Thursday 23 June 2011

Prize Giving


The school hosted its annual Prize giving ceremony on the afternoon of Wednesday 15th June. Mr John MacKenzie, Doon Academy’s newly appointed Head Teacher, welcomed parents, pupils, guests and friends. Kirsty Hill, a former pupil, currently about to take up the prestigious position of President of Queen Margaret’s Union Glasgow, was the guest speaker. The ceremony went well and was followed by afternoon tea served in the school library. Mr. MacKenzie said,” This event is a celebration of our pupils who continue to impress us with their many involvements and achievements which have helped them develop not only as learners, but also as effective and responsible contributors to this school and our community.”

Prom on TV

Doon Academy’s school prom was a featured segment on STV’s The Hour programme. A film crew from STV visited the school on Tuesday 7th June to film a meeting of our prom organising committee. Then on the day of the prom the crew returned for a http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif‘Fly-on-the-Wall’ documentary as our pupils’ prepared for their big night. Later that evening the crew recorded pupils and staff as they partied the night away at the Western House Hotel. Our pupils gave a great account of themselves and of our local community. The programme was broadcast on Friday 17th June and Head Teacher John MacKenzie has received many positive comments from far and wide about our outstanding young people. Well done and thank you to all the pupils and staff who took part in the event.

To see our prom go to STV The Hour catch-up and watch parts 2 and 3 or follow this link.

Goodbye to Mrs Mendy and Miss Cooke

Doon Academy staff and pupils bid a fond farewell to our Maths probationer teachers Angela Mendy and Emma Cooke. Both teachers fully embraced Doon life, including taking part in leadership courses, accompanying pupils on visits, and being actively involved in school committees. They will be missed by everyone at the school and we wish them well for the future

Goodbye to Mrs Mendy and Miss Cooke

Doon Academy staff and pupils bid a fond farewell to our Maths probationer teachers Angela Mendy and Emma Cooke. Both teachers fully embraced Doon life, including taking part in leadership courses, accompanying pupils on visits, and being actively involved in school committees. They will be missed by everyone at the school and we wish them well for the future

Goodbye to Mrs Mendy and Miss Cooke

Doon Academy staff and pupils bid a fond farewell to our Maths probationer teachers Angela Mendy and Emma Cooke. Both teachers fully embraced Doon life, including taking part in leadership courses, accompanying pupils on visits, and being actively involved in school committees. They will be missed by everyone at the school and we wish them well for the future

Scottish Schools Inter Area Championships

On Thursday 16th June, alongside 25 under 15 Ayrshire pupils, Mrs Ferrie of Doon Academy visited Grangemouth for the Scottish Schools Inter Area Championship. Pupils from Belmont, Kyle, James Hamilton, Cumnock, Marr, Kilmarnock, Grange, Arran, Prestwick, Ardrossan, St. Matthew’s, Ayr, Auchenharvie, Garnock and Largs all took part against pupils in track and field events from all over Scotland. Even after an early start, all pupils remained upbeat and enthusiastic as the bus headed east. The warm sunny weather meant that waiting for an event was not too much of a struggle and cross school friendship bounds got the chance to flourish. All pupils were well behaved and showed skill in warming up and getting themselves to the correct event at the right time. Well done to all pupils who competed, especially Holly Morgan of Ardrossan Academy who brought home gold in the shot putt and silver in the javelin, and to Ross Campbell from St. Matthew’s who picked up silver in the boy’s javelin. Ayrshire finished midway in the table and all pupils took home the experience of being part of a Scottish Championship.

New teachers

Staff and pupils bid a warm welcome to our probationer teachers for the next academic session, Isla Grant in Home Economics, Alan Taylor and Melissa Paton in Maths. We wish them every success during their probationary year.

Blackpool trip

The visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach took place in blazing sunshine and was a great success. 40 pupils and 4 staff left the school at 6am and were in Blackpool by 10.30am. Everyone had a terrific time visiting the pleasure beach and experiencing the enthralling and exhilarating rides. Thank you to Miss Fuller and Mrs McRoberts for organising the trip.

Glasgow Schools Cricket

In the semi-final of the Glasgow Schools Cricket Association Cup, Doon Academy’s cricket team played very well but lost to Eastwood High School. Doon was 43 all out and Eastwood 44 for 1. Doon lost by 9 wickets. Well done to the boys for reaching the semi-final and good luck for next session.

New term

Pupils and staff will finish for the summer on Thursday 30th June. Teachers return for an in-service day on Tuesday 16th August and pupils return to school on Wednesday 17th August. We wish everyone a wonderful summer holiday.

