Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Successful work experience

S4 pupils received their work experience certificates.

Observatory Funding

Doon Academy pupils and staff were delighted to host visitors from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) and the Dark Skies Project, Craigengillan. CRT handed over a cheque for the magnificent sum of £89, 918 to the project to assist with the building of the new observatory.
Pupils from the astronomy masterclass were present at the ceremony. Thank you to the trust for their generous donation.

West Sound Awards

 Head teacher Mr. MacKenzie, accompanied by school captains Ritchie Lindores and Lauren Mitchell, attended the Provost’s reception, on Tuesday 13th December, for the winners and nominees of the West Sound Awards. The event was held at the visitor centre in Dean Castle and Country Park..

Netball success

On Wednesday 7^th December, Doon Academy’s S3/4 netball team played Queen Margaret. With the game not starting until 4.30pm, the girls were well warmed up and ready to take on the netballing world by the time the first whistle was blown. The centre court was occupied by Annabel McTaggart, Paige McMahon and Cheryl Allison and the opposition quickly discovered that they were up against some strong players. With Lauren Shaw out with a leg injury, it was up to Claire Boyd and Alana Murray to stop the goals coming from Queen Margaret and they did this with precision and determination. Up at the shooting circle Jade Scott and Sophie Dobbie did their usual fantastic job of getting the ball through the net. By half time the score was at 7-2 to Doon and by the end of the second half, the final score stood at 13-3 to Doon. 

Well done to Alana Murray and Cheryl Allison who stood in for the S3/4 team. 

Congratulations also go to Cheryl who walked away with Player of the Match after her valiant effort in Wing Attack.

Community Carol Service

 On Sunday 11 December Doon Academy pupils and staff attended the Community Carol Service at Dalmellington Church. Readings were given by S3 pupil Kirstie McCormick, S5pupil Nathan Gilmore and School Captain Ritchie Lindores. 

Thank you to the pupils for their willingness to be involved in the venture. Everyone had a wonderful time at the service.   

Italian masterclass trip

Mrs McKenzie’s Italian masterclass visited Ceccini’s Restaurant in Ayr to practise their conversation skills in Italian. Pupils ordered their food in Italian from the waiter and Mrs McKenzie was very impressed with their linguistic ability.

Thanks from Samaritan's Purse

    Thank you to Mrs. Parnaby from Samaritan’s Purse – Shoebox Operation Christmas Child who wrote to Doon Academy stating:

“As Area Coordinator I would like to say a HUGE Thank you for all the lovely shoeboxes your school donated for the children in Belarus and Ukraine. Thanks to you 1740 shoeboxes were collected, checked and packed in cartons and sent off from the checking centre in St. Leonard’s Church, a fantastic result from all in Ayrshire.”

Beauty and the Beast trip

S1 and S2 pupils visited Elmbank Theatre in Ayr to see a performance of Beauty and the Beast by the FIB Theatre Company which featured star performances by Doon Academy pupils. 

The pupils and staff had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the pantomime.

Christmas Dance

The Christmas Dance will now be held on Wednesday 21^st December from 7pm. The tickets cost £3 and are available from the prefects at break and lunchtime.  

Readers' Cup Round One

School Librarian, Mrs Bax, has been hosting the 1^st round of the Readers Cup Quiz. Pupils in S1/S2 were asked 20 fun questions relating to books and their authors and the winners from each class will take part in the 2^nd round.

Good luck everyone and keep reading!

Dates for your diary

Senior prelim examinations begin Monday 30^th January.
Burns Supper Thursday 9^th February.
S2 Parents Evening Wednesday 22nd February.
S3 FOCUS FE Day 3^rd February
HE Day 29^th February.

Christmas Holidays

Doon Academy staff and pupils will be on Christmas Holidays from Friday 23^rd December. The school will reopen for staff and pupils on Monday 9^th January. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Paris trip

 

The Modern Languages Department took a group of 8 Higher/ Intermediate 2 students to Paris at the end of November. The group visited the Arc de Triomphe and saw the tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the French wreaths laid from Armistice Day. Then, continuing down the Champs Élysées, the group visited one or two shops to practise their French and purchase some of the well-known, delicious French cakes - macaroons! 

