alt_sinistra | YPL and CCF upcoming plans

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YPL and CCF upcoming plans

Good afternoon! Now that we’ve returned to school, a few notes. Questions on any of the following, do stop by and see me. (And I’ll be in my office this afternoon and evening, as well as the other usual hours.) In particular:

The mural project
The dedication and final presentation of the new mural will take place this coming Saturday, April 21st, at 2:30pm, (by the mural, naturally). Everyone in the castle is welcome to attend, and there will be some refreshments. Mrs Pencarrow will be finalising some of the charms and remaining details this week: schedule is posted by the mural and on the board by the stairs to the astronomy tower.

Summer plans
We’re continuing to work on details for the YPL and CCF summer plans - keep an eye out for more announcements in the next week or two. For first years, I can confirm the camping trip (as always with a few new activities), and for the second years, our two New London trips.

Fourth Years
I’m delighted to say we have a larger than usual number of openings for 4th years interested in being YPL counsellors for younger students. We anticipate our counsellors will participate in one trip each this summer (with a small number of the most senior counsellors assisting with the CCF programme weeks). The process involves an application form (available from me now), some short situational questions, and a brief interview.

Third Years
For current 3rd years: we will be beginning the CCF application process a little earlier this year than last. Our process will be roughly the same as last year - a written application, a letter to someone in a field you may wish to explore after leaving school, and then further detailed testing after the end of the school year.

I want to emphasise again that not being selected is not a comment on a particular student’s skills, loyalty, or magical ability: it simply means that the selectors feel that the CCF is not the programme best suited to developing that person's potential and service to the Protectorate. We anticipate selecting 15-16 students again this year.

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I'd very much like to apply to become a YPL counsellor. ~~Do you think there's any chance~~ I'll come get an application form today.

I'm glad to hear that, Miss Perks, of course - and really, I should have mentioned it yesterday when you stopped in.

I hope that you're settling back in comfortably?

Yes, the term is starting out very well, thank you.

Miss Clearwater -

A few things I wanted to check on. First, that while I greatly appreciated your help last summer, I know you’re also now looking toward the longer future. While I’d be glad to have you back as the summer assistant, I’m wondering if you’d prefer some more flexibility in searching for a permanent position than our busy summer schedule would allow.

I am, of course, delighted to be a reference for you (by letter or otherwise) in your search. And if you let me know the kind of positions you’re most interested in, I’ll gladly keep my ears open.

Given all that, though, I’m assuming we’d need to find someone to consider for the summer-long assistant position you had last summer. I certainly have a few ideas of my own, but was wondering if you had any particular suggestions.

Professor,

I'm glad you said something. As it happens, I had been meaning to talk to you about the stipend for the summer because--well, I think I've mentioned before that I don't have any intention of remaining a burden on my ~~father~~ parents any longer than necessary after finishing school. But I have been trying to figure out how to balance the demands of the CCF/YPL programmes with the need for an earnest job search.

I'd be happy to discuss the current YPL counsellors and their merits. During your next office hours? I can have my recommendations drafted by then.

You have mentioned that before, and I quite understand the challenge. I'm glad you brought it up again, though.

My worry, of course, is that once we hit the summer, you'd have very little chance to interview (or prepare) in order to find something that suits you longer-term. I'd hate to find you at a loss in August, with your peers having found positions, and you having done (excellent, of course) work but needing something new.

As I said, I'm quite glad to do whatever I can to help you find a lasting position. And if your concern is something flexible enough over the summer to interview, but also help you bring in something, I do know of a few people who have summer research positions open that might be a good fit. They'd both give you some income, and be fine with you needing to take a morning to interview, or prepare something.

(Remind me: Runes, Arithmancy, and Divination, yes, for NEWTs? Anything I'm missing? Though the two positions I know about right now are both straight research.)

If you'd like a bit more privacy to discuss than office hours usually allow, I'd be glad to talk after classes either tomorrow or Friday (any time between 3 and 5:30 or so.)

Oh, I hadn't thought about--yes, you're right, of course, it could be seriously disadvantageous to start later than my classmates. But wouldn't that be true of a summer research position, as well, Miss?

And yes, I've kept all three, as well as all the standard subjects. My best O.W.L.s were Runes, Charms, Astronomy and Herbology, followed by Transfiguration, Potions and Defence. I also took the Creatures O.W.L. and passed it but I don't think I'd be able to pull that off at the N.E.W.T. level.

