Children in Need Talent Show

Congratulations to all the acts who performed in the Children In Need Talent Show. The show was a tremendous success and collectively with the non-uniform day, baking stall and face painting it raised over £500 for this worthy cause. Well done to the two winning acts S1 pupil Nicky Fairbairn who danced her way to top, and the senior girls with their tribute to Michael Jackson. Many thanks to the school captains and prefects who organised the event.

Art Exhibition

Many local dignitaries, together with pupils, parents and staff from the school community, attended the opening of the Doon Academy Art Exhibition at the Doon Valley Museum. The visitors were all eager to see the pupils work and they were delighted at the quality of artwork on display. The exhibition is on until the 5th December and the museum is open Thurs – Sat 11am – 5pm.

Crhistmas Concert

The Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday 10th December, 7pm – 9pm. Tickets cost £2.00 for adults £1.00 for children and are available from the school or various establishments in Dalmellington. There will be refreshments, raffle and a sale of Christmas goodies.

Car Boot Sale

The Senior Prom Committee is raising money for their prom in June to be held at the Western House Hotel. They are holding a car boot sale on Sunday 6th December. Any donations of bric-a-brac would be most welcome.

FOCUS West

The FOCUS West Top-Up programme for pupils in S5/6 applying to university, for entry in 2010, will begin on Thursday 10th December. Lecture staff from the University of Glasgow will visit the school to conduct workshops and prepare students for their seminar and lecture visits at the university.

Credit Union

The S1/S2 Credit Union holds lunchtime sessions on a Thursday in GP1. Pupils are busy saving up for Christmas. The credit union will be opened up for all year groups in January.

Christmas Concert

The Art Department is busy making the scenery and props for the Christmas show. They have been making calendars and gift bags with sweets to sell at the event. Well done to Nicole McCallister whose Christmas drawing of Loch Doon has been chosen as the cover for the Concert programme.

Fantasy Football success

William Paton in S2 gained the top score during the pre-season for the Fantasy Football League run by the Maths department. He was awarded a collection of books for his management skills. Congratulations and possibly a future career as a new Scotland football manager in the making!

Christmas Concert

The Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday 10th December, 7pm – 9pm. Tickets cost £3.00 for adults £1.00 for children and are available from the school or various establishments in Dalmellington. There were be refreshments, raffle and a sale of Christmas goodies.

Prom Car boot sale

The Senior Prom Committee is raising money for their prom in June to be held at the Western House Hotel. They are holding a car boot sale on Sunday 6th December. Any donations of bric-a-brac would be most welcome.

Cricket Club

The Cricket Club Training will begin on Monday 23rd November from 6:30 – 8:30. Anybody welcome, as more members are required.
Congratulations to Bradley Kirkwood who has been elected Doon Academy’s Cricket Captain for season 2010.

Gardening tools

The Eco Group are delighted that the school’s collection of Morrisons Lets Grow vouchers bought the school 2 spades, 2 hand forks, 2 trowels and a watering can. These will be very useful for maintaining the garden areas. Thank you to everyone who donated their vouchers.

Focus West Campus Day

The FOCUS West Campus Day for S3 pupils will be held on 9th December at the University of West of Scotland (Paisley Campus). 24 S3 pupils will tour the campus, learn about life at university from student mentors and university staff and take part in workshops.

Focus West Campus Day

The FOCUS West Campus Day for S3 pupils will be held on 9th December at the University of West of Scotland (Paisley Campus). 24 S3 pupils will tour the campus, learn about life at university from student mentors and university staff and take part in workshops.

Anti Cyber-bullying

The School held an Anti Cyber-Bullying day on Tuesday 17th November to raise awareness of Bullying over the Internet and on mobile phones. Pupils undertook various activities on the National Anti-Bullying website and learned about how young people are affected by cyber bullying. Pupils made anti-bullying posters, which were displayed, around the school to raise awareness of this important issue.

Football success

Congratulations to the S1 7 a side football team who took part in the S1 Bank Of Scotland Football Tournament for East Ayrshire schools. The squad made up of Paul Jamieson, Connar Halbert, Corrie Wilson, Brandon Gasson, Iain Mcwilliam, Robert Brown, William McCleary and Patrick Gilmore managed to finish second in a group of four teams. A convincing 3-0 victory, courtesy of two goals from William McCleary, one surely a contender for goal of the tournament, and one from Connar Halbert followed a spirited 0-0 draw in the first game. Unfortunately, the final game was to finish in disappointment as we lost out to a very impressive Loudon team although the 4-0 score line did not reflect the closeness of the contest. Well done to all who took part, they were a credit to the school through their performances on the park and their overall behaviour at the event. Thanks must also go to our student teacher Dale Watt for helping with his coaching expertise.

