Global market

On Friday 31 May, S1 pupils will be visiting the Global Market in Kilmarnock with the Social Subjects and Modern Languages departments. Pupils will have the opportunity to taste foods from around the world, buy crafts and practise their French and Italian speaking skills!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Paris trip

Mrs McKenzie, Mrs Ferrie and 8 senior girls will be visiting Paris for 3 days at the end of November. Pupils will see the Christmas lights on the Champs Elysees, visit the Eiffel Tower and other attractions; taste French food as well as speaking lots of French.

European Day of Languages

Modern Languages celebrated the European Day of Languages with pupils playing games in French and completing European quizzes. The Italian masterclass filmed pupils conversing in Italian.

Paris trip

At the end of November senior pupils in the Modern languages department will be visiting Paris for 3 days. Pupils will see the Christmas lights on the Champs Elysees, visit the Eiffel Tower and other attractions; taste French food as well as speaking lots of French.

Italian Masterclass

The S3/S4 Italian masterclass students took a ' virtual tour' through the northern Italian towns of Parma, Modena and Venice, learning about the wonderful local cheeses, meats, vinegar and, of course, Ferrari cars! Everyone enjoyed sampling some Parmigiano cheese, some Parma ham and dipping some Italian bread into Modena vinegar. The main aim of the class is to learn to speak some Italian as well as learning about the culture and history of the country.

Modern Languages commended

In Modern Languages the department were commended at verification for the sound quality of their speaking tests. Also, Intermediate 1 pupils Rebecca Stirling, Dillan Dunn and Megan McCleary were commended for their speaking tests. Well done

Mardi Gras Celebrations

S1 pupils at Doon Academy celebrated Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday) by having a big festival of fun, games and dance! An interdisciplinary project involving the departments of Modern Languages, Art, Music, Home Economics and P.E took place over several weeks. In Modern Languages, pupils researched the history of Mardi Gras around the world and made PowerPoint presentations and posters for the festival. In Art, pupils made wonderful masks, which they wore in the Mardi Gras parade at the festival. The two pupils with the best masks were crowned King and Queen of the festival. Wendy Roulstone was voted as Queen and Kieran Madden as King. In Music pupils learned to play some Mardi Gras style instruments to accompany a musical item, which they performed on the day. In H.E. pupils made French crêpes which were enjoyed by all and our P.E. teacher taught everyone a funky salsa dance! The school librarian and senior pupils recorded the event. The school canteen prepared a fabulous Mardi Gras lunch for the whole school, which was very well received by all. This event was part of the new Curriculum for Excellence projects for S1 pupils and will hopefully be repeated again next year! As the Mardi Gras slogan says - "Let the good times roll" at Doon Academy.

Mardi Gras Video

Health4Life Flascards

In Modern Languages pupils are working on their ‘Literacy Flashcards’ for the Comenius ‘Health4Life’ project. The flashcards will be produced in French, Greek, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish, the languages of the project, and will be used to enhance learning of these languages in classes.

MicMacs

S3 and S4 French pupils visited the Odeon Cinema Ayr to see a free showing of the film MicMacs as part of Film Education Week. The film is a satire on the world arms trade and was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Although the film deals with a serious issue, the story has many hilarious and bizarre episodes. The visit was a great success and enjoyed very much by pupils and staff.

European Day of Languages

Doon Academy celebrated the European Day of Languages by learning new words in as many different languages as possible ranging from Arabic to Swahili. Pupils made puppets and filmed sketches in French, as well as singing songs and playing games. A great day was had by all!

Mardi Gras

Pupils in French celebrated Madri Gras Pancake Day by making and tasting French crepes spread with either chocolate, jam or sugar and lemon juice. Everyone really enjoyed their pancakes.

New Teacher

We welcome new member of staff Mrs Wendy McKenzie, previously of Kilmarnock Academy, who will be job sharing as PT in Modern Languages.

French Assistant

Pupils and staff say ‘Bienvenue’ to our new French Assistant Andre Valente. Andre is from Toulouse in France and he is delighted to be in Scotland and at Doon Academy assisting pupils with their knowledge of the French language and culture.