Christmas service

S1 to S6 pupils attended Dalmellington Parish Church on Wednesday the 19th of December. Well done to all student involved in the delivery of the service. The collection this year was for the Scottish Association of Children with Heart Defects. Thank you to our local minister Fiona Wilson for her hospitality and her sermon.

Christmas Market

Miss Borthwick’s master class held an enterprise marketplace in school. The stall boasted an excellent range of products that students had made. It was an excellent opportunity to get in some last minute Christmas shopping done!

School Christmas card

Well done to Higher Photography student Kirstie Millar for winning the school’s Christmas card competition. Her image was used as the school’s Christmas card.

Netball success

Doon Academy’s S1/2 netball team travelled to Kyle Academy on Tuesday 18th December to play their last game of 2012. After an intense warm up the girls were ready to take on the school currently at the top of the league. The first half got off to a flying start with Doon’s defence duo of Olivia McCutcheon and Sophie Paulin keeping all Kyle attempts at net away. Lori McLarty kept her cool every time she was given the ball in the top circle and with Macy Biggar’s help; she managed to score 4 goals in the first half. Although the score line was 4-0 in Doon Academy’s favour at half time, the game was incredibly tight and after a brief team talk, the girls knew they had to continue with their hard working ways in the second half. Melanie Connell took the first centre well and with Brook Paulin and Brook Welsh in the wings, Doon’s girls ensured they were driving forward once again. Kyle made a few team amendments at half time and the girls did a great job of making a comeback, getting 5 goals past Doon’s defence. Thankfully our girls were not put off by a strengthened Kyle team and managed to score another 3 goals. Well done to all the girls involved for beating a strong netball school and finishing the year on netball high. Particular congratulations to Olivia McCutheon who received the well deserved accolade of ‘Player of the Match’. Her defending skills were second to none and her effort level never faltered for her 24 minutes of phenomenal play!

Supported Study

Supported Study will continue to run after the holidays every Monday night for Business Management in Mrs Allen’s room and every Wednesday night for Computing in Mr Power’s room.

School Christmas Lunch

The school canteen held their annual Christmas lunch on Wednesday the 12th of December which was well attended by both students and staff. Well done to Rena and her team for their hard work in making a fantastic lunch.

Glasgow School of Art

Two fashion and textile art students from the Glasgow School of Art did a two day placement within the Art and Design Department. The students worked with senior pupils helping them with their art folios. The two art students also delivered a presentation to students on their own work and what is was like to go the art school. Thank you to Emma McAndrew and Catherine Farrar for their hard work. S6 student Ryan Watson is currently undertaking a portfolio preparation course at The Glasgow School of Art on a Saturday. Ryan is sitting Advanced Higher Art and Design this year and is hoping to secure a place at art school.

Art Exhibition

The opening of the Art exhibition at the Doon Valley Museum was a great success. The opening was well attended by local councillors, parents, pupils, staff and members of the local community. The exhibition will run for the remainder of December, opening times are Thursday to Saturday from 10am until 4pm.

Centrestage

Final preparations are well underway with our performers for next week’s Christmas Showcase event in conjunction with Centrestage. The Christmas show will take place on Tuesday the 11th of December from 1.30-3.00pm with all Centrestage workshop participants involved.If you are interested in attending please see Mrs Hetherington for more details.

John Muir

The John Muir Award group have been working in partnership with the Forestry Commission to plant new community woodland. The Forestry Commission have been gifted land on Mains Hill facing the town of Dalmellington for the purpose of benefiting the local community. The group of S3 student helpers have been involved in the initial planting of the woodland. Thanks to the Woodlands Trust for the donation of birch, rowan, cherry and oak saplings. The planning process is still developing and the group recently met with the Forestry Commissions planner and submitted ideas for the layout of the woodland. The group have also presented plans for the proposal of a woodland walk, picnic area and camping area which they hope the planners will be able to accommodate.

Literacy Across Learning Research Challenge

S3 pupils from the Supported Learning Centre took part in a Literacy Across Learning Research Challenge in the library with Mrs Whitson and Mrs Bax. Students spent two days learning different researching skills such as mind mapping, how to use keywords to search the internet and how to identify good resources. From this they then went onto research a topic of their own choice which ranged from horses, classic cars, forensic science, dogs and Dr Who. They all worked very hard and produced excellent final products that included, information leaflets, posters, auctioneer brochures and information leaflets for a museum. Well done to all involved.

Micro tyco Quiz Night

On Wednesday 28th November the senior Micro Tyco team, consisting of Frazer Buchanan, Lauren Shaw, Peter Featherstonehaugh, Sophie Dobbie and Fiona Kennedy, held a quiz night. Participants took part in six gruelling rounds, testing their general knowledge to the limit. Our winners for the evening were Doon Nothing comprising of: Mr Wilson and some members of the Pupil Support department. The evening finished with a buffet and a live performance from local band ‘Wasted Years’. Thanks to all who attended or donated raffle prizes; the group raised the £212.00 for the charity Wild hearts in Action. Well done!

Community Christmas Coffee Morning

The Supported Learning Centre are holding their annual community Christmas coffee morning on Friday 7th December between 10.00am and 12.30pm. There will be tea, coffee, home baking, a quiz, Christmas crafts for sale, guess the weight of the cake and a prize bingo. Everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there.

Art Exhibition

The annual art Exhibition will be held in the Doon Valley Museum in Dalmellington. The exhibition will run for the remainder of December. Opening times are Thursday to Saturday 10 am – 4 pm (closed public holidays).

