Professor Nathan Xavier
September 16, 2016 2:57 PM
First Year Orientation by Professor Nathan Xavier
Nathan Xavier stood in the Gardens, directing students as they got off the flying wagons. "Please leave your luggage in the wagons. The elves will deliver your belongings to your rooms. First years, please head through there," here he would point through an opening in the labyrinths hedges over which hung a banner that read Welcome to Sonora! First Year Orientation. "Mingle, enjoy the food, meet your year mates. Older students, the Cascade Hall and library are open for your use, as well as your common rooms. If you need a password, please find your Head of House or one of your prefects; there should be one here in the landing area now, or in the Hall later." Then another wagon with another load of students would arrive, and the process would repeat.Eventually, all of the wagons were accounted for and the older students had all spread out into the school while the first years were congregated together in one of the larger open areas in the labyrinth. Food and drink tables lined one hedge, with snacks and desserts of all forms, and even small sandwiches for those wanting something healthier and more filling. Another table had two piles of parchments weighted down with rocks and signs that advised this was where one went to get a map of the school and a class schedule.
Looking around as he entered the area, he could see some students had already collected their copies and many had accepted the invitation to eat and drink after their bumpy and potentially long journeys aboard the magical covered wagons that had flown them here.
"Your attention please, just for a moment," Nathan called, far more comfortable addressing this group than he had been speaking in front of any of the previous orientation groups he'd overseen. He attributed that to a year's worth of student teaching, an experience he hadn't been able to claim at this time last year. He was barely sweating, and the little bit he was perspiring was at least equally due to the bright Arizona sun shining down on them. The weather charms on the school and the shade from a couple overhanging trees cut the worst of the heat, but it was still late summer in a dessert. This was definitely good beach weather today but Sonora was sadly lacking a beach.
"First of all, welcome to Sonora Academy and the First Year Orientation. If you haven't gotten copies yet, there are maps and schedules there on that table." He pointed it out. "I am Mr. Xavier - er, Professor Xavier," he stumbled over his new title, still not used to introducing himself that way, "the new Herbology professor, Teppenpaw Head of House, and the groundskeeper."
"We'll be taking a tour of the school in a little bit, which will conclude at the Cascade Hall just in time for your Sorting Ceremony and then the Welcoming Feast, but first I'm going to go over some of the school policies and offerings, and then you'll have some more time to meet and greet amongst yourselves until it is time to head out and tour your new school."
"Academically, all first years take the same core subjects together: Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and now Herbology. We're a small school, so your year group will join with the second years for a combined beginners class. When you reach third year, you will move up into the Intermediate class and stay at that level until you take your standardized Critical Assessment of Talents and Skills, or the CATS exam, at the end of fifth year. After that, you'll have the opportunity to drop any subjects you do not want to continue into the Advanced level, which is where you will prepare for your Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills, or RATS standardized exam, at the end of your seventh year. You will need to pass two RATS to graduate, but we strongly recommend taking at least three if you wish to continue your education at a college or apprenticeship. Starting at the intermediate level, we also offer additional elective courses and independent studies beyond the core classes you start with this year. If you find you need additional academic help, we also offer supplementary study groups that cover English as a second language, essay writing, and study skills. Please see your Head of House if you would like to enroll in that."
"Extracurricularly, the school hosts Quidditch teams for each House - Pecari is the team to beat this year - and the Library accepts student helpers. Beyond that, we've got quite a few student run clubs here, including a Book Club, Art Club, Baking Club, Archery Club, Science Club, a Fashion Club, a Sports Club," he paused, counting those off on his fingers to make sure he hadn't missed any. "Yeah, that's all the ones we had last year. And if none of those are what you are looking for, you can always start your own."
"I just mentioned Houses. There are four of them: Pecari, Aladren, Teppenpaw, and Crotalus. They are called Houses because that's where you'll be living for the next seven years, and your Housemates will be your family here. The Sorting Ceremony tonight will determine which of those you will be joining. Within each House, you will room with those of your year and gender. Each House has three prefects, one from each of the year groups fifth year and up, a Quidditch Captain, and a faculty member called your Head of House, any of which you can go to with questions or problems. Your House earns points whenever is members display exceptional classwork, good behavior, or participation in school activities such as Quidditch. Likewise, misbehavior loses points. The House with the most points at the end of the year gets the honor of hosting the House Cup in their commons the next year."
