By Brady Lennox
A cool evening began, and I stepped off the scarlet steam engine, apprehensive. This was to be my first night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty. I glanced around to see where I was to go, and followed the signs. There was a lone figure standing just ahead, motioning for myself and the small crowd of new students to follow. I took a deep breath and began the short walk that lead up to the magnificent oak doors of the castle. Terrified, but excited, I stepped foot for the first time inside Hogwarts, and I knew that this was where I was meant to be!
I am Brady Lennox, soon to be sixth year and member of Paddington. I have spent the last week getting familiar with the school, and meeting the rest of the student body. To say the least it has been an overwhelming experience! I have spent the last five years in an all witch boarding school in Scotland. I didn't know much about Hogwarts, let alone Paddington until I was accepted here. I guess this article is just to say hello, officially and explain a little of myself. I will be serving as a prefect for Paddington next term, and I can hardly wait! I look forward to attending the end of term feast, and hope that I continue meeting everyone within these walls!
By Cauly Hauster
On Mother's Day, the Shirelings gave a card to their virtual mom, Professor Ripley. For that occasion, house members wrote various descriptions of their appreciation for their Head of House. Then, she received the gift on Mother's Day. Professor Ripley felt deeply happy for the card.
All gained confidence from that day. Specifically, Professor Ripley enjoyed her present. Besides, the students liked sending the card. All seemed content. Diligently, everyone had worked hard to ensure the gift's niceness.
By Red Beet
Happy Mother�s Day Professor Ripley! On Sunday, May 11, Penshire celebrated Mother�s Day with the nurturing Professor Ripley. We presented her with a card, consisting of artwork, poetry, shout-outs, and videos. We�d go to the ends of the earth for Professor Mom and everyone hoes her special day went better than she could have ever imagined. Ever.
By Bry Casten
It was just a few months ago that Professor Simbi was announced as Penshire�s Assistant Head of House� but already things are changing! Much like our quidditch roster which changes with every game, we already have an Assistant Head of House change. Professor Simbi, who spent a glorious few months with us, is moving to Ravenclaw house to help Professor Fairydust�we will miss him! You Ravens have better appreciate having him around, �cause he�s one super AHOH! Along with the goodbye, however, comes a welcome�we are pleased to welcome Professor Delia into our house in his stead! Welcome to Penshire, Professor Delia!
By Sir Hugo Tien
Ravenclaw is proud to have Professor Simbi as their new Assistant Head of House! With a warm welcome, he has already started to fit in with the witty Ravens. He's helpful, smart, and a great AHOH! Once again, we welcome Professor Simbi! *claps ghostly hands*
By Arya Drottningu
Professor Simbi has joined the ranks of Ravenclaw. We're happy to have him as our Assistant Head of House and we say: Welcome! From the minute he stepped in our doors, he's fit right in! Spamming with the spammers and being the leader we all know this certain professor is. Again, we'd like to give a warm welcome to: Professor Simbi!!
By Cauliflower
The wondrous house of Penshire would like to give Prof. Delia Macintosh our most sincere welcome. As our new AHOH, we know that she will perform her new duties perfectly. The entire staff looks forward to working with her in the new term.
By Green Bean
Farewell Professor Simbi! Penshire will miss you dearly. Ravenclaw is lucky to be getting you as an AHOH. Penshire won�t be the same without you there. We look forward to seeing you around the castle, but we�ll miss you in the PCR!
Author Name Withheld
The reactions from the recent banning of �Duck Duck Goose,� �Spam,� �Matchmaker,� and all �Confessional� topics have pretty much all been the same. �I think that�s an amazing idea! �Great job, I think that you handled this situation very well.� �I understand the reasoning for this completely ad back it up one-hundred percent.� This reporter is here to offer a different opinion.
I for one believe that the students posting in these threads should be trusted enough to keep it G-rated, be respectful, and report any kind of bad behavior that they see occurring. If the students here at Hogwarts haven�t proved themselves to be a trustworthy, honest, and respectful bunch, I don�t know how it would be possible. There are numerous staff members who post in those threads and can monitor behavior happening.