Pantomime Trip

Mrs Rae, PT of Music, is organising a trip for students to see the pantomime “Cinderella” in Glasgow on Friday the 7th of December. The cost of the trip is £18.00. Please see Mrs Rae for more information.

Netball news

On Monday the 12th November, Doon Academy’s S1/2 netball team left a blustery Dalmellington and headed for Kilmarnock to play Loudon Academy. This was the first game of the season for the girls and was made more exciting by the fact it was away from home. The game started fiercely with Loudon gaining a four point advantage. Lori McLarty made heads go up as she scored from the circle line taking the game to 4-1. Loudon scored another point but thanks to Macey Biggar and Brooke Welsh helping get the ball to the Doon circle, Chloe Hainey and Lori McLarty were able to score another three points. Going into the second half, the score remained at 5-4 to Loudon. Katie Johnstone stayed in at Goal Keeper but after an energetic and successful first half, Olivia McCutheon was replaced by Sophie Paulin as Goal Defence. Melanie Connell, Alison McCann and Brooke Paulin took to centre court and soon the ball was quickly getting to Doon’s net. The score evened out at 5-5 one minute into the second half and from there on in both teams scored one after the next. The final score ended as 9-9 and everyone involved deserves praise for the maximum effort put into the game. Special recognition goes to Chloe Hainey who was awarded Player of the Match.

Willow Art

Local artist Geoff Forrest has been working with Miss Fuller’s master class making willow stars and wreaths for Christmas. The opening of the Art department’s annual exhibition will take place on Thursday the 29^th of November at 6.30pm until 8.00pm in the Doon Valley Museum in Dalmellington. All are welcome to attend, refreshments provided and arts and crafts will be on sale.

Poetry Workshop at the Sea Fever exhibition

S3 Art and Design students took part in a poetry workshop with author and poet Kate Tough at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock on Monday the 19th of November. Students firstly had a tour of the Sea Fever exhibition and then created their own poems based on the exhibition. All students really enjoyed the workshops and had fun writing their poems. Students will now take what they have learnt and write a poem about themselves based on the self portrait they have been working on in class.

British show jumping – South West Junior Academy

S1 student Grant Smith has been horse riding for three years and show jumping for one year with his pony called George who is an Appaloosa gelding. He jumps between 70cm and 9cm jumps and has won 6 trophies and over 290 rosettes. Well done Grant and George!

Netball News

On Monday 12th November, Doon Academy’s S1/2 netball team left a blustery Dalmellington and headed for Kilmarnock to play Loudon Academy. This was the first game of the season for the girls and was made more exciting by the fact it was away from home.
The game started fiercely with Loudon gaining a four point advantage. Lori McLarty made heads go up as she scored from the circle line taking the game to 4-1. Loudon scored another point but thanks to Macey Biggar and Brooke Welsh helping get the ball to the Doon circle, Chloe Hainey and Lori McLarty were able to score another three points.
Going into the second half, the score remained at 5-4 to Loudon. Katie Johnstone stayed in at Goal Keeper but after an energetic and successful first half, Olivia McCutheon was replaced by Sophie Paulin as Goal Defence. Melanie Connell, Alison McCann and Brooke Paulin took to centre court and soon the ball was quickly getting to Doon’s net.

The score evened out at 5-5 one minute into the second half and from there on in both teams scored one after the next. The final score ended as 9-9 and everyone involved deserves praise for the maximum effort put into the game.

Special recognition goes to Chloe Hainey who was awarded Player of the Match.

Micro-Tyco Marketplace

On Wednesday 14th November, Doon Academy's Micro Tyco participants held a market place event. The pupils, who were given £1 to spend, came up with many stall ideas to turn their capital into cash for the Wild Hearts in Action charity. In the market place pupils from other classes were given the opportunity to attend the nail bar, pin the hat on Santa, guess the sweets in the jar and stock up on stationery supplies. The afternoon was a great success with one team raising £24 from an 80p investment! The challenge runs from 1st to the 30th of November. Good luck to our teams for the rest of the month.

Micro Tyco

Doon Academy is participating in the Micro-Tyco Challenge this year, run by the charity Wild Hearts In Action.  The participants are given £1 seed capital and their challenge is to make as much profit as possible between the 1st and 30th of November. All profits raised from the Micro Tyco challenge are donated to the Wild hearts In Action charity.

Pupils involved are those in The Miner's Lamp master class and a team of senior pupils: Frazer Buchanan, Lauren Shaw, Sophie Dobbie, Fiona Kennedy and Peter Featherstonehaugh. 

Good Luck to all our budding entrepreneurs; let's hope they raise lots of money!

Sponsored Walk

The school’s annual sponsored walk took place on the afternoon of Wednesday the 31^st of October through Craigengillan Estate. Despite the poor weather spirits were not dampened and all students and staff took part. Mrs Chapman and Mrs Reid supplied refreshments at the half way point. Well done to the PE department for all their hard work in organising this event.

S3 Leadership 2

The second part of the S3 Leadership Academy was a great success. Pupils developed various leadership skills from teamwork, respect, creativity, integrity, focus and awareness. An assembly will be held next week where students will graduate and receive their certificate and polo shirt. Well done to all who took part.

Halloween Disco

The Halloween disco was a great success and well attended by both students and staff. We had an impressive range of costumes from sailors, pirates, morph suits, I pods and we even had an Avatar and an Ozzy Osbourne!

