65b

The Gazette Owl

Issue: 65 Page: 2

Student of the Month
Beonca Aims
Long has this student been a super Snake since October 6th, 2006. A huge gamer, and I don�t mean to just say �one who plays the games�, but one who invents games and participates in their popularity. And not just silly ones, either, these games may be considered �games� because they are in that section, but these threads are a thinking student ones. Often having to do more then post a word, smilie, or a short phrase. There is rarely a day that you enter the common room without finding Eltanin�s name on the whole page of games. Everyone loves posting after him because they know some thought and most often funny things have been posted. Not only does Eltanin keep the common room going, he also is the �keeper of the Slytherin Family Tree�. He is the Prefect to go to, and has a real love for Slytherin, coming up with ideas to make the house interesting. Eltanin is one of the major reasons we have �prizes� for our house activities, like our last posting war, his �The Official Slytherin Socks� was the most sought after prize on the list. He is a very sharing student, first one there to show support and suggestions for anyone who post things that need a shoulder to lean on. A great Quidditch player, the team couldn�t do without him and he motivates the house to do lessons, articles, and the monthly challenges. Eltanin is first in line for joining in silly things like our �Ambush Wedding� by not only being the photographer, but putting the music together for the ceremony and reception. It will be a sad day in the Snake House when this student graduates and leaves. I am not alone in this thought, Eltanin is a true Slytherin!

Go Fly a Kite
King Snake
Although the title sounds like something Professor Snape would say, it was actually the brainchild of Eltanin, one of the Prefects in the house of Slytherin. Students were encouraged to either pick a kite from four �bases� offered or make and design their own. Currently everyone has been enthusiastic and we look forward to seeing the results. Markers, crayons, and paints have been seen spread out over any surface in the common room, kites and material are draped over couches and chairs as the student work on their entries. Afterwards, I am sure there will be a gathering on the front lawn of the castle as everyone will want to �go fly a kite�. So�be jealous, but do not attempt to grab the string.

Slytherin Scoop #1
The house has seen such a large influx of new students there is fighting over which dorms to place them in and lockers are at a shortage. First to enter was Harry Leggs, who does not seem at all like any �Harry� we have known. Being a rather �sour puss� the lad sits in the common room near the fire and just broods. Then there was Bailey Claire, we could tell she was a trouble maker from the start. Many remark at her �drama queen� ways and have gone to great lengths to ignore her latest outburst. Next was welcomed Dirk Laundry, and let me say, his last name has nothing to do with �laundry� as his wardrobe totally lacks cleanliness or has not seen a iron is years. Often he sits by him self as the odor is unbearable. Another new student is Letta Cuzzie, she is a piece of work! Letta follows her house mates around trying to be just like them, even going so far as to find a wheel chair and be like Renny. Everyone just shakes there head and does not expect much from her as she cannot think, apparently for her self. Finally there was Vera Latina, she sure made her mark! Vera likes to go about correcting everyone�s English, spelling errors and elaborating on everything in detail. she is the type if you ask her what time is it, she will tell you not only how the watch was made, but where it comes from, who also invented the cogs and timing mechanism! We think the Sorting Hat was having a couple off days as surely some of these students belong to Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.

Slytherin Scoop #2
Beonca Aims
We had a great month, well, in the common room not necessarily on the Quidditch pitch! Besides one of the most successful Post Wars, March Hares against the Mad Hatters, we also are awaiting the vote for the kite contest! Newbies, we�ve had a few, real ones, like �prnckrissi� who got into the swing of things pretty quite. We also got �alliedawn� and Ayden Loughlin, but neither have posted yet, I will send them a PM and let them know we don�t bite, well most of us, and the vampires aren�t allowed to, so they should just get in here! We are working on some new things for April, but if I told you, I�d have to kill you and although that might be fun, it�s against the rules, but like prncskrissi�s avatar says, �Slytherin: Because real friends help you INCENDO the bodies!�

Slytherins March Madness
Copper Head
The noble house of Slytherin had been acting �mad� of late, why? Seems it had been broken into two groups, the Mad Hatters and the March Hares. There appeared a �Mad Tea Party� thread in the Chit-chat area and between serving tea; passing around scones and crumpets, switching seats was the norm with someone shouting to do so. A watch went missing and was last spotted in the hands of a white rabbit. One of the Mad Hatters pulled out a notebook, Sherlock Holmes style, and started asking questions to find the missing watch. The whole house, except of course the owner of said missing item, is suspect. New signature icons and banners appeared everywhere in the common room to show team pride and was even incorporated into new games with the Spam topic taking on new growth. Prizes were and will be handed out with a fight over �The Official Slytherin Socks� and Silly string being the top requests though not the only things being offered up as �titles� were included as incentives to post. Though the Post War has �officially� ended, the madness continues with the Cheshire Cat showing up, a little contests of images that best represent a student, and see other articles for other March activities.