My next point is� how are students in different houses going to get to know each other? In Spam especially, close friendships have been formed. Now that it�s gone, how are students from different houses going to branch out and make new friends? It�s not like you can get to know someone by playing �Associated Words� or �Counting to 100,000.� My prediction is that over the next term, the houses will become secluded and the school as a whole will be less integrated. Rather than one school, it will instead be six houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Penshire, and Paddington. I hope I�m wrong, but I can definitely see it happening.
By A Raven
While walking around the common room earlier in the day, this Ravenclaw stopped just in time to hear what was a very interesting conversation. Our very own senior prefect - Summer Levy - is being divided into pieces and split amongst her fellow Ravenclaws? It's true, believe it or not. Ariene Callahan's idea to split Summer into pieces and parts is coming true. Ari claims that she is going to be getting every single piece of the prefect, but knows that she is going to have to share the pieces with Artemius, Summer's boyfriend, because he wouldn't be able to stand not having at least a piece of his girlfriend. Luna Lovegood interrupts just then and claims the arm of Summer. Ariene refuses. It goes on for a while, with promises to give potions and such to Art to try to get Summer's arm, and Summer saying about how Art wouldn't be happy with Summer in pieces. Poor Summer.
By Billy Raven
I know I don't go on the BB much and hear its pretty active and all, but I am having way too much fun RPing in the Penshire Common room. There is a close group of Shirelings who constantly RP, meaning they keep up with them. That is always great cause often interest is lost and then the thread hangs there, but not with this group. Keato always starts some fun thing and it grows, Lexie, Cauly, and I join in, as does the two Adriannas, Makayla, Evan, Eileen and who can forget Faith Puppy. Others will pop in and out, like Sam, Bry, and then there are others who have ones going, like Sapphire, Lessa, and Avery.
When I go to the common room, I check Announcements first, then off to Introductions. After that I will hit a couple other areas and try to play about 15 games before heading down to the RPG section where I give it my full attention. If I got time after that, I then go about around hitting Chit-chat and other areas. It's so much fun to RP because you can be your character, do magic, and hang out in a magical world where your wand can be a total extension of yourself! I got great friends in this house and having a great time spending this fantasy with them!! So, I would suggest make the commitment and take the time to RP, nothing beats it!
By Bry Casten
The Art Club (located in the Annex Building), has been a popular place since the day it opened�many students have joined and created their own portfolios to show off their work, comment upon others�, and become better artists. Professor Opal and her team of club assistants do a great job keeping things current and providing members with something special�contests every month!
The most recent contest winner was Arya Drottningu of Ravenclaw house with her entry within the broad guidelines of �Spring.� The contest was popular, and for one of the first times it required tie-breaker voting! I had a chance to talk with Arya about her entry and the contest in general.
When asked what her exact inspiration was in her entry, she replied, �Well, when I think of spring, I think of flowers and little baby animals, so an image popped in my head one day and I sketched it down and went from there. After I finished, I was pretty proud of it; it hadn't taken too long to do, it was pretty easy to accomplish, and it still looked decent.� I should say so�it looked more than decent in my opinion (and apparently to many others too, seeing as she won)!
Not only did we get a chance to talk about the contest specifically, but also about the club in general. Arya joined just about a week after getting sorted, based simply on the fact that she likes art. Apparently so do many other people at Hogwarts�the Art Club has more than 135 registered members right now, and there are countless portfolios to browse when you�re interested in seeing the artistic talent some of our students have.
The Art Club allows all sorts of submissions, from hand-drawn pictures to paintings to digital art and photography. In talking to Arya I learned that more than anything else she prefers to draw, �because it doesn't frustrate me as much. I can draw a lot of things and it will still look decent. Painting, on the other hand, usually looks like a wet mess when I'm done with it.� In scanning the many portfolios you�ll find there is an enormous variety of talent and preferences�some students are phenomenal �dollers� some can sketch like there�s no tomorrow, and others have an eye for signature-making or photography. Looking around it is clear that Hogwarts caters to creative minds of every shape and size.