Art

The Art Department held a late night supported study from 3.30pm until 7pm where senior art students were able to work on their folio pieces. Pizza and cupcakes were supplied at half time to replenish energy levels! This event was well attended. The next late night supported study is scheduled for Tuesday the 4th of December. The Art department also offers supported study on a Tuesday lunchtime and a Wednesday and Thursday afterschool. The opening of the Art Department’s annual art exhibition will take place on Thursday the 29th of November at 6.30pm until 8.00pm in the Doon Valley Museum. All are welcome to attend.

Sports Ambassadors Trip

On Wednesday 10th October Paige McMahon and Raegan Heggie visited The Park Hotel in Kilmarnock to represent Doon Academy at the annual Sports Ambassadors Conference. At the conference the girls interacted with schools from Ayrshire and Glasgow and came up with plans as to how they were going to promote healthy lifestyles in their communities. The day was made extra special due to the fact the got to make several Para-Olympians including Neil Fachie who won silver and gold for stage sprinting and time trials in the cycling events in London this year. The day was extremely busy but very rewarding and gave the girls renewed energy to continue with their work in the Doon Valley.

Higher Hockey Match

On Wednesday 3rd October the two Higher PE classes took to the hockey indoor facility to play against each other after 8 weeks of training. Both teams came on enthusiastic and eager to beat their opponents. Gemma Hughes showed some wonderful defence for 5B and with Alistair Paton always there for backup they proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Dylan Thirtle and Connor Strang of 5E showed strong attacking skills up front and managed to score 2 goals in the first half. Unfortunately 5B’s attacking skills proved to be too much as Ryan Brown and Michael Harvey put 6 goals past their opposition in the first half. After a 3 minute break and a team talk, both teams returned feeling refreshed and ready to score more goals. 5E came back quickly scoring 3 more goals, with Derek Brown and Andrew Paton preventing more of 5B’s attacks. With Lauren Toner and Lyle Wares always on the wing for backup, 5B responded by scoring another 7 goals, several scored by Bradley Kirkwood. Robbie Ogilvie and Varri Murdoch put in a strong performance but it was all over for 5E in the last minute with 5B beating 5E 12-5. The two teams will play each other at badminton in November where 5E will be hoping to claim back the victory. Well done to everyone who took part.

Art and Design

The Art and Design department will be offering supported study for all S3-S6 Art students every Tuesday lunchtime and on a Wednesday afterschool from 2.45pm until 3.45pm. Local willow artist Geoff Forrest will be coming into school to work with art students on a Wednesday afternoon during master class. Students will be making willow decorations that will be sold in the Doon Valley Museum in December when the annual school art exhibition is on.

S4 Mock Interviews

Once again the annual Mock Interview programme was a tremendous success with 18 S4 pupils participating in real life interview situations alongside pupils from neighbouring Cumnock and Auchinleck Academies. The 18 pupils were selected via an application process and received interviews from employers representing a variety of local businesses, including Mark Gibson from Craigengillan Estate. The pupils were also subject to Psychometric Testing and received a valuable presentation on ‘Interview Skills’. This experience has enriched the pupils understanding of the stresses and rigours involved in the recruitment process and has helped to equip them with an appreciation of the reality of seeking employment. Thank you to Gillian Cameron at the Ayrshire Chambers for her continued dedication into making this initiative an essential addition to our school calendar.

‘Inside-Out’ Mental Health Awareness

In order to raise awareness of the ‘Stigma’ associated with mental illness, pupils in S5/6 were treated to a very powerful and informative drama production by performers from Ayr College. Following a development day at Ayr College and two intense workshops as part of S5/6 Health and Wellbeing afternoons, professionals from a wide range of mental health organisations accompanied the Ayr College students as they delivered a hard-hitting and poignant performance addressing mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. After the production pupils were divided into break-out groups in order to discuss some of the pertinent issues arising from the performance. Mental health professionals were on hand to facilitate discussions. Thank you to Patricia Murray and her team at Ayr College for inviting our school to be part of this important area of Health and Wellbeing.

Leadership

The second half of our 3rd year students will take part in our Leadership Academy. Workshops will be based in school where students will be developing their team working skills, perseverance, creativity, awareness and focus. Students will also take part in a residential at Dalguise where they will be involved in various outdoor activities over the weekend.

Sponsored walk

The annual school sponsored walk will be held on Wednesday the 31st of October at 1.05pm finishing at 2.45pm. The route of the walk will be through Craigengillan and then back to the school. For every £5 that a student collects they will receive one raffle ticket. The grand prize for the student with the winning ticket will be a mountain bike. Good luck to everyone and get collecting!

Glasgow School of Art trip

S6 Art and Design students visited The Glasgow School of Art and took part in a Product Design project. Students also took part in a tour of the Mackintosh building and the School of Architecture where they were able to find out more information on courses and how to apply to art school.

Ski Trip

The school is in the process of organising a ski trip to Aviemore. The proposed date is Friday the 22nd of February 2013 returning on Sunday the 24th of February 2013. The cost of the trip will be £209.00; this can be paid in instalments. This would include transport, accommodation, all meals in the hotel, lunch, ski hire, lift passes and lessons. Places on the trip will be limited and will be allocated according to a range of factors including pupils’ behaviour, attendance and effort in school. A £30.00 deposit is required by Friday the 5th of October 2012 to secure a place. Please see Miss Fuller for more information.

Enterprise display

An Enterprise display cabinet containing items that students have made is situated in the school reception. Some of the items include jewellery, key rings, candles and photographs.

Prom

The senior students are in the process of organising their end of year school prom. The prom will have a “Las Vegas” theme, please see the prom committee for more information.