Slytherin Say Whaaaa?
By: Too Cool for Fools (S)
As April approaches, a certain 'air' of craziness has entered the SCR. The tea has been served, the scones have been stomached, and the madness insures that April has PLENTY of surprises yet to come! The leader today, I just have to say, the Cheshire Cat, without a doubt. Photos, and banners, and kites galore!
One thing the Slytherins do know is that they sure won't be LATE

Student of the Month
By Prof. Tom Riddle
The Paddington HOH team recognizes Angel McCartney as our student of the month for March! Angel has definitely shown a lot of Paddington Pride in the CR! She signed up to participate in our last Polar Posting Plunge, she's currently participating in our Survivor Paddington challenge, & she's recently joined our house Quidditch Team (The Polar Padfoots). She likes to play the CR games & spams all over the chit chat section, too. She has been quick in making lots of friends! Look for more about Angel in the next issue of 'The Alohomora!' coming out soon! Congratulations Angel! We're proud of you!

Paddington Piece
By Katie Sawyer
For the month of April in the land of the polar bears we're celebrating only one birthday! It's mine, Katie Sawyer, on April 30th!! Happy birthday to me!! WOOT!
Other top news stories from the arctic abyss are:
- Paddington would like to welcome its newest members Elyon von Wulf, Matty Maxter, Shaina Longbottom, & Nicolette Alexander! It's great to have you among us, guys!
- The Polar Padfoots lost their Quidditch match against Gryffindor, but we're gearing up for our final match against Slytherin!! Rumor has it that we'll be using our substitute robots for this match, so watch out Silver Serpents!
- The winners of our Polar Posting Plunge last month was Lana Laramie & Tyler Keegan! Way to go, guys!! (As quoted from Dawlish, the two of you better sleep with one eye open!)
- We're currently running a Survivor Paddington challenge based on the popular Muggle show "Survivor"! We had 20 members sign up to join including our beloved HOH, Prof. Tommy, & our AHOH, Prof. Marianna! There are two tribes that everyone who joined was sorted into, Ursidae & Maritimus. Right now we're competing in our first challenge which is article writing. Stay tuned to find out which tribe won next month!
- There's been a drastic change in the relationship between Angel McCartney & Mort Johnson! As previously reported, Angel & Mort are dating but Angel seems to have eyes for Toby McDermont! Well, surprise surprise to Angel's eyes when Mort came back from a recent vacation & now he seems to be the one smitten with Toby! Toby's girlfriend, Josie, better get back to the CR fast before chaos ensues! Stay tuned to find out which Paddy wins Toby's affections!
- There's a rumor going around that Prof. Tommy, who was sweet on Prof. Bliss for a short time, has recently broken up with her. There is much speculation about why this has happened since Prof. Tommy isn't telling, but sources say it's due to Prof. Bliss' torturous detentions she forces students who attend any Hogwarts function to take. Not only is it scaring everyone away from going to any dances as of late, but Prof. Tommy is worried her evil ways will ruin his reputation.
Stay tuned next month for more news from the glistening glaciers!

Fowl Play
By Tyler Keegan
It seems our very own Chris Candor, Paddington's resident playboy extraordinaire, is none other than a mamma's boy in disguise! How do I know this? Well, I found out by accident really. You see anyone that knows Chris knows that he's attached basically at the hip to his prized female falcon, Silverwing. The two are completely inseparable & are seen everywhere together. At first I thought he just had a weird attraction to birds until one day when I stumbled upon him & his fowl friend in the courtyard. I couldn't believe my eyes! There, right before me, his falcon transformed into a woman who had a remarkable resemblance to Chris! When my presence became know, the pair quickly tried to come up with as many excuses as they possibly could to explain what was happening, but in the end they caved & told me the truth...Silverwing is actually Chris's mother in her Animagus form! Apparently Chris can't go anywhere or do anything without his mommy to hold his hand, so the only solution to be had was for his mother, a registered Animagus, to come to Hogwarts with Chris as his pet falcon. This way Chris can continue to cling to her apron strings while appearing to be a well-adjusted lad to everyone else. Piece of advice, Chris...cut the ties that bind, dude, cuz girls really don't dig guys more into their mothers than them.

Paddington Survivor!
By: Angel McCartney
I know most of us, if not all, have heard of the TV series Survivor, but have you ever played it your own way? That's what the house of Paddington is doing. They've been split up into two teams, Team Maritimus and Team Ursidae. Their first challenge was to write as many articles as they can for the OG and their house magazine. What it seems to me is everyone is on the ball to win this challenge. Who shall it be? I'll keep you updated and let you know.

