Professor Pye
October 24, 2015 8:11 AM
*First Year Orientation!* by Professor Pye
It was the second year that Sonora had decided to have a first year orientation. The idea was that the first years would be allowed a few hours to meet in the Labyrinth Gardens before the Opening Feast so that they could get to know one another without house prejudice being an issue and without the older students around thereby making it less intimidating a process for those who might otherwise be uncomfortable. This meant that the flying wagons that the students took Sonora arrived at each of the standard magical transportation centers a little earlier than usual, just as they had last year. All the students from the previous years had already done this last year and the new students who would be arriving did not know anything different, however it was still written in large, bright red ink so that no one would cause their wagon party to wait for them.This year, Alfred Pye was there to greet the students and direct them to their proper place—older students were allowed to go to their dorms or the dining hall to hang out while they waited for the Opening Feast to start while all first years were sent towards the Labyrinth Gardens where the orientation was taking place. Alfie Pye was a young professor. He was only twenty-eight with a full head of hair and scruff. He refused to shave—a sign of rebellion against the ever present father who seemed to dominate all aspects of Alfie’s life even when he was in a different country. He had somewhat come to terms with being forced to leave the Auror department and being
“Please leave your luggage on the wagon,” he said in his clear, upper-class British accent. “The prairie elves will take your belongings to your rooms so you don’t have to worry about that. Older students please head to your dormitories, first years this way to the gardens.” He spoke loudly, using the Sonoras charm so that he could be heard over the loud popping noises of the prairie elves taking the students’ belongings from the wagon’s storage cubbies to either the proper house for the older students, or a temporary storage room for the first years to wait until they were sorted at which points their things would be taken to the appropriate dorm room while they ate their dinner.
The orientation was taking place in the same large clearing near a circular water fountain as it had last year. Just like last year, there were two buffet tables full of snacks and drinks so that those who were hungry could have something to tide them over until dinner. The same banner from last year that read *First Year Orientation - Welcome to Sonora Academy!* was unfurled over the tables. “First years this way, all other years find either your head of house or one of your prefects to get your house password and make your way to your dorms. You can hang out there or in Cascade Hall until the Feast begins. Thank you!”
He had asked the four seventh year prefects to accompany him to the first year orientation to help answer any questions that students might have had and also to help keep them together as they toured the school. It would also be helpful, he noted, to have Miss Dobson and Miss Vandenberg around to take the first year witches to the ladies’ rooms and point out where they were along the way as he really wasn’t comfortable in doing so. Once Alfie made sure there were no more students lingering in the unloading area, he made his way to the gardens. There were helpful signs posted up for those who couldn’t follow simple verbal directions just to ensure that they all arrived at the same place, in tact.
“Welcome to Sonora,” he said again to get their attention, the Sonoras charm still in effect on his voice. “My name is Professor Pye and I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as well as Head of Aladren House. Before I let you mingle, I’m going to quickly go over a few things that you might need to know about Sonora. Afterwards, myself and my lovely assistants, the seventh year prefects, will take you on a tour of the campus so you can get to know the area before classes start. Then, we’ll go to dinner in Cascade Hall, our dining area where you will take your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the rest of the year. At the Opening Feast you will be Sorted.
“There are four Houses at Sonora, Aladren, Teppenpaw, Crotalus, and Pecari. Your House will be like your family here, you will earn points during class and for exceptional behaviour along with other activities over the course of the year though bad behaviour will result in a deduction of points. The House that accumulates the most points during the year will win the House Cup, which is a trophy displayed in the common room of whichever House last won.
“Each House has outstanding qualities and though there are many things that go into determining which will be your house, in general Aladren students are those who enjoy learning, Teppenpaws tend to be on the social side, Crotalus, responsible, and Pecari, adventurous. Don’t worry too much over which House you are placed in just because you don’t think you fit the stereotype—there are exceptions to every rule.
“Sonora is a seven year boarding school as such you will be around these people for the next seven years. Get to know each other and try not to make any judgments based on House. Over your seven years, you will be taking five core classes. Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and my personal favorite, Defense Against the Dark Arts, though I’m biased.” Here, Alfie inserted a little wink. The classes are made such that first years and second years take classes together. Your third year will be the first year of Intermediate Studies. You will be allowed to add electives to your five core classes if you like. In your fifth year you will take a Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills, or CATS test. It’s a standardized test that will help decide which classes you will take in your sixth and seventh years or, Advanced classes.
