New School Captains

Head Teacher Mr. MacKenzie with Ms. Ferrie and Ms. Paterson interviewed for the position of school and vice captains. There were 11 applicants and congratulation to Lauren Mitchell and Ritchie Lindores who were selected as the School Captains with Vice Captains Rhianne Jones and Connar McCallum. Mr. MacKenzie said “All the students gave a great account of themselves and they will all enjoy opportunities to serve and improve the community at Doon Academy. We are very grateful to the students for their commitment and thoughtfulness about the different aspects of the life of our school.” We wish the captains and vice captains every success in their roles.

Ayrshire Netball Success

Congratulations to Lauren Shaw, Jade Scott and Sophie Dobbie who have been selected for the Ayrshire Netball Squad. Training has already begun and the Scottish tournaments start on 17th September. The squad consists of 20 girls who were selected from 65 girls from all over Ayrshire. This is a great triumph for the Doon girls and everyone wishes them every success in the squad.

Young Musician of the Year

Doon Academy’s Young Musician of the Year competition will be held on Friday 23rd September from 6.40pm in the assembly hall. Tickets cost £3.50 for adults and £2 for senior citizens and children; this includes finger buffet and refreshments.

Tickets available from the school office 01292 550521.

Raffle prizes and donations for the event may be handed in at the school office.

Transport Museum trip

Mr. Richardson’s S4 Physics class, along with the crash investigation class, are visiting the Transport Museum, on Wednesday 14th September, to learn about the history of transport.

Litter picking

The school litter pickers were out and about in the community tidying up the public areas.

UCAS workshops

Mark Dawes, the School and Families Officer for FOCUS West, will be in school on Wednesday 14th September to undertake UCAS workshops, 4pm to 5.30pm and 6pm to 7.30pm on F.E and H.E with parents. Any parent who wishes to attend please contact Mark on 0141-331-8683

Art News

In the Art department, as part of the FOCUS West project, senior pupils are attending the Glasgow School of Art for workshops on their portfolios.

The Art Attack club will begin on Thursday 22nd September after school 2.45pm to 4.15pm. All pupils are welcome to attend.

New Principal Teacher

Congratulations to Douglas Gooding in the Science department who was successful at interview and is promoted to Principal Teacher of Science at the school. We wish him well in his post.

Mr. Gooding welcomes Ms. Leanne Kerr to the Science department and bids a fond farewell to senior science technician Alan Tickner who has moved to Kilmarnock Academy.

Community improvement logo

Pupils in the Art Department are designing a logo for the community improvement project. Pupils also gave their views on the strengths of our community and the areas that can be improved. The views of pupils and adults will help to shape the regeneration of our area over the next few years.

Spring Read

East Ayrshire school librarians are putting in a bid to the Scottish Book Trust for funding for next year’s Spring Read Programme. We wish them luck.

Accelerated Reader

All first year pupils have started the Accelerated Reader programme and they should be reading for 30 minutes per evening as part of their English homework.
For more information, click on the link to RP Home Connect on the school homepage

Play Again

A group of pupils will begin activities at Play Again as part of the school’s masterclass programme.

Mini-sagas

S1 and S2 pupils, in Ms. Borthwick’s English classes, who took part in the Mini-Sagas competition, have now received their published book. The pupils are all really excited to see their names in print.

S6 Leadership Conference

On Thursday and Friday the 18th and 19th August, S6 students attended a Leadership Conference at the Aviator Suite, Prestwick Airport organised by our new Head Teacher Mr. John MacKenzie. On the first morning the students undertook Peer Mediation training by Mrs. McLay and Mrs. Dorans and workshops on conflict resolution by Donna MacPhee and Debbie Ashman from the West of Scotland Mediation. In the afternoon students discussed S6s role in the school with A/DHT Mrs. Stewart, and caring for yourself and the community by Minister Alistair Morrison On the Friday, DHT Mrs McRoberts led a session with the students on their role as prefects and school captains followed by a Leadership talk by Robert Paterson, Training Manager for Goodrich. Head Teacher Mr. MacKenzie discussed charity giving and fundraising and there was a talk on broadcasting and the media by Bafta award winner Andy Park. The last session of the day was a talk on university life by former pupil Kirsty Hill, President of the University of Glasgow’s Queen Margaret Union. Evaluation feedback from the S6 students concerning the conference was really positive and everyone enjoyed the event. Thank you to all our guest speakers and to Gillian Cameron from the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce for organising the venue.

Science Trip to Tongland

Congratulations to the S2 Science Award winners who, before the holidays, enjoyed a reward trip to Tongland Hydropower station near Kirkcudbright. The Tongland guide told them of the history behind the building of the series of hydropower stations by William McLellan in the 1930s. On display are original technical drawings, log books and telephones. Maps and models helped outline the slope from Loch Doon down to Tongland and pupils were impressed with the control room and sheer size of the generators. It was explained how the life cycle of the salmon is preserved and they walked along the salmon ladders which were installed to bypass the dam. Taking in breath-taking views, the highlight was when the floodgates were opened – you can really appreciate the colossal amount of energy contained in the water. Sadly, William McLellan died before he saw his vision of hydropower in operation, but thanks to his forward-thinking, we can all obtain “clean” electricity at the click of a mouse.

New term

Head Teacher Mr. John MacKenzie is delighted that the term is off to an excellent start. The 1st years are settling well into school life and all pupils are looking very smart in their school uniform.

Happy Retirement

Doon Academy’s staff and pupils bid a fond farewell to Mr. O’Rourke, Mr. Lynn, Mrs Norval and our senior janitor Mr. Ferguson. We wish them all a long and happy retirement.

New Teachers

There are a number of new staff members in the school. Three probationer teachers, Alan Taylor and Melissa Paton in the Maths Department and Isla Grant in H.E. In the Science department Leanne Kerr is our new chemistry teacher. Pupils and staff wish them all a warm welcome to the school.

Penine Way Success

During the summer holidays, Art teacher Justine Fuller walked the Pennine Way, with her father George, and raised, so far, the magnificent sum of £667 for the charity ‘Combat Stress’. The demanding walk of 268 miles took them 20 days to complete, Ms. Fuller said ‘We both really enjoyed it but as you can imagine at times it was really hard going!.” Well done to them both for this tremendous achievement. . Donations may still be given at Miss Fuller's Just Giving page.

Army Work Experience

Congratulations to S3/4 pupils Taylor McKnight, Michael McCreath, Reece Higgins, Robert Brown, Patrick Gilmore, Connor Halbert, Aaron McKinstray, and Cameron Smith who attended a work experience placement with the Army at their barracks in Garelochhead.

CLD video

Doon Academy and The Zone are showcased in a new video on the LTScotland website demonstrating the ways we are working together to make opportunites for pupils to learn outside school.
Here is the link to the video