What sorts of postings, if you don't mind my asking? I mean, I know that you had an apprenticeship that was far outside of New London. I don't think I'd want to have to live somewhere remote in order to take an assistant's position, you know?

Not that there's anything wrong with room and board but--well, I think you might understand why it would be--difficult, for me.

And perhaps Friday, yes, thank you. I've got the Prefects' meeting tomorrow night so I'm always putting together the agenda for that in the time between lessons and dinner.

Excellent questions, of course. And no, neither are off in the remote parts of Cornwall: I had a lovely time at my research assistanceship, but you neither need the dark night sky nor that kind of isolation. (Besides, I was building - with the advice of my mentors - a very specific set of professional skills so I could come back and take over teaching. And that made me willing to be there for a time without much else in my life. Much healthier to have a better balance, I'm sure.)

Both the positions I know of are actually in New London, and they're both fairly flexible about how long the work might continue (allowing for reasonable notice, of course). They're both expecting to be busy enough for the forseeable future that another pair of hands would be useful, but not so much they'd need to cling to someone who found a permanent position.

One of them is with an old friend of mine, a researcher named Chimera Powell. He's a sort of independent librarian: he takes on consulting research projects for a variety of clients - sometimes it's tracking down old books, or authenticating documents, or helping an appraiser with documentation for an item. I met him while I was doing research on some old astronomical charts.

The other is actually with one of my cousins - though she's about the same age as my mother, and I've always called her Auntie. Gera Cumberhatch is her name. She does the same kind of independent research, but she's focused more on family history. Not the genealogy as much (she leaves that to other people) but filling in the background details, or writing up a history on a family property or a reclaimed house, that kind of thing.

Both really require good research skills more than any specific magical aptitude, though Runes, Charms, and Defence all have their moments with some older magical items and books. (And while Chimera's not an astronomer himself, he regularly takes on projects for other members of the Astronomer's Guild, so your knowledge there could be quite useful.)

At any rate, I'll get my notes together on both, and what they're specifically hoping for, and we can talk it over Friday afternoon.

Okay. Thanks, Professor.

Love -

I'm hoping you have a good time with duelling club tonight, though everyone seems quite energised to be back, and I know that makes it hard to keep them focused. Even my newts were hard to get settled this morning.

I'm hoping the weather stays clear long enough for me to finally get some decent research time in tonight. (If you want to come up when you're done, you'd be welcome, but it might be on the boring side for you.)

And don't worry that the above is me working too hard. More like having gotten everything sorted so that once we get the final decisions on the CCF details, I can get all of that out with a minimum of fuss. I'm about to settle down to a few hours cheerfully catching up with journal issues I'd been ignoring.

I will come up. Harry's come to me with a request. Nothing dire, by any means, but how to proceed is the question. I'd like to hear your side of things, even if it means waiting until you're done counting rings on distant planets, or predicting the effects of a nearby comet on the newest crop of mandrakes. Are mandrakes a crop or a litter?

The things one forgets since NEWTs...

Anyway, see you then love.

Ah, see, love, you're talking to the person who failed her OWL in Herbology, so I've not the foggiest.

You are most welcome to come up, and I will certainly take a break to talk. (You know I'll always make time for you, starry sky or not.) Though now you've got me curious about the question.

And it's satisfying (well, to me, and maybe five other people in the Protectorate) but arcane calculations of the movement of stars away from their source of origin. Even more tedious than rings or comets, I fear, but also easy to pick up and put down when I need to.

Also: Saturday night, there will be some fireworks off the Astronomy Tower. I've already given my permission for the parties in question to be up there, and been invited if I'd like.

Will the selection for counsellors be by House? Or just by who's best qualified overall? Or some other way?

I think it'd be awesome to be a counsellor, and I'd be good at it, too, cause I'm good with people, y'know, especially younger kids. And I've always really liked the YPL activities and I participate and all, so I'd be enthusiastic about everything.

A little of all three. We do try to keep some balance by house - but we're looking to add between 8 and 10 new counsellors from your year, and it may not be perfectly balanced.

As to what I - we - consider, you're quite close. I'm looking at how well someone works with younger students, whether they've been able to help create connections within their House and between their House and others, how they've handled chances to show leadership or self-reliance. And of course, those in CCF have a definite edge this year.

I know there will be some very hard decisions to make about who to choose, but I'm glad you're interested: do stop up and get an application when you get a chance, or you could grab one tonight before class.

