Readers' Cup Quiz

The S1 round of the Readers' Cup competition was held on Thursday 18th March. Teams from all 4 clans answered questions on Cathy MacPhail, Christmas, Baddies, Families and of course the Lucky Dip round. Raecar led from the start and were clear winners. Bradan and Doon fought neck and neck until Doon ended up 2 points ahead in the final round. The results were Raecar, then Doon, Bradan and Finlas. As usual, between rounds the audience had a chance to test their knowledge and answer some of the questions. Congratulations and well done to all who took part in the competition. Some of the winning team will go on to represent Doon Academy at the East Ayrshire final in June.

Sponsored cycle

Doon Academy's Ocean Youth Trust Group had a non-uniform day and a sponsored cycle on Friday 19th March to raise funds for their voyage in June. 9 pupils from S3 and S4 cycled from the far end of Loch Doon back to school in near-perfect cycling conditions. Some of the more adventurous and athletic pupils took a longer route through the forest and round Loch Finlas, guided by Outdoor Education Instructor, Andy MacNamara. The non-uniform day raised £170 and sponsorship money is still being collected for the cycle ride.

Dance Fit

S2 dance pupils who worked on the project Dance Fit performed their dance piece called ‘Oor Story’ at a presentation at the Magnum in Irvine. The invited audience really enjoyed the contemporary and street dance. Congratulations to all pupils and staff who were involved in the project.

Dark Skies

A group of our senior pupils participated in a “Dark Sky” event organised by the Royal Observatory in Craigengillan Estate on Friday 19 March. Our pupils are involved in an initiative to build an astronomical observatory in the Estate, taking advantage of its situation at the northern edge of Galloway Forest Park, which has been awarded a “Dark Sky” designation by the International Dark Sky Association and is the first in Europe to achieve this status. During the evening our pupils were taken on a grand tour of the night skies in a planetarium, found out what comets were made of, and handled meteorites, which were four and a half billion years old. The night was overcast so they didn’t get to use telescopes to view the stars and planets, but they made very good contacts with Renfrewshire Astronomical Society and the astronomers from the Royal Observatory who will be a great help as our own observatory project develops.

Netball success

Congratulations to the S1/2 Girls Netball Team who won their home game against Belmont Academy. The final score was Doon 5, Belmont 4.

Supported Study

Supported Study for subjects will take place until the final exams. Maths, Art and Science take place on Wednesdays after school and Art and Graphic Communication take place on Thursdays after school. Art are also holding supported Study sessions Tuesday lunchtimes.

Pupils kept in

S1-S4 pupils have been reminded that they cannot leave the school grounds during morning interval.

Nautical College visit

S3 FOCUS West pupils had a very productive FE campus visit to the Glasgow Nautical College. Pupils undertook various workshops on the Maritime Simulator, Dance and Drama, Creative Writing, Engineering and Beauty as well as team building exercises. The group found the day very enlightening to help them with their future career decisions.

Copenhagen visit

Mrs Bax had a very stimulating and informative trip to Copenhagen to look at Danish schools and how they manage inter-disciplinary learning. The group visited the Ministry of Education, Copenhagen City Council, Copenhagen University and several schools. She came back with lots of photos, interesting ideas and a long report to write!

Sponsored Silence

S6 pupils Tammy Drynan and Caroline Crosby did a sponsored silence in the SLC to raise funds for the Ocean Youth Trust Group who are planning to go sailing on the 7th June for 6 days from Oban. The group is also planning a sponsored cycle on Friday 19th and that day will also be a non-uniform day in aid of the trip.

Theresa Breslin

Miss Borthwick's S2 English class travelled all the way to Kilmarnock Academy to hear the famous author Theresa Breslin speak about her work. She mainly discussed Remembrance, her First World War story and Divided City, which is set in Glasgow and is about prejudice. She answered questions from the audience, gave away posters and had a prize raffle. A very entertaining morning.

International Pi Day

The Maths department celebrated International Pi Day with maths challenges and investigations of PI. Congratulations to S1 pupils Shannon Jamieson, Stephanie Carrick and Teegan Dunlop who all were able to remember Pi to 50 decimal places.

Glasgow School of Art

Deborah Holland from the Glasgow School of Art has been working with senior pupils as part of the FOCUS West programme. The pupils are creating some excellent work and she is delighted with their progress and ability.

Car Wash

Pupils in the Doon Academy/Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle Department have been washing cars to raise money to buy tools and equipment to help them with their studies. Well done to all the pupils who took part in this enterprising initiative.

Dark Skies event

Head Teacher Mr O’Rourke and 15 pupils attended an event, hosted by Craigengillan Estate and the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh, to explore the possibility of building an observatory to study the planets at night from some of the darkest skies in the world.