Eco Club

The Eco Club master class have been clearing and weeding the school’s garden and front entrance. They have been painting the iron sculptures and are also going to be planting spring bulbs. The Eco Club have also carried out an environmental review. The results of this will be used in this year’s action plan. The school took part in a “hands up” survey to see how pupils and staff travelled to school each day. The results from the survey will help us to improve our carbon footprint.

Leadership Academy

S3 students will be taking part in the school’s Leadership Academy. Workshops will be delivered in school over three days and then a residential will take place in Dalguise where students will take part in outdoor activities over the weekend.

London Paralympics

The four student sports ambassadors were taken to visit the Paralympics stadium in London. The ambassadors, Nathan Gilmore, Dillan Dunn, Paige McMahon and Raegan Heggie, along with P.E. teacher Mr McCrorie and Nicola McCormack had a tour of the athletic stadium, and saw the sights of London.

Fashion Show

The school will be hosting a fashion show on the 20^th of June 2013 where the pupils will display their unique fashion and jewellery designs.

Drawing Morning

The Art and Design department is organising a drawing morning on Wednesday19^th of September for S2 pupils and Thursday 20^th of September for S1 pupils in Craigengillan Estate. Students will be capturing the landscape around the estate in a variety of media. Work will later be displayed in the Doon Valley Museum, dates to follow.

Road Safety

The Baldy Bane Theatre Co. held a production of “The 9 Lives of Roddy Hogg” in August which conveyed the dangers of the road and how to prevent them.

Medics Against Violence

Recently senior students has a visit from Medics Against Violence and they were shown a video of the after effects of drunkeness and gang violence. The shocking security camera footage and real life stories of the people who had lost someone due to violent attacks really made the message hit  home. The pupils agreed that it was intolerable and showed good feedback to the speaker.

Aviemore

The annual ski weekend to Aviemore will take place on Friday the 1^st of February until Sunday the 3^rd February 2013. The total cost of the trip is £209, this includes food, transport, accommodation, ski hire, lessons and lift passes. All students who are interested are to see Miss Fuller in the Art department for more information.

Volunteering Abroad

S6 students are aiming to undertake a volunteering project in Malawi in summer 2012. We want to take on some practical challenges which will improve the lives of needy children. We are working in partnership with East Ayrshire Council and Mary’s Meals - the Scottish charity which feeds thousands of African school children every day. We hope this will be a pilot trip for others involving other schools in East Ayrshire. We aim to raise the money we need by fundraising events and through sponsorships. We will keep you informed of our progress throughout this session. 

by Kirsty Millar, Hayley Bone, Paisley Gray and Shannon Jones, S6.

S6 Leadership Training

Our new sixth year started the session with a 2 day leadership programme which examined the roles and responsibilities of prefects and senior students. Speakers at the event, which was held in The Aviator Suite at Prestwick Airport, included Rev Alastair Morrison; Mr Robert Paterson, training officer  from Goodrich International; TV producer Andy Park; and ex-president of Glasgow University, Queen Margaret Union, Kirsty Hill. School staff also led workshops. We are very grateful to all who contributed to the event, including Gillian Cameron from Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce whose business links ensured the event's success.

Pupil videos

Two groups of S2 pupils have made short videos as entries to the We Are Northen Lights documentary film project. To see their films go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ArJXD_r9BY&feature=plcp and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH4f2B68VCA&feature=plcp .
To find out more about the We are Northern Lights project go to. http://www.wearenorthernlights.com

Mardi Gras Celebration

On Wednesday 9th May, S1 pupils celebrated their Curriculum for Excellence Mardi Gras project with a festival of fun and crêpes tasting!

Pupils in the French classes had been busy researching how Mardi Gras is celebrated in France and around the world, and produced some excellent PowerPoint presentations for the festival.

In Art, pupils designed and made vibrant Mardi Gras masks to wear for the festival parade.

The King and Queen of Mardi Gras were Liam Elder and Shannon Carrick.

Pupils in Home Economics made some delicious crêpes for everyone to enjoy. One of the many highlights was the lively dance which P.E. teacher Mrs Ferrie taught pupils and teachers to do on the day.

Rapid Response Engineering challenge

Pupils and staff were delighted to welcome to the school 2 engineers from Institution of Civil Engineers in Scotland who gave a talk to S2 about what civil engineers do and introduced the Rapid Response Engineering Challenge. S2 have been busy all week on project work relating to the challenge.

Nteball report

Doon Academy’s S1/2 Netball Team left Dalmellington on a sunny afternoon to go to Prestwick for their league game. Arriving at the school, Doon’s pupils were very impressed with Prestwick Academy’s new campus and all agreed it was “like going to a hotel for the afternoon”. Both sides warmed up quickly as all were eager to get started.
The first half saw Doon hold the majority of possession but after five minutes no goals had been scored. It didn’t take long however for Doon to get into their stride with Cheryl Allison putting four nets on the scoreboard for her team. Prestwick replied with one goal before half time leaving Doon in the lead before any team changes were made. Rebekah Copeland and Charelle Boyce played hard and well during the first half and were replaced with fresh legs in the form of Sophie Paulin and Chloe McDerment for the second half.
Amy Mitchell was moved to Goal Shooter and did a great job in helping Cheryl score more goals. Melanie Connell played a solid role in controlling centre court alongside her Wings, Brooke Paulin and Savannah McMahon. Prestwick made a valiant attempt at putting the Doon girls under pressure and were able to catch up in goal difference in the second half.
The Doon girls proved just too fast for the opposition though with the final score of the season being 9-8 to Doon Academy.
Well done to Brooke Paulin who received Player of the Match.

