Student teachers

Doon Academy would like to welcome Mrs Murdoch, student teacher of Art and Design and Miss Gibson, student teacher of PE to the school. Both pupils and staff are looking forward to working with them.

Art Department open afternoon

The Art and Design Department is having a “drop in” afternoon on Tuesday the 19th of February 2013 for all parents and guardians from 2.45pm until 4.30pm. The Art Department would like to take this opportunity to invite you to come along to our open afternoon to see some of the fantastic art work being produced by current students within the department.
 During the afternoon you will be able to view the department, meet some of the students and view students working on their current SQA Art folios.
You will also be able to ask any questions you have concerning courses, coursework and extra curricular activities offered by the Art Department.

Refreshments will be provided, please see Miss Fuller for more details.

Primary Transition

The Primary 7 Transition Programme begins for 12 weeks starting this Friday 25th.

The theme this year is Space and was inspired by Dalmellington's 'Village in the Stars' status and new observatory. Literacy and Science will be provided by Doon and Numeracy and HWB by Primary colleagues.

The project has been developed jointly between ourselves and our Primary partners.

Art and Design Department Fashion Show

The fashion show will take place on the evening of Wednesday the 19^th of June 2013. We have been very lucky to secure the shop M&Co. Instead of having the fashion show in school the show will now be held in M&Co in Alloway Street, Ayr. Our local hairdressers, Classy Cuts, will be doing the hair, make up and tan. There will be several different sections to the fashion show varying from, Mardi Gras masks, customised fashion, bodices, recycled fashion as well as primary school section. If you are keen to get involved please see Miss Fuller for more details. As always your help and support is greatly appreciated.

Blackpool

There will be a trip running to Blackpool Pleasure Beach this year on Tuesday the 18^th of June 2013, departing from the school at 6am prompt and returning approximately at 8pm. This trip will be open to S1 – S6 pupils. The total cost of the trip is £39.00, which includes the coach and entry into the theme park.

The cost of the trip can be paid in full or instalments. However, we require a £20.00 deposit to secure a place on the trip by Friday the 8^th of February. Pupils should pay money directly to Mrs Paterson in the school office. Receipts will be issued when payment has been received. The final instalment of £19.00 is required to be paid by Friday the 19^th of April.

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. Please see Miss Fuller for more details.

Mentors in Violence Prevention

On the afternoon of 7th March the Mentors In Violence Prevention (MVP) Trainers are delivering a staff training session to outline the basic principles of the programme. MVP encourages people to consider the importance of working together to prevent violence, particularly against women.
The four main goals of the MVP programme are to:

• • Raise awareness about the level of verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of women. 
• • Challenge thinking by countering mainstream messages about gender, sex and violence. 
• • Open dialogue by creating a safe environment for men and women to share their opinions and experiences. 
• • Inspire leadership by empowering participants with concrete options to effect change in their respective communities. 

 The MVP trainers are comprised of pupils, teachers and other staff members, and community and voluntary sector partners. In recent weeks we have been greatly encouraged by the willingness of our students to become MVPs. 15 girls and 10 boys volunteered following assemblies led by teacher, Mr Kerr. We have also had expressions of support from prominent local businesses which we will report on soon. We have been guided by Chief Inspector Graham Goulden of the Scottish Government’s Violence Reduction Unit. We have also had training from American experts in changing attitudes to what are acceptable or unacceptable behaviours in our society and in the world of new digital media.

Burns Supper

The Burns Supper will take place in the school dining hall on Thursday the 7th of February at 7.00pm. Tickets are priced at £5.00 and can be purchased from Mrs Milroy in the Maths department or from the school reception. As always this promises to be an excellent evening’s entertainment of music, dance, poetry, art and speeches. Please contact 01292 550521 for more information.

The Premiership Experience

Mr Kelly is arranging a trip to the Stadium of Light to see Sunderland A.F.C and Manchester United at the end of March, exact dates to be confirmed. The cost of the trip is £44 which includes the coach, entry into the game and a discount voucher for the club shop. This trip is open to all pupils. If you are interested please see Mr Kelly as there are only 33 places available. A £10 deposit will be required to secure your place.