“If there is an elective course you want to take but is not offered, you can talk to your Head of House to set up an independent study program. There is one other major test you will take while here. It’s another standardized test called the Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills, or RATS. The results of said test will what will help determine what college, university, apprenticeship, or entry level job you get when you graduate Sonora.
“Extracurricular wise we have a variety of clubs whose information you can gather at that table over there,” Alfie gestured towards a side table a little bit away from the two buffet tables. “Any student is able to create their own club if they don’t find one to satisfy their interests, so long as they have a staff advisor and a place to meet. Each House also has a Quidditch team, a wizarding sport played on broom,” he explained for those who had grown up around Muggles. “Every House has openings this year as both Aladren and Pecari graduated players and Teppenpaw and Crotalus don’t have enough for a full team each so they have combined in the past two years.
“Alright, that’s it for the welcoming talk, please feel free to ask myself or one of the other staff members or prefects for help if you need it, otherwise enjoy the food and the company and don’t forget to pick up a school map and a class schedule from the table with the club information and when it’s time for the tour and the Feast I’ll let you know.”
OOC (Our of Character):
Welcome first years of Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask questions to a staff member or one of the prefects or meet your new classmates. This thread is so that first year students can try out posting and get a hang of the site before you get thrown into the big Opening Feast next week which is open to the entire school and can be a bit overwhelming. If you have any OOC board or catch us in chatzy! We’ll try to have an answer back to you as soon as possible! Remember to keep posts realistic and creative, and also to a minimum of 200 words. Enjoy, and once again so excited to have you here!
Subthreads: I feel oriented, do you feel oriented? by Benjamin "Hippo" Pierce with Raine and Kyte Collindale
Hello, world! by Joseph Umland with Natalie Varth aka Nat
Here we go. by Nevaeh Reed with Theresa Whittaker
YES! I am finally here by Camden Miller with Tasha DuBois
Equally as excited as everyone. by Daniel Fintoc with Gabe Valenti
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Professor Pye
*First Year Orientation!*
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Professor Pye
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Nevaeh Reed
October 28, 2015 1:05 AM
Here we go. by Nevaeh Reed
“Shh, Scout,” Nevaeh whispered. She wanted to hear what Professor Pye had to say, but Scout was evidently not super fond of the Arizona heat. And who could blame him, through all that thick German Shepard fur? There was summer in Michigan, obviously, but it didn’t usually continue into September, or at least not to this extent. She hoped August was not a constant in their new home.Her shushing did little to nullify Scout’s pants, but she couldn’t be mad, really, since it was his only way to stay cool. Dogs didn’t have sweat glands like people. (Or did they? Nevaeh wasn’t entirely sure, actually. Her science classes thus far had not prepared her for this dilemma.) In any case, she just had to let Scout pant and try her best to listen to the professor’s speech.
Though she had little to go on, thus far, Professor Pye seemed like a nice enough person. At least, she hoped he was, since she was most likely going to be learning from him for the next seven years. And everything he said was of definite interest to Nevaeh; she wanted to know what to expect with this place. She was already nervous enough going into it, though for more personal reasons than just the new experience, so any information Professor Pye could provide was simply an extra worry alleviated.
Once they were released to grab maps and schedules and such, Nevaeh nudged Scout softly and leaned down to his level. “Want some water?” She tugged his leash gently forward to initiate motion, then allowed him to do his job and lead her toward the concessions table. When Scout stopped walking, indicating they had arrived, Nevaeh pat his head. “Good boy.”
She reached forward and felt the table in front of her, fingers carefully finding glasses. She heard someone come up to the table beside her, which was actually perfect timing. “Hey, can you hand me a glass of water?” she asked politely. “It’s a bit warm out for a dog.” She offered her peer a kind smile to accompany her familiar speech.
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Nevaeh Reed
Here we go.