If you�ve been thinking about joining the Art Club but aren�t quite sure if it�s your cup of tea, then go for it! It�s never too late to try something new, and chances are you will love this extra-curricular offered by PAD�s Hogwarts. Whether it�s creating your own or looking at others (Arya pointed out that browsing classmates portfolios is a great way to get inspiration), you�re bound to find something to tickle your fancy. �I would definitely suggest other members to join,� Arya states. �Even if you don't think you're very good with artwork, get down there and give it a try! And it earns house points, so an extra bonus!�
The Art Club is located in the Annex Building, third door on the left. If you think it sounds like fun, you�re right! Head down today and don�t miss out on this awesome opportunity!
By Ava Black
End of Term is a crazy time here at Hogwarts. Pad announced the finalizing dates on May 6th. The last day to turn in points was May 31st. Then it is the Professors time to hurry up and grade all that work! The banquet is from June 13th to June 16th. That is the time we students can lay back and relax, just enjoying the party!
By Mozuku
Double Points Day in the Poetry/Writing Club was a complete success! Each house took advantage of the lucky two-day event. Up to the last minute possible, students were posting their work. A special congrats to Prefect Samuel Craft of Penshire for achieving an unbelievable amount of points on Double Points Day. Not only was there quantity, but lots and lots of quality! DP Day helped each house a LOT!
By Moaning Myrtle
Most people wouldn�t see this as a problem, but I certainly do. How does one ghost go about being social? Or, perhaps, how does one ghost who does not particularly want to be social go about convincing students that she merely likes to watch rather than actively participate?
You see, it is not that I don�t like students. Most of them. I like some more than others, but I do believe that everyone feels that way. The thing is, I am not much of a talker. I am not one who wants to participate in your conversations. Isn�t it enough for me to just be in the room?
People today don�t think so. You can�t just float there and watch the discussion and activities take place. You have to get involved. You have to make your voice heard, no matter how stupid your ideas are.
I think that�s a problem with society. I am perfectly happy and cheerful when I can be left to my own devices and observe other people interacting and enjoying themselves. Occasionally I will join in. If I feel the desire to, I will join in.
But for goodness sakes, if someone just wants to stand there and watch I don�t see why that should bother anyone. It�s not like they�re interrupting anything, right?
By Bryony Casten
The Hogwarts Yearbook Club recently announced an extension for their picture-day submissions! They�re working on getting they yearbook out in the near future, and you don�t want to miss out! If you haven�t already sent in a pictorial representation of your character, you have until June 7th to get it in to the correct mailbox! Ariene Callahan is also taking �photo reshoots�� if you�d like to change an avatar you have already sent in then make sure to get the changes in by the seventh as well.
By Bry Casten
Don�t miss out on this opportunity! The Hogwarts Yearbook Club is offering space in their publication for your ads�and anything goes! If you have a shop you want to promote, then make an ad (or find someone to make one for you, there�s many people more than willing to help) and send it in. If you have a special message you want to send to a friend, you could take advantage of the space offered by the yearbook and make yourself heard. Time is running out, so get the ads in quick and help the yearbook come together!
By A Penshire Contributor
April 1st was the last day to register, but up until May 31st (which will have no doubt passed by the time this issue of the OG has been published) students have still had the chance to finish the lessons they�ve started, take final exams, and earn points for their house. After the 31st, however, all classes will close for the summer and give the professors of PAD�s Hogwarts a well-deserved break.
While some schools prefer year-round schooling, PAD�s Hogwarts is of the mindset that a little break is good for everyone�good for the students to encourage them to focus on other things, and good for the professors to allow them to recuperate and plan lessons for their next term. If you�re worried about losing some brain cells this summer due to lack of intellectual stimulation, then think again! There are always activities to do during the summer that will stimulate thinking, and a few professors even create a few summer lessons for students to participate in. Keep your eyes peeled so you don�t miss out!