Quiz. Both contests were very close and exciting, so well done to the teams who won!
The Eco-Group has now completed the building of the plastic bottle greenhouse. It is situated in the quadrangle outside Mr O’Rourke’s office. The Eco-group is now hoping to grow flowers and vegetables in the greenhouse for the summer. Well done to everyone who participated in the building of the greenhouse and a huge thank you to everyone who brought in plastic bottles!

18th April 2007

During the Easter holidays Doon Academy was very busy with an encouraging selection of activities being offered by staff for the Easter School. Pupils attended tutorials in a variety of subjects and had the opportunity to participate in physical activities as well. Well done to everyone who took advantage of this extra study time and good luck in the forthcoming exams.
S1 pupils really enjoyed the GOALS/RSAMD drama workshops which took place recently in the school.
The swimming championships are being held for pupils of all year groups from 9.45am on Friday, April 20. Good luck to everyone who is taking part and watch this space for the results next week!
The Supported Learning Centre is running a sunflower competition for all Doon Academy pupils. Collect a sunflower seed from the SLC and take it home for the summer before bringing it back in September. The pupil who grows the tallest sunflower will win a prize. Good luck to everyone!
Pupils from the SLC will be visiting the Glasgow Science Centre and Imax Cinema on Wednesday, April 25.
The SLC are having a very busy time just now as one of the pupils, James Dorrans S1, has come up with the idea of making a film using his class mates as the cast in “King of the Castle.” The script has been written by James and, with the help of Euan Lees our Community Link Worker, he will produce the film over the coming few weeks. Rehearsals begin this Friday for what promises to be a very exciting project. Watch this space for more information on how you can obtain the DVD.
Tokens from Tesco are being collected by the SLC to help them purchase computer equipment and CDs.
A group of S2 pupils who are taking part in the annual judging for the Carnegie Medal will be going on a trip to Stirling on Thursday, April 26 with Mrs Bax to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Carnegie Medal.
S6 students are in the final stages of designing the Doon Academy Yearbook which will be available soon for pupils, parents and staff. Keep your eyes peeled for information about how you can purchase your own copy!
S4 Health Fair was held on Thursday morning in the school and the pupils participated in workshops delivered by the Police, Fire Brigade, Mental Health and Dental Health. All the sessions were very informative and thoroughly enjoyed by our pupils. Thanks to all the facilitators for this interesting and worthwhile event.

Friday 27 April 2007

28th March 2007

The S3 exams begin after the Easter holidays on Wednesday 18th April.
Doon Academy’s staff and pupils bid farewell to Mr. Shevlin, ICT Department, who leaves the school at the end of this term.
The GOALS S6 Top-Up programme has now finished. Well done to all those who took part in the programme.
A group of twelve Doon Academy pupils, accompanied by Mrs McLatchie and Mr Taylor, attended the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Challenge. There were four teams from the three local authorities and they undertook a series of activities to come up with an idea to encourage teenagers to visit Ayrshire. The group then had to present their idea to an audience of 150 people. Doon Academy’s pupils had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The S1 girls’ netball team played Queen Margaret Academy recently and although everyone played well they lost the game. Better luck next time, girls!
Senior students took part in the Ayr Senior Seven-A-Side rugby tournament on Wednesday, March 28 at Marr College in Troon. Watch this space for the results next week! Meanwhile, the S2 rugby team had a successful first tournament and out of three games, they won one, lost one and drew one. Well done boys!
Miss McMenemy is organising a badminton tournament for pupils in S1 and S2. See the P.E. department for more information!
On Tuesday, March 27 Bradan won the S1 Reader’s Cup Quiz in what was a very closely fought competition! The previous week, Finlas won the S2 Quiz. Both contests were very close and exciting, so well done to the teams who won!
The Eco-Group has now completed the building of the plastic bottle greenhouse. It is situated in the quadrangle outside Mr O’Rourke’s office. The Eco-group is now hoping to grow flowers and vegetables in the greenhouse for the summer. Well done to everyone who participated in the building of the greenhouse and a huge thank you to everyone who brought in plastic bottles!

