Welcome back!!! We are almost officially into our winter term of 2006. The staff at the OP extends a friendly hand and a wave to all our new students. We wish you good luck and lots of fun. This issue is a bit of a long one... but it will still be lovely.
A. HOLiday
B. PawPrint Applications
C. PawPrint Issue 20
D. Library Award Winners
E. Gryffindor Top 100
F. Gryffindor Library Carnival
G. The Gryffindor War
H. New Year's Resolutions Challenge
I. GQT Tryouts
J. Gryfftoberfest Scrapbook
K. House Meeting
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A. HOLiday
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First of all, if you are still in the mood for some holiday cheer, go check out HOLiday, set up by Professor Olivia. http://www.chipoltina.net/Christmas/
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B. HOLiday
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PawPrint is now accepting applications! Here is a letter from prefect Missa Matz:
"Well, its that time again. Paw Print is once again opening up its application process to those Gryffindor's who are interested in writing for the Paw Print.
Seeing as I have a tendancy to weed out those who cannot read rules or write properly, the process will once again be as strenuous as it was the first time.
First, I would like to point out that as usual, Paw Print is *not* looking for any editors. July and I are doing fine by ourselves at the moment. Besides, you must write for a while before becoming an editor, and once you become an editor you are still required to write, monthly. Ah the joys of overwork.
Anyways, we are looking for writers for our News section. Every month I come out with a list of different stories to write, though you may make a suggestion and if I approve it, you can write it, but let's skip the technicalities.
Being a part of the Paw Print staff requires you to be willing to write at least one article a month. This does not mean that you *must* write every month (unless you are in charge of a column), but we would like you to. You do need to write at least an article within a two month time period in order to remain on staff. I don't deal well with slackers.
Your articles are required to be decently well written and if English is not your first language use a grammar and spell checker three or so times. We shouldn't have to rewrite your entire article and change the whole thing. The last real requirement is that your articles must be *at least* one page in length. One page, single spaced, times new roman size 12 font that is. There are no limitations on how long you make it, as long as its well written.
Once becoming part of the staff you will be sent an invite to join our forum for Paw Print. Once you do so, you will be required to check the forum occasionally throughout the month. It will be mandatory that you check the forum at the beginning and end of the first week of every month as that is when I post the article listing. Everything in Paw Print is on a first come first serve basis. After the second week goes past, those who are eligible to pick up more than one article may do so for extra points. If you pick up a second one though, you are required to finish it. Guess who gets to do it if you don't?
So, do you think you have what it takes to be a Paw Print writer? If so, please complete the following application. If the application is not done correctly the first time, you will not be considered eligible. All applications are emailed to me and then I post them for our top five brain mashers to select their choices from.
Application Process:
Being a reporter requires you to think fast and to think of good questions to ask those that you interview. Given this scenario I want you to list seven questions that cannot be given a 'yes' or 'no' answer to, that you would ask the person you were interviewing.
Scenario One:
It's finally time to begin the moving in process to the newly renovated Gryffindor Dorms. Students are cheerfully packing up their belongings (not all of which are exactly kosher) and getting ready to meet their new roommates for the first time. You're job as a reporter is to get all the juicy details and emotions involved with this new experience. As a reporter, what questions would you ask to get the best 'scoop' on how individual Gryffindor's are dealing with the changes.
Second Task
For this scenario you are to write a one page article on the following topic. You don't need to include interviews or anything of the like if you don't want to, but you should investigate around, even if it is to just read the topics concerning your article. It should be well written, just as if it was an article that you were turning into me. It is designed to test your ability to gather information and write in a journalistic sense. The second point to this article is to know when to stop. We at Paw Print enjoy showing who is doing good and who is doing bad within our house, who the topic of discussion is and why...It's your job to find these things out.
Scenario Two:
Months ago the Gryffindor FAQ quiz was posted for all of Gryffindor to take. As one can see, some people have not taken it, while others have. Some have passed, while others have not. Go do some digging and find out how the FAQ came to be, a few of those who have done well while taking it, those who have surprisingly not passed, and include the important details of the quiz.
Good luck to all. Both of these scenarios are due to my inbox missabeechan@yahoo.com with the Subject title 'Paw Print Application' by no later than January 20th of this month. At that time I will be posting those that have passed the initial reading phase for the rest of the brain mashers to look at. Those selected will be notified through PM and an announcement will be made on the CR at the end of the month."