Survivor Paddington: Team Ursidae Style!
By Lana Laramie
Once everyone had signed up for the 1st ever Paddington Survivor games they were put into two teams: Team Maritimus and Team Ursidae. Ten people were placed on each team and yours truly was now part of the Urisdae family. While I can't speak for the opposing team I thought that mine could share their views on this new experience so I got to talk with almost all of them about what it's like to to be on Team Urisdae. Each person, I knew, was a great contribution to this article. So to get away from my droning, here is a quote from all of the team members (apart from a few, whom I could not reach )! Enjoy!
Professor Tom Riddle:
"Survivor is one of my favorite Muggle tv shows & I'm excited that we get to bring our own version of it to the CR"
Lexine Liatos:
"It's a lot of fun, being separated into two groups for friendly competition among classmates. I'm so exited to be a part of this Survivor Paddington game and it's a lot of fun to play with my teammates. I can't wait to see what the next challenge is going to be and hopefully Ursidae will do an awesome job at it."
Yaxley Chambers:
"I'm so excited about being a part of Tribe Ursidae!! My teammates are excellent and I'm looking forward to working and succeeding with them. I think, while the competition may be tough, if our team sticks together we'll do well!"
Tyler Scott Keegan:
"I think the concept of the Survivor contest is really cool & I can't wait to see who will end up being the ultimate survivor. I'm happy to be on the Ursidae tribe. We got a lot of awesome people in it & I think we'll do wicked sweet in the challenges."
Katlin Sawyer:
"I think the whole idea of running a Survivor Paddington challenge in the CR is awesomistic! The tribe names are way cool & the way the camp sections are laid out in the CR is really neat! I love that each camp is password protected so that we can strategize in private, but the challenge arena is for everyone to post in. I think Prof. Tommy did an amazing job putting the whole thing together!!
I love the tribe I'm in! Not everyone on the tribe has joined in yet, but I know they will over time. So far it seems like we got a great group of people sharing ideas & working together! I can't wait to see how it all plays out!! I'm just gonna be really sad when we have to vote our first person out cuz I don't wanna see anyone on my team get the boot!"
Elyon Von Wulf:
"B-Being on Team Urisade is wunderbar! I mean-wonderful! My teammates are really cool and supportive, and I think we'll do well on the games! I just hope I don't get voted off too soon...I don't want to miss any of the fun!"
Apolline Mei Josii:
"Ok, so what is it like to be on the team...Ooo, well, it is fun and crazy. And we will win!!!!!! Heh."
So as you can see, the Ursidae Tribe is full of energy and has a good time while doing the challenges! Good luck to both teams in the challenges that follow!

Survivor Paddington!
By Lana Laramie
A staff member started an idea way back in August for a competition, and over the long months that followed, it soon evolved into what has gone public in the Paddington Common Room right now. It's called Survivor Paddington, and it's a hit with every Polar Bear that signed up! The main idea at first, started by our very own Yaxley Chambers was to have an Paddington Olympics. But quickly it went to from a game of Olympics to the popular t.v. show Survivor! The idea was slowly developed and soon, the staff was ready to unleash their creation to the rest of the members, with a sign up thread. Many people signed up right away, and in total twenty took on the challenge. Rearing to go, everyone was divided into two teams: Team Ursidae and Team Maritimus.
Each team got their own password protected camp, where they could introduce themselves to each other and start planning for the first challenge. Team Ursidae's attack force consists of Professor Tom Riddle, Lexine Liatos, Lana Laramie, Yaxley Chambers, Tyler Scott Keegan, Toby Mcdermont, Katlin Sawyer, Dawlish Ledgerhood, Elyon von Wulf, and Apolline Mei Josii. Team Martimus joined together Professor Marianna Lunar, Matty Maxter, Chris Candor, Joe Nworb, Envy Midlight, Arissa Potter, Shaina Longbottem, Angel McCartney, Soma Cruz, and Summer Whites.
Each team got started on the first challenge right away, organizing their forces and coming up with ideas for articles, which was the first challenge. The teams will be judged on how many articles they wrote, how well they worked together, and the creativity of the articles. The team that loses will have to vote one of their own off the team and team that wins will have the satisfaction of knowing they still have all their teammates and they 1-up the other. Each challenge will bring more votes and more people will be eliminated until there will be just one team left and it will be a free-for-all to get each challenge done. When there is two people remaining, there will be the last challenge and whoever comes out on top will be the Ultimate Survivor of Paddington! As the game continues there will be more updates, so good luck to both teams!