The many other highlights of the trip included a Christmas market, a visit to the top of the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame Cathedral as well as the basilica of Sacré Coeur. The group also toured the memorial to the deportees of World War 2 on Ile de la Cité, which was very moving. On the final evening a delicious French meal was enjoyed by all in a typical French bistro near the Moulin Rouge. 

Everyone had a chance to practise their French as well as soak up the wonderful Christmas atmosphere in the city of lights!

School panto

The Dazzle performers are busy rehearsing for their pantomime Beauty and the Beast which will be performed on Wednesday 14^th December at 7pm in the school hall. 

Tickets are on sale from the school office 01292 550521. 

There will be a raffle, Christmas gifts for sale and refreshments. 

Come along and enjoy the show.

Rag Bag collection

   The Eco Group have organised a Rag Bag Recycling collection. Pupils and staff are asked to fill the bags with any unwanted clothes, textiles, shoes and books. The bags are then weighed by the ragbag company and a donation is made to the school.

Successful Poppy Appeal

Well done to Mr. Ellis and his team who organised the local Poppy Scotland appeal this year and raised the magnificent sum of £1600 for the British Legion. 

Willow masterclass

Local artist Geoff Forrest has been in school working with pupils in the art masterclass.  The pupils have been crafting a fish made from willow and using unwanted CDs for its gills.

Winning Cook

 

Congratulations to S3 pupil Amy Gibson who is one of four East Ayrshire pupils, selected by the chefs at Braehead Cook School, to represent East Ayrshire. Amy will go to the cook school at the end of January for the cook-off competition against teams from North and South Ayrshire. Good Luck to Amy and the East Ayrshire team.

Student teachers

Pupils and staff bid a fond farewell to our student teachers Lesley Crawford in English and Caroline Jones in Biology. We wish them every success for the future.

Prelim dates

S4 pupils sat their English and Social Subjects prelims on the 6^th and 9^th December. Intermediate and Higher prelims for S4/5/6 will begin on Monday 30^th January. Parents will be informed of the results in their child’s report.

For advice and exam tips go to Doon Academy's Revision Help page.

Burns Competition

 Congratulations to Katie Burrell who was runner-up and Chloe Chalmers who was the winner in the S1/2 Burns Verse Speaking Competition. They will both represent the school in the Ayrshire Schools Burns Competition and at the school’s Burns Supper to be held on Thursday 9^h February 2011.

Thank you to our Burns judges Mrs. Margaret Skilling from Alloway Burns Club, Dr Tom Morrall from Ayr Burns Club and S3 pupil Kirsty McCormick last year’s winner. 

All the finalists in the competition will be visiting the new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in February to support their studies on the life and works of Burns.
To see more photos of the competition click here. 

Art Exhibition

 

The grand opening of Doon Academy’s annual art exhibition at the Doon Valley Museum was a great success. Pupils, parents and staff had a tour of the exhibition, refreshments and purchased arts and crafts which were on sale. The exhibition will run until the end of December and is open Thursday to Saturday. Please pop along and see the wonderful display of artwork.

Music CD available

 The Young Musician of the Year 2011 CD is now on sale from the school office. The cost is £7 for one or 3 for £20. This wonderful CD will make an ideal Christmas present for all music lovers.

Photography trip

Pupils in the Higher Photography class will be visiting Dunaskin to take photographs of the industrial ironworks for their portfolio.

Reading Stars

Well done to Accelerated Reader of the month for November Rebekah Copeland. She was chosen for her outstanding achievement of passing five quizzes in a month and earning 30 points.

Congratulations to S2 pupils Danni Cullen and Katie Roberts who have achieved Accelerated Reader word millionaire status this year. Between them they have read over 2,750,000 words. This is an amazing amount to have read so early in the school year. Also, there are several other pupils who are working towards their first million words.