20th March 2007


History has been made by the S1/2 Rugby team as this is the first time Doon Academy has been represented in an official rugby tournament. The tournament had been organised at the Maress in Irvine. The team should be very proud of their achievement as they won one game, drew one and lost one. Well done boys and we look forward to your ever increasing confidence and skill level.
At the World Federation of Burns Club Ayrshire Schools’ competition Lesley Baird in S2 gained 1st place in S1/2 singing and Marie Reid gained 3rd place in S1/2 recitation. Kyle McCormick gained a Certificate of Achievement. Well done and congratulations to all the competitors.
On Tuesday, March 20, a group of S1 pupils, as part of the East Ayrshire Reading Programme went to Cumnock Academy to listen to the storyteller and author of “Love, Dad”; “Yo Diary” and “Yo Dot UK”, Jonathan Meres. Another group of S1 pupils went to Auchinleck Academy on Tuesday, March 13 to listen to the very amusing storyteller Michael Kerrins. All pupils found these visits very entertaining and humorous and eagerly await more author visits.
The S2 Readers Cup Quiz took place on Wednesday, March 21 and was won by the Finlas team. All the pupils who took part in the quiz had great fun and cannot wait for next years’ competition!
As part of the S3 Mentor Parents’ Evening, there will be a Mathematics workshop to show parents how they can help their children prepare for the upcoming SQA exams.
The Languages Dept. at Doon has a new blog site: Linguadoon. You can access this via French page.
S1 and S3 have also been given revision to do online over the Easter holidays - in preparation for their exams in mid April. These online links are all listed under the French Department link in the school website. Mrs Neilson will also run a languages technology club - one lunchtime a week. Students will learn new skills - they will be able to make podcasts (radio shows), videos and animations Ewan the Community Link Worker will help us. If you are interested in being a member of this club, speak to Mrs Neilson or Mrs Smith.
The Easter School programme has now been finalised and will run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of both weeks from 10.30 – 12.noon and 12.30-2.30 each day. The Art Department has tutorials and study support for S4/6 on each of the days. The Science Department will be available the first week. The English Department has study support from Tuesday 10th – Thursday 12th April. In Mathematics, study support for Higher, Intermediate and Standard Grade pupils will be on Thursday, 12th. Also in the 2nd week there are music and drama rehearsals based on the rock musical Hooked! Pupils have been given a leaflet with details of staff and times. If you need more information please speak to Mrs. McCormick DHT.

15th March 2007

Recently a group of 50 2nd year pupils from Doon Academy attended a 'U can do it 2' Roadshow at the Park Hotel Kilmarnock. At the event pupils undertook various vocational workshops, provided by local industry and colleges. Mrs Stewart, Principal Teacher of Business Education & ICT said "pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being able to sample activities from the various occupations represented at the event". The group was accompanied by Mrs MacKenzie, Mr Taylor, Mrs Strachan and Mrs Stewart.
Maths FLaT Project Update! Miss Walker has now been working with Primary 7 pupils for a six week block in all of our partnership primary schools. After Easter, the Doon Academy Mathematics staff will be visiting all primaries for one hour a week to assist in getting to know the pupils to ensure that the transition from primary to secondary is a positive experience.
The girls’ netball team have had mixed fortunes over the last week! The girls lost the first game 11-6 to Stewarton Academy, but then won the second game 6-4. Well done girls!
The school rugby team are playing in a seven-a-side tournament this week. Watch this space next week for news about their results.
The Science Department have had Promethean boards fitted in the classrooms. Teachers and pupil are looking forward to their lessons using this new and innovative technology. Next departments to receive the boards will be English and Social Subjects.
The Waterstones Book Fair, as part of the World Book Day programme, was in school on Thursday, March 15. Pupils and staff were able to browse the wide choice of books and purchase books for their own personal reading.
Doon Academy Easter School will have a revision programme for many subjects and an S1 and S2 Drama programme based on the musical ‘Hooked’. More details next week!
On Wednesday 28th March there will be a Parents Evening 5.30pm – 7.30pm for S1 to S3 Mentor Groups. All parents are invited to attend and speak to the mentor teacher for their children who will inform them of their child’s progress in all their subjects. There will also be, for S3 parents, a workshop and presentation by Mrs Lake Principal Teacher of Maths on the Higher Still Maths programme.

8th March 2007


Cathy Cassidy, author of “Dizzy”, “Driftwood”, “Scarlet” and “Indigo Blue” visited the school to talk to S1 girls as well as girls from Auchinleck Academy and Cumnock Academy. She proved to be very popular and everyone found her talk interesting and informative.
Netball training with Miss McMenemy is ongoing on Tuesdays between 3.45pm and 4.30pm so come along if you’re interested or ask at PE for more information!
The junior girls’ netball team play Queen Margaret Academy on Wednesday 14 March. Watch this space for information about the game coming soon!
Senior girls PE classes are taking an interesting twist in the next few weeks with pupils taking part in aerobics, yoga, salsa and pilates. All S5/6 girls are welcome to come along, or see Miss McMenemy for more information!
S2 pupils are playing in a seven-a-side rugby tournament on Thursday, 15 March. Keep your eyes peeled for more information coming soon!
Artist Eoghann MacColl will be in school helping the Art department with their joint project with English about the history of the Doon Valley.
The Senior Yearbook will shortly be available so look out for it in school soon!
Students from S1, S2 and S5 took part in the East Ayrshire Choir Concert at the Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock on Friday, 2 March. Well done to everyone who took part!