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C. PawPrint Issue 20
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Also, in PawPrint news, the 20th issue is up.
"Happy Holidays from the Paw Print! This month the staff is proud bring you another packed issue with lots of fun articles to read. We're also proud to announce that this is our 20th issue of the (http://pawprint.gryff.net) Paw Print. A special congrats goes to Missa Matz, our publisher and head editor, for successfully releasing so many great issues of our house paper.
Announcements: Be sure to check out the Announcements this month for several a lot of important ones you should read, especially the once concerning
Of course, your Common Room Announcements, though this time there are a few very very important ones in there. Please make sure that you take a look!
News: We have six news articles this month that are dying for your attention. For those of you follow Wylie and his no longer secret life as a Britney impersonator, you'll be pleased to find we have an exclusive on our PiCiT. However, my favorite pick for this month is Rai's article about nickname usage on IRC.
Prose and Cons: We received *many* submissions for Prose and Cons this month. Please enjoy reading about how your fellow students celebrate the holidays.
Sports: What?! You forgot what type of dress our captain wore to the game? If you did, shame on you and you better go read the recap of the game. We've also got a great article featuring our cheerleaders this month.
Gossip: We're bringing back the usual columns this month with more great editions of Kodak Moments, Dear Snape, Sanity 101, and Tea Leaves. Kodak Moments was especially great this month as the Gutter Girls set out to learn the moral of the story.
Mane Topic: Mira was at it again this month, bringing you another great Mane Topic about Prince of Tennis. I hope you all know the drill by now when Mira writes a PoT article! (The page is once again graphics heavy).
Once again, Paw Print is on the lookout for more layouts. If you'd like to take a stab at it, please send your layouts to missabeechan@yahoo.com.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment to let the writers know how much you enjoyed their effort. Again the link is: http://pawprint.gryff.net"
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D. Library Award Winners
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In Library news, the Library award members for December are:
Ladies and gentlemen of Gryffindor, the following are the award winners of this Hogwarts' Heroes competition.
1st Place: Missa Matz
2nd Place: Jade Thaerd
3rd Place: Lyra McManus
Thank you for your entries. We hope to see many more next term!
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E. Gryffindor Top 100
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We'd like to give a word of praise and a warm round of applause to the following Gryffindor's for being in the top 100 list for HOL points thus far for the school year. 40 of the 100 students are these Gryffindors.
Their hard work and dedication is something we all should strive for. Don't forget to congratulate them as you are passing them by in the halls. They truly have the Gryffindor spirit, putting 110% into everything they do.
THANK YOU, for all your hard work!!!
Cynthia Stout - 1001
Missa Matz - 922
Jessica Summers - 881
Julie Garnet - 740
Jade Thaerd - 722
Mirabella Nevlome - 690
Athena Paulus - 684
Lily Padfoot - 684
Fern Davant - 682
Liana Liggins - 680
Katie Potter - 628
Bridget Chlum - 626
Moiraine Lee - 591
Moni Kess - 571
Adelaide Carson - 569
Maria Lovegood - 554
Jazaray Bender - 554
Assja Brown - 550
Tiffany Styles - 488
Beata Snape - 462
Elizabeth Ferguson - 460
Mia Phoenixfeather - 456
Rachel Baudelaire - 455
Ben Ackerman - 449
Aoife Ardal - 449
Livian Videl Silver - 446
Neoro Frans - 443
Kim Snape - 438
Molly Grabau - 437
Amanda Hensgen - 437
Isis Potter - 431
Neia Black - 431
Gwyd Aerlyn - 425
Lillian Wotters - 419
Julie Chant - 415
Angel Blackston - 410
Zenix James - 409
Rokes McVain - 405
Anyet Montree - 400
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F. Gryffindor Library Carnival
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The Gryffindor Library is pleased to announce it's first Carnival!
"Attention Ladies and gentlemen of Gryffindor: the Gryffindor Library is proud to announce the arrival of the 2006 Gryffindor Library Carnival! But before the joyous carnival can commence, we know what stalls and events will be running at the carnival, but we’re not sure how they will be run. And if these events are to occur, we’re going to need a map to help visitors find their way around the carnival. We need your help!