Christmas shoe boxes

On Wednesday 23rd November, S1 pupils Megan Baird, Mitchell Ewing, Chloe Halliday, Jade McClymont, Shannon Miller, Samantha Torbet and Saffron Wightman delivered 28 shoe boxes to St. Leonard's church in Ayr.

Anne Parnaby, the area co-ordinator, met us there and explained what happened to the shoe boxes after they were delivered. The pupils then spent some time helping to check the boxes and filling them up with extra items. Anne also gave the pupils a sweet when they left. All in all, it was a really interesting and fun afternoon that passed far too quickly!

Thanks to everyone in school and in the wider community who supported this year's appeal.

Silver Band performance

Well done to pupils of the Dalmellington Silver Band Junior Section who led a Songs of Praise evening service at Straiton St Cuthbert's Parish Church.

Their music filled the historic building and was very well received by the many people who attended. This is the third time that they have played at the church and every time the congregation have been so impressed by the professionalism of the members of the band, and so uplifted by their renditions.

Burns Competition

The final of the S1/2 Burns Verse Speaking Competition will take place on Wednesday 7^th December. The adjudicators are Dr. Tom Morrall, President of Ayr Burns Club, Mrs Margaret Skilling, Schools’ Convenor for the World Federation of Burns Clubs, and last year’s winner Kirsty McCormick.

Good luck to our 26 competitors.

Visitors to school

On Thursday 1st December East Ayrshire Council Leader, Councillor Douglas Reid, visited the school with Mr Graham Short, Director of Education and Social Services.  Our guests were met by our school captains Lauren Mitchell, Ritchie Lindores and Mr. MacKenzie our Head Teacher. Together, they toured the school, meeting pupils and staff to discuss the school’s improvement plan.

Football

Commiserations to the S2 football team who were knocked out of the tournament at St. Matthew's Academy.

Better luck next time boys!

Panto dates

The Dazzle performers are busy rehearsing for their pantomime Beauty and the Beast which will be performed on Wednesday 14^th December at 7pm in the school hall.

Tickets are on sale from the school office, call  01292 550521.

Doon on URTV

Doon Academy has once again hit the small screen. On Wednesday 23rd November film crew from URTV, an internet based community news channel, filmed the Craft master class and Miss Borthwick to find out more information about our gift shop project “The Miner’s Lamp”.

Thanks to Miss Fuller for letting us use her classroom as a colourful and exciting backdrop and to the pupils of the master class who were great ambassadors for Doon. It can be viewed at http://ayrshire.urtv.co.uk/stories/1145-doon-academy-ventures-into-business

Pupil Enterprise Team

Elaine Stewart, Manager of the Zone, and Miss Borthwick conducted interviews for the Pupil Enterprise Team. The Enterprise Team will be involved in the running of the gift shop;"The Miner's Lamp" managing stock, organising events and promoting the brand. All candidates performed well. The chosen team is Paige McMahon, Frazer Buchanan, Naomi Allan, Kirsty McCormick, Nicky Fairbairn, Nathan Gilmore, Kayleigh Boyd; and Halle Fitzsimmons. Congratulations to them all.

Primary Sports Event

Congratulations to Doon Academy’s sports ambassadors, Dillan Dunn, Melissa Carroll, Stacey Chalmers and Nathan Gilmore who ran their first primary sports event last week at the academy for over 60 primary aged pupils and it was a great success!!

In conjunction with Active Schools the young ambassadors have been helping their Active Schools Coordinator, Nicola McCormack run a number of events to help promote the Olympics for next year, and they kick started it by running a basketball festival for all 6 primary schools in the partnership.

At the sporting festival, each of the six primary schools competing represented the country it had been allocated in the lead-up to the Olympics: Bellsbank – Turkey, Dalmellington – Spain, Dalrymple – Georgia, Littlemill – Slovenia, Patna – Indonesia and St Xaviers – Argentina.

