| The Owl Gazette |
| Issue 46 September 2007 E |
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| Last Month of Holidays
By Andie Granger It looks like the holidays are coming to an end for students of PAD's. Not surprisingly, Gryffindors are far from being upset about the closure of their precious holidays, but they are most excited about the coming of a new term! Zack Galman, a 2nd Year Gryffindor states that he is "personally excited," and his friend, Kay Jaykora agrees. Kay says "I am very excited; it will be lots of fun." Kay is spending her last month getting ready for term by starting to arrange her supplies and reading up on the subjects she is thinking of taking. Zack however is enjoying his freedom before he gets his supplies and starts classes. Professor Opal: "I'm always a little sad when the summer holidays come to a close, just because I enjoy the weather and the fun summer activities. But I can't help be excited for the start of a new term too. I love teaching, and during the summer I get a little sad from not being able to do it for three months, but grading papers is something I definitely don't miss during the summer!" Holidays are a great time for all students at PAD's, but I think we are all looking forward to the start of term to refill our brains with facts and spells � we are all eager to learn. For many students, holidays are a time to visit family and take a break from Hogwarts. Because of this, the people that stuck around over the Summer are all eager to greet new and old friends to Hogwarts. PAD's Hogwarts has a wide variety of subjects to choose from � not only the usual Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, Divination, Astronomy etc� they also cater subjects such as Geocities Help, Myths and Legends and a variety of totally original subjects to choose from. We have all been enjoying the classes the Summer Club has to offer over the holidays as well. I would like to extend my gratitude to all teachers and students who made an effort to keep us entertained during the holidays with these clubs. Thanks guys! So, with my article coming to a close � I wish all PAD's Hogwarts students and teachers a happy last month � and a great term to come! |
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| Backpacking Essentials - Ultra Light (Wizards)
By Gawyn Crossguard Last month, I brought you the very first issue of Backpacking Essentials. I told you that I would start with the simplest form of backpacking, and for Muggle backpacking, Ultralight is the simplest form of backpacking, but wizard backpacking brings a whole new meaning to 'Ultralight.' Now I'm sure most - if not all - of you are wondering why I didn't start off with this type first, and here is your answer. I felt that in order to explain the activity best, I should start with the Muggle form first. So, without further ado, here is the list of things you would need for Ultralight Backpacking - Wizard's style. 1. Your Wand There it is folks. Your extremely long list of supplies. It's a wonder we don't all go Muggle backpacking more, isn't it? Make sure to read next month's issue where I'll discuss Middle Weight Backpacking - Muggle style. |
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| Interview With an Old Friend
By Summer Levy The Ravenclaw Common Room has seen many new students, but also the older students as well! Here, I will get to interview one of my oldest friends and role model, Cho Chang! Summer: Hello Cho, how have you been? Cho: Hello Summer! I'm doing brilliant at the moment! I feel so good to be back here. So many new Ravenclaws around! They bring a breath of fresh air with them and so many new ideas and they contribute a lot to our House. I've been a bit busy. I had to leave Hogwarts for just a few weeks to visit my family. But now I'm back! S: How does it feel to come back and see so many new faces? And are you making friends with the newer students? C: It feels GREAAAAAT! To say the truth at first I was worried that I won't get used to all the new students, but believe it or not, I already made friends with almost all of them! It's so nice to see them exciting and so proud that they belong to Ravenclaw. After all, they should be ...One of the reasons is that our House would be winning the House Cup 2007-2008 S: How have you been spending your time, now that you're back? C: Well, now that I'm back I'm ready to start earning points for Ravenclaw once again. In fact, the moment I came back, I took action and started earning points...But I'm not going to tell you how! lol! Also, I spend most of my time in the Common Room, mostly with the new students, and also go around the Castle for some reason or another, but mostly I'm with my fellow Ravens! But of course, I'm not saying that I don't want to meet other students from other Houses. If they want to be friends, they're more than welcome. S: I know that you're a Quidditch fanatic, and you used to be the captain of the Chaos Claws. How do you find the team? How did they change since the last time you've seen them? C: Yeah I AM a Quidditch Fanatic! Haha! Well, I can say that whenever the team members changes, there would be a change in the team. But I have to say that the team now seems to be very energetic and willing to work hard for this season! Also, we have to say that the team is being run by 2 splendid Ravenclaws: Myrrima and Raelyn. It's very interesting to see some new students trying out to be on the team as well! S: Do you have any plans of playing for the Chaos Claws? C: To say the truth, the moment I came in here and went to check the very interesting Quidditch Match between the Professors and the Prefects down in the Quidditch Pitch, the love for Quidditch arouse back in myself and I am very tempted to do a Tryout for the Chaos Claws again. But thinking about it, I decided to give it a try to make sure that I won't be needed again with my family because I don't want to leave again when I have a commitment here with the team. But I would LOVE to be part of the time if I realize that I won't have to leave again! At the moment, I DO have the time I need, but I'd rather wait and see what comes next. S: Lastly, how has Ravenclaw changed? Do you like all the new things we have, like the dorms and such? C: Yes! I do like the Dorms and how we share them with many other girls and not just a couple of other Ravenclaws like it used to be. This makes it more realistic because in the HP books there are far more than just 3 students sharing one dorm. I love the dorm I'm in. Its name is Wit Way and there are so many new students in it! I feel young again! LOL! And YES! I luv the NEW Ravenclaw! |