Friday 17 June 2011

Head Teachers Report for Prize Giving June 2011

Head Teacher’s Report June 2011

Good afternoon honoured guests, parents, pupils and colleagues.
What an eventful session this has been – not least for me – and this event is a celebration of our pupils who continue to impress with their many involvements and achievements which have helped them to develop not only as learners, but also as effective and responsible contributors to this school and our community.
The prizes which will be presented shortly are for outstanding achievements but they are only a snapshot of the enormous number of activities and opportunities which are offered every year at Doon Academy, far too many to mention now but here is a flavour:

• Morgan Davis of S1 was commended in the prestigious RSA art competition
• Senior Hospitality pupils worked with a well known local chef in a programme of events over this session
• The Library organised the Spring Read festival and author visits and the Rapid response engineering Challenge
• The Literacy group comprising a number of departments led two whole-school reading weeks
• Our Supported Learning Centre was awarded grant of £1400 to promote healthy living and this enabled pupils to take part in activities such as Taekwondo, football and swimming throughout the session and the pupils gained medals in competitive sporting events
• In Technologies, pupils visited GE Caledonian and the Science Centre and piloted new courses
• The Music department organised our first ‘Young Musician of the Year’ which was won by Tazmyn Hearton; and our pupils were able to attend and participate in a variety of shows, concerts and masterclasses.
• The PE department’s netball team was second in all the Ayrshire’s. Lauren Shaw, Jade Scott and Claire Boyd were selected for Ayrshire netball. Lauren Shaw has had a trial for the Scotland netball team
• Our Comenius group have been active and pupils and staff visited Poland and Belgium
• The Guidance Department organised specialist bereavement and detachment training; an Oral health programme; pupil councils; a variety of careers preparations including mock interviews and work experiences; football teams competed in Ayrshire competitions and pupils went to Aviemore to ski.
• Our Leadership Academies continued to inspire.
• The cricket team won the 2010 West of Scotland Plate and this year our under-15s have reached the semi-finals of the Glasgow Schools Competition. Four S1 pupils are presently training with the Ayrshire County team and the captain of our first team is an S1 pupil, Colin McDonald.

I could fill the rest of this afternoon listing the opportunities and achievements of our pupils and I apologise to the many pupils and staff who could have been acknowledged if time allowed. Our Wider Achievement Group will acknowledge, in detail, the huge number of opportunities for achievement available to pupils at special assemblies in a fortnight’s time.
However I think it is appropriate now to record our appreciation for all those staff who enrich our pupils’ school experience by freely giving of their own time and energy. On behalf of the pupils and the whole community of Doon Academy, thank you all very much. Please give them all a round of applause.


Mr O’Rourke and interim arrangements
Our head teacher, Mr O’Rourke is due to retire at the end of this term. It is unfortunate that someone who devoted nearly three decades of his teaching career to Doon Academy has not been able to deliver his final prize-giving address today. We will try to rectify some of that situation next term and I know that he is keen to meet once more with the school community which he served and led, and which means so much to him. We will pay a full tribute to him at his retiral dinner after the holiday but for now we might ask which of Mr O’Rourke’s achievements as a teacher, principal teacher, depute and head master is his main legacy?
He was the architect of our School of Ambition plan 6 years ago; he led the school through two HMI inspections; and he successfully argued for improvements to the facilities and the fabric of the school.
However, I would argue that his biggest contributions were in championing the rights of less-privileged children and developing the caring, supportive relationships for which this school is renowned.

Some other dedicated and long-serving professionals are leaving us this session.
Mrs Norval is the devoted and popular historian in the Social Subjects Department. Mr Lynn’s humorous and quietly outspoken manner is a feature of the PE Department, the Comenius Project and our Citizenship programme.
Not so long-serving but also going to be missed are Mrs Gray in Chemistry and maths probationers, Ms Cooke and Mrs Mendy - able and talented teachers who are moving to new challenges.
College lecturers, Billy Tomlinson and Keith Johnstone have been with us for 6 and 2 years respectively. Both created excellent relationships with our pupils in classes and in the Citizenship project. Billy was one of the original college lecturers to be placed here and he also contributed to extra-curricular activities such as Leadership and the Ocean Youth Trust. His one-man crusade to improve our fire drill procedures is also appreciated – though not at the time (or times).
Alec Ferguson, our head janitor, retires as well after 14 years of service. Alec’s good nature and willingness to go the extra mile were as important as his ability to get on well with everyone – pupils, teachers and fellow support staff.
They will be sorely missed and these esteemed colleagues and friends leave with our thanks and our very best wishes for the future - Applause