Nicola McCormack, Active Schools coordinator said “Festivals like this are great to help promote the Olympic values of Respect, Excellence and Friendship. The young ambassadors have been absolutely great in the lead up to this festival; I couldn’t have done it without them”.

CD on sale

The Young Musician of the Year 2011 CD is now on sale from the school office. The cost is £7 for one or 3 for £20. This wonderful CD will make an ideal Christmas present for all music lovers.

Police visit Crash Test

On Wednesday 9th of November Constable Denholm and former Doon Academy pupil Sergeant White visited the crash scene investigation masterclass. During the visit Constable Denholm explained the procedures used to investigate crash scenes as well as helping the pupils investigate the motion of vehicles before collisions. The pupils then got the chance to measure the speed of vehicles outside the school using the Police radar gun.

Luckily for the motorists there was no speeding!

Parents' Evening

The S4-6 Parents Evening on Wednesday 16th November provided parents with a great opportunity to discuss pupils’ progress with their teachers. This is a crucial stage for our students so it was great to meet so many parents.

Art Exhibition

Doon Academy’s annual art exhibition will have its grand opening on Thursday 1st December 6pm to 7.30pm and will run until the end of December. At the opening, refreshments will be provided and there will be arts and crafts on sale. All are welcome to attend.

Children in Need Talent Show

Pupils and staff pulled out all the stops to raise the magnificent sum of £827.85 for Children In Need. There was a non-uniform day, talent show, face painting and bake sale. Well done to S6 boys Kieran Boyle, Callum Stevenson and Steven Slider who had their chest and legs waxed and Gavin McFadzean who had his hair shorn. Well done to everyone who took part in fundraising for such a worthy cause.

Fire Safety

Community Firefighter Liaison Officer Carol Cairns visited the school to speak to S1 about the safety of fire service officers when they attend fires in the community.

New Depute Head

Doon Academy’s staff and pupils wish a warm welcome to our new Depute Head Teacher Mrs Elaine Hetherington. We wish her every success in her post. The year remits for the Senior Management Team have now changed with Mrs. McRoberts responsible for years S1, 3, 5, Mrs Hetherington years S2, S4 and Mr. MacKenzie year S6.

Visiting minister

On Friday 25th November we welcomed to the school Mr. Ian Jamieson from the local church to lead our S2 assembly.

Youth Magazine

Tracey Baird and Mike Mills from the Ark Youth Project visited the school and met with Mr. MacKenzie and Mrs Murray PT of English to discuss pupil contributions to a new youth magazine project. Pupils and staff are looking forward to working with the Ark whose alcohol free nightclub is a popular venue for young people.

Mrs Stewart steps down

Head teacher Mr. MacKenzie, on behalf of pupils, staff and parents, thanked Mrs Stewart for her hard work and dedication as acting DHT and Mr Power for holding the fort as acting PT in Business Education and ICT.

Adam Ingram visit

Head teacher John Mackenzie was delighted to welcome to the school, on Friday 11th November, Adam Ingram MSP for Cumnock and Doon Valley. Mr Ingram met with the head; depute heads and school captains to discuss our future improvement plans. He then had a tour of the school, and the Supported Learning Centre, during which he met other staff and pupils. Mr Ingram then attended our senior Remembrance Day assembly which was led by teacher Mr. Paul Ellis who has also served as a reserve in Iraq and Afghanistan. BBC School News Reporters were thrilled that Mr. Ingram took time out to be interviewed for the BBC. The reporters asked him many interesting questions and their full report with be broadcast on School News Day.