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| Off Shoots
By Billy Raven I will not spoil it for those who haven�t read Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows, but, I will say the common room�s HP Discussion area sure is hopping with theories, reviews, and comments on the book and subsequent Rowling�s interviews. The opportunity for smaller booklets, like �Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them� has generated much discussion among my friends. In the seventh book, there is one �book� that would be fun to read and someone should come up with the idea to make it. Like the other two smaller books, one mentioned and �Quidditch Through the Ages�, this book could have its proceeds go to disaster relief or other important charities. It need not be thick, but would contain bunch of�.well, I will not say, but DH readers know what I am talking about, so hopefully, someone will get the great idea to do this and do it! |
| Snapeclub News
By Slytherin Since the last issue, we had the pleasure to welcome a lot of new members to our club. Welcome again Joy Jennings, Luna Lovegood, Allegra, Arya Drottningu, Olive Snitzberry, Andromeda Tonks-Black, Guin Talaven, and Gred Weasley. May the force of Snapie-poo be with you! Other than welcoming the new Snapers, we are currently preparing another event dedicated to our dear Professor Snape. The event is still in the planning state, but thanks to our dedicated Snape-fans, we�ll be able to finish up the preparation soon, to celebrate once more. If you would like to join our club, be on the lookout for the Snape - fan club thread on the BB, or PM Lily Valeriana or Jenii Chang of Slytherin. We�d be happy to welcome you to the circle of Snapers. |
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| Interview With a Newbie: Jolie Taylor Edition
Interviewer: Luna Lovegood Interviewee: Jolie Taylor LL: You are a new student to Ravenclaw and a new student to Pads Hogwarts so I want to interview you about that you think so far about it here. *nods head * LL: Who do you think has helped you most of all throughout getting more information about how to do things? JT: That's a tough question to answer. Everyone here has been so nice and helpful. However, if it had to choose, I'd say Andela Schmorgie. She's my mentor here. She gave me a great introduction telling me almost all the things I needed to know. Then, she was always ready to help me answer questions- no matter what they were. LL: What do you enjoy doing most of all in the Common Room? JT: Most likely the atmosphere. Everywhere you look; friends are talking, laughing, or helping each other out. You can't help but feel good knowing that everyone is so nice. LL: Have you made any new friends? JT: Oh, definitely! As soon as I walked in, people were walking over to say hello and to welcome me to Hogwarts and to Ravenclaw. Plus, with all the games I play, you just can't help but find people you like, especially in the glorious house of Ravenclaw. LL: What is your favorite game? JT: Another hard one. But, if I had to decide, I'd say the banned game. It's always good for a laugh. Not to mention, it a great place to bump up the post count. We have by far the most random house, so finding things to ban each other for just isn't a problem. |
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| Chain Reaction
By Ravenclaws The house of Ravenclaw has a new game called �Chain Reaction.� The rules were simple and easy to follow, along with fun. The first person came up with a word and a letter. The next person had to give a word that starts with the letter that the person above them gave. So here�s what we got when we started with the word peppermint: Peppermint Sticky Hair Shiny Train Compartment Group Boys Campout Friends Teasing Bullying Volleyballs As you know, the words peppermint and volleyballs don�t normally go together (and I think that that�s a good thing. ;)) but if we try, we can make it happen. |
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| Interview With a Newbie: William Schneider Edition
Interviewer: Luna Lovegood Interviewee: William Schneider LL: You are a new student to Ravenclaw and a new student to Pads Hogwarts so I want to interview you about that you think so far about it here. *agrees * LL: Who/what do you think has helped you most of all throughout getting more information about how to do things? WS: My logic. Occasionally I find things out on my own, and a good sense of logic really helps. LL: Ok. Cool! What's your favorite part of the Ravenclaw Common Room? WS: The games. LL: Have you made any new friends? WS: Not yet, but I'm sure I will. LL: That�s too bad! But you defiantly will! What is your favorite game? WS: The Banning Game. LL: Thank you for the interview! |
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| Transfiguration Spells
By Gwen Tatham Transfiguring one inanimate element to another is simple first-year Transfiguration. But can you do it the Muggle way? Take one word and change it into another one letter at a time, making a word at each step. For instance, when changing "lead" into "fire": LEAD HEAD change the "L" to an "H" HERD change the "A" to an "R" HERE change the "D" to an "E" HIRE change the first "E" to an "I" FIRE, change the "H" to an "F", producing fire from lead! Each intermediate step creates a new word. Can you change "gold", the "moon", "lead", "wood", "milk", and "fire" into each other--in fewer steps per transformation than it took me to change lead into fire above? Spelling is important! Note that the milk-to-fire transformation can be done in four steps with the knowledge of a fairly obscure word." |