IMPORTANT DATES AND OTHER PERTINENT INFO

Now that everyone seems to be settling in at Hogwarts, we would like you to be aware of the following dates:

• If you complete the handmade item for your spoilee's kit by MAY 22, you will earn 10 points for your House.  You must verify that you have completed the item by emailing a photo of it to your Head of House.
• The early send period is MAY 23 - JUNE 4.  Please do not mail your spoilee's kit before May 23!  If you are able to mail the kit during the early send period, you will earn 20 points for your House.

We will be posting the House points to the sidebar on a weekly basis so you can see where your House stands.

The first Quidditch match will be here before you know it.  Please let your Head of House know in which position you are able to play.  Remember, you can earn points for your individual House even if your team is not competing.  Just come up with cheering charms and battle cries to post for the teams who are competing.  You can earn up to 10 points for your House just by posting a cheering charm or battle cry to the main blog.  (Cheering charms and battle cries are worth 2 points with each person being able to earn 10 points.)

If anyone has any questions, please ask.  I'm the frazzled one rushing through the halls!

WELCOME!

Welcome to Hogwarts!  I'm very glad to see all the familiar faces wandering the halls getting reacquainted with friends.  And I'm happy to see a few new faces.   There is a look of confusion on some of those new faces.  Don't worry...you'll know your way around Hogwarts in no time.  

For all the new students at Hogwarts, I am Wisteria Lovegood, Deputy Headmistress.  Winifred Wartbobble, our beloved Headmistress, is on sabbatical and while she is away, I am taking her place.   (I have heard rumors that her cousin may be gracing the halls of Hogwarts this term though.)  I am a graduate of Hogwarts, having spent all my years in Ravenclaw Tower.  My right hand is Siobhan Mooney.  We can usually be found with our heads together somewhere.  I will warn you that we do have eyes in the back of our heads!


I'm excited about this term at Hogwarts.  Siobhan will be coordinating SPEW.  She will be making an announcement soon and explaining to all new students exactly what SPEW is.  Lizzie Wychwood and Emma Wigworthy will again be coordinating Dueling Club.  I'm sure you will also be hearing from them shortly.  Remember, Dueling Club is optional.


The biggest change this term will be Quidditch.  There will be at least one mandatory training session before the first matches begin.  There is a tentative calendar in the sidebar listing dates of matches.  Heads of House, make note of the dates of your matches so your Houses will be ready.

For all new students, there will be a probation period for you during which time we will monitor your participation and your homework assignments.  I don't anticipate there will be a problem, but we don't want anyone to get so overwhelmed that they disappear.  Please feel free to ask for help if you need it.  Your Heads of House, Prefects, Siobhan and I are all available for questions.


Now, for your first homework assignment:


Posting to your blog is a weekly requirement.  So this week your assignment is to list the 3 characters you like for your character kit and tell us why you chose them, why they appeal to you, what qualities they have that you admire, etc.  This will also give your spoilers an opportunity to see what it is you like when they are making decisions on what to include in your character kit.  


You must post to your blog by Saturday, April 3, at midnight Pacific time.  

Remember, if you do not post to your blog for 2 consecutive weeks you will be dropped from the swap.  If you anticipate you will not be able to post during any week, your Heads of House must be told in advance and we will determine if a pass can be granted.  We will only grant a limited number of passes.  No one will be granted more than one pass except for extraordinary situations.


Let the fun begin!

School-wide Notice

Hello, Hogwarts students!!! Quidditch training is going to be starting up the second week of term, so start thinking now about if you want to try out! Contact your Head of House if you are interested in fulfilling the role of Team Captain. The Captain will be responsible for submitting a complete team roster before the match and ensuring all team members understand the game rules. There will be a training session in which the rules will be explained more clearly and questions will be answered. The number of positions on the team is not definite at the moment, and may have to change from the original idea. If you are unsure if you have the time to put into Quidditch, here is the schedule of matches (each match will end either whent he snitch is caught or at the end of 3 hours).

April 24th: Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff
May 1st: Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin
May 8th-9th: "bye week" (Happy Mother's Day!)
May 16th: Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor
May 23rd: Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin
May 29th-30th: "bye week"
June 5th: Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw
June 12th: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

I hope to see many of you on the Quidditch Pitch for training!

Socks!

When Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap originated ever so long ago, participants were required to include a pattern for socks in every kit.  Since the swap has evolved and changed and new people have joined us, we seem to have gotten away from including socks.  We think it's time to return to our roots. 

Therefore, all kits will now be required to include a "sock" of some sort.  It can be anything...a sock pattern, a pair of socks, a sock puppet, a sock monkey, sock buttons, etc.  Use your imagination!

The portkey is up!

THE PORTKEY IS NOW CLOSED
THANK YOU FOR REGISTERING

The pic is the portkey to HSKS10 registration!!!

See you at Hogwarts!

Who Is Your Favorite Harry Potter Character?

This term at Hogwarts we will be preparing character kits for our spoilees.  A list of possible characters to choose from follows.  Please list 3 characters in your order of preference on your registration form.  Your spoiler will then choose from your selected characters and build a kit around that character.  Keep in mind when choosing your characters that your spoiler must be able to get enough information on your chosen character to put together a quality kit.  For that reason, we are not allowing obscure characters.

What is required in a kit?

--  A handmade item
--  Yarn
--  Pattern
--  Needles/hooks
--  Stitch markers for knitters/something from wish list for crocheters
--  Optional goodies
--  A "sock" of some sort

What would be deemed a handmade item?  Anything that is handmade by you in some form, i.e., knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, painting, etc.  It must be more than a bookmark, unless it is a hand carved, painted work of art.  It's difficult to put a time limit or dollar amount on the handmade item, but the item should be the focal point of the kit.  Some possibilities are bags, scarves, socks, mitts, boxes, etc.

You should plan on spending $30 - $40, excluding postage, on the kit for your spoilee.

Character List:

• Bellatrix Lestrange
• Sirius Black
• Fleur delacour
• Cedric Diggory
• Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
• Dudley Dursley
• Petunia Dursley
• Vernon Dursley
• Hermione Granger
• Godric Gryffindor
• Helga Hufflepuff
• Rowena Ravenclaw
• Salazar Slytherin
• Rubeus Hagrid
• Gilderoy Lockheart
• Luna Lovegood
• Remus Lupin
• Draco Malfoy
• Minerva McGonagall
• Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
• Harry Potter
• James Potter
• Lily Potter
• Helena Ravenclaw (The Grey Lady)
• Tom Marvolo Riddle (Lord Voldemort)
• Kingsley Shacklebolt
• Rita Skeeter
• Severus Snape
• Nymphadora Tonks
• Sybill Trelawney
• Delores Umbridge
• Arthur Weasley
• Molly Weasley
• Fred Weasley
• George Weasley
• Ron Weasley
• Ginny Weasley
• Moaning Myrtle
• Nearly Headless Nick

Start of Term is Approaching

Is everyone busy packing their trunks?  Has everyone made a trip to Diagon Alley to pick up all their books?  Are your owls well-fed and ready to travel?

All the Heads of Houses have their heads together and are planning a fun new term at Hogwarts.  Keep checking here for all the latest information.