Switch-Off Fortnight

Doon Academy pupils and staff are participating in Switch Off Fortnight and the Eco Group are organising a number of events. The aim is to improve the school's energy use and to get the whole school interested in cutting carbon. Senior pupils will be conducting an audit at the start of the fortnight to see how many lights are left on at intervals and lunchtimes. We will then run a campaign over the fortnight to encourage people to save energy. This will be done mainly through the mentoring period. Lesson plans and materials will be distributed over the next week. At the end of the fortnight a second audit will be completed to see if the campaign has been successful. Hopefully, we can help to reduce the school's energy bills and carbon dioxide emissions. Further details may be obtained by visiting the website www.jointhepod.org/switchoff

New janitor

We wish a warm welcome to the school to Mr Stephen Devaney our new Head Janitor. We wish him every success in his post.

The school staff and pupils bid a fond farewell to relief janitor Mr Dave Millar. During his time at Doon Dave was popular with everyone because of his friendly manner and helpfulness. He also shared his excellent sense of humour with everyone he met. We wish him good luck in his next posting.

Pizza and Cupcake eveneing

The Art Department held a pizza and cupcake evening for 14 S5 Art and Design pupils. This allowed the pupils to have 3 hours of interrupted work on their design portfolios. The evening was very enjoyable for art staff and pupils and everyone is looking forward to another event in December.

Business Leaders and Young People Seminar

10 senior Business Management pupils, accompanied by Miss Borthwick and Mrs McRoberts, attended the East Ayrshire Business Leaders and Young people's seminar at St Joseph's Academy Kilmarnock. During the day pupils listened to talks from Sir Tom Hunter, of The Hunter Foundation, and Dr Peter Hughes from Scottish Engineering. Both delivered inspirational and informative presentations. The pupils also marketed and launched a product during their two workshops.

Auschwitz visit

Two of our senior pupils, Lisa Chalmers and Lauren Mitchell, visited the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. The girls are Higher Modern Studies students and the visit was organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust. Lauren and Lisa attended a preparatory meeting in Glasgow during which they met a survivor of the death camp. The girls were shocked and saddened by their visit and they will share this emotional experience with other pupils at special assemblies.

Felt Artist

Renowned felt artist Ewa Kuniczak is working with Mrs Gillespie and Ms Fuller’s masterclass making felt wrist bands to be sold in The Miner’s Lamp school shop

Art and Design Exhibition

The annual Art and Design Exhibition will open on Thursday 1st December at the Doon Valley Museum 6pm to 7.30pm. All are welcome to attend where there will be refreshments provided and arts and crafts on sale.

Astronomer Royal visit

Pupils and staff were delighted to receive a visit from Professor John C Brown, 10th Astronomer Royal for Scotland. He gave two presentations, one to Dalmellington Primary School and one to Doon Academy pupils.

The presentation to the primary pupils was on "Abra cad Astra - The Magic of the Cosmos". Professor Brown talked about planets, stars and the sun and illustrated his talk with some wonderful magic tricks. He demonstrated reduced gravity with magnets, Jupiter’s moons with a magic ring trick and black holes by making a fifty pence piece disappear through some rubber and reappear on the other side! In addition, Professor Brown explained how he did some of the tricks, but some remained a mystery to the enthralled audience.

His talk to the Doon Academy Astronomy group was similar but with more science and different tricks. Both groups were hooked by Prof Brown’s magic colouring book at the start of the show. After the talk, Professor Brown had a chat with the Astronomy group and promised to return next year when the Dalmellington Observatory is up and running.

Sci-Fun Roadshow

The Sci-Fun roadshow, in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh, visited the school to present a day of activities for P7s from Dalmellington Primary and S1 pupils from Doon Academy. This was a reward for pupils’ effort and good behaviour in their science classes. The roadshow included presentations on our senses and global warming and there were many hands-on experiments for the pupils to try. Everyone really enjoyed the experience and pupils were a credit to the school.

DofE newsletter published

The school’s Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award group have produced the first issue of ‘Blab’, their magazine style newsletter. The newsletter had a Halloween theme and included features and articles by Heather Dunn (Chief Editor and music correspondent), Rosie Coles (special features), Ainsley Limond (Agony Aunt), Kirsty McCormick (Charity Editor), Kayleigh Boyd (Horoscopes), Alexander McDowall (Sports Editor) and Damian Slocombe (ICT correspondent). The group are looking forward to further improving their journalism skills with 2 more issue due out before Christmas.

