Visitor from NASA

Nagin Cox is a NASA scientist who worked on the Mars Rover expeditions. She addressed the audience of P7 pupils from Bellsbank, Littlemill, Dalmellington and Patna primary schools, and pupils from the Doon Academy’s Astronomy Master Class. The P7 pupils have been attending the academy as part of their transition project which is focused on astronomy and the local Dark Skies Observatory.

Nagin Cox described how she progressed from the US Navy to working on robots with the space agency, NASA. Her photographs of the Mars Rover expeditions captured the excitement of the NASA scientists and engineers as their years of planning culminated in the successful landing on Mars.
 The pictures transmitted by the wheeled robot showed the incredible details of the Mars landscape and evidence of the relatively recent existence of streams of clean water.

 Pupils were able to ask questions of Nagin about her career, space exploration and the prospects of life in distant planets. A show of hands at the end indicated that pupils are interested in following careers in Science and Engineering and one pupil asked about the challenges of working in the multi-national, multi-lingual team at the NASA control centre.

 Mr MacKenzie, head teacher, said the talk had been inspiring. Astronomy and curricular subjects such as the Sciences, Technologies, Maths, Languages and Social Subjects will offer even greater great opportunities for pupils to follow in Nagin Cox’s footsteps in the coming decades.

Blackpool Trip

The annual trip to Blackpool will take place on Tuesday the 18th of June. If you have not already done so then please pay the remainder of your balance and return your form to Mrs Paterson. Without this you will not be allowed to take part in the trip.

Primary CPD

Primary staff from Patna, St Xaviers, Damellington and Bellsbank took part in a textile painting course which was organised and delivered by Miss Fuller in the Art and Design department. Staff were able to experiment will fabric paint and come up with a unique t-shirt design based on the Scottish Dark Skies Observatory. Miss Fuller was delighted with the turnout of staff and the quality of work produced. Primary staff will now deliver this unit of work to their pupils.

The work produced will then be modelled at the primary 7 “Celebration of Success” day at Doon Academy in June.

Student Teachers

Both pupils and staff are delighted to have our two student teachers back for their final 5 week placement; Rowena Murdoch student teacher of Art and Design and Rebecca Gibson student teacher of PE. We wish them both an enjoyable placement.

Fashion Show

Lots of pupils have expressed an interest in the fashion show. We now have a list of pupils who will be modelling in the show.

If you would like to model and have not already had a chance to audition, then auditions will be taking place on a weekly basis in the Art and Design department. This is a drop in session so feel free to pop in at any time between 12.30 pm and 1 pm every Friday lunchtime.

We are currently looking for raffle prizes, if you would like to make a donation towards the raffle please hand this into Mrs McCrorie in the school reception.

Tickets for the fashion show can also be purchased from Mrs McCrorie and are priced at £3.00.

SQA exams

All staff at the school would like to wish all our S4-S6 students good luck in their forthcoming SQA exams. Staff hope that all students receive the grades that they are looking for.

Students should return any overdue library books to Mrs Bax before they go on study leave.

Senior Prom

The prom will take place on Thursday the 6th of June in the Lochside Hotel, Cumnock. All outstanding balances must be paid to the prom committee ASAP. This promises to be a very fun and glamorous evening. Both students and staff are looking forward to the event.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Seventeen pupils at Doon Academy recently received their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Section Awards. Mr MacKenzie, Head teacher, presented the awards at a special ceremony in school. He congratulated the pupils on their tremendous achievement in earning an award which is internationally recognised by education establishments and employers alike.

This is the largest number of pupils to achieve this success in many years and it is attributable to the commitment and dedication of the pupils and the staff responsible for the programme this year: Mr Kerr, Mrs Murray and Mr Gooding.

This year's group are well underway to duplicate this success and we wish them well in the coming months.

Premiership football trip

40 students and 6 members’ staff went on a trip on Saturday the 30th of March to the Stadium of Light to watch Sunderland and Manchester United play. This was a great day out and both students and staff thoroughly enjoyed the game. Thank you to Mr Kelly for organising the trip.

Fashion show

Doon Academy’s Art and Design Department fashion show will take place on Wednesday the 19th June 2013 from 6.15 pm - 9.00 pm approximately in M&Co Alloway Street, Ayr. This promises to be an excellent, exciting and glamorous evening.
There will be several sections to the fashion show, to which our students have contributed, particularly: Mardi Gras masks, customised fashion, bodices, recycled fashion, a senior pupil section, and of course an M&Co section. Our students and staff will be modelling the garments.

By purchasing a ticket you will receive a 10% discount for M&Co on the evening of the fashion show and some light refreshments. There will also be a collection for the “British Heart Foundation” charity. During the evening there will be an opportunity to buy raffle tickets as well as an enterprise stall where you can purchase items that students have made.

If you would like to purchase tickets you can do so from the school reception. Tickets are priced at £3.00 however; these are limited so please purchase tickets soon to avoid disappointment. The first fifty tickets sold will be eligible for free transport via bus to and from the venue.

Auditions for models are being held weekly on Friday lunchtime in the Art Department. Any pupils who are interested in modelling should come along.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Miss Fuller in the Art and Design department.