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.