Reader of the Month

Congratulations to Kayley Hancox who has been selected as Reader of the Month in Accelerated Reading.

S4 - S6 Parents Evening

Doon Academy parents evening for S4 - S6 pupils is being held on Wednesday 16th November 5.00pm to 7.30pm. Pupils have been issued with appointment slips and are booking appointment times with teachers. We value the support of our parents and we hope that all will be able to make an appointment for the evening.

New PE teacher

Pupils and staff bid a warm welcome to teacher Seth Meechan who has joined the PE department on a part-time basis.

Reading Week

Doon Academy held another very successful reading week. Pupils from S1 to S3 together with their teachers read for enjoyment for 20 minutes at the beginning of each day.

Focus West visit

The Director of the FOCUS West project Dr. Bernadette Sanderson visited Doon Academy for a tour and an update on how the project activities were progressing in the school.

Science Literacy Wall

Congratulations to Sophie Paulin, Brooke Paulin, Jade McClymont, Melanie Connell, Frazer Buchanan and Heather Dunn on their science work being selected for this month’s Literacy Wall.

Young Musician CD out soon

The Young Musician of the Year 2011 double album CD will be released on Monday 28th November and can be purchased for £7 or 3 for £20. Please contact the school office 01292 550521 to pre-order your copy. The CD will make an excellent Christmas present for anyone who loves music.

Beauty and the Beast trip

The Dazzle cast and crew will be visiting the King’s Theatre in Glasgow to see a performance of Beauty and the Beast in preparation for Doon Academy’s pantomime which will be performed on the evenings of Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th December.

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland visit

Senior pupils Leanne Waugh, Stacey Chalmers, Paige Collins, Megan McCleary and Lisa McTaggart will be attending a Dance and Drama Day at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as part of the FOCUS West project.

Paris trip

Mrs McKenzie, Mrs Ferrie and 8 senior girls will be visiting Paris for 3 days at the end of November. Pupils will see the Christmas lights on the Champs Elysees, visit the Eiffel Tower and other attractions; taste French food as well as speaking lots of French.

Report on Poland trip

S3 pupils were given a very interesting and informative presentation at an assembly by the group of pupils who attended a Comenius visit to Poland.  Halle Fitzsimmons, John Anderson and Alexander Nutt made a video of their activities during the visit which they presented to their year group.  The pupils also spoke about their stay in Poland and the activities they completed together with our Comenius school partners from Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Greece. The trio were presented with certificates, given by the British Council, to mark their visit.  The pupils were accompanied on the visit by Mrs Stewart and Mr Ellis

Christmas Fayre winner

 Congratulations to S1 pupil Fallan Smith who was Doon Academy's winner of the Dalmellington Community Council Christmas Fayre poster competition. Fallan received a certificate and a £10 gift voucher.

Senior Parents evening

Doon Academy parents evening for S4 - S6 pupils is being held on Wednesday 16th November 5.00pm to 7.30pm. Pupils will be issued with appointment slips one week before the date. We value the support of our parents and we hope that all will be able to make an appointment for the evening.

Halloween Disco

The Halloween Disco was a raving success with pupils and staff dressed in an eclectic range of outfits from a bumble bee to a Smurf. Well done to the 6^th year prefects and school captains for arranging the event.

Cars 2

All S1 pupils visited the Odeon Cinema in Ayr to see Cars 2 as part of the Film Education week. The film reinforces the themes of friendship and belonging which have been the focus of their PSE classes.

Edinburgh trip

As part of their social studies curriculum S2 pupils, together with S5/6 Higher History students, visited the Scottish Parliament and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. At the parliament they were met by Amanda Gordon, parliamentary assistant to SMP Adam Ingram, and she led the group on a tour of the parliament building. MSP Ingram took time out from his committee to meet with the pupils.  At the Palace pupils undertook a workshop on Mary Queen of Scots. They all found the day very interesting and enjoyable and would like to thank MSP Ingram and Amanda for the visit to the parliament and the palace staff for the workshop.