New bikes?

S3 College Students are currently working on a problem-solving project that involves the re-manufacture of old bicycles into bikes with more than two wheels. This project will be finished by Christmas; they then hope to have a race on the bikes to determine the winning team. Roll on boys!

Festival of Learning

As part of the East Ayrshire Curriculum for Excellence programme. David Burrell, Jack White and Cameron McCrorie will be representing the School – College Partnership at the Festival of Learning in the Cumnock Town Hall.

Spring Read news

Three terrific authors have been booked for the annual Spring Read Festival, which begins in March 2010. Catherine Forde, Theresa Breslin and Keith Gray will all in East Ayrshire giving reading of their works and speaking to pupils. Look out for more information on the Spring Read Festival.

Burns Competition

S1/2 pupils are busy learning their Burns poems for the Burns Verse Speaking Competition. The Grand Final will take place in the school on the afternoon of Wednesday 16th December. Good Luck to everyone taking part.

Art Exhibition

Doon Academy annual art exhibition will be held in the Doon Valley Museum in Dalmellington on Thursday 19th November 6.30pm to 8pm. Everyone is welcome to attend and refreshments will be provided. The exhibition will run until the 4th December. The opening times at the museum are Thursday to Saturday 11am – 5pm.

Scots language workshops

Dr. Fred Freeman, the renowned author and academic, visited the school and took S1 and S2 classes for workshops on the Scots Language. Through the medium of Burns and Scottish songs Dr Freeman gave a lively talk on the history of Scots. Pupils were able to show their knowledge and prowess of the language and they really enjoyed singing traditional Scottish songs. Whilst at the school Dr Freeman was interviewed by the BBC School News Reporters for the BBC School Report.

"Routes for all" workshops

S5 pupils took part in the FOCUS West ‘Routes for All’ workshops. The activities are designed to be challenging but fun and they provide pupils with important skills for education and employment. Lecturers and university students from the University of Strathclyde also gave information; advice and guidance on practical issues relating to Further and Higher Education. The pupils really enjoyed their day and found it very interesting and informative.

The Halloween Disco was a roaring success with pupils and staff dressed in an eclectic range of outfits from Dracula to the Snow White. Well done to the 6th year prefects and school captains for arranging the event.

Mrs Cassidy's leaving

Doon Academy’s staff and pupils bid a fond farewell to Mrs. Helen Cassidy who is leaving the school to take up a post as PT Guidance at St. Joseph’s Academy. Everyone wishes her good luck in her new school.

Netball

The S1/S2 netball team started their season with a rip roaring success! Within the first 5 minutes, the Doon girls had 5 points and their Kyle Academy rivals were yet to score. Halle Fitzsimmons and Jade Scott were magnificent in their attack and gave the rest of the team a lift with the nets they scored. No ball got past the super defence system of Claire Boyd and Lauren Shaw, who both showed amazing technique and skill. Hazel Limond and Paige McMahon also showed strength in the centre court, with accurate passing and quick movement, they left Kyle under no illusion that they were out to win. The second half of the game saw our shooters get another 4 nets taking the score to 9-0. Stephanie Carrick who, alongside Halle, played their first game for Doon showed great effort. Special thanks goes to Alex’s Dearie who came last minute as a sub and ended up receiving ‘Player of the Match’. Well done to all girls who took part and won their first league game. May the season continue as it started!

Art Exhibition

The Art Department are having an art exhibition at the end of November. Pupils are busy preparing their artwork for the show.

Christmas concert

The Christmas Concert will be held on the evening of Thursday 10th December. More details in the coming weeks.

Recycling collections

The Supported Learning Centre’s chosen charity for this year is ‘Hearing Dogs for the Deaf’. Pupils and staff are collecting used stamps and used ink cartridges to raise money for the charity. In addition, they are collecting unwanted spectacles to send to developing countries. SLC pupils are also responsible for collecting paper and used cardboard from all classrooms and sending it for recycling.

PINK day

It was a PINK day at the school when S3 College Care pupils arranged a PINK Coffee Morning in aid of Breast Cancer. There was also a PINK non-uniform day. The Catering Direct staff donated a cake, which was won by Mr. Ellis. Mr Power won the pink bubbly champagne by guessing the name of the person in a picture. He choose Lucy the name of his dog! The total amount raised was £371.47. Well done to the S3 pupils for organising the occasion and thank you to everyone who donated to this worthy cause.