1st March 2007

Miss McMenemy will be taking a group of girls to Stewarton Academy on Thursday, March 8 for a netball game. Good luck girls! Watch this space next week for news on the game!
World Book Day took place on Thursday, March 1 and was a great success within the school. Teachers took part on the “Get Caught Reading” theme and brought in the books they were currently reading to show pupils.
S6 GOALS Top-Up pupils had a campus visit to the University of Glasgow on Friday, March 2. Everyone enjoyed the day and found it very interesting and informative.
Doon Academy’s student teachers are finishing their second placement, Miss Borthwick and Mrs Paterson, who were in the English department, and Ms Sheppard, who was in the Art department leave the school on Friday, March 9. We thank them all and look forward to May when they will be returning for their last placement.
Senior students sat their Higher Still English prelims on Monday, March 5.
Both the English and Art departments will be taking part in an exciting project on the history of the Doon Valley. A variety of artwork will be produced as well as films, photography and written work. Watch this space for more information coming soon!
At the recent “U Can Do It 2” road show, held in the Park Hotel, Kilmarnock, Caitlin Downie won a prize for entering the most correct quiz answers. The road show involved Doon Academy, Auchinleck Academy, Cumnock Academy and Woodstock School. Well done, Caitlin!
The school has recently purchased Inquisitive software to help pupils raise attainment through a combination of subject quizzes and games.

Thursday 15 March 2007

31st January 2007

Sci-Fun was held in the school on Wednesday, January 24 with S2 pupils. The students got hands-on experience of different Science experiments and also a career talk. The day was enjoyed by everyone who attended, and Mrs Brooksbank would like to thank the seven senior Chemistry pupils who acted as demonstrators for the junior pupils.
Miss McMenemy joined Doon Academy in the P.E. Department this week. The Press Group would like to take this opportunity to welcome Miss McMenemy to the school and wish her good luck for the future!
There is also a new student teacher, Miss Shepherd, in the Art department and two new student teachers in English, Miss. Borthwick and Miss Paterson. We would like to welcome all our student teachers to the school and wish them all the very best for their time at Doon.
All clubs are up and running again after Christmas so see respective teachers or posters around the school if you are interested in attending. We also have a new Salsa Club which will be running on Wednesday’s after school. See Mrs Neilson if you are interested in coming along.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award is available in the school and is open to all pupils over the age of 14. The scheme allows you to try your hand at something new and also allows you to improve your existing skills. The programme comes in four sections, which are Service; Skills; Physical Recreation and Expedition. See Mrs Smith in the French department or Miss Walker in the Maths department for more information if you are interested.
Sophie Murphy and Lesley Baird from Mrs Smith’s S2 French class, helped by Marie Reid and Paula Glancy, have written and performed a French play. Well done to all the girls involved! Watch this space for more details of French drama taking place in the school.
The Science Club will be going to Dobbies Garden Centre on Wednesday, February 7 to re-stock the fish tank in the library. Watch this space for more information about a Name the Fish competition coming soon!
Students from S1 to S4 enjoyed the annual ski-trip to Aviemore, which took place from Friday, January 26 until Sunday, January 28.
A successful Parents Evening for students in S4 – S5 took place on Tuesday, January 30.
For the first time, a school year book will be produced this year. Watch this space for more information.
The winner of the Burns Art Competition is Cameron McCrorie in S2. Congratulations to Cameron whose drawing will be on the programme for the Burns Supper. Well Done to all pupils in S1 and S2 who entered the competition. All pupils’ work will be displayed at the Burns Supper.
There are still a few tickets left or Doon Academy’s Burns Supper on the 7th February. Cost of the ticket is £5.00 and they are available from Mrs. Cassidy.

