From the Desk of the Head of House: Reflecting and Looking Forward

Can you believe it's already almost the end of term?  Me neither.

Today (well, the day this is posting, not the day I'm writing it) in the United States, we are celebrating Thanksgiving.  For many, this is a holiday for remembering the things we are thankful for and spending time with those we care about.  

I feel like it's an also excellent time for all of us in the Tower to reflect on how this term has gone, and start talking about our plans for next term.  Did you meet your goals for this term?  Were you able to get the majority of your planned projects completed?  Did you get the Completionist Badge like you wanted (deadline for the final Detention turn-in is in a couple days on the 25th!)  Some of this reflection may have to wait until next week, of course, since we do still have a week of the term left and for many of us that means we are still working on finishing up our Advanced Studies projects, but you can also reflect while dealing with tasks like sewing in ends.

I would like to encourage everyone to also take a look back at how you felt during this term.  Were there perhaps times when you were stressed by deadlines or pushing yourself harder physically than you would like?  Were there particular projects that gave you an immense sense of accomplishment that boosted your confidence in your crafting?  Think back on the good and the bad, so that you can perhaps determine if there is something you can do to increase the positive feelings as we move forward into the holidays and the next term.

It is also time for looking forward and beginning to plan things like our Advanced Studies projects for next term.  The Advanced Studies thread for next term is currently focused on NEWT planning since we are just over a week away from their proposal period opening, but feel free to go in there to discuss your next OWL or Order Mission as well.  Next term is Winter, which means that the Detention OWL will be available.  Because there is only a guarantee of a certain number of proposals being accepted (although more often than not, more are accepted), having your proposal ready to go ahead of time is important and the Advanced Studies planning thread is the ideal place to make sure everything is where it needs to be.

Looking ahead to next term, there are already some excellent House-wide ideas going around in the staff room, so there will surely be many exciting things coming with the new year ;)

Speaking of staff, if you wish to volunteer, the link to the application is in the Announcements thread.  The deadline for submission is November 29th.  Is next term the one where you take the leap and join staff?  Think about it, and if you decide now is the time don't forget to fill out the form :)

And as always, take care.