Ayrshire Association of Business Women

On Tuesday 19 March, 3 senior girls attended an event run by the Ayrshire Association of Business Women to mark International Women’s Day.

Hayley Bone, Heather Dunn and Tami McLelland accompanied Mrs Allen and Miss Fuller to the event at the Gailes Hotel, Irvine. The night was a great success and everyone enjoyed a 2 course dinner and the opportunity to network with other schools in Ayrshire.

Speakers at the event included Marie Macklin, CEO of The Klin Group, Fiona McKenzie, Director of Centrestage and Annie Lewis representing Oxfam.
To see coverage by Cumnock Chronicle click here.

East Ayrshire Schools Readers’ Cup

The Doon Academy heats for the East Ayrshire Schools Readers’ Cup competition was held on Monday 25th March in the Library.

S1 answered questions on humour, comics, witches and wizards and animals. The competition was very close and ended with a tiebreak between Raecar and Bradan however, Raecar were “pipped at the post” as Bradan won. The top two teams scored 31.5 out of 50 which is a very good result. Finlas were very close with 36 points. Well done to the winning team of Lee Uriate, Olivia McCutcheon, Sheryl Whiteside and Emma Blain.

 The S2 competition took place in the afternoon. This time Raecar were clear winners on 31 points. Well done to Liam Elder, Melanie Connell, Jade McClymont, and Ryan McMillan.

Librarian, Mrs Bax, with the winning S1 team.

East Ayrshire Conference

The school took part in an East Ayrshire conference which examined approaches and good practices related to children’s services. Mr MacKenzie and Mrs Hetherington, with Mrs McAvoy from Dalmellington Primary School and Mrs Hamilton from Social Work led a workshop on the changes we have made to our working with partners in Health, the Police, Social Work, Housing and others. It was also good to hear about work being done in other centres - Cumnock and St Joseph’s Academies and from the East Ayrshire Support Team.

Glasgow School of Art Students

On Monday the 18th and Tuesday the 19th of March two Product Design students from the Glasgow School of Art worked with S1-S4 Art and Design students. Students were involved in different projects and workshop activities along with a presentation on life as an Art student and different careers choices related to Art and Design. All students thoroughly enjoyed the workshops and some students are considering applying for an Art course in the future.

Comic Relief

Senior students organised various fundraising activities for Comic Relief ranging from a bake sale, sponsored silence and leg waxing. All monies raised will be donated to Comic Relief. Well done to our senior students for organising these events.

Alistair having his legs waxed while on a sponsored silence!

Dillan doing his bit for Comic Relief.

Bounce-a-thon

Social Subjects held a Boune-a-thon on Friday 15th March to raise funds for the trip to the battlefields of France and Belgium. The bounce-a-thon was well enjoyed by both students and staff. Well done to all students and teachers who took part in. This has raised almost £200. If you have not yet collected all your sponsor money please do so immediately and hand it into Miss Steele in the Social Subjects department.

Literacy Learners

This year's group of S1 Literacy Learners are powering ahead in their learning. Guided by the two Mrs Murrays, pupils have been improving their skills in spelling, punctuation, reading comprehension and Rainbow Writing. The small group of pupils are having great fun whilst learning skills that they will use across all their learning. A pupil said, "I love writing now, it just makes more sense and my reading has really improved." All students and staff wish the group good luck in the second half of its programme.

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.

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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Save your change

The SLC pupils are running a Credit Union savings scheme and can offer you the opportunity to save your money for a special event.

If you would like to register for a savings account, speak to Mr Kerr in the SLC. All you have to do is ask your parents to sign an account application form and we will issue you with your saving book.

Many of our current savers are handing in their change from lunch amd their savings are building nicely.

Accelerated Reader

S1 and S2 participate in the Accelerated Reader scheme where they read and take quizzes on the books they have read. Our pupils have read 13,891,614 words so far this session.
Two pupils have read over 1 million words each, Alison McCann and Melanie Connell.
Congratulations to them both.

Reader of the Month for February is Gabrielle Graham.  Congratulations to her.

To see how your child is getting on go to AR Home Connect and login.

The Lighthouse Foundation

The Lighthouse Foundation is currently in school delivering a series of substance misuse awareness sessions to pupils in S2, S4, S5 and S6. These sessions have been well received by pupils. It has helped to reinforce the spice resources already utilised in PSE lessons.

No Smoking Day

As we move closer to National "No Smoking Day" which will take place on Wednesday 13 March 2013, pupils in S1/2 have been learning about the physical, social and emotional effects of smoking within PSE lessons. This year’s slogan is "Swap Fags For Swag" and S1 pupils have once again entered the annual poster competition co-ordinated by Doon Valley Pharmacy in Dalmellington.

Chinese Banquet

The kitchen staff would like to say a big thank you to the owner of the Chinese takeaway in Bellsbank for donating the prawn crackers for the Chinese banquet that was held on the lunchtime of Wednesday the 6th of March.

The food was absolutely fantastic and both students and staff really enjoyed the meal.

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.

Glasgow School of Art Students

Two students from the Glasgow School of Art will be coming into the Art and Design department for a two day placement. The two second year students are currently studying Product Design and will be working with S1-S3 pupils in March.

Mentors in Violence Prevention

Doon is in the second group of Scottish schools to be trained to develop the skills of pupils, parents, staff and community workers in reducing violent behaviours. So far, pupils, teachers, administrative and janitorial staff (10 in all) have had intensive training and 15 senior pupils have now joined the programme. A programme of training for mentors has been prepared for delivery over the next 7 months. The first of these trainings will take place on Thursday 7 March. This will be delivered by the MVP group which consists of representatives from Community Learning and Development, Barnardos, the Police, Women’s Aid and Education Scotland. Footballers from Ayr United have pledged their support for event to raise awareness of the programme with its target audience.

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!

Business Management Revision Conference

A Pupil Revision Conference run by AOK Learning is available for Higher Business Management pupils during the Easter holidays. This will be held on the afternoon of the 3rd of April in Glasgow Caledonian University. The session will focus on exam preparation and pupils will be given an insight into what the marker is looking for to allow pupils to boost their grade. The cost of the session is £9 per pupil and further information is available from Mrs Allen.

Mentors in Violence Prevention

Doon is in the second group of Scottish schools to be trained to develop the skills of pupils, parents, staff and community workers in reducing violent behaviours. So far, pupils, teachers, administrative and janitorial staff (10 in all) have had intensive training and 15 senior pupils have now joined the programme. A programme of training events for mentors has been prepared for delivery over the next 7 months.

The first of these trainings, for school staff and others, will take place on Thursday 7 March. This will be delivered by the MVP group which consists of pupils and staff of Doon Academy and staff members from Community Learning and Development, Barnardos, the Police, Women’s Aid, Education Scotland and other bodies. Footballers from Ayr United have expressed their support in raising awareness of the programme with its target audience.