Winning Cook

Congratulations to S3 pupil Jack Allsop who won the Rosemary McAllan’s ‘Cooking in the Kitchen’s Schools Competition’. S1 - S3 students at Doon were invited to enter the competition to win a day cooking with Rosemary. Students had to write out their favourite recipe. The rules were the dish must include nourishing foods that can be sourced locally and the student had to explain how they would serve it e.g. with potatoes, rice, vegetables. Jack’s recipe was for Roast Pork Dinner with sage and onion stuffing, followed by Chocolate Orange Sponge Pudding with sauce or custard! Jack has won a day to cook with his mum and Rosemary and an apron and a tasting spoon. There were also 5 pupils from the school who were Highly Commended for their recipes David Burrell (S3) for Ayrshire Lamb Cutlets, and Ayrshire Tatties; Frazer Buchanan (S2) for Special Jerk Pork Fillet; Liam Haining (S3) for Honey and Lemon Chicken; Reece Wigglesworth (S3) for Shepherd's Pie and Megan Lees (S3) for Scottish Stuffed Chicken. Ms. McAllan will visit the school to present the awards. Well done to everyone who took part in the competition.

Scottish Youth Theatre visit

S1 pupils had a visit from the Scottish Youth Theatre, which is based in Glasgow. Drama leaders Emma and Mary put the pupils through their paces with various workshops on all aspects of drama and the theatre. Everyone really enjoyed their afternoon treading the boards.

Furureworld success

Congratulations to the S1 Media Group their film ‘Futureworld’, which won the East Ayrshire International competition, will be shown at the Learning Together International Conference.

Credit Union

The S1/S2 Credit Union is up and running and application forms are available from the Maths Department. Collections are made on Thursday lunchtimes in GP1. In the near future the Credit Union will be open for business for the remainder of the school.

Leadership Academy

The Dalguise Leadership Academy was an outstanding success. At the graduation ceremony 12 students and 2 teachers graduated as leaders. Well done to all our graduates.

Glasgow School of Art visitor

As part of the FOCUS West project, Deborah Holland from the Glasgow School of Art visited the Art Department and worked with senior pupils who were given the brief to produce an individual piece of work for their portfolio. Ms. Holland will return in December to review their progress.

Fund raising

Male staff in the school are taking part in ‘Movember’ which is a moustache growing event held during November each year to raise awareness of prostate cancer. From November 1st to the 30th participating males must grow and groom their moustaches/beards collecting for the charity along the way. Hair we grow!

Curriculum for Excellence meeting

College lecturers from Doon Academy’s college partnership, and a group of senior pupils will represent the school at a Curriculum for Excellence event for parents on the 14th November. The group will explain how the school has developed vocational education over the last few years.

Broaden Your Horizons

S4/5/6 Business Management students attended the ‘Broaden your Horizons’ event at Prestwick Airport, which was part of Ayrshire Business Week activities. Students learned about the work of the Prince’s Youth Trust and Oxfam during the seminar and were able to ask questions of young people who had received finance from the Prince’s Trust. Mrs Stewart, Mrs Strachan and Mr. Watt accompanied the group.

Rag Bag

The school recently undertook its second Rag Bag collection. Staff and pupils were encouraged to donate old clothes, shoes and other textiles. The Eco Group is pleased to announce that we raised £40.50 for future Eco projects.

Auchincruive Trip

On Wednesday 30th September, 20 S2 pupils were given the opportunity to visit the Scottish Agricultural College at Auchincruive Estate. With assistance from Mrs Gillespie, Mr Kavanagh, Miss Gilbertson and the helpful staff at Auchincruive, pupils were given an opportunity to take part in workshops in Biology, Home Economics, Chemistry and Geography. Luckily the weather stayed dry so pupils were able to explore the estate and it was a great day for all concerned. The S2 pupils are commended for their enthusiasm in asking questions as well as their excellent behaviour throughout the day. Many thanks to The Royal Highland Education Trust who hosted the event, and also to Mr Gooding who helped organize the trip.

Dalmellington Silver Band

The Dalmellington Silver Band Junior Section, including Doon Academy pupils Hazel Limond, Gail Limond, Lauren Young, Robbie Uriarte, Fiona Kennedy, Lisa Chalmers, Duncan McCluskie and Kieran Purdie, performed at Straiton Church on Sunday evening, 4th October. There was a mixture of well- known hymns and secular music. Everyone there was absolutely delighted with the performance and comments were made on how professional the members were. Folk at the Kirk were fulsome in their praise of the band and look forward to them coming back again in the not too distant future. Well done to all the band members.

International School award

Doon Academy has received Intermediate Level in the International School Awards (ISA). Congratulations to all pupils and staff for promoting Internationalism throughout the school and with our international partners.

New Tyre removal machine

S4 pupils undertaking the Doon Academy/Kilmarnock College motor vehicle course will be out on work placements at various garages in the Ayrshire area. Members of the department would like to thank the staff at Arnold Clarke’s Honda Garage in Ayr who have donated a tyre removal machine. This machine is a really useful piece of equipment to assist the pupils with their vehicular studies.

OYT trip

A group of 5 girls and 5 boys from S3 are heading for the high seas. As part of the Doon Academy Leadership programme, they will be taking part in an Ocean Youth Trust Scotland voyage in the Firth of Clyde area, sailing from the OYT's new base at Greenock. The weather forecast for the week is showers and wind so they should have an interesting trip. They have been warned to come prepared and wrap up well. Mrs Bax and Mr Tomlinson will accompany them on their journey. Bon Voyage everyone!

Leadership Academy

Staff and S3 pupils are also off to Doon Academy’s own residential Leadership Academy at Dalguise, which will involve a mixture of workshops and outdoor activities - wellies at the ready! Alongside OYT and Dalguise Leadership activities S3 pupils will be at the non-residential Kilmarnock College Leadership Course. This will be structured in the same way as our Dalguise course with a greater emphasis on the arts.

John Muir Award

S2 pupils Megan Kennedy and Abbey McRobert are taking part in the John Muir Award Scheme at Dumfries House. Good Luck to both of them.

Former pupil success

Congratulations to former pupil and renowned golfer Pamela Feggans. Pamela is currently on the European Tour circuit and she tied for 30th place in the Tenerife Open. Everyone wishes Pamela continued success in her golfing championships.

P7 transition

The Doon Learning Partnership P7 Primary Transition has begun in the school. Every Tuesday afternoon P7 pupils from our learning partnership schools, Dalmellington, Littlemill, Patna and Bellsbank Primaries will be at Doon Academy for lessons in English, Maths, Science, Social Subjects and PE.

Coraline trip

On Friday 30th October all S1 pupils will be visiting the Odeon Cinema in Ayr as part of National Schools Film Week. The pupils will see a screening of Coraline, which is an ideal film for the study of camera angles, and shot types, which will help pupils’ with their understanding of media techniques.

Staff success

Congratulations to Mrs Dorans in the English Department who received her Certificate of Achievement at the East Ayrshire Educational and Social Work Awards Celebration. Mrs Dorans was presented with the award for gaining the General Teaching Council’s (GTC) Professional Recognition in Learning and Teaching.

Glasgow School of Art visitors

After the October holiday, as part of the FOCUS West project, students and tutors from Glasgow School of Art will be working with pupils on their artwork portfolios.

Citizenship

The S2/3 Citizenship Group will be up and running at the end of October. The planned activities will focus on team building and communication skills.