Routes for all workshop

S6 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.

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 Wednesday 7^th December. Good Luck to everyone taking part. 

Young Sports Ambassadors

Congratulations to Nathan Gilmore and Dillan Dunn who have been selected as Doon Academy’s representatives for the East Ayrshire Young Ambassadors. They join our other ambassadors Stacey Chalmers and Melissa Carroll. The ambassadors will be supported by Active Schools and they will create a plan to promote the 4 key themes in the school and local community. The ambassadors’ first event was a football tournament which they organised for S1 pupils. This was a tremendous success and the pupils are looking forward to many more planned activities.

Young Musician CD

 The vocal group and pupils who competed in the school’s Musician of the Year competition have recently visited Pulse recording studios in Cumnock to record their performances for inclusion on a double CD. There will be a further visit to the studio in order to mix and add the finishing touches before the CD is released to the public. The stars in the making described their visit to the studio as an amazing and unforgettable experience. The CD will be released at the end of November. Good Luck to everyone involved and thanks to Mrs Rae, PT of Music, and Pulse recording studio.

Calum's Road trip

Mrs Wood is taking Asdan students to the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock to see a performance of Calum’s Road.

Business seminar

As part of the school’s enterprise project 10 senior pupils will be attending a business seminar on the 10^th November at St. Joseph’s Academy. The pupils will take part in workshops led by Sir Tom Hunter where they will learn valuable business skills.

Shop name

During mentoring all pupils were asked to vote for their favourite name for the new school shop in the village and the winning name is The Miner’s Lamp. The Art department has now begun work with graphic designer Allan McKeown to produce a logo design. The shop will sell products made by the pupils of Doon Academy and local artists.

Shoebox Appeal

The Christmas shoebox appeal is still ongoing and we are still seeking donations of goodies for the boxes to send to needy children in the Ukraine.  

Duke of Edinburgh Award

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Masterclass has been out and about locally developing their hill walking skills with walks to Dalcairney Falls and Achenroy Hill.

The outing to Dalcairney Falls was a particularly soggy affair despite the constant rain there were no complaints - what a hardy bunch! 

The Award candidates have been getting involved in local groups and services as part of their Volunteering section of the Award.  Some of the young people are helping out at after school groups in local primary schools and others have been getting involved in helping out in stables, nursing homes and youth clubs. 

We too need our volunteers. 

We are currently working on developing a programme of learning to enable the young people to develop the skills needed to participate in their expedition for the Award.  The programme will take place in the New Year and several walking days will be organised to support their training. This involves learning camp craft, navigation skills and group leadership. 

If you have a good knowledge of mountain skills and would like to get involved as a volunteer please contact Mark Kerr at Doon Academy - 01292 550521.

New Technology Teacher

Doon Academy staff and pupils bid a warm welcome to technologies teacher Suzanne Hall who has started in the Technology Department on a 0.6 contract.

Parents' Evening

Doon Academy parents evening for S4 - S6 pupils is being held on Wednesday 16th November 5.00pm to 7.30pm. Pupils will be issued with appointment slips one week before the date. At Doon Academy we value the support of our parents very highly so we hope you can all make appointments for the evening.

Army success

Congratulations to Cameron Smith, Connor Halbert, Aaron McKinstray, Patrick Gilmore and Michael McCreath who gained their certificates for their work experience week with the Army. The boys all received excellent reports from the army personnel and they really enjoyed their week. Cameron said” It was great we learned a great deal and it was fun working with the soldiers and other pupils”.

Church visitors

We are delighted to welcome to the school Mr Iain Jamieson from our local church who will be leading year group assemblies. Also, Morag Crossan our local church youth worker is in the school working with our pupils.