Thanks, Professor Siz. I'll come before Astronomy, then.

First off, can there be more than one girl counsellor per house? Because I know that Prefects are just one boy and one girl.

And second, I know that other years have had some of the same people be counsellors and Prefects. That's still a possibility, right? That you could do both?

And third, it's Sally-Anne's birthday this week, and I wanted to know if we could throw a party in one of the astronomy towers on Saturday night. I know she loves astronomy, and I thought it'd be fun to be outside if the weather's nice, and we'd be sure to clean up after, and I was going to surprise her with fireworks, but other than that we wouldn't be too loud or too late. And there wouldn't be a frightful number of people -- just ten or fifteen. Could we?

Excellent questions.

It's possible, yes. Normally I do consider balance between houses, but we're looking for 8-10 counsellors this year. Slytherin has a particular number of people I'd like to include if they're interested but I know it'll be a hard decision.

And yes, it's possible for people to be both counsellors and Prefects - though some people prefer one to the other entirely, and that's fine too. (I do talk to the heads of house about my potential choices, but the Prefect process runs a little differently, and they're often not sure of their final recommendations until after I need to make a choice - they often want to factor final marks for the year in, for example.)

As to Saturday: I wouldn't say yes to everyone, but since it's you (and Sally-Anne) and since you asked, certainly.

I do keep a number of protections up, but if you let me know when you'd like to be up there, and when you'll be done (curfew, I assume?) I'll gladly arrange for you to be able to get out on the tower. No more than fifteen, though, please, unless we talk further.

Thank you, Professor Siz! I just know Sally-Anne will appreciate it incredibly much.

And yes, I'll make sure, no more than fifteen. We'd be there after dinner, so starting at 7:30 if that'd be all right? And we'd be done by curfew.

We'll have the fireworks towards the very end if you wanted to stop by for a cocoa and to catch the show. You know, in case you had to supervise.

That should be excellent, and I'll leave things open for you after supper.

As to the fireworks - that's almost enough to tempt me out of my usual Saturday evening plans. I'm sure it'll be glorious. (And honestly, I do trust both you and she to have good sense, no matter who else is there, or I'd not have said yes in the first place. Though I will let you know where I'll be, too, just in case something comes up.)

She's helped me restock the storage bins up there recently, so if you do need warm blankets or whatever, she'll also know where they are.

That sounds wonderful, Professor.

If you can make it up, we'd all be happy to see you, and if not, I really do appreciate your letting us use the space.

Oh, I've been waiting for this announcement! I'll come see you for an application as soon as I can. I'd also like to ask some questions about the interview process, such as: Will we know the questions in advance? Should we wear regular school robes or the special occasion school robes? Is anyone on the interview panel sensitive to perfume or strongly scented soaps? But we can discuss these in person, if it's best.

Ah, excellent questions, Miss Greengrass. I'll answer here, in case it's helpful to others (and feel free to ask other questions about the process as well.)

1) The interview is done with a small panel, generally myself and ideally two of the YPL committee members. Exactly who depends on availability, but it's most commonly been Auror Wright and Mrs Provim (who spends her workdays in the Wizarding Examination Authority office.)

2) School robes are just fine - and in fact, it might be best to think about it as a conversation, rather than an interview.

None of the committee members are particularly sensitive to scent, but we'd prefer to focus on you, not what you're wearing. (And we usually interview in my office, so there's a fair bit of space and comfortable seating.)

3) We don't share the specific questions in advance, but we are looking at a combination of:

- someone's past history, behaviour, and leadership
- their ability to guide younger students
- their ability to encourage friendships both within their house and between students of other Houses.
- common sense and practical approaches to problem solving.
- what they feel the position will allow them to learn, practice, or better understand, and how that might help them in the future.

Some of these things, we already have a good idea about, but we also ask some questions about situations that have come up on trips, or have a sample situation for someone to solve or comment on. You can ask older students who are counsellors about some of what we've asked in previous years, but of course, we change the specific questions for each year (and vary them between students in a given year.)

Thanks, Professor! I'm really looking forward to the mural unveiling.

And thanks for the application, too.

You're very welcome, and it was good to hear you'd had such a pleasant time over the holidays.

(I'm looking forward to the mural unveiling as well. It's been fascinating to see it go from discussion to reality.)

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YPL and CCF upcoming plans

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