26th January 2007

The S1/2 finalists in the Burns Verse Competition had a visit to the Burns House Museum to celebrate Burns’ birthday. The pupils took part in a dramatisation of the famous Burns poem “To a Mouse” and had a tour of the Burns Museum. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and pupils found the visit very interesting and informative.
S5/6 pupils from the Business Education and ICT Department at Doon Academy took part in a Business Dynamics course on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 January. Pupils learned about the importance to business of team building, human resources, finance and leadership. The aim of the workshop was to promote a greater understanding of the world of business. All pupils thoroughly enjoyed the course and Mrs Stewart would like to thank the organisers and speakers for their valuable contribution to the programme.
Boys and girls S1 football teams will be playing in the Coca Cola Sevens seven-a-side football tournament on Tuesday February 6. Good luck to all the pupils participating in the competition!
S4 pupils took part in a GOALS workshop on Wednesday 24th January on the Pros and Cons of Further and Higher Education. The 4th years found this a very motivating workshop in preparing them for their future.
Doon Academy Burns Supper will be held on Wednesday 7th February from 7pm. Pupils are busy preparing their speeches and rehearsing their recitations and music. Thomas Allardyce in S5 will be this year’s Chairperson. Tickets at £5.00 are available from Mrs. Cassidy.

18th January 2007

Doon Academy have successfully piloted a six week citizenship course for S3 boys. The boys undertook the course to produce a metal sculpture to improve one of the school’s garden areas. The boys worked with Kilmarnock College lecturer Mr Billy Tomlinson and their attractive designs were unveiled to teachers and family members at a special ceremony on Thursday 21 December.
A meeting of the schools Leadership Graduates took place on Thursday 18 January to discuss ways of offering the leadership experience to more pupils. S3 leadership graduates are also in the process of preparing a series of workshops to introduce leadership to younger pupils.
Cathy Cassidy, author of “Dizzy”, “Scarlet”, “Driftwood” and “Indigo Blue” will be coming to Doon Academy at the beginning of March to talk to pupils. Mrs Bax has more information!
Connor Adam received a merit certificate for his piece of artwork that was entered into the Royal Bank of Scotland art competition. Well done Connor!
The Art Department are busy producing decorations and artwork for the Burns competition.

Ashley Mora and Samantha White

18th January 2007

Doon Academy have successfully piloted a six week citizenship course for S3 boys. The boys undertook the course to produce a metal sculpture to improve one of the school’s garden areas. The boys worked with Kilmarnock College lecturer Mr Billy Tomlinson and their attractive designs were unveiled to teachers and family members at a special ceremony on Thursday 21 December.
A meeting of the schools Leadership Graduates took place on Thursday 18 January to discuss ways of offering the leadership experience to more pupils. S3 leadership graduates are also in the process of preparing a series of workshops to introduce leadership to younger pupils.
Cathy Cassidy, author of “Dizzy”, “Scarlet”, “Driftwood” and “Indigo Blue” will be coming to Doon Academy at the beginning of March to talk to pupils. Mrs Bax has more information!
Connor Adam received a merit certificate for his piece of artwork that was entered into the Royal Bank of Scotland art competition. Well done Connor!
The Art Department are busy producing decorations and artwork for the Burns competition.

Ashley Mora and Samantha White

15th January 2007

Doon Academy’s Burns Supper will be held on Wednesday 7th February. Tickets are priced at £4.00 and are available from Mrs. Cassidy or the school office.

Mrs Cockayne has temporarily joined the Technical department following Mr Redmond’s retirement. We wish Mr Redmond a long and happy retirement and welcome Mrs Cockayne to Doon. Mrs McLatchie is temporarily acting PT of the Technology faculty.

Mr Gooding is acting PT Pupil Support while Mrs McRoberts is on maternity leave. We wish Mrs McRoberts well with her new baby when he/she arrives. Mrs Freireich is temporarily replacing Mr Gooding in the Science department.

Other changes in staffing have occurred recently. Mrs Rodger has moved to Cumnock Academy as Acting PT Support for Learning and Mrs Murray has moved to the Support for Learning Department here in Doon from the Supported Learning Centre. Miss Miller from Business Education Department has moved part-time into the Supported Learning Centre and Mr Shevlin is temporarily covering classes in Computing and in the Supported Learning Centre.

Miss Taylor left the PE department at Christmas to work down in London. Unfortunately we have been unable to find a replacement teacher for her yet.

We wish the above teachers all the very best in their new posts.

Mrs Bax and Mrs Nicol are running a Library Club on Thursdays after school. Everyone is welcome - so see Mrs Nicol or Mrs Bax for more information if you are interested!

The Science, Art, Cricket and Swimming Clubs were up and running last week and more are starting up again this week. Watch the noticeboards!

S2 pupils in Science visited Paisley University on Wednesday, January 17. The pupils took part in various science and engineering experiments and everyone found the day very interesting and enjoyable.

