From the Desk of the Spreadsheet Sorceresses: A Look Back at Spring 2017

NEWTs are on the move and OWL swatching is in full swing-- but let's take a moment, shall we, to reflect on Spring 2017:
Ravenclaw's astonishing victory in honor of our outgoing Head of House and Head Girl, PickleMommy and CathyCake...

Double Cups For the PickleCake!!

We earned about 58% of our 81,840 points in classes, with over quarter of the total earned through Advanced Studies, and the remainder from Quidditch and the HMC.

We've proven time and again that class participation and Advanced Studies are good for points; I am personally very proud of the effort we put forth in winning the Quidditch Cup this term-- can we do it again?  We look forward to more Quidditch glory under the new leadership of HoH Bacs and HG Gwenschweitzer!

Spring '17 Quidditch Update -- RAVENCLAW WINS QUIDDITCH CUP

Ravenclaw Chasers rocked and socked the pitch in Spring Term 2017 and we soared our way to our first Quidditch victory since Fall Term 2015!

The first match honored Helga Hufflepuff and the Quaffle, and we were thrilled to come in first.  What a great way to start the season!  Then the second match, starring Salazar Slytherin and the Bludger, was a real nail-biter. Slytherin won first place for their Founder and we barely edged Hufflepuff for second place by a two point margin.

In the third match, featuring Godric Gryffindor and the Snitch, it was our turn to roar with a strong first place finish.  The fourth match celebrated our own Founder Rowena Ravenclaw and her marvelous invention of the Quidditch Hoops.  We did Rowena proud and blitzed the pitch to finish way out front in first place.

The fifth match showcased all four Founders.  We really poured it on, and while we finished in second, we were well ahead of third place this time.

The other Houses were very worthy opponents, and we salute all the Chasers of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.  Well played all!!

We thank the Cup Quidditch Referees for their interesting, creative, and very educational prompts.  I know we all learned a lot about the history of Quidditch.

Deep thanks to the Ravenclaw House Quidditch staff, and the the PickleCake, for all the love and support.  

Most of all, we thank the many Ravenclaw chasers who played this term!

WE DID IT!

Thank you greenheron and freemiki for this wrap up of our winning Quidditch season!

Advanced Studies End-of-Term Wrap Up

As we have come to expect, Ravenclaw had an outstanding Advanced Studies turnout in Missions, OWLs, and NEWTs.  

Missions:

48 Ravenclaws successfully completed their missions, while another 11 managed to get to at least 25%.  These broke out as:

Twelve ‘Claws  went undercover at the Department of Magical Transportation.

Five ‘Claws successfully blended into the Tour de France.

Twelve ‘Claws were able to evoke the English countryside.

Nine ‘Claws recruited agents on the Knight Bus.

Four ‘Claws assisted the Commander on Deck 3.

Four ‘Claws held down the (blanket) fort at 12 Grimmaud place.

Two ‘Claws successfully produced maps for the Order.

OWLs:

61 Ravenclaws completed an OWL this term and an additional 13 at least made it through midterms.  The successful subjects were:

NEWTs:

And finally, our most Senior students, tackling the hardest projects, the NEWTs.  Six Ravenclaws successfully passed their NEWTs this term.  

Picklemommy finished this astonishing invisibility cape and the hat to go with it:

 

Fortunately she was able to use magic to let us see it!

MissJaneJetson made a fabulous Find Your Fade, a lovely sweater and a cowl:

TriGirlJ produced some lovely shawls:

Roocmc commemorated 80s Wizard wear with 3 bright accessories:

LeahandtheDragon spun some very fine yarn and used it to make a fabulous shawl:  

Kaypendragon explored garments inspired by magical creatures:

Congratulations to all our Advanced Studies students!

Thank you lsgarner for reporting on Spring 17 AS!

End of Term Wrap-Up -- OWL Honours Showcase

An amazing SIXTEEN Ravenclaws had OWLs that, in the words of Examiner Hreow "knocked the socks off at least one of the OWL team."  That's an achievement worth showing off! 

Note: Blogger is giving me formatting grief today, so in some cases, only detail pictures are shown.  Click on the links to see the OWLs in their full glory!