He took a deep breath and finished off with the key facts people probably wanted to know but which didn't fit together in any neat categories. "Small fare food like sandwiches and snacks are available upon request in the Cascade Hall at all times between 6am and curfew at 10, but larger meals are marked on your schedule and are only available then. All students are welcome on the House Quidditch teams; no experience necessary. I think most teams have openings and reserves are always reassuring to have."
"If you have any further questions feel free to ask me or one of the other staff members." He took a moment to indicate the other staff volunteers milling about the clearing who had chosen to help him chaperone the orientation. "In the mean time, enjoy the food and talk amongst yourselves. The tour will begin in approximately one hour."
OOC (Out of Character):
Welcome first years to Sonora! You can post a reply here to ask staff questions or meet your new classmates. This thread is intended for first year students to have a chance to try out posting and get acclimated to the site before we throw you into the big Opening Feast, which is open to the entire school population and can be a bit overwhelming. So post, enjoy, have fun! Everyone here is happy to help out, so if you've got a question, put it on the OOC or try to catch somebody in the Chatzy and we'll try to get you an answer as quick as we can.
Subthreads: First Day Jitters by Sawyer Matheson with Florence Newell
Finally Arriving by Kit Reid with Ayla Tremaine
Not in Texas anymore by Magnus Graphorn IV with Salali Bly
I miss my friends by Isaac Song with Simon Mordue
The start of an adventure! by Victor Callahan with Kir McLeod
Things can only get better, right? by Winston Pierce with Luke Powell
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Professor Nathan Xavier
First Year Orientation
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Professor Nathan Xavier
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Victor Callahan
September 20, 2016 5:59 PM
The start of an adventure! by Victor Callahan
The wagon ride to Sonora had been pretty cool, definitely more fun than floo travel (which was just over too quickly, even if there were cool effects!). The only thing that would make the wagon cooler – at least according to Victor – would be if they’d been going a lot faster (it was nothing compared to some brooms), but the destination probably made up for that. Victor had been eager to go off to Sonora for almost as long as he could remember. It wasn’t that he liked studying, but there would be people and friends and almost definitely adventures, all of which were sadly lacking at home.He wouldn’t miss anything about home. Okay, maybe that was a slight lie. He’d miss Jehan, or rather he’d worry about Jehan. Victor wasn’t the most thoughtful of people, but he always made an exception when it came to his little brother. He hoped Jehan would cope without Victor there to comfort him, protect him, and to hide Jehan’s misdeeds from their parents. Jehan was different, he was special, and he was always doing things that his parents would disapprove of. Victor spent a lot of time covering up for these things, and he was sure Jehan would struggle without him there.
But Jehan wasn’t here, and there were people to meet and food to eat, so Victor pushed aside his thoughts of Jehan aside and tried to tune in to the last few minutes of the professor’s speech. A lot of what he was saying sounded familiar, as his father had spent ages making sure Victor knew everything he could about Sonora. It hadn’t seemed to matter that Victor didn’t care about being prepared, so he’d dutifully sat and listened to his father, or rather pretended that at no point at all had he been distracted by the view out the window. That hadn’t been his fault anyway. Outside was just more interesting! Finally the professor’s talk came to an end, just as his father’s had eventually (it was an art, learning to sit through them) and then the food was calling Victor, who hadn’t eaten for a couple of hours so was, of course, starving. It was hard being an 11-year-old boy.
The chocolate cookies just seemed to be calling his name, so Victor decided to make a pit-stop there before finding someone to talk to. One of the kids nearby looked fairly normal, so Victor confidently approached them (why on earth would he be scared of a classmate?). “I’m Victor Callahan, of the Idaho Callahans,” he introduced himself, smiling cheerfully. “Are you glad to be here? I reckon it’s going to be a lot more fun than just being at home.”
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Victor Callahan
The start of an adventure!