Tuesday 30 January 2007

13th December 2006

Goodbye to Mr Redmond
Doon Academy’s staff and pupils wish to bid a fond farewell to Bill Redmond, Principal Teacher of Technical, who is retiring in December. Mr. Redmond has been a teacher at the school for 25 years and everyone will miss his cheery smile.

The Art Department’s silent auction raised the sum of £350.00 for school funds. Thank you to everyone who purchased artwork and to businesses in the community who donated prizes.


The Boxing Club is ongoing after school on Wednesdays.
In January some senior pupils will be trained in Mental Health First Aid to assist other pupils in the school.
Our student teachers, Miss McMahon in Art, Mrs. Murray in English, Mr. Carpenter in Maths and Miss Mitchell in Science have now returned to teacher training college. We wish them all every success in the future.
Mrs Nicol and pupils in her floral art club have beautiful Christmas decorations for sale.

8th December 2006

Welcome
A warm welcome to Euan Lees who has joined Doon Academy as a Community Link Worker. Euan attended Film School in London and has an interest in Film and Television Studies. He is looking forward to working with the pupils and staff of Doon Academy.
The first round of the Library’s Readers Cup will shortly be held in the school. See Mrs Bax for more information!
Art trips
There are some exciting Art trips taking place in the near future! S4 students will be visiting the Burrell Collection in Glasgow to see the jewellery display. Meanwhile, pupils in S3 will be going to the Imax Theatre to learn about animation. Watch this space for news on both of these trips!
The Art department are also very busy designing the set for the school pantomime, Babes in the Wood.
Last chance for pantomime tickets!
Babes in the Wood will be performed in the assembly hall on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th December at 7pm. Tickets are £4.00 for adults and £2.00 for children. See Mrs Cassidy.
Prelims for senior students began last Friday, December 8. Good luck everyone!

30th November 2006

Art Exhibition
Doon Academy is having a Christmas art exhibition and a silent auction. This event will take place on Wednesday 6th December, 7pm – 9pm refreshments will be served.
Jewellery Trip
S4 pupils went to the jewellery collection in Glasgow, on Thursday 30th November, pupils found this a very interesting and informative experience.The artwork of Doon Academy pupils will be exhibited at the Doon Valley Museum until Christmas.
Prelims
S4 Pupils prelim exams began on Monday 4th December. Good Luck to everyone.
Science News
Mrs Brooksbank, Principal Teacher of Science has exciting news. In January 50 S2 pupils will be attending the Science and Engineering Faculty at University of Paisley where they will be taking part in hands-on experiments. Watch this space for more news.
Doon Panto
Tickets for the Doon Academy Pantomime ‘Babes in the Wood’ are selling fast. This traditional pantomime with Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Maid Marian, the evil Sheriff, an attractive Dame, Hoddit and Doddit together with the villagers and dancers is on Wednesday 13th December and Thursday 14th December at 7pm. Buy your tickets now from Mrs. Cassidy or telephone the school to reserve your tickets 01292 550521.



Great Expectations
S5/6 pupils, Lyndsay Angus, Kathleen Kennedy, Stacey McCulloch, Cara Templeton, William Millar, Calum Neil and George Phillips, together with Mrs. MacKenzie from the Business Education Department, attended an Enterprise Day called Great Expectations at Diageo in Kilmarnock. The pupils were given different business scenarios and had to work out how to make the greatest profit from investing in the Stock Exchange. The Doon team won the event despite being a team member short and were presented with a glass trophy and £50 for the school. Congratulations to our budding entrepreneurs.
Cut Out Knife Crime
Strathclyde Police were in school speaking to all students from S1 – S6 about Cutting Out knife crime.
EcoSchool
Mr Nisbet’s S3 Practical Craft Skills class are taking part in the EcoSchool project and would be grateful if all pupils could bring in clear plastic 2 litre soft drink bottles. The students will be making a recycled plastic bottle greenhouse which will be placed against the library wall and they need 800 bottles. So get collecting and put them in the bins provided around school. See Mr Nisbet if you would like more information on this exciting new project!
Goals
The GOALS team were in school last Thursday to speak to Art pupils concerning portfolio preparation.
Art Bus
On Monday, November 13 senior Art students went to James Hamilton Academy as part of the SQA’s Inspirational Art Bus project. The students saw examples of portfolios and went on a tour of the school. Everyone found this visit a very useful and enjoyable experience.

A silent auction of Art work will take place on Wednesday, December 6. Watch this space for more information coming soon!


Other News
S6 students went to the Big World Conference on Tuesday, November 14.
Students from S4 – S6 are working toward their December prelims.
A Parents Evening will be held on Thursday, December 7. All parents are welcome to attend and more information on the timing will be issued later.