Auora: Lothlorien Cape
                                         

Celizabethlill: Pink Snow Angel

Cyprienne: Son of the Hound of the Sea Wrap

folk:  Draco Dormiens

Freemiki: Eagle Illusion Shawl

kneedleart: Heavenly Wedding Wrap

knittingIma: Moonraker (for which she spun part of the yarn)

and Nebulous Spirals

llim: Tir Chonaill

MeshaMarie: Changeling

and New Spring

omeletsmom: Flower Garden Shawl

S2five:  Sundays with Molly

Lily's River

and A Tartan for Minerva

specialKknits: Is this lacy enough for you?

suzannemm:  Patchwork Socks/Pattern

Topfrog: The Callahan Cabled Blanket

Xillanthia: Treasured

Zisch304: Meisenjacke/Chickadee Cardi

Congratulations everyone!

From the Desk of the Spreadsheet Sorceresses: A look back, a look ahead

Spreadsheet Sorceress llim provides us with this final look back at the Fall 2017 term! 

Before the new term heats up too much, let's take a moment to reflect on the Fall 2016 term, when Ravenclaw won the House Cup for the FOURTH time in a row!!  What can we learn from that historic victory? 

We earned about 59% of our 75148 points in classes, over quarter from Advanced Studies, and the rest from Quidditch and the HMC.

Compared to the other houses, we shone in our class turn-ins--clearly the most important category given the points available!  Of course 'Claws still had a dazzling display in Advanced Studies.  It's what we're known for, after all!  We also came on really strong in the HMC compared to other houses.  We really enjoyed those non-Rav crafts and taking care of our bodies and minds!

You may ask, Are we on track for an unprecedented FIFTH House Cup trophy??  Well, it is much too early to tell, but preliminary indications point to a very close race!  The number of Advanced Studies proposals is close, the first Quidditch round was close, class turn ins so far are close...  Are you sensing a theme? 

However, what we clearly see from last term's victory is:

• Classes are key!  Maybe get One More Class! in with a quick blanket square for the Blanket Brigade.
• If we keep our Advanced Studies completion rates up, that can give us an edge!  Even if the number of proposals is close, if we finish more NEWTs, OWLs, and Order Missions we get more points!
• Quidditch is not to be dismissed!  We got almost one tenth of our points from Quiddy last term, and this term's matches have more base points available than last term's!

Keep those needles, wheels, spindles, etc. flying, Ravenclaw!  Let's SOAR!!!

Advanced Studies -- Fall 2016 Wrap Up

Before we get too far into the term, we're taking a look at what made Ravenclaw champions this past term.  We've already had a look at Quidditch; today we are looking back at Advanced Studies.

The Tower started off its ultimately victorious term with a whopping 105 OWL students, 86 Order Agents, and 8 NEWTlings setting off to capture their respective beasts. A few of the more adventurous students even sought to catch more exotic dual-personality beasts, with 65 attempting to PhOWL and four crazy ambitous ‘Claws choosing to chase the elusive Flaming Salamander.

Magical creatures are tricksy things, though, and even the best laid plans sometimes just make the beasts laugh instead of coming in nicely. Getting close still earned points for the House, though! We had 16 partial Missions turned in (400 points), nine OWL students who at least met their 50% mark (675 points), four OWL students who buckled down after missing the 50% deadline and still turned in a complete OWL (500 points), and one NEWTling who didn’t hit her 50% or 75% deadlines but still managed to get the entire thing done by 30 Nov (250 points). This is how points add up, folks!

The HoH gets to hand out the individual shinies, but we had over half of our Agents – 47! - complete their Missions this term! When combined with the sixteen who turned in partials, 73% of the Order’s Ravenclaw Agents performed valuable service this term!

Sixty-five OWL students passed their exams with an Outstanding (presumably – that’s what I would have graded them as, anyway). That’s six more than last term! Woo hoo! Twenty-eight were able to catch the lovely and tricky PhOWL.

FIVE of our NEWTlings managed to capture the slippery devils, and mad props go to PickleMommy, KhenaSanskula, and Hreow for successfully trapping the elusive Flaming Salamander!

As always, a huge round of applause to our new OWL Mistresses – SarahAlderSign and fricknfrack!! What an accomplishment!

Please go visit the various AS Finals threads and marvel over the accomplishments of your class- and Towermates! Truly inspiring!

Soar, Ravenclaw!

Thank you to Kadiddly for that look back at our