But because we understand you don’t want to help us from the goodness of your hearts, we offer points and prizes as generous encouragement for your participation in this challenge. There will be manes aplenty available for entrants and prize winners, and special exclusive Gryffmart awards are also up for grabs. So here, then, are the details.
The Details
Read these before you ask me questions.
1. You can enter all of the sections, and can do so as many times as you like. Be aware that you can only receive entry points for each section ONCE.
2. There are no word limits. However, your content will be somewhat limited. Obey HOL rules when completing any entries; should you disobey these rules, your entry will be forfeit.
3. Have fun, be creative and make sure you read the details before sending any entries.
4. Entries open January 9, and you have until the end of this term (Term 2) to send in any entries you want considered for prizes.
5. Where images are called for, you may send them as attachments (more details below). In no other case should you send attachments.
6. Send all entries to: profben@gmail.com
7. Be sure, when sending your entry, to write which section of the competition your entry is of. For example, you could add “Events – Incredible Insults” to the top of your e-mail! Also, please add an e-mail title such as "Library Competition", so that I don't mistake your e-mail for spam.
The Stalls
We have the names of the stall, and need your description of how you believe they should run. What will they do, sell, offer? Are there any warnings about the merchandise or services they offer that might be relevant? You might want to consider the spells that would be necessary to make the stall possible or more interesting. Also, how about giving the stall a creative name? The rest is up to you!
One major prize will go to the best entry overall, with minor prizes for individual stall winners.
i) Professor and Prefect Plunging: a magical dunking device, but what are they plunged into?
ii) Book Barter: where we try and trade off all those books that are dangerous for what exactly?
iii) Magical Toys: again, not your everyday stuffed teddies.
iv) The Wiz-o-coaster: this one has a lot of promise.
v) The Gryffindor Carrots: students turned into carrots are here, but why?
vi) Reading Boxes: it’s a box, you go inside, and it reads you the newspaper, a book or your thoughts, or something else…?
vii) Tennis Rackets of Doom: I’d like to see what you make of this!
viii) Boris’ Bazaar: what sort of merchandise does Boris the Sock have for sale?
Events and Competitions
As with the stalls.
ix) Underwater Spell-casting: perhaps some form of evil punishment?
x) Prefect Parades: prefects parade around, handing out detentions as rewards perhaps?
xi) Incredible Insults: a competition where contestants have to think of progressively worse (but HOL-friendly) insults.
xii) Devilish Dance-off: dancing (DDR?) but audience members can “interact”, usually in a negative way.
xiii) Drama performances: what ever will the Gryffindor Drama Club perform, and what type of performance area will they choose?
The Carnival MapCreate an image of the carnival, featuring the stalls, events and competitions that you see above. Feel free to add in things that you feel would be appropriate at a wizarding carnival. I would prefer the image in jpeg format, and no more than 250kb in size.
The Carnival Guide
While you might not know what the other stalls will be, precisely, there remains one whole area that we are yet to mention - the carnival guide!
You can discuss the places to get a snack, the quality of the rest rooms, and the various amazing but not strictly true facts about the carnival! How about that mysterious disappearing stall that sells exotic goat wax, or the room where the stall owner's huddle together to engage in price fixing?
If all else fails, you could take us on a tour of the carnival gardens and wildlife, and describe the ridiculous signage and advertising, as well as the unusual rubbish bins we have. Your imagination is the only limit...
Good luck to you all, and get writing."
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G. The Gryffindor War
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Gryffindor at...War?
Well, it's something like a war. It started out with Don Ferneo and her Gryffindor/Carrot Mafia, capturing Head of House, Professor Nahyan. Once the abduction took place, Don Ferneo announced that she was taking over Gryffindor with her Mafia. At this point, all first year had been placed under an imperius curse and were doing the bidding of Don Ferneo.
In a bout of retaliation, Aelita-chan's First Year Army joined forces with a new resistance group, The SPORKs in order to set up a resistance to the Mafia and rescue Professor Nahyan.
After many people started to join the side of Aelita's Army and the SPORKs, Don Ferneo decided that she too would go about member recruitment the correct way and lifted the curse from the students.
Now, both sides are recruiting for their various causes. Don Ferneo to take over Gryffindor and change certain aspects (you'd have to ask her about *that*) and Aelita's Army and the SPORKs who are working in order to rescue the professor and put Gryffindor back the way it was (or at least that's what they're saying.)