Dance Fit

S2 dance pupils have been working on a project called Dance Fit. They have created a contemporary and street dance piece called ‘Oor Story’ based on teenage relationships. They will be performing at a showcase in the Magnum and at their graduation on Thursday 25th March. Well done to all the pupils who took part.

Reckless driving

S6 pupils attended the Odeon Cinema to see the film Reckless Driving that shows how irresponsible driving can wreck people’s lives.

Cross Country Championships

22 S1 and S2 pupils represented Doon Academy at the Cross Country Championships at Stewarton Academy. The event is held annually and is open to P6 to S2 pupils. All pupils were impeccably behaved and tried their very best in every race. Special recognition goes to S2’s Claire Boyd and S1s Shayla Chalmers and Stephanie Carrick. This was a good warm up for some events for the upcoming athletics competitions that will be taking place after the Easter holidays. Well done to all pupils who took part in the cross-country event.

Football

Congratulations to Doon Academy’s S1/2 football team who had an excellent result at the Bank of Scotland Soccer One Festival held at Grange Academy. The team came second in their grouping losing to Stewarton Academy A team but beating Auchinleck and Cumnock’s A teams.

Sports Relief

The P.E. Department is hosting events for Sport Relief on the 22nd March. These include a sponsored 100m run and other sporting activities. Principal Teacher of PE Mr. McCrorie is encouraging all pupils and staff to take part in the activities.

Author visits

As part of the East Ayrshire Spring Read Festival the author Cathy MacPhail visited Doon Academy and gave a really interesting and entertaining talk to all of S1. She spoke about her books and where her basis for her ideas. She inspired all our young authors to be creative. Cathy MacPhail is the author of many books including Roxy's Baby, Another Me, Hide and Seek, and the Nemesis quartet.
The S2 class went to Auchinleck Academy to hear the author Keith Gray. Keith Gray is the author of Ostrich Boys, Malarkey and many other novels for teenagers. He gave a funny talk about his life and told the pupils that the two main ingredients needed for a writer are imagination and experience. He showed this by telling us about travelling as a young man and about his friend Steve giving him a cigar when he joined the army. Keith Gray suggested asking the teachers which story was true. The Doon BBC School News Reporters also interviewed Mr. Gray for the BBC.

Ayrshire Schools Burns Competition

Congratulations to S4 pupils Gail Limond and Lisa Chalmers who came 2nd and 3rd respectively in the S3/4 Instrumental section at the Association of Burns Clubs Ayrshire Schools Competition. Also, S2 pupils Lauren Young and Fiona Kennedy who came 2nd and 3rd respectively in the S1/2 Instrumental section. Robbie Uriarte, Raegan Heggie and Tammy Reid all received commended certificates. Well done to everyone who took part in the competition.

Actress visitor

S2 BBC school news reporters were thrilled that the well-known actress Lindsay Mackenzie took time from her busy schedule to visit the school to be interviewed for BBC school report. Lindsay played Raven the Princess in the television series The Island and she spoke about her life on set and the challenges undertaken by the contestants in the show. Lindsay is now living and working in London but regularly returns to visit her family in Scotland.

Inspection

HM Inspectorate of Education under the direction of Lead Inspector Mary Hoey has now finished their inspection of the school. Head Teacher Mr. O’Rourke is delighted with the positive feedback from HMI and is very proud of all the pupils and staff. The school received a golden Happy Gram from the HMIE team. The full report into the HMI findings will be published on 21st April 2010.

Copenhagen Trip

Kirsten Bax, Doon Academy’s Librarian, participated in a Scottish Continuing International Professional Development Programme visit to Copenhagen. 15 education staff from schools and authorities across Scotland where involved in the visit. They saw how Danish schools engage in interdisciplinary learning; visiting schools in the Copenhagen area, the Ministry of Education and a teacher-training centre. The educationalists are compiling reports and disseminating the information they have obtained to their professional colleagues in Scotland.

Global citizens

Doon Academy staff have submitted their nomination for the Global Citizenship Award to the Scottish Education Awards Committee. The awards celebrate excellence in Scottish education.

French crepes

In Modern Languages the S2 elective class made delicious flavoured crepes and asked for them in French.

Deadlines

Deadlines for submission of coursework are rapidly approaching. In English the Standard Grade folios are due in by Friday 12th March and in Graphic Communication the submission date for S/G and Higher is Wednesday 31st March.

S3 Exams

S3 examinations will begin Monday 15th March.

Mini Sagas

Miss Borthwick’s S2 English class celebrated their achievement in the mini-sagas competition. Pupils Young Writers Mini Saga competition. This was a competition, which required you to write a complete story in 50 words. Many pupils were successful and will now have their Mini Sagas Published in the Young Writers book, "Mini Marvels Southern Scotland".

Fashion Show

The Art department Fashion Show will be held in the school on the 23rd and 24th June.