RREC

On Friday the 17th May 2nd year students took part in a “Rapid Response Engineering Challenge” day. This event was based on a hurricane causing devastation in a Southern American country and involved the pupils assuming the roles of disaster relief engineers when they arrived at any international disaster site. The pupils had to simulate creating shelters, investigating weather changes, transporting clean water, generating sanitation flow and creating a meal without any gas or electricity. All of the pupils were enthusiastic and a great time was had by all. We were lucky to have two visitors from the HNC Civil Engineering programme at Stowe College who helped pupils understand the relationship between disaster relief and everyday engineering challenges. All in all this was a successful event which the school is looking forward to hosting next year.

The winning team with the engineers.

S1 Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras Queen with her mask.

Mardi Gras King with his mask.

Our annual Mardi Gras event took place on Wednesday the 13th of March. This was a really enjoyable afternoon of games, music, dancing, presentations, eating of crepes and wearing of masks. Thank you to Mrs McKenzie in the Modern Languages department for organising this.

France and Belgium trip

To raise funds for the France and Belgium trip Miss Steele in the Social Subjects Department will be hiring a bouncy castle for a Bounce-a-thon! Pupils going on the trip have been asked to collect sponsor money; however pupils who are not going on the trip can still join in at a charge of £1.50. The Bounce-a-thon will take place throughout the day on Friday 15th March in the Gym; staff are more than welcome to come along for a bounce! The more the merrier! See Miss Steele for more details.

Mardi Gras

The Modern Languages department is having their annual Mardi Gras celebration for S1 pupils on the afternoon of Wednesday 13 march 2013. This will be a fun filled afternoon of music, Mardi masks, dance and chocolate crepes!

Fruit Day

On Wednesday 6th February, Doon Academy celebrated all things fruit by taking part in Fruit Day! Tesco provided one piece of fruit to all pupils during morning interval. Alongside apples, pears and oranges, the fruit available included passion fruit, every kind of melon, pink grapefruit, blood oranges, a variety of berries, sharon fruit, kiwis and mangoes.

 Pupils tried many fruits that they had never heard of before. All pupils agreed that the different fruits tasted delicious. It was wonderful to see a full dinner hall of pupils eating healthy, nutritious snacks and enjoying them.

Thank you so much to Tesco in Ayr for providing all the wonderful treats at no cost to the school. We are hopeful that this Health and Wellbeing event has encouraged our pupils to eat more fruit and to try different types of fruit.

Beatle Drive

Doon Academy will be having a Beetle Drive on Monday the 18th of February at 6:30pm until 8pm. Tickets will be priced at £3 and will include a complimentary tea or coffee. There will be a prize for the highest score and all funds raised from this evening will help support the students involved in the Vex Robotics project to go to London in March 2013 where they will be competing in the British finals. Please see Miss Steele in the Technical Department for more information. Tickets can be purchased from the school reception.

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!

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.

East Ayrshire Employee Awards

Three of our senior pupils, Taylor Scott, Claire McWilliams and Tyla Crocket will be assisting at the East Ayrshire Employee Awards evening on the 27^th October.

David Almond Webcast

 All of S1 were treated to a live author broadcast thanks to the Scottish Book Trust on Thursday 29th September. The pupils felt like part of the live audience as David Almond, author of books for teenagers such as 'Skellig' and 'My Name is Mina’; spoke to them directly from Glasgow. Pupils found about how David got his ideas for writing from his own life and his lifelong fascination with words. Most pupils agreed that tips from a published author would help them in their own writing.

Gleam team picked

Congratulations to Lisa McTaggart, Stephanie Carrick, Kirsty McCormick, Robyn McCluskey, Dennis Coles, Gavin McFadzean, Ritchie Lindores and Kyle Stewart who have been selected to star as the leads’ in the musical GLEAM. 11 S2 girls were also chosen to be the backing dancers. The Oral Health Team was most impressed by the talent and enthusiasm of everyone who auditioned for the parts and would like to say a big thank you to all.

RREC video

This is a short video of S2 pupils participating in the Rapid Response Engineering Challenge in May 2010.

Rapid Response Challenge

The final day of our Rapid Response Engineering Challenge, run in cooperation with the Institution of Civil Engineers, was held on Friday 21st May. Three engineers came into the school the previous Monday and gave a presentation on civil engineering and how engineers have a very important role to play in disaster relief. Then our S2 pupils had lessons all week relating to the disaster scenario of a hurricane in the Honduras. They learned about hurricanes in Geography, waterborne bacteria in Science, shelters in Technical, measuring area and distances in Maths. Friday was sunny and warm with clear skies, perfect weather for undertaking a series of challenges to build on the lessons and prepare pupils for dealing with disasters. They had to build a shelter, transport water, work out how to filter water, decide where to site facilities, prepare emergency rations, and build a weather instrument. Participants were marked on how well they worked as a team as well as how well they performed in the challenges. The winning team consisted of Blair McCrone, Alexander McDowall, Lauren Young, Annabel McTaggart, Carly Hay and Andrew Paton. The pupils also had a non-uniform day and raised £25 for the Disaster Relief Fund. All the pupils worked extremely well all day and completed all the challenges they were given. Congratulations to the winning team and well done to all participants.