School Gift shop

As part of an East Ayrshire wide initiative Doon Academy has been awarded funding to develop an Enterprise project. It is our intention to open a gift shop in an area of The Zone in Dalmellington. We intend to sell products made within the school. We are also looking for members of the community to contribute to our stock.

If you make gift items - for example cards, decorative items, accessories or jewellery - and would like to be involved in this project please contact Miss Borthwick on 01292 550521 for more information.

Social Subjects trip to Edinburgh

 The Social Subjects department has organised a visit to Edinburgh where pupils will undertake workshops at the Palace of Holyroodhouse as part of their Mary Queen of Scots topic Also they will tour the Scottish Parliament and interview MSP Adam Ingram for the BBC School News Report. MSP Ingram will be reciprocating the visit by coming to the school on Friday 11^th November to speak to staff and pupils about the school’s improvement plans.

Y Dance success

 Congratulations to S2 pupils who have completed their Y Dance project and received their certificates.  The dancers performed a street dance based around the theme of drugs to an audience of parents, pupils and staff.

Netball

The S1/2 and S3/4 netball leagues begin this month. Everyone wishes them good luck in their future matches.

Graphic Designer visits

 In the Art Department we welcome graphic designer Allan McKeown to the school. Allan is working with the S3 art class on designs for their portfolios.

Reading Ambassadors

 Mrs Bax has appointed 3 Reading Ambassadors to help in the Library and to assist with promoting reading throughout the school. The Reading Ambassadors are Morgan Davis, Wendy Roulstone and Katie Roberts. Their first job will be to promote Reading Week 7th - 11th November. Reading Week is when the whole school reads quietly for the first twenty minutes of the school day. 

Literacy Wall

 Congratulations to Iain McWilliam, Alexander Nutt, Darren McLarty,  Kayley Hancox, Melanie Connell and Brooke Paulin whose work from Social Subjects has been selected  for the Literacy Wall this month. Pupils showed off their writing talents by producing high quality news reports about historical events.

Mock Interview Success

  The S4 Mock Interview Programme, held at the Aviator Suite Prestwick Airport, was a tremendous success with 54 pupils from Doon, Cumnock and Auchinleck Academies selected for interview from an initial application process. Altogether 6 employers were represented: NHS, Barr Ltd, Craigengillan Estate, RAF, Play Scheme and ASDA. 3 pupils from each school were in direct competition for each post. As well as the interviews pupils received a very informative lecture on interview behaviour skills as well as psychometric testing and a tutorial on the new world of work website.

Out of the 6 posts Doon academy had success in 4. Congratulations to Frazer Buchanan – NHS Healthcare, Jordan Berretti – Craigengillan Administration, Michael Harvey – ASDAand Paige McMahon – Happydays Playscheme.

Well done to all the pupils who took part. Also thank you to Gillian Cameron at Ayrshire Chambers and all of the employers who gave up their valuable time to take part in the programme.

Schools Cross Country

Well done to the 27 pupils who represented Doon Academy at the Ayrshire Schools Cross Country Championships held at the Magnum, Irvine. The weather was wet and wild but everyone run their very best and there were some personal best times.

Future plans

  Head teacher Mr. MacKenzie welcomed Mr Andrew Sutherland, Head of Schools and HMI District Inspector Douglas Hutchinson to the school. The visitors met with staff and pupils to discuss future plans to improve our school. They also had a tour of our school facilities and classrooms. Earlier in the week, Mr. MacKenzie also met with our local councillors Elaine Dinwoodie, Moira Pirie and Drew Filson to enlighten them on our plans for enhancement.

East Ayrshire Employee Awards

Three of our senior pupils, Taylor Scott, Claire McWilliams and Tyla Crocket will be assisting at the East Ayrshire Employee Awards evening on the 27^th October.

Under-16s football

 The under 16s school football team played their first game together against Carrick Academy. The boys lost 6-2 but played very well with Michael Harvey scoring two good goals. Craig Mitchell said ‘It was our first game and we need to gain more experience.” Good luck in the future boys.