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Victor Callahan
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Kir McLeod
September 21, 2016 2:17 AM
Definitely experiencing new things by Kir McLeod
Kir stretched, working the crick out of his neck after the long wagon ride from the east coast. So. Here he was. School. The thought of it was mostly exciting. It was an adventure he felt he’d been preparing for most of his life - being thrown into this big melting pot of people from all different backgrounds, and negotiating that as best he could. To be fair, most of his life he’d been mingling with all sorts, there was just one exception here that he had rarely dealt with in person… Society Purebloods. At least, those still clinging to their families’ outdated views. He’d met plenty of the type who’d given up on them.He wondered what they would make of him. He imagined they would write him off as someone of little importance unless he chose to educate them on his background. He doubted many of his classmates were memorising the annals of ‘Historic Magical Families of Great Britain and Northern Island.’ According to this volume, his family had become extinct when the two children of the main McLeod line ‘disappeared,’ and the family’s home passed to a line of cousins. Even in the unlikely event that they were familiar with that particular volume, there was little reason for them to connect him with those McLeods. After all, it wasn’t an unheard of surname outside their family - he wouldn’t say it was common but there were people who possessed it without being related - and, after all, the book said that his father and his aunt had ‘disappeared,’ not run away, set up homes in Boston and Vermont, and founded a charity to help other Purebloods who wanted to do the same. The McLeod Foundation had its fingers in a number of pies, all relating to civil rights, and it was just about possible that others would have heard of them from that, and might think to query or connect him to it. They were unafraid of lobbying for their causes, and the charity’s name ended up in the papers a good deal. He doubted that Pureblood families were broadcasting to their children that there were people willing to help them in the event of their disownment, but they might be familiar with them as those ‘crazy liberals’ who got entangled in bills relating to women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, minority rights and so on.
Kir was one of the last to assemble, having come from so far away, and there wasn’t much time to mingle before the welcoming speech. A lot of the information was standard, regardless of where one went to school, be it Hogwarts, Salem or Sonora. There were four houses, there were core subjects and electives, there were exams in fifth and seventh year. He even knew some of the Sonora-specific details, such as the subjects, and house names and characters, having read the school literature. The point of most interest was the clubs. ‘Extra curricular activities’ had been mentioned but he supposed that, as they were run by students, it wasn’t easy to keep the list up to date. It was exciting to know that there were wider options than ‘Quidditch’ or ‘spectating Quidditch.’ Not that he was against doing either of these things… He probably wouldn’t sign up unless really needed but he would definitely support his house. It was just nice to know there were other options. Personally, he liked the sound of being a library monitor and a member of the book club…
Once they were free to mingle, he made his way over to the maps. He was tempted by the snack table too but it seemed fairly busy at present. This probably added to the general air of seriousness that Kir gave off. Though he was generally friendly and open, he tended to have more on his mind than the average eleven year old. He was rather aware of all the injustices the world had to offer - more from trying to save it from them than personal experience - and tended to think a lot about the meanings and impacts of his actions, and it showed in his eyes. For now, they were busily scanning his new environment, taking everything in, but when they weren’t doing that, his thoughts turned inwards. ‘Vacant’ was rarely a term that would be used to describe Kir’s expression. His clothes also gave the image of someone quite proper and tidy. Although his father had left the rigours of the Pureblood world behind, this had not resulted in a huge diversification in the available boys’ clothes, merely widening the selection from slacks and polo shirts to include jeans and t-shirts. However, his father hadn’t really seen it worth the minimal effect to change his lifelong habits - tastes which had, naturally, passed to the younger generation, and which meant that Kir was sporting neat grey trousers and a maroon polo shirt. With his blond-brown hair neatly combed, he looked every inch the respectable young man.
It wasn’t long before one of his classmates joined him. The other boy introduced himself in the standard Pureblood way, and Kir tried not to stiffen. Even though they didn’t agree with Pureblood values, he didn’t want to upset anybody… His dad had explained to him before he left that asking for help was sometimes hard; that was magnified who knew how many times over if you didn’t like the person you had to ask. Who knew which of his Pureblood yearmates might consider making a move in the future that would require his family’s help? It was a huge leap to make. Some would stand on the verge of it. And they would be so much less likely to take the plunge if they personally disliked the very people who could rescue them.