Next session
There has already been discussion and speculation here – and beyond the school - about the direction that Doon Academy will take under my leadership.
What is my Vision for Doon Academy? Actually my Vision will only be one part of the Vision for Doon Academy which has been agreed by our pupils, staff and community. I will influence that vision but so should every person who has a commitment to improving the work we do for our young people.
Can we pretend that this school is working at its optimum of efficiency? Can we say that there is no area that cannot be improved? We can’t, obviously. So next session we will continue the processes of identifying and building on our strengths and addressing our weaknesses.
We will continue to look for opportunities to improve the ways that we work with our pupils and we will look for new opportunities for pupils to take responsibilities in line with Curriculum for Excellence and especially for their own learning and progress. With that in mind we will relaunch an improved progress tracking system as a high priority next session.
As a school we will continue to follow the best practices which are to be seen in other schools. We have shared our strengths with other schools in this Authority but we don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and practices – nor does anyone else – and when we look beyond our own school there is plenty for us to learn, for the benefit of our pupils. Last session some of our staff (at every level) visited other schools to observe good practices.
Let no-one say we are inward looking or unaware of what is best for our pupils.

This school has shown a commitment to looking outwards and bringing in new ideas and practices for our pupils.

Michael Fullan, an international authority on educational reform, writing about Educational Change said “We have found that collaboration across schools and districts …..pays enormous dividends in relation to new knowledge and wider commitments”. I know that commitment to sharing ideas for the benefit of pupils and staff is shared by the other newly appointed head teachers in our nearest secondary schools – and by our primary partners.
Recently we read about a Scottish school with a profile very similar to ours but this school is clearly outperforming our attainment. The head teacher listed key features of her school which impacted on their excellent attainment, but these are also in place here – school dress code, progress tracking, a focus on learning and teaching, listening to pupils’ voice, engaging with parents, etc. The difference, I think, is that some of these things are done better in that school and we have to raise our expectations, raise our targets and raise our game.

What differences will pupils see?
I hope pupils will be in no doubt that they are the most valued members of the community of Doon Academy – that they are the reason for Doon Academy.
Last session some pupils complained that their opinions were not sought or acted on and action was taken immediately to correct that perception – or that reality.
In classrooms, pupils’ opinions have been sought. Here’s an example from a girl who is now in S3: “Lesson evaluations are a good idea because pupils can express what went well in the lesson and what didn’t work and teachers can improve them to make the lessons better”. The pupil went on to say that pupils shouldn’t always get to choose what is taught or how it is taught.
We find our pupils’ responses to be considered, informative and very supportive of teachers. That is borne out by international studies. A survey of teachers involved in a project on consulting pupils found that: consultation was having a positive impact on pupils’ self-esteem;
it was helping students develop a more positive attitude to schools and learning;
and it was helping students develop more positive attitudes to teachers.

The school already has strong links with this community – for example The Zone, Community Learning and Development, the Dalmellington Partnership, Craigengillan Estate, Doon Valley Museum, local businesses and businesses which are branches of big corporations. All of these - and others – are eager to work with us. Their expertise and their resources can improve pupils’ choice and enrich their learning. We will look for opportunities to further their involvement in our curriculum.
Let us not forget the residents of this community. They support us with great generosity and we must respect their friendship, their values and their property at all times.

What changes might staff see?
Well, staff have already seen my commitment to distributive leadership. If things are going to get done they will be achieved through the creativity and commitment of teachers and staff - with the support and encouragement of senior managers.
We will collectively agree on areas for change, and staff will find or be given opportunities to lead improvement. The views and opinions of staff will be sought and welcomed. My pride will cope with any criticism that comes from sincere concern for the well-being or advancement of our pupils. Again, in my recent studies I read that teachers’ sense of empowerment is enhanced by head teachers “supporting an environment of among teachers, whom they consider professionals and experts”. This has been such an eventful session that we all feel the need of a restful and happy summer break, to recharge our batteries and to prepare ourselves for the new session and the continuing task of delivering a curriculum for excellence - in difficult economic circumstances.

I thank the Parent Council for their continued support, and we will urge all our parents to join us in ensuring that our pupils achieve their full potential.
I thank every member of staff in Doon Academy, whether they are cleaning, janitorial, support, administrative, catering or teaching staff, for all the hard work they have done for all our pupils this year. It is a privilege to be appointed to be the Head Teacher of a school with such a dedicated group of professionals on its staff.