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Theresa Whittaker
October 28, 2015 1:36 PM
I'm definitely excited about that! by Theresa Whittaker
Tess looked around her excitedly as she listened to Professor Pye’s speech. Today had, so far, been even better than expected. She’d had to get up quite early to arrive at the pick-up point on time, but the journey had been great fun! Tess had only flown once or twice that she could remember, so had spent the entire journey looking out the window at the scenes far below.Upon reaching Sonora, reality had hit, and she’d started to feel a little nervous as she stood waiting for directions. However, Tess had tried pushed all nerves aside as she’d made her way to the Labyrinth Gardens. As the oldest child in her family she was used to having to do things first, and to be quite honest the thought of finally learning magic was enough to change the butterflies in her stomach to excitement. She’d spent years being envious of her mother’s magical abilities (and had, a few times, got in trouble for ‘borrowing’ her wand) and had been dreaming of starting at a magical school for years.
Tess tried to listen to everything Professor Pye said, although couldn’t help tuning out a little when he started talking about exams, distracted by the people around her. She wondered which of them would end up being in her house. She tuned back in just in time to hear the mention of clubs – something she definitely planned on looking into.
When the professor had finished talking, Tess headed over to the food and drink table, coming up behind a girl with a rather sweet-looking dog. “Of course,” she said in reply, filling up a glass with water and holding it out to her. “I’m Tess, by the way,” she introduced herself, glad to have met this friendly-looking girl.
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Theresa Whittaker
I'm definitely excited about that!
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Nevaeh
November 01, 2015 11:17 PM
Me too! by Nevaeh
The girl’s positive response did well to relieve some of Nevaeh’s nerves. She was not someone afraid of asking for help--she’d been legally blind her whole life, so help was something she had learned to just accept with dignity--but she had noticed that a lot of people weren’t always interested in helping, especially kids her own age. And she supposed she understood that to an extent, since she rarely wore the stereotypical blind person sunglasses; as far as appearances went, she tended to seem like anybody else. Excluding the harnessed service dog, of course.“Thanks,” Nevaeh said as she felt the cool glass slide into her grip and accepted it from the girl, who then introduced herself as Tess. “Nice to meet you. I’m Nevaeh.” She bent down to the ground, setting the glass before her dog before returning to her full but unremarkable height. “And this is Scout,” she added, laughing a little at the slurping noises. Hopefully she wouldn’t get in trouble for letting him drink out of one of these glasses. The prairie elves could easily scrub it later.
“What do you think of the school so far?” she asked conversationally, a bit curious about the attributes she lost out on but at the same time in love with the ones she experienced. The flowers of the Gardens were certainly blooming, their scents swirling and combining in new ways every time the wind stirred. Nevaeh didn’t think her lack of sight really heightened her other senses like some people thought, but rather that she just paid more attention to them. At least, that was what she felt. But nonetheless, Tess would, she imagined, have the advantage of sight; Nevaeh assumed the terrain was beautiful, but confirmation from a peer and perhaps a description would have been lovely.
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Nevaeh
Me too!
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Tess Whittaker
November 04, 2015 3:41 PM
Then again, who wouldn't be? by Tess Whittaker
Tess grinned as Nevaeh introduced Scout, and laughed too at him eagerly drinking the water. “He’s lovely,” she replied. “I've always wanted a dog, but my parents are more cat people.” She assumed that Scout was some sort of service dog, looking at his harness.“I think the school’s beautiful!” she enthused. “Well, I've only properly seen these gardens so far, of course, but they’re just so green and colourful!” She really did find the Labyrinth Gardens beautiful – definitely somewhere she planned to spend lots of time. Tess loved spending time outside, as there was always so much to see and do, especially having been brought up in the countryside. She couldn't wait to see the inside of Sonora either – she was sure it would be equally wonderful.
“So how much do you know about Sonora?” she asked. “I can’t wait to get started learning magic – and the idea of living in a magical environment is just so exciting!” Thoughts of all the fun one could have with magic had already been swirling around Tess’s head – she was sure it would be good for more than just lessons.
“Also what house do you reckon you’ll be in?” she added. She’d spent the last few days wondering where she would end up, but had found herself stuck between Teppenpaw and Pecari. She’d decided she was probably too irresponsible for Crotalus, and whilst she appreciated learning it wasn’t her biggest priority! Then again, she mused, she could be proved wrong.
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Tess Whittaker
Then again, who wouldn't be?
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