Former pupil John McNair, from Lost World Pet Shop in Ayr, visited the Art Department with various creepy crawlies – scorpions, spiders and snakes. Both pupils and staff really enjoyed the visit.

Day of Memories

To commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Doon Academy together with Dalmellington Primary, are hosting a Day of Memories with afternoon tea, from 1.15pm on Thursday 31st May.
If you have memories of the coronation and would like to join us please contact the schools. Tickets are free and are on a 1st come 1st served basis.

Creative Writing Workshop with National Theatre of Scotland

Thirty seven pupils from S1 and S2 recently had the opportunity to take part in creative writing workshops run by National Theatre Scotland at The Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock. Pupils experienced two workshops in character creation, script writing and movement and were enthusiastic in their engagement.

Scott Kennedy, S1 said: “It was really great. It was fun to make up characters and act out a scene between them.” Later in the evening pupils attended a performance of playwright and workshop leader Rob Drummond’s show in which they played an integral part. Daniel Dutton, S1, was chosen from the audience to be the focus of the show. The audience watched amazed as Rob created his show in front of their eyes with the participation of the audience.

Tyler Hiddleston, S1 said: “I couldn’t believe it when Rob told us to take out our phones and make sure they were switched on! He asked us to text our friends for advice.” She was further amazed when, during the show, she received a text from the playwright. Pupils have been encouraged to keep writing and submit their work to Rob for his comments and advice in future.

Diamond Jubilee Exhibition

In the Art department S3 students have been creating pieces of work for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee exhibition at the Doon Valley Museum.

Barcelona

The trip to Barcelona will take place from the Sunday 17th June until Saturday 23rd June.

Warning May Contain Losses

All S2 pupils have been working on the Warning May Contain Losses project that has been run between the Business Education & ICT Dept. and Home Economics. The pupils’ challenge was to start-up a company to design and sell a chocolate bar across the school. Each group of 4-5 pupils had to investigate the market to find out about the products available; then discover what influences what we buy and why; design an advertising poster and wrapper for the product; and prepare a PowerPoint presentation. The class winners presented their product to Mr MacKenzie, Mrs Riggins and Miss Borthwick.

The overall winning product was ‘Choco Madness’ designed by Charelle Boyce, Kieran Madden, Morgan Davis and Ryan Crawford. The Choco Madness bar will be available in the school canteen for all to buy from Tuesday 8th May. Congratulations to the winning team and to everyone who took part.

Art visitor

Doon Academy Art pupils were delighted that former pupil Jenny Cumming visited the school to work with S1 and S2 pupils on their designs and discussed ideas with them from her Art Portfolio.

Karate Black Belt

Congratulations to S3 pupil Marina Cameron who has achieved the junior level Black Belt in karate. Martina attends karate classes held in the school gym hall.

Diamond Jubilee

The school is busy preparing for its Diamond Jubilee celebrations. At the end of May there will be an afternoon concert, with refreshments, for local community members with memories of the coronation.

S4 Study leave

All S4 pupils are now on study leave for their SQA examinations. Head teacher Mr. Mackenzie stated: “this is an important time for the students with the culmination of 11 years of school learning. Our students will be studying hard between their exams and we hope that every one of them achieves the grades that they deserve. Good Luck to them all!”

Literacy Wall

The Science department is May's contributor to the Literacy Wall. In Science S1 pupils investigated energy in food. In S2 pupils researched scientists from Scotland and presented their findings. In S3, Biology pupils wrote a report on the journey of oxygen from the air to skin cells. The best pieces of work were produced by: Ryan McCreath (S1); Elleis Peters and Stephanie Bell (S2); and Ashley Mitchell and John Anderson (S3). Congratulations to them!

Storytime

The short listed books for the Cilip Kate Greenaway Medal are now in school and S2 pupils will be reading these books to Dalmellington Primary P1s on Tuesday 29th May. The P1s will then vote for the winning book.

Blackpool trip

The Blackpool Trip bus will depart from the school at 6am on Thursday 31st May. The pick-up time at the New and Old Bridges in Patna is 5.40am.

Netball report

Doon’s S1/2 Netball team travelled to Kyle Academy on Tuesday 1st May to play the League winners. Kyle’s attacking side quickly broke down Rebekah Copeland and Sophie Paulin’s defence and went ahead easily in the first few minutes. Melanie Connell, Brooke Paulin and Savannah McMahon tried desperately to get things active for Doon Academy’s side in the centre court but to no avail. Cheryl Allison played a good game trying to get the ball to Charelle Boyce in the top circle but unfortunately Kyle’s defence proved just too strong for our small school. Alana Murray came on at half time and got the ball to Charelle who scored Doon’s only point. As the game got closer to full time Doon knew there was not going to be a win this time but continued to try their hardest.
Well done to Kyle who gained a comfortable win and remain at the top of the Ayrshire League.
Congratulations to Savannah McMahon who received Player of the Match.

PE Pupils of the month

Well done to Brooke Paulin and Scott Kennedy who achieved the PE Department's Pupils of the Month for May.

Health4Life Final Reunion

As part of the school’s Comenius ‘Health4Life’ project, 12 teachers and 19 students from our partnership schools in Belgium, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Spain visited the school for a project meeting Monday 16^th April to Friday 20^th April. 

During their visit they had a full programme of events beginning in the school on Tuesday 17^th April with a welcome assembly followed by the Comenius Walk to Dalcairnie Falls, and a welcome dinner in the evening at Cecchinis. 