It is an even greater privilege to be the Head Teacher of a school whose pupils give us great pride in their talents, their energy, their honesty, and their achievements. Our guest speaker, Kirsty Hill, typifies the spirit of ambition and achievement which has always been part of this community and we will continue to encourage that ethos through every aspect of the work of this school. I would like to wish the whole school community a restful and refreshing holiday in 2 weeks time but I also urge us all to maintain our focus and continue our preparations for another great effort in this new session.

Thank you.

Thursday 16 June 2011

Prom



Doon Academy’s senior prom, held at the Western House Hotel, was an outstanding success. The MC for the evening was former Head Girl from 1996, Lorna Dempsey who awarded the prizes for ‘Drama Queen’ Kyle Stewart, ‘Wise Guy’ Gavin McFadzean, ‘BrainBox’ Kyle McCormick, ‘Funny Guy’ Ritchie Lindores and ‘Rear of the Year’ Chelsea Maitland. The Loudest Teacher accolade went to Steven Kelly. Pupils, staff and guests had a delicious meal of Melon with Parma Ham, Chicken served with Vegetables and Chocolate Torte. Everyone then danced the night away to the melodic sounds of ‘Waterfront’.

Congratulations to everyone who attended and made the evening such a special event. Thank you to the Prom Committee for their superb organisation of the evening, Lorna Dempsey for being a splendid MC and to the first-class staff at the Western House Hotel.
For more pictures go to the Doon Academy Photo Gallery

P7 Heartstart


As part of the Dalmellington Primary Health Awareness selected pupils from P3-7 together with family members were trained in the Heartstart programme by Mrs. McLay and Mrs. Dorans. The pupils were assessed on the recovery position, recognising the signs of a heart attack and CPR techniques. They all passed the course and received their certificates. Well done.

Readers' Cup Final

Friday 10th June saw 4 keen pupils travel to Auchinleck Academy with Ms Borthwick, Mrs Bax and their supporters to compete in the East Ayrshire Readers' Cup Final. The team of Halle Fitzsimmons, John Anderson, Katie Burrell and Kieran Madden tried very hard but were let down by their lack of knowledge in the Battle of the Books round. The winners were St Joseph's Academy with a fantastic 42.5 points out of 50. The audience had fun answering the questions for prizes in between rounds. Better luck next year!

Games afternoon

The school games afternoon will be held on Wednesday 22nd June. Pupils will compete in their clan groups for points to win the Inter-House shield.

Cambridge visitor


Josh Jowitt, Schools Liaison Officer for the University of Cambridge visited Doon Academy to speak to S4 pupils about university life. After his talk Josh gave the pupils a problem solving exercise on building a tower from straws. Everyone enjoyed the session and found it very interesting and informative.

John Muir Discovery Award

Congratulations to S5/6 pupils Kevin Meechan, William Steele, Stuart Steele, Jamie Conway, David Thirtle, Ian Weir, Daniel Carroll, Jack White, Megan Freel, Stephen Robertson and Frazer Bunyan who achieved their John Muir Discovery Award for the gardening scheme they completed with the Zone project.

Science Trip to Tongland

Well done to all the S1 pupils who have achieved their Science Award. They will all be rewarded by a visit and tour of the Tongland Power Station in Dumfriesshire.

Wider Achievement Assembly

On Thursday 29th June a Wider Achievement Assembly will be held to celebrate the achievements attained by pupils in and out of school. Awards will also be made to pupils who have exhibited good behaviour throughout the year.

Thursday 9 June 2011

New Head Teacher

Congratulations to Acting Head Teacher John MacKenzie who was successful at interview and has been appointed as Head Teacher for the school. Staff and pupils are delighted and wish him every success in his new role.

Reader of the Month

Reader of the Month for May is Rory Parker from S1. He has a fantastic record of 22 passes out of 22 quizzes over the last year in accelerated reader and he has read 368.000 words. Well done Rory!

7-a-side Football Tournament


Well done to the 24 S1-3 pupils who represented the school at the recent 7 a side football festival at Grange Academy in Kilmarnock. The pupils competed against teams from Auchinleck, Grange, James Hamilton and the Park School. All the pupils had a great time, a chance to represent their school team and have a fun afternoon.

Staff moving on

Congratulations to Maths probationer teacher Emma Cooke and Chemistry teacher Julie Gray who have been appointed to permanent positions at Auchenharvie Academy and Loudoun Academy respectively. We wish them well at their new schools.