Visit from staff of Harrow School

We were pleased to welcome Chris Barry, Head of Physics & Astronomy and Critical Thinking at Harrow School, to Doon shortly before the Christmas break. Chris and his wife, Sarah who is also a teacher, met pupils and staff and enjoyed a tour of our facilities, and an excellent school lunch.
The meeting was arranged as part of the Dark Skies Observatory project at Craigengillan and we discussed future links and the sharing of teaching resources.
 An illustrated history of Harrow School was presented to our school library.

The politeness and friendliness of our pupils was commented on by Chris and Sarah during their visit. We have also had a ‘thank you’ email from Chris in which he invited us to visit Harrow and offered astronomy course materials.
This is part of his email: “I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to see us during our visit to Dalmellington last month and for taking the time to show us around and make us feel so welcome. Sarah and I really enjoyed meeting you, your colleagues and your pupils. Everyone we met seemed so motivated and proud of what you are all achieving and (as you know!) there is some remarkable work going on in your school underpinned by much outstanding dedication and professionalism: I must say we both felt inspired by our visit. So thank you”.

We look forward to further links with one of England’s most famous schools which numbers Sir Winston Churchill amongst its former pupils.

Trip to France and Belgium June 2013

Miss Steele from the Social Subjects department is in the process of arranging a trip to France and Belgium on Monday 3rd of June until Saturday 8th of June 2013. The trip will involve visiting the original trench systems of World War One, museums and monuments dedicated to the War and finally end with a day in Disneyland Paris. The overall cost is £329 per pupil. The first deposit of £100 is due on the 8th of February and the remaining balance by the 19th of April; this can be paid in instalments. Places are limited; please see Miss Steele for more information.

Art Exhibition in the Dick Institute Kilmarnock

The East Ayrshire Schools annual Art Exhibition will officially open to the public on Friday 1st of February in the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock. Students, Ryan Watson, Amy Watson, Bronwyn Dempsey and Laura McCreath will have work displayed in the exhibition.

Badminton Tournament

Before Christmas, the two Higher PE classes at Doon Academy came together to play a doubles tournament against each other. With all pupils having performed to a very high standard during assessments, it was going to be a close tournament from the start. The Main Court hosted Connor Strang & Dylan Thirtle against Ryan Brown & Michael Harvey. Points were shared throughout the game with Ryan and Michael finally clinching the win in the last few seconds of the game. On the other courts it concluded with a victory to class 5B. The second round saw a very close game between Robbie Ogilvie & Andrew Paton against Gemma Hughes & Lyle Wares. Final score 21-19 to Gemma and Lyle. On the second court at the same time, the win went to the 5E class when Varri Murdoch & Dylan Thirtle beat Lauren Toner & Ryan Brown. Round 3 saw Bradley Kirkwood & Michael Harvey secure a win for 5B against Derek Brown & Robbie Ogilvie. Winning 21-17 it looked good for 5B going into the final round but 5E were about to make a comeback. In the fourth and final round, Dylan Thirtle and Andrew Paton beat Lyle Wares and Michael Harvey 21-18 and Varri Murdoch & Derek Brown were victorious against Lauren Toner and Gemma Hughes. Because of the two 5E wins, the scores had to be counted carefully and in the final minute the results came back showing that 5B had won the tournament 7-5. Well done to everyone involved including Mr McEnea who alongside Mrs Ferrie, Mr McCrorie and Mr Kelly umpired the games. A high standard of badminton was witnessed by all on the afternoon tournament. Keep up the good work!

BBL Trophy Final Trip

The PE department are in the process of organising a trip to the British Basketball Finals which will be taking place on Saturday the 9th of March. All pupils and staff who are interested in going to the brand new Emirates Arena in Glasgow to see the match should give their names to the PE ASAP. The total cost of the trip is £20. A £5 deposit will secure your place, with a further £15 deposit payable by Friday the 8th of February.