Kayak building

In the kayak building masterclass pupils, Cameron McFarlane, Ben McMurdo, Stuart Stirling and Josh Taylor, are busy building their 17 foot boat under the guidance of technical assistant Mr. Alan White. The plan is to test the craft in the swimming pool before a full sea launch under the expertise of a qualified mariner. Good luck boys and have a safe voyage!

Enterprising Maths

Competing at the East Ayrshire Enterprising Maths competition on Wednesday 5th October were S3 pupils John Anderson and Stephanie Carrick with S4 pupils Alexander McDowall and Hazel Limond. All four pupils represented Doon Academy admirably, fending off fierce competition from several East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire schools to finish 3rd place narrowly missing out on a place at the national finals. Well done to the pupils and thank you to Mr. Taylor who accompanied them to the event.

Young Musician of the Year

Doon Academy’s ‘Young Musician of the Year’ competition was a tremendous success and everyone really enjoyed the evening. The Master of Ceremonies was former pupil Lorna Dempsey and the adjudicator was Archie Hutchinson. Guest artistes were last year’s winner Tazmyn Hearton and the Dalmellington Junior Band conducted by Ian Taylor. Thank you to Band Leader Hugh Johnstone MBE who donated the winning trophies. This musical extravaganza featured 24 outstanding competitors who sang and played a variety of musical instruments to the delight of the audience. The winner was Tommy Campbell with his rendition of Stars and runner-up was Dennis Coles .The audience choice prize was awarded to Paige Collins. Fiona Kennedy was Music Student of the Year; Kirsty McCormick most improved instrumentalist and Alex’s Dearie as most improved vocalist. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the event. Thank you to Mrs. Rae Principal Teacher of Music and Music Instructors David Sullivan, Barbara Lee and Gary Patterson for all their hard work, dedication and expertise.

Teacher of the Year nomination

Good Luck to Head Teacher John MacKenzie who has been nominated as Teacher of the Year, in the Cream of Ayrshire Awards, for his sterling work and first-rate leadership of our school. Pupils and staff wish him every success.

S1 Pupil Council

S1 pupils have elected their class representatives for the school student council. Congratulations to Nicole Cuthill, Scott Kennedy, Jack Sommerville, Brooke Paulin, David Murphy, Jade Ferguson and Saffron Wightman.

East Ayrshire Maths Competition

In the Maths department pupils are busy revising for the East Ayrshire Maths competition to be held at Cumnock Academy.

Operation Christmas Child

Anne Parnaby, from Operation Christmas Child, is visiting the school to speak to S1 pupils about filling shoe boxes with goods to send to needy children in the Ukraine.

Staff Appointments

Congratulations to Physics teacher Martin Richardson on his appointment as temporary PT of Leadership and English teacher Shona Borthwick on her appointment as temporary PT of Enterprise. Pupils and staff wish them well in their new roles.

Ayrshire Cross Country

The Ayrshire Cross Country Championships will be held at the Magnum in Irvine on Wednesday 5th October. Pupils from schools throughout Ayrshire will be taking part in the event.

Health4Life trip to Greece

As part of Doon Academy’s Comenius Health4Life Project Ms. Fuller, Mrs Ferrie and S4 pupils Raegan Heggie, Tami McLelland, Varri Murdoch and Lauren Shaw will be visiting Patras in Greece for a project meeting. The team will be meeting teachers and pupils from our partnership schools in Belgium, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Spain to undertake project activities.

Work experience placements

S4 pupils are currently choosing their placements for work experience week 7th to 11th November.

Student teachers

Student teachers Lesley Crawford, English department, and Caroline Jones, Science department, take their leave of the school following their first observation placement. We look forward to their return on the 31st October.

Staff success

Congratulations to Miss Susan Miller, a teacher in the Supported Learning Centre, who has completed her Postgraduate Practice in Inclusion Education: Research, Policy and Practice.

Cricket starts again

Cricket practice will begin after the October holidays with Coach Mr White. Any pupil who wishes to tryout for the team please see Coach in the technical department.

Sponsored Walk

Doon Academy’s annual sponsored walk was a great success. Staff and pupils walked the Craigengillan Estate to raise funds for the school and were very lucky as the weather was dry and even sunny at times! Well done to everyone who took part in the event. The pictures are of the first boys and first girl home.

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.

Gleam up for an award

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Gleam - The musical which has been short listed for a national award under the category ‘best social marketing approach’. We wish them every success.

Visit to Transport Museum

Mr Richardson’s S4 Physics class along with the Crash Investigation masterclass visited the new Riverside Museum: Scotland’s Museum of Transport and Travel designed by internationally-renowned architect, Zaha Hadid. Alexander Nutt from the masterclass said “It was a great day and really interesting. I liked finding out how the cars and trains worked.”

Reading Ambassadors wanted

School Librarian Mrs Bax is recruiting S1 Reading Ambassadors to assist her in the library. Candidates should be friendly, approachable and have an interest in books. Application forms available from the library.

Martial Arts Champion

Congratulations to S1 pupil Amy Mitchell who won a gold medal at the Martial Arts championship.