What's the truth behind all this madness? You'll have to join in to find out.
All information about the war can be found in Butterbeer and Biscuits, in the subforum, Gryffindor War. Or, http://www.gryff.net/cr/index.php?showforum=110
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H. New Year's Resolutions Challenge
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Are you ready for the first den challenge of 2006?!
... Hey, that's not the response we were looking for. Why aren't you more excited?? Well, you better get ready because here we go!
New Year's Resolutions!
This challenge should be quite simple really. Why so simple? Well, because SPD plans on creating several mushy brains nearer to the end of this year. So enjoy the easy stuff while you can, ok?
Of course that means it should be simple for everyone, which means while the task itself might be easy, winning the challenge may not be.
Ready for the details? Good.
Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to create a list of New Year's Resolutions for HP characters. The catch? Well, yeah, we can't exactly make it -that- easy, what fun would that be? The catch is basically this: You don't get to choose the characters and you can only make a list for one character at a time. It will be up to the Den Prefect to PM Lily Padfoot and let me know when the den is ready to move on to the next character. Keep in mind though that once you are given the name of the new character, you may not go back to a previous list.
There are a total of 5 characters. Lily is the only one with the list and she is definitely not not sharing. You can do this in a variety of ways. You can choose to stick to one character the entire way through, you can decide to have a new character each week, you could skip all the bad characters in hope that you run into a good one... Though she can make noo guarantees that there actually is a good one. Then again, maybe there is a really easy character... or 2...
The order of the characters will be the same for every den in order to make it fair. HOWEVER, since dens will likely move at different speeds, you may not try (aka bribe or spy) to find out from another den what the order is. Also, den members should not give away such information to another den. No exceptions to this sharing/finding out info rule.
Lily will post a thread in your den with the name of the current character and you should use that thread to make your list. Nothing needs to be sent in or compiled, just post them in that thread. Try and get somewhat creative with your lists. Make it specifically for the character, or in the character's style. Don't just type a bunch of (or any for that matter) generic resolutions. Generic ones will get you severely mocked AHEM we mean not be counted. And, obviously, no repeats allowed.
Also, please no mentions of book 6 in any of the resolutions. Spoilers are still very bad for now.
Hmm, let's see, what else is there to add... Oh yes! Rubies!
Den winners will be based purely on total number of resolutions created.
1st place - 25 rubies for den members that participate.
2nd place - 15 rubies for den members that participate.
3rd place - 10 rubies for den members that participate.
4th place - 5 rubies for den members that participate.
And there is also an added bonus... As we said, the winning den will be decided by total number of resolutions, so there is no judging for best list or anything like that. However, the top 10 resolutions (to be decided by Lily) for each character will be posted for all to see and enjoy. For each resolution an individual gets in a top 10 list, they will receive 2 additional rubies. Now, that may not seem like a lot, but that's a total of 100 extra rubies (5 characters, 10 resolutions each, 2 rubies)! And if you're really good at this challenge, you may show up on the top 10 lists a lot!
This challenge will end on January 31st at midnight HOL time (7 pm EST).
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I. GQT Tryouts
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Our amazing Quidditch team is holding tryouts! Here is what you need to know if you want to be on the team:
"It's time for the second session of GQT tryouts and below is the information that you will need to try out.
I would like to point out at this time we are not looking for any new seekers, we have one and we have a back up.
Positions for each game are chosen by the captains, as well as with practices. Right now many members have set positions, but as the year moves on and people join/improve positions (except for seeker) may change.
Here is what you need to know about the GQT. After this next bit we'll actually get on with the tryout process.
GQT -
Being on GQT is more time consuming than almost anything you've ever done online, unless you're an RPGer or have no life. Members are required to attend 5-7 practices a week (unless arrangements have been made) and must bot 100 mandatory botting points per week on any of our three bots. Practice times are at 10:00 pm EST with non-mandatory practices at 1:30 am (usually on weekends). Of course, we understand that sometimes a person cannot be to every practice, so we are re-implimenting the mandatory botting, plus the "not gonna be there" botting.
Members are required to email and say which practices they cannot attend. If the member emails before practice they will owe an extra 50 botting points per missed practice (exception being non-mandatory practices) beyond the already mandatory 100 botting points. If they fail to email, they will owe 100 points per missed practice above the mandatory 100 points.
