The Jolomo Schools Painting Award

S6 student Ryan Watson has been selected to take part in an exhibition, his work will be displayed in the Scottish Parliament as part of The Jolomo Schools Painting Award. The work will be exhibited in the garden Lobby of the Parliament during week commencing 9th September where the paintings will be seen regularly by MSPs, their staff and others who work in the Parliament. Ryan, who studied Advanced Higher Art and Design this year, will be starting a HND Art course at Ayr College commencing in September. Congratulations and well done to Ryan, this is a fantastic achievement.

YipWorld Accolades

A number of students were recently rewarded at the annual YipWorld ‘Accolades’ ceremony at The Dumfries Arms Hotel in Cumnock. The pupil’s efforts were recognised for their participation in the Pulse recording studio programme (S1&2), Inspiring Scotland Programme (S3) and Employability Awards Scheme (S5).

A big thank you goes to Lynne and Laurence at YipWorld for their continued commitment to our pupils.

The pupils involved were: S1 & 2 pupils – Sophie White, Olivia McCutcheon, Stephanie Hamilton, Blair Buchanan, Josh Gibson, Liam Elder and Campbell Baird. S3 pupils – Samantha Halbert, Amy Johnstone, Paul Latto and Robbie Jones S5 pupils – Craig McInnes, Jim Wark and Zoe Gibson.

Sporting Stars

Ryan McCreath in S2 and Rory Parker in S3 have both been selected to play for the Ayrshire U-14 Cricket Team. Ryan presently plays for Prestwick CC.

Mark McAllister in S1 is currently the European Under 18s Pool champion.
Congratulations and well done!

World Book Day 7th March 2013

We celebrated WBD this year with an exhibition in the library of book sculptures made by S3 under the tuition of Mrs Murdoch, Art and Design student teacher. Visitors to the exhibition were asked to vote on their favourite. The winner was Colin McTaggart’s Tank with Rory Parker’s Lost at sea a close second. All the exhibits were much admired.



To see more pictures of the book Sculptures go to Doon Reads.

S1 and S2 had an opportunity in their library periods to view the exhibition, and also to see some of the book trailer videos that Ms Davidson’s S3 English class had made. Martyn Pig by Keiran Madden and Colin McTaggart and Roxy’s Baby by Katie Roberts were the two voted most likely to make you want to read the book.

 All pupils received their WBD £1 book vouchers and S1 and S2 received their Accelerated Reader certificates.

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Dance Fest

On Tuesday 5th February, five talented dancers from Doon Academy attended the annual East Ayrshire Dance Fest at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock. Shania Brown, Caitlyn Steele, Lauren Ferguson, Chloe Chalmers and Cheryl Allison had the honour of performing first in the show which added extra pressure on the girls.
The girls rose to the challenge and showed that even with pressure; they were able to perform to a very high standard. Dancing to a mash up of songs including Boom Boom Pow, Gangnam Style, Beautiful Monster and Run the World, the girls showed that Doon Academy has a real flair for dance.

They excelled in their performance with many teachers and pupils from bigger schools commenting on how good they were at rehearsals. After a lengthy dress rehearsal, the girls had time for a quick dinner before getting their costumes and hair and make up ready for the show.

The Grand Hall was packed with parents and teachers and with professional lights and sound, the girls felt like they were on Broadway! The show was a resounding success and everyone agreed it was the best year yet.

A special mention to Shania Brown and Caitlynne Steele who taught P5/6 from Dalmellington Primary the dance they performed on the evening. Not only are these girls fantastic dancers, they a clearly great teachers too!

Well done to everyone involved.

Burns Supper Art competition

Congratulations to Caitlin McCreath and Samantha Torbet for being placed in our annual Burns Art competition. Caitlin received first prize and Samantha was placed a close 2^nd. Caitlin’s winning entry will be used for the school’s Burns supper programme cover.

An overall class prize was awarded to Olivia McCutcheon 1B, Lewis McKnight 1F, Kieran Gallacher 1R, Gabrielle Graham 1D, Fallon Smith 2B, Brooke McCulloch 2D, Scott Arthur 2F and Ryan McCreath 2R.
Well done to all students involved!

Interaction project

The following Doon Academy pupils took part in the East Ayrshire Interaction Project held in East Ayrshire Council HQ on Thursday 31st January: Gareth Kerr, Wendy Roulstone, Carla Strachan, Colin McDonald, Sarah Murdoch, David Gracie, Rory Parker, Katie Roberts and Colin McDonald.

The students created a model of the Doon Valley area which would be used as a portable promotional product to increase tourism in the area. The model was then presented to a group of local dignitaries along with representatives from each secondary school in East Ayrshire.

Doon Academy shared the Kilmarnock College Prize for Partnership due to the nature of the project which focused on promoting the local area and amenities. Well done to all students that took part and to Miss Steele in the Technical department.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cookery success

Doon Academy pupil Amy Gibson has done both herself and her school proud whilst competing in an Ayrshire Schools competition organised and held at the Cook School Scotland.  Having been successful in the East Ayrshire heats with her very own spaghetti carbonara recipe, Amy proceeded to the finals where she competed alongside nine other pupils from across Ayrshire. 

The competition required pupils to design, cost and produce a seasonal main meal for two people within a budget of £5.  

Amy’s final dish was paprika chicken with winter vegetables.  This competition has been an excellent opportunity for Amy in so many ways and has really helped inspire her enthusiasm and creativity. 

Burns Museum trip

The S1/2 Burns Recitation prize winners had a wonderful visit to the new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. They were met by Education Learning Officers Esther and Hannah and then had a tour of the Burns cottage and a workshop on Tam O’Shanter. Esther then accompanied the pupils on a guided walk, taking in the Auld Alloway Kirk and the Brig O’Doon. At the museum Rebecca, the museum guide, led a further workshop on the life and works of Burns and a tour of the interactive museum. The pupils really enjoyed the visit and as S2 pupil Alana Murray said’ It was great. I really liked the hands on things at the museum’. S1 pupil Daniel Dutton said’ If we take part next year in the competition can we have another visit’. Thank you to all the staff at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum for making the day one to remember.

Martial Arts success

Congratulations to S2 pupil Wendy Roulstone who won a bronze medal in the Martial Arts under 55kg competition.