“I’m Kir McLeod,” he introduced himself, for now deciding to go as far as giving his surname, which wasn’t likely to lead to many deductions, but not to add ‘of the McLeod Foundation’ as that invited the whole big topic to be opened up. It was hard not to. It felt a little like cowardice - to avoid difficult subjects, to agree by omission - these weren’t things that were usually in his nature. But it was probably smart to get to know people better before bringing up politics.
“Yes,” he agreed, when the other boy asked if he was excited to be here, glad to find some common ground that they could easily talk about. “I’m sure it will offer a lot of new experiences,” he agreed, “Is there anything you’re particularly excited for?” he asked.
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Kir McLeod
Definitely experiencing new things
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Kir McLeod
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Victor
September 22, 2016 1:39 PM
It's probably good for you by Victor
Well. Victor had misjudged the boy before him a little. His introduction suggested that he was not, in fact, society, but oh well. He was better to talk to than nobody at all, and as far as he knew there wasn’t a rule in society that said you had to completely ignore those who didn’t belong. Besides, he had asked what Victor was excited for, and that was an interesting conversation.So what was he excited for in particular? That was a hard question to answer! Obviously there would be lots of fun to be had at Sonora, girls to flirt with, and friends to make that would impress his father. Sharing a dorm would like a giant sleepover, he imagined, and would be much better than sharing a room with a little brother who had a tendency to fall asleep too quickly. Then there was the actual magic – lessons were boring, but on the other hand he did want to start spellcasting!
Victor was almost constantly cheerful and excited for most things life threw at him, and life at Sonora was no exception. He was a pretty optimistic and outgoing boy, and this was reflected in his slightly chubby baby face that seemed to always wear a smile. He was about average height, but with a mop of dark brown curly hair that resisted all attempts to flatten it nicely, much to despair of Victor’s mother. She spent a good deal of time trying to sort out Victor’s appearance, as he could apparently never look quite smart enough even when he tried.
“Everything,” he replied enthusiastically. “Meeting lots of people, doing cool spells, and some of the clubs sound pretty great.” He definitely wanted to get involved in some extra-curricular things. “Archery club could be cool and so could some of the other ones, though it’s a shame they only play Quidditch here,” he added. Broom racing was really Victor’s interest when it came to flying sports. “What about you, do you want to get involved with anything?” Turning the question back on Kir was only polite, and Victor had been taught that you should always be polite to people, no matter what their background was.
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Victor
It's probably good for you
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Kir
September 26, 2016 5:45 AM
That's what I've been told by Kir
Kir knew about society purebloods in the academic sense. On paper, he knew what they were like. He knew that they didn’t actively snub everyone who wasn’t like them, which in a way made their racism even more insidious and unpleasant. They had the token Muggleborn friend or acquaintance they could hold up as a banner - “I’m not racist. I know lots of people of other blood types” - whilst continue to cling to the view that they were somehow better than those people. That they were worthy friends but one couldn’t marry them. He also knew that he would be meeting purebloods his own age. The papers were usually full of the older crowd - faces purple with indignation, spitting venom if they weren’t tactful, or unctuous, insidious poisons if they were. But now there was a curly haired boy his own age excitedly talking about meeting all sorts and joining clubs. The two mental images didn’t gel. The thought of Victor becoming one of those repellent old men made him sad but also seemed impossible. He was just so… normal. So like Kir.“I’d like to join the book club and be a library monitor,” Kir admitted. Next to Victor’s list of possible pursuits he thought that sounded rather tame. Perhaps even nerdy. Kir was smart enough to know there was no shame in being smart but still… He was an eleven year old boy, who really wanted other people to like him. “Archery sounds good too,” he added, because it really did, “I’m not sure about Quidditch either. Like, if they’re really needing players, I’ll sign up but I’m not champing at the bit to play. Do you prefer Quodpot or something?” he asked. Victor’s phrasing had implied he would rather they had a different sport on offer, rather than not being very sporty, and Quodpot was the obvious choice as it was the major sport in America. He’d played a little of both, one sport coming from each parent’s side of the family, but only as a casual thing to do.
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Kir
That's what I've been told
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Kir
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