On the Wednesday they visited Edinburgh Castle, and had a meeting with MSPs at the Scottish Parliament and a tour of the building. 

The visitors had a very interesting and informative day on the Thursday when they visited Robert Burns Birthplace and Museum. This was followed by a farewell Ceilidh in the school in the evening where everyone joined in the Scottish dancing.   

There were many tears as students and teachers were presented with their certificates and goodie bags. 

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this reunion a wonderful occasion.

Education Scotland Award shortlist

 Doon Academy is on the shortlist to achieve an Education Scotland Award. As part of the award process we had a visit from Hilary Bombart, Education Scotland, and Iain Ellis, Chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland. Our visitors met with pupils, parents and teachers to talk about the work that we do to improve literacy skills. The award winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Tuesday 12^th June. 

Our BBC School News Reporters Elleis Peters and Kieran Madden took the opportunity to interview the visitors on the award process.

S3 Parents Evening

The S3 parents evening will be held on Thursday 3rd May from 5pm to 7pm. This will provide an excellent opportunity to discuss your child's progress through Standard Grade or Intermediate level courses. We hope to see you all there.

World Book Night

Mrs Murray, Mr Richardson and Mrs Bax have been selected as givers of free books by World Book Night. A special event to give away books to parents is planned soon.

Peer Education Project

8 S6 pupils have been participating in a Peer Education project as part of their Higher Leadership qualification. The pupils were split into 2 groups to present lessons on solvent misuse and alcohol abuse to younger pupils. 

On Wednesday 28th March, 4 S6 pupils presented a lesson on the dangers of solvent misuse to Dalmellington Primary 7 pupils. 

On Friday 30th March 4 S6 pupils presented a lesson on the dangers of alcohol to a S1 social education class. Both groups prepared superb lessons using a variety of resources which really engaged the pupils. It also provided an excellent opportunity for the pupils to develop their leadership skills .

Many thanks to Catrina O'Neil East Ayrshire Schools' Alcohol and Drugs Education Coordinator for providing excellent training for our pupils.

Swimming Championships

The Doon Academy Swimming Championships took place on Tuesday 24^th April. All competitors performed extremely well and the competitive spirit made for an exciting event. Results were as follows: Junior Girls 1^st- Haidee Barclay 2^nd- Rebekah Copeland 3^rd- Melanie Connell/Charelle Boyce 4^th- Amy Collins  Junior Boys1^st- Jack Sommerville2^nd- Jamie Geddes Senior Boys1^st- Stuart Paulin 2^nd- Logan Wilson 3^rd- Jamie McLatchie. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the championships.

Student PE teacher

  Pupils and staff bid a warm welcome to PE student teacher Gilliam Murray who will be in the school until the end of May.

Readers' Cup Quiz

The S1 and S2 heats of the Readers’ Cup were held in the Library. S1 put in an outstanding performance with Raecar winning with an outstanding score of 30.5 out of a possible 40 points.  The winning Raecar team consisted of Jade McClymont, Melanie Connell, Brooke Paulin, and Ryan Macmillan. They answered questions on the author Barry Hutchison, horror stories, humorous stories, and family stories.  

The S2 competition followed immediately afterwards. S2 had similar questions, but with mysteries substituted for family stories. Again the winning team of Katie Burrell, Wendy Roulstone, Gareth Kerr, and Caitlyn Steele were from Raecar.  The competition was much closer in S2 with the winning margin being only 1 1/2 points, separating Raecar from Doon and Finlas only 1/2 a point behind.  

 
Congratulations to the winning teams and to everyone who took part. 
 Thank you to Mrs Bax, librarian, for organising the event. 

To see more pictures  from both events go to - Doon Library 

Blackpool

The Blackpool Trip will be taking place on Thursday 31^st May.

Geobus visit

Doon Academy pupils and staff were delighted that the Geobus project run by the University of St Andrews visited the school. The Geobus staff ran sessions with S1, S2 and S4-6 Science and Geography classes.

S1 pupils looked at ‘Fascinating Fossils’, they were invited to look and touch real fossils which are hundreds of millions of years old.

S2 pupils were ‘Monitoring Volcanoes’ where they looked at how geologists are able to predict an eruption using instruments such as infra-red cameras.

S4-S6 pupils were studying ‘Fluvial Processes’ and were given the opportunity to design their own river settlement. It was a very successful day and pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Thank you to Mrs. Elder and Ms. Kerr for arranging the event.

Goodbye to Mrs McRoberts

Pupils and staff bid a fond farewell to DHT Lyndsay McRoberts who is leaving us to take up a post at Kyle Academy. Everyone wishes her every success.

Health4Life Project reunion in Doon Academy

As part of the school’s Comenius ‘Health4Life’ project, 12 teachers and 19 students from our partnership schools in Belgium, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Spain will be visiting the school for a project meeting Monday 16^th April to Friday 20^th April. During their visit they have a full programme of events beginning in the school on Tuesday 17^th April with a welcome assembly followed by the Comenius Walk in Dalmellington and a welcome dinner in the evening. On the Wednesday they visit Edinburgh Castle, and a meeting with the Minister for Education Mike Russell at the Scottish Parliament. Robert Burns Birthplace and Museum is on the itinerary for the Thursday followed by a farewell Ceilidh in the school in the evening.

New minister visit

Doon Academy’s pupils and staff were very pleased that the new minister for the Doon Valley, Reverend Fiona Wilson, visited the school to meet everyone. This was the minister’s first visit to the school and she was warmly welcomed when introduced at year group assemblies.