If a team member fails to attend more than 1/2 the practices (again, arrangements can be made for poor time zones, etc) and do not make up their mandatory botting before the deadline they are given (usually falls in a monthly standard) they will be given a warning and if they do not catch up in the allotted time, removed from the team.
As usual, more rules will follow once you actually make the team, but the most important rule to remember is: Missa is the rule.
****
Here's what you've been waiting for. The tryout information.
Let's start with what you NEED in order to tryout.
1. Please read: HOL Handbook - Quidditch. This is a MUST read and have memorized in order to play quidditch.
2. We require any person who merely wants to try out for the team to have an HOL forum account as well as a Gryffindor Common Room account. For our team this is a must do.
3. We require that every team member be signed up for at least one class here at HOL. We take this one step farther however, because you are part of an elite group and you must set an example. You MUST do your classwork every month in at least one class. If your class goes inactive and you cannot that is different. Not doing classwork may lead to suspension from the team (if caught).
4. You MUST have mIRC (PC's), Snak (Macs) or IRCle(Macs) in order to play quidditch on our team. Java chats, and cgi do not work for our team members as we require you to be in 2 rooms at once and also because you aren't helping the team by being on them. mIRC can be downloaded from www.mirc.com mIRC is free and snak can be downloaded at www.snak.com Snak will boot you every 30 minutes after your 30 day trial period. It costs $20 to register it I believe. IRC is free after the 30 day period, just ignore the register button.
Not too bad, right? Of course, remember Missa is the rule and there may be something that will need to be added later. Here is your lovely tryout process.
Tryouts will be conducted ONLY through IRC. Not on AIM or any other messengers. Tryouts will begin February 1st and will end on February 11th. You must send an email no earlier than January 15th expressing your interest and it must be received no later than February 1st. The email must be sent to missabeechan@yahoo.com and only that address. The subject of the email must be headed as: GQT tryouts. If you don't use GQT Tryouts in the subject YOUR EMAIL WILL NOT BE OPENED! Inside the message of the email you must give me your HOL name, your email address and your HOL id. Also, what time zone you are in so that we can coordinate a tryout time.
We will assign you a specific person to give you a tryout at a specific time. Tryouts are based on HP trivia knowledge. You will be given a series of 20 hp trivia questions from whatever book we decide (we will be using books 1-5 and the two supplementary books) and you must score higher than a 15/20 to make it on the team. However, depending on how the general highest score, adjustments may be made.
Some of the questions will be fairly easy, some will definitely not be. You will have 30 seconds to answer the question and have no more than a *2* letter rule. You may only answer once as well. So I suggest combing the books again. You will be given your tryout by one of our team members to be decided later based on your tryout time. The time and place to meet will be sent back to you in a confirmation email. If you pass this test, then welcome to the team, though you'd better follow the rules.
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Now, if you are worried or scared about your typing and trivia knowledge you may feel free to use the GQT's trivia bots to test yourself and learn. They're not always up, but many people do have bots on our team. The bot is located in #gryfftrivia (double bots) and #sniggleplurf (single bot).
**Just a note for everyone. Sometimes the team can get out of control, it happens. So from now on, no one is allowed into our team room unless they are on the team or if they were invited in by a team member. **
Please make sure you have read this post carefully and do not make any mistakes. If you do, your email will be deleted immediately. Reading, after all is an essential part to quidditch."
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J. Gryfftoberfest Scrapbook
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The Gryfftoberfest 2005 Scrapbook is complete! Everyone break out the butterbeer and let's celebrate it all over again! You can find the scrapbook here:
http://www.gryff.net/scrapbook/page1-2.htm
Have fun reading everyone's entries from this year's celebrations, as well reliving all the fun that the SPD brought us throughout Gryfftoberfest! The contests! The games! The BUTTERBEER! <3 to the SPD!
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K. House Meeting
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The first House Meeting of the New Year will be THIS Sunday (Jan. 8th, 2006). It's not mandatory for you to attend, but it's always nice to be updated on what's going on around the house Also, it's a time for you to talk with your staff and voice any questions/concerns you may have.
Where: #gryffhousemeeting
When: Jan 8th, 2006 - 4pm EST (9pm HOL time)
Be there or, well... be square.
Thank you for reading! Have a happy January!!