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.