Staff changes

Until the end June, Mrs. Stewart will take up the post of Acting Depute Head Teacher and Mr. Power will be Acting Principal Teacher of Business Education and ICT.

Recycling Project

The pupils in the Supported Learning Centre are organising a recycling project for drinks containers. East Ayrshire Council has provided bins for the cans and bottles and these will be placed around the school. The pupils held an assembly to promote the use of the bins. Well done to them all for such an enterprising idea.

La Francophonie Competition

Mrs McKenzie’s S3/4 masterclass pupils entered an online competition and are excitingly waiting the results. Every year, French speaking countries throughout the world celebrate “La Francophonie”.

This year, The Institut Français d’ Ecosse together with the Alliance française de Glasgow organised, on Wednesday 21 March 2012 from 12.45 to 2pm, the online competition about “Vive la Francophonie/ Discover the Francophonie” for S3-S4 pupils in Scotland.

Our pupils found that this was a good opportunity to apply important skills for life and work; as they had to work in a team, use ICT- quick and efficient Internet research - and their French language skills.

Plants for sale

As part of the BESC project S1 -S3 Biology students and the Science Club masterclass are going into business. They bought gardening supplies and, taking advantage of the sunny weather, have created a range of products.

For sale we have: Tomato, Sweet pepper and chilli plants - £1.50 each  Herb Garden window boxes containing 3 herbs- £ 12; Colourful planters - £15; and Hanging baskets - £15.

These are on sale in school. Anyone wishing to purchase these should contact Miss Borthwick on 01290550521

Easter School

Easter School for all senior pupils will run on Tuesday 3rd April, Wednesday 4th, Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th April 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3pm. Pupils may attend all sessions and bus fares will be reimbursed for those with appropriate receipts...S4 study leave starts on the 26th April and S5/6 go on study leave on the 11th of May All new S5 and S6 pupils return to school on the 6th of June.

Dairy dates

Dates for your diary. S3 Parents Evening Thursday 3^rd May, S1 Parents Evening Thursday 24^th May, P7 CfE/’Burns by Bonnie Doon’ Friday 25th May, Blackpool Trip Thursday 31^st May, Barcelona Visit Sunday 17^th June to Saturday 23^rd June, Prize giving Wednesday 27^th June.

Health4Life Reunion in Portugal

As part of the school’s Comenius ‘Health4Life’ project Ms. Miller, Mrs Bax and pupils Lauren Kennedy and Sharon Renwick visited Marco de Canaveses in Portugal for a project meeting.

Mrs Bax has provided us with a report on their visit.

“The reunion in Portugal went really well. We had fantastic weather, warm and sunny, a terrific welcome from our hosts, and a busy and interesting programme.

On Monday 12th March, we had a welcome ceremony in the school where we were introduced to everyone and the students met their host families.

On Tuesday 13th, the visiting teachers and students with a group of Portuguese students and teachers took a trip to Porto, where we had a guided tour of the main sights of the city, the students had a picnic lunch in the park and then we all had a tour of the Palaicio da Bolsa, followed by a trip on the River Douro and a visit to a port cave in Gaia.

On Wednesday 14th we all did Marco de Canaveses Health4Life Walk along the river bank with lovely views, then we were taken to nearby Tongabriga, a Roman city, where we had a fascinating tour by
a local archaeologist. In the afternoon we visited Guimares, which is European City of Culture 2012. There we had a tour of the old town, a look at the castle and a tour of the Royal Palace.

On Thursday we held our project meeting in school and discussed global citizenship. In the afternoon we had a tour of Marco De Canaveses conducted by tourism students from school. On Thursday evening there was a farewell party with entertainment in school. We saw folk dancers and heard several traditional music groups.

We were very sad to say goodbye to all our new friends from Portugal and our other partnership countries of Belgium, Greece Poland and Spain at the end of the visit.”

Dance success

East Ayrshire’s annual Dance Festival took place on Thursday 15th March at the Grange Academy and three of Doon Academy’s pupils took to the stage to shine on the night. After the group dropped from eight pupils to three pupils, it looked like there would be confusion on stage and potentially we would have to drop out but the girls rearranged positions, practised until their muscles ached and ended up making the dance look truly professional on the night.

Dancing to Tik Tok by Keisha, Cheryl Allison, Shania Brown and Alana Murray looked like trained experts as they showed off their dancing skills on stage. As well as dancing skills the girls helped with hair and make up backstage as Dalmellington Primary were also there performing on the night. The girls’ practice and hard work paid off as compliments rushed in telling them how wonderfully they had performed.

Well done to the three girls who should be proud of themselves for representing Doon Academy in such a mature and professional manner.

S5/6 Parents Evening

The S4/5/6 Parents Evening will take place on Thursday 29th March 5.30pm - 7.30pm and staff are looking forward to meeting  parents to discuss their child's progress, as the SQA exams are only a few weeks away. Also the evening will give parents an opportunity to discuss their child’s future options.

Scottish Engineering talk

Head Teacher Mr MacKenzie was delighted to welcome to the school Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of the Scottish Engineering Employers’ Association.
Dr Hughes gave an inspiring and motivating talk to S3-S6 pupils, and those in S2 who will be studying engineering in the school.
Everyone really enjoyed Dr Hughes talk and he was presented with a photograph as a memento of his visit by School Captain Lauren Mitchell.

Blackpool

The annual school trip to Blackpool will take place on Thursday 31^st May.