Paddies take the Polar Plunge!
By Chris Candor
You�ve heard of the Polar Bear Club where members take a plunge into polar ice waters. Well recently Paddington had its own form of the Polar Bear Club challenge. However, instead of diving into fridged waters, these polar bears took to diving into posts on their house�s CR board. A week before the actual plunge took place, a sign up sheet was placed on the House Announcements area for all Paddies to join up if they were interested. The turn out was a rather nice collection of house members that wanted to have not only a bit of combative fun but also sought to help out a bit more with our post total for the forum.
On February 17th, the Plunge was on. There was a wild and rather loud cheer that went up among those that had signed up and the race was on as each of the four teams went flying like mad to collect the high amount of posts before the end of the challenge rolled around. The teams were the Blue, Red, Yellow and Green team. The students had been then paired up with the following Paddies members of a single team. Josie and Katie were adorned red tops, Toby and Chris sported green shirts, while Summer and Angel were blinding everyone in their Yellow blouses, and finally Lana and Tyler were taking the cool approach in matching blue outfits.
The teams went crazy posting all over the board, though mainly in the games and chit chat areas. Finally the big day arrived; the day Professor Riddle announced how many posts each team had earned for the house and who the winners of the PPP were. The blue team wrote an amazing 724 posts, green coming in second with 608 posts, third was the red team with their 209 posts and rounding out fourth position was the Yellow team with their hard earned 133 posts. We all cheered and applauded the work done by every student that worked very hard for their post counts but naturally celebrated the victory won by Tyler and Lana during the Plunge. It was very clear that Tyler and Lana had dove the deepest when it came to Posts. Congratulations again Tyler and Lana on a job well done.

Paddington Pipsqueak
From Paddington
Konnichiwa! I am Poppy the Paddington Pipsqueak. I have recently moved into the common room, though most do not know I am here. See, I am a mouse, the smallest one of the kind and boy, has this been a crazy ride since I entered this house.
The first day I came here to Hogwarts, I jumped into Lana�s bag and came along for the ride. When she entered the common room, it was amazing. Purple and silver everywhere. I jumped out of Lana�s bag and started to explore. The skylight showed all the stars, for it was night when I came in. The students trickled out one by one, but one student stayed behind. I ignored her, but within minutes she was screaming and crying. Being scared, I ran into a corner and hid. A young girl came down and calmed this girl, who turned out to be the one and only Envy, down. It turns out that this was the beginning of a new friendship between Polly Josii and Envy Midlight. Of course, there have been many other new friendships, but this one was the most memorable, for it threw off my sleeping for a night.
So what else has been going on? Well, the term is almost to a close, so everyone is preparing for the final exams. Even some, who are old enough, are preparing for that big test, the OWL. For the new students, it has been all about making sure that they didn�t fail their first classes and for the older, making sure that they will finish off their career well. Something else that has been going is Survivor. And man, has that been crazy! Students everywhere ensuring that they won�t get kicked off the �island� by their team. Personally, I do hope that team Ursidae will win, but of course that is opinion. And of course, we cannot forget the last match of the season! We do have a few new additions to the team- but of course, you will find out later. We want to keep our secret weapons a surprise!
A few relationships have been blooming within Paddington. Of course, everyone is going strong from before, but one to keep an eye on is between Soma and Envy. Since the disappearance of Rose Elleclaire, Soma has been searching for another. And of course, the true and faithful friend has now become the true and faithful girlfriend. This is one relationship to keep an eye on in the next coming moments between them.
Well, that is all I have for this month. Make sure that you watch where you step, for you never know where I might be scampering around, searching for news and gossip. Your faithful mouse, Poppy.

New House and other Hogwarts Happenings
Gryffie
Hogwarts is pleased to announce the formation of its newest house!
Due to declining activity, and the similarities in their house colors, Gryffindor
and Hufflepuff have joined forces to bring you the Noble Gryffinpuff house!
The only change in house colors will come from a more yellow shade of gold,
and a hint of black in with the Gryffindor scarlet. This new merger has
been highlighted by the fact that the two houses' competing dictators, Zoey Taylor
and Audrea Martin, are now both members of the same house. A new crest design
with a lion holding a badger in its mouth will be on display shortly, and will include more yellow.

In additional house news, the long-standing house of Slytherin, will be changing its colors to orange and black to round out the PAD's color palette. As Audrea Martin said, "There's just too many cool colors in the Great Hall now. With the merger of the two warm-colored houses, a change had to be made to keep things bright and happy while everyone's eating lunch." Because there are few orange snakes, the mascot of Slytherin house will change to a large rubber duck. These changes should begin at the start of next term, but we have already seen the merger begin and expect more changes now that all has been revealed!

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