Dolphin House visit


In the Supported Learning Centre the new S1, S2 and S3 pupils had a day to remember at Dolphin House, Culzean Castle.
Robbie Drynan even declared it was the best day he had ever had.
The group participated in a relaxing rock pooling session in the morning during which they uncovered beautifully coloured starfish, hermit crabs and other interesting marine species.
Things stepped up a notch in the afternoon as everyone tested their strengths when traversing a rock wall then off to the local caves for some adventures in the dark. Whilst in the local caves some brave pupils took on the potholing challenge and squeezed themselves through a 5 metre long tunnel and emerged through a very small gap in the rock. All those who participated had great praise for Gary the staff member who kept us all busy.
He even managed to break an egg - twice - by accident. Thank you to everyone at Dolphin House.

Primary 7 Parents Open Evening

On Wednesday 8th June Doon Academy held a very successful Primary 7 Parents Open Evening. The aim of the evening was to allow positive engagement between teachers and parents. Initially parents had the chance to meet our new Head Teacher, Mr. MacKenzie and the Guidance Department.
This was followed by a subject showcase where parents received a 15 minute presentation from 3 departments. The event was excellent and comments from parents were very positive.
Doon Academy staff is really looking forward to working in partnership with the Primary 7 parents over the next few years. Thank you to all staff and pupils who helped support the event.

Thursday 2 June 2011

P1/2 Storytime


Dalmellington Primary School’s P1/2 class, with their teacher Mrs. Gormanley, visited Doon Academy to hear stories read to them by S2 pupils. The stories were all from the short list for the Kate Greenaway Medal, which is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people. After the readings the pupils all enjoyed their juice and biscuits. The P1/2s voted for their favourite book, ‘Ernest’ by Catherine Rayner which was read to the class by S2 pupils Robert Brown, Aaron McKinstray and Taylor McKnight. Well done to all the readers and to the P1/2s.

Ayrshire Schools Football Trials

Congratulations to Reece Higgins and William McCleary for representing the school at the Ayrshire Schools football trials at Belmont Academy. Both boys played exceptionally well and were a credit to themselves and the school. William was selected for the second round of trials where he will compete against boys from all three authorities. Well done lads!

Multi-media journalism project

Doon Academy’s pupils will be working on a project with multi-media journalism students from the University of the West of Scotland Part of the project aims to have students from the school take part in a series of focus group sessions where they will be asked to discuss the Cumnock Chronicle’s newspaper’s online content. Areas to be researched include methods of creating an improved two-way dialogue with the youths and the newspaper. The focus groups will gauge the students’ interest in regularly accessing the website, reading the print version and engaging in local political and social discussions.

Football Tournament


Junior pupils attended a Football Tournament at Somerset Park, the home of Ayr United. They gained 5th place out of 9 teams. Well done to them all for taking part.

P7 Day


The ‘Burns by Bonnie Doon’/P7 Curriculum for Excellence Day was held on Thursday 26th May and was a tremendous success. P7 pupils from our Learning Partnership primary schools: Bellsbank, Dalmellington, Dalrymple, Patna and Littlemill took part in a round robin of 6 workshops. At the Doon Valley Museum the P7s had a workshop on the life and works of Robert Burns with Mr. Wilson and made willow trees and fishes with local artist Geoff Forrest assisted by Ms. Fuller and S1/2 pupils. Back at Doon Academy the P7s had workshops in ICT with Mr. Power, Physics with Mr. Richardson, Maths with Ms. McClue and Cake Decoration with Mrs. Cumming. Everyone really enjoyed their day. Thank you to Mrs. McRoberts and Mrs. Dorans for organising the event and to all staff and pupils who took part.

Prizegiving

Doon Academy’s Prizegiving will take place from 1.30pm on Wednesday 15th June.

Maths Pupils of the Month

Congratulations to the Pupils of the Month in Maths, John Anderson, Amy Fulton, Robyn McCluskey, Forbes Maitland and Robbie Uriarte.

EA Athletics Championships

On Thursday 26th May, Doon Academy attended the annual East Ayrshire Athletics Championships at Dam Park. The day was cold and showery but this did not dampen the spirits of our pupils. All pupils did extremely well with the following bringing home medals: Gold medals - Annabel McTaggart, Josh Taylor, Lauren
Lauren Shaw, Aaron McKinstray. Silver Medals - Fraser Buchanan and Nicole Millar. Bronze Medals - Terry Ann Murphy and Jason Grover. Congratulations to them all.