Geobus visit

Doon Academy pupils and staff were delighted that the Geobus project run by the University of St Andrews visited the school. The Geobus staff ran sessions with S1, S2 and S4-6 Science and Geography classes.

S1 pupils looked at ‘Fascinating Fossils’, they were invited to look and touch real fossils which are hundreds of millions of years old.

S2 pupils were ‘Monitoring Volcanoes’ where they looked at how geologists are able to predict an eruption using instruments such as infra-red cameras.

S4-S6 pupils were studying ‘Fluvial Processes’ and were given the opportunity to design their own river settlement. It was a very successful day and pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Thank you to Mrs. Elder and Ms. Kerr for arranging the event.

Goodbye to Mrs McRoberts

Pupils and staff bid a fond farewell to DHT Lyndsay McRoberts who is leaving us to take up a post at Kyle Academy. Everyone wishes her every success.

Health4Life Project reunion in Doon Academy

As part of the school’s Comenius ‘Health4Life’ project, 12 teachers and 19 students from our partnership schools in Belgium, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Spain will be visiting the school for a project meeting Monday 16^th April to Friday 20^th April. During their visit they have a full programme of events beginning in the school on Tuesday 17^th April with a welcome assembly followed by the Comenius Walk in Dalmellington and a welcome dinner in the evening. On the Wednesday they visit Edinburgh Castle, and a meeting with the Minister for Education Mike Russell at the Scottish Parliament. Robert Burns Birthplace and Museum is on the itinerary for the Thursday followed by a farewell Ceilidh in the school in the evening.

New minister visit

Doon Academy’s pupils and staff were very pleased that the new minister for the Doon Valley, Reverend Fiona Wilson, visited the school to meet everyone. This was the minister’s first visit to the school and she was warmly welcomed when introduced at year group assemblies.

Staff changes

Until the end June, Mrs. Stewart will take up the post of Acting Depute Head Teacher and Mr. Power will be Acting Principal Teacher of Business Education and ICT.

Recycling Project

The pupils in the Supported Learning Centre are organising a recycling project for drinks containers. East Ayrshire Council has provided bins for the cans and bottles and these will be placed around the school. The pupils held an assembly to promote the use of the bins. Well done to them all for such an enterprising idea.

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.

Plants for sale

As part of the BESC project S1 -S3 Biology students and the Science Club masterclass are going into business. They bought gardening supplies and, taking advantage of the sunny weather, have created a range of products.

For sale we have: Tomato, Sweet pepper and chilli plants - £1.50 each  Herb Garden window boxes containing 3 herbs- £ 12; Colourful planters - £15; and Hanging baskets - £15.

These are on sale in school. Anyone wishing to purchase these should contact Miss Borthwick on 01290550521

Easter School

Easter School for all senior pupils will run on Tuesday 3rd April, Wednesday 4th, Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th April 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to 3pm. Pupils may attend all sessions and bus fares will be reimbursed for those with appropriate receipts...S4 study leave starts on the 26th April and S5/6 go on study leave on the 11th of May All new S5 and S6 pupils return to school on the 6th of June.

Dairy dates

Dates for your diary. S3 Parents Evening Thursday 3^rd May, S1 Parents Evening Thursday 24^th May, P7 CfE/’Burns by Bonnie Doon’ Friday 25th May, Blackpool Trip Thursday 31^st May, Barcelona Visit Sunday 17^th June to Saturday 23^rd June, Prize giving Wednesday 27^th June.

Health4Life Reunion in Portugal

As part of the school’s Comenius ‘Health4Life’ project Ms. Miller, Mrs Bax and pupils Lauren Kennedy and Sharon Renwick visited Marco de Canaveses in Portugal for a project meeting.

Mrs Bax has provided us with a report on their visit.

“The reunion in Portugal went really well. We had fantastic weather, warm and sunny, a terrific welcome from our hosts, and a busy and interesting programme.

On Monday 12th March, we had a welcome ceremony in the school where we were introduced to everyone and the students met their host families.

On Tuesday 13th, the visiting teachers and students with a group of Portuguese students and teachers took a trip to Porto, where we had a guided tour of the main sights of the city, the students had a picnic lunch in the park and then we all had a tour of the Palaicio da Bolsa, followed by a trip on the River Douro and a visit to a port cave in Gaia.

On Wednesday 14th we all did Marco de Canaveses Health4Life Walk along the river bank with lovely views, then we were taken to nearby Tongabriga, a Roman city, where we had a fascinating tour by
a local archaeologist. In the afternoon we visited Guimares, which is European City of Culture 2012. There we had a tour of the old town, a look at the castle and a tour of the Royal Palace.

On Thursday we held our project meeting in school and discussed global citizenship. In the afternoon we had a tour of Marco De Canaveses conducted by tourism students from school. On Thursday evening there was a farewell party with entertainment in school. We saw folk dancers and heard several traditional music groups.

We were very sad to say goodbye to all our new friends from Portugal and our other partnership countries of Belgium, Greece Poland and Spain at the end of the visit.”

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.

S5/6 Parents Evening

The S4/5/6 Parents Evening will take place on Thursday 29th March 5.30pm - 7.30pm and staff are looking forward to meeting  parents to discuss their child's progress, as the SQA exams are only a few weeks away. Also the evening will give parents an opportunity to discuss their child’s future options.

Scottish Engineering talk

Head Teacher Mr MacKenzie was delighted to welcome to the school Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of the Scottish Engineering Employers’ Association.
Dr Hughes gave an inspiring and motivating talk to S3-S6 pupils, and those in S2 who will be studying engineering in the school.
Everyone really enjoyed Dr Hughes talk and he was presented with a photograph as a memento of his visit by School Captain Lauren Mitchell.

Blackpool

The annual school trip to Blackpool will take place on Thursday 31^st May.

New sculpture

The Art Trail sculpture designed and built by Doon Academy pupils and local willow sculptor Geoff Forrest has now been installed on the Craigengillan Estate. The sculpture is an amazing piece of work and thank youto everyone who helped design and build this lasting exhibit.

Netball success

On Wednesday 7th March Doon Academy travelled to Loudon Academy for two netball games. It was the junior school’s time to show off their netballing skills and they did not disappoint. The first team got off to a roaring start with Doon scoring in the first minute. Cheryl Allison and Amy Mitchell then managed to get another shot on target taking the score up to 2-0. Loudon made a quick comeback and scored two goals making the score even. Savannah McMahon controlled centre court with many impressive interceptions and with Rebakah Copeland and Melanie Connell helping out, the ball quickly made it back to the shooters who scored again taking them into the lead at half time.

After a drink of water and a team talk from coach Mrs Ferrie, the girls were willing and ready to take on Loudon as the second half commenced. Alana Murray and Brook Paulin played well throughout the entire game which resulted in Doon winning 9-4.

Well done to Savannah McMahon who received Player of the Match.

Fishing trip

The Fishing Masterclass had a great day on the Belston Loch fishing for rainbow and brown trout. Well done to all the pupils and Mr White who caught 4 fish. Commiserations to Mr. Kelly who ‘caught a cold’ but no fish!

USA Sunshine Hall of Fame

Congratulations to former pupil and renowned golfer Pamela Feggans who was inducted into the USA Sunshine Hall of Fame. Pamela is currently on the European Tour and we wish her well.

Driving safety

6th year pupils attended a showing of the film, and presentations, on ‘Reckless Driving Wrecks Lives’ at the Odeon Cinema, Ayr. This annual event was established to make those who may be learning to drive or who have just started driving think about the impact of their driving behaviours.