Burns by Bonnie Doon

As part of the Burns An A That festival Doon Academy pupils and staff will once again be hosting their ‘Burns by Bonnie Doon’ event at Doon Valley Museum Thursday 27th May. Local artist Geoff Forrest will be there working with pupils as they make 18th century willow platters whilst studying the life and works of Burns.

Fashion Show

The Art department Fashion Show will be held in the school on the 23rd and 24th June.

Christmas Concert

The Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday 10th December, 7pm – 9pm. Tickets cost £3.00 for adults £1.00 for children and are available from the school or various establishments in Dalmellington. There were be refreshments, raffle and a sale of Christmas goodies.

Leadership Showcase

The showcase was staged to show the benefits of our leadership programme to an audience of employers, community leaders and parents and to develop partnerships which would provide options for the shape and direction of the leadership project in the post-Schools of Ambition funding era.

This showcase was planned and delivered by pupils who are graduates of Doon Leadership Academy with support from Kilmarnock College and Ocean Youth Trust leadership participants.
Our pupil leaders are experienced presenters of leadership activities at local and national conferences and they have built the school's strong reputation in this area (see SOA - aCfE, Leadership page on www.doon.e-ayr.sch.uk/).


In the 5 weeks prior to the event pupils worked with a variety of partners:

• the school canteen were commissioned to prepare a special 4-course dinner;
• the music department willingly agreed to entertain guests on their arrival;
• the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce provided the database of business links;
• office staff managed the guest list and other arrangements;
• businesses and individuals with links to the school provided fabulous prizes and gifts for the raffle and auction;
• and a key-note speaker was secured.

The event was attended by 92 guests from 3 roughly equal groups of business leaders, community leaders and parents. They enjoyed musical entertainment from the school's junior silver band; a welcome speech from the head teacher; dinner; an auction and raffle; and the highlight of the evening – an interactive demonstration of the Doon leadership experience.

What did the event achieve?

Firstly, the event succeeded in its main aim which was to forge links which will allow the leadership project to grow in new directions. Local and national employers and community groups offered ideas and practical support and assistance in a variety of ways. For example:

• the Zone and Dalmellington Partnership supported and worked with us from the start of the project
• the local Co-op directed us to their own community fund;
• Stagecoach offered work placements and assistance with travel;
• a number of individuals told us about opportunities which will develop pupils' leadership skills and qualifications including service opportunities in the local community (Scouts/Beavers), BTEC training, and attendance at Ayrshire Chamber leadership development events.

Secondly, the total raised through the raffle, auction and donations of money stands at an astonishing £2100 with a further funding options to be explored.

Thirdly, the event demonstrated the enormous reservoir of goodwill which we feel encouraged to turn to again to support us with future projects. As usual, the local community's support for another school initiative has been overwhelmingly generous. This included donations of prizes for the raffle and the auction, cash donations (including 4 of 3-figure sums), and other pledges of support.

Thank you

The Showcase organisers are grateful to all who assisted with its organisation and delivery and who have not, so far, been mentioned.

The pupils who organised this event deserve special mentions. The steering group of experienced pupil leaders were Lee Orr, Stephanie Roberts, Jake Bunyan and Kyle Stewart. Other leaders also worked tirelessly on the night greeting guests, serving the dinner, and demonstrating and explaining the benefits of our leadership programmes.

Finally, the leaders would like to thank Lorna Dempsey, our keynote speaker. Lorna is a former head girl of Doon Academy who was named Cancer Research UK's Volunteer of the Year 2009 in the week before this event. Last year Lorna was Woman of the Year for the Scottish Association of Business Women (Ayrshire Branch). Lorna's speech was inspirational to the young and less-young in the audience. In the weeks prior to the event she gave freely of her time and expertise to advise the pupils on the effective delivery of this ambitious event.

John MacKenzie
July 2009

Burns by Bonnie Doon

Doon Academy’s annual event ‘Burns by Bonnie Doon’ which forms part of the ‘Burns an’ a’ that’ Festival and the P7 Numeracy and Literacy Day will take place on Wednesday 20th May at the Doon Valley Museum. Pupils will not only be working with staff to study the life and works of Burns but also working with Doon Valley artist Geoff Forrest to make 18th century willow platters.

No Smoking Day

During PSE pupils studied the effects of smoking as part of the ‘No Smoking Week’. Pupils designed posters to make others aware of the health issues associated with smoking.