New sculpture

The Art Trail sculpture designed and built by Doon Academy pupils and local willow sculptor Geoff Forrest has now been installed on the Craigengillan Estate. The sculpture is an amazing piece of work and thank youto everyone who helped design and build this lasting exhibit.

Netball success

On Wednesday 7th March Doon Academy travelled to Loudon Academy for two netball games. It was the junior school’s time to show off their netballing skills and they did not disappoint. The first team got off to a roaring start with Doon scoring in the first minute. Cheryl Allison and Amy Mitchell then managed to get another shot on target taking the score up to 2-0. Loudon made a quick comeback and scored two goals making the score even. Savannah McMahon controlled centre court with many impressive interceptions and with Rebakah Copeland and Melanie Connell helping out, the ball quickly made it back to the shooters who scored again taking them into the lead at half time.

After a drink of water and a team talk from coach Mrs Ferrie, the girls were willing and ready to take on Loudon as the second half commenced. Alana Murray and Brook Paulin played well throughout the entire game which resulted in Doon winning 9-4.

Well done to Savannah McMahon who received Player of the Match.

Fishing trip

The Fishing Masterclass had a great day on the Belston Loch fishing for rainbow and brown trout. Well done to all the pupils and Mr White who caught 4 fish. Commiserations to Mr. Kelly who ‘caught a cold’ but no fish!

USA Sunshine Hall of Fame

Congratulations to former pupil and renowned golfer Pamela Feggans who was inducted into the USA Sunshine Hall of Fame. Pamela is currently on the European Tour and we wish her well.

Driving safety

6th year pupils attended a showing of the film, and presentations, on ‘Reckless Driving Wrecks Lives’ at the Odeon Cinema, Ayr. This annual event was established to make those who may be learning to drive or who have just started driving think about the impact of their driving behaviours.

FOCUS West Art visitors

As part of the FOCUS West project, two art students Ailsa and Steven, from the Glasgow School of Art have been in school working with pupils on their SQA folio work. They have also been in the art master class working with junior and senior pupils and with 3G class who are designing a mural , based on a Pop Art theme, for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Fairtrade Fortnight

Thank you to Mrs Elder and her Higher Geography pupils who raised £196 during Fairtrade Fortnight by selling craft items and holding a Fairtrade tuck shop.

Willow Sculpture

In the Art Department, over the past 10 months, pupils have been working with local willow sculptor Geoff Forrest on a new design. The large sculpture based on pupils’ ideas is now completed and everyone is looking forward to the unveiling of the completed piece.

Spring Spectacular Concert

Congratulations to Paige McMahon, Alex’s Dearie, Bethany McGhee, Cheryl Allison, Leigh Boyce and Becky Inglis who have been selected to perform at the East Ayrshire Spring Spectacular Concert which will take place in the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock on Wednesday 21st March.

Maths Masterclass

The Maths department were delighted to welcome to the school Professor Adam McBride, former head of mathematics and statistics at the University of Strathclyde, who delivered a mathematics master-class to pupils in S3 and S4.

Topics covered included magic squares, the "1089" trick and why the next number in the sequence 2, 4, 8, 16 might not be 32!

Thanks go to all the pupils who made Professor McBride's stay an enjoyable one. To find out more about the topics he discussed, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_squares

BESC launch

On Wednesday 29th February Doon Academy launched its Business Enterprise Skills Centre (BESC). Councillors and invited guests were treated to an overview of our Leadership course and the Fashion and Textile master class by Mr Richardson and Miss Fuller. It was then over to School Captain, Connar McCallum, who got the audience, motivated with some leadership games. The guests took part in some "speed dating"; visiting various groups of pupils who discussed Enterprise activities they had undertaken. Mrs Gillespie and her team then served canapés and cakes to finish. The BESC centre will allow Doon Academy to give our pupils many new and exciting opportunities in Art, Technical and Leadership. We are also planning projects which well develop our pupils’ skills for work.

Ayrshire Burns Clubs Schools Competition success

Congratulations to Fiona Kennedy and Kirsty McCormick who gained 1st and 2nd place at the Association of Burns Clubs Ayrshire Schools Competition in the S3/4 Instrumental section. Well done to Robbie Uriarte, Chloe Chalmers, Daniel Dutton and Lauren Young who all gained certificates.

Word millionaires

In our Accelerated Reader programme. We have two new word millionaires this month from S2, Katie Burrell and Rebekah Copeland, and one S1 pupil Melanie Connell, is nearly there. Katie has read 1,302,374 words this year and Rebekah has read 1,294,051. Congratulations to our Reader of the month for March Scott Boyd in S2.

Diamond Wood

Doon Academy will soon be involved in an exciting project to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Craigengillan Estate in Dalmellington has been chosen as one of sixty sites in the U.K where a ‘Diamond Wood’ will be planted. The project will be led by the Woodland Trust and will involve the planting of 60 acres of woodland. Pupils will be involved in the planting of the trees and the woodland will provide an outdoor learning environment for the school for many years to come.

History Author visit

As part of the Spring Read programme S2/3 History pupils visited Grange Academy to hear a talk by renowned author Allan Burnett. His talk was on the key themes in Scottish history related in his books, but he also spoke about the wider world of history. Mr. Burdett incorporated an awareness that certain themes, e.g., Wars of Independence, The Reformation, World Wars 1 and 2, are increasingly being taught in history classes in secondary schools. He also discussed how history can help us in a range of other subjects and disciplines, because they all have a history of their own. The law, economics and politics, in particular, all depend on an understanding of history if they are to be practiced and advanced at the highest level. Everyone found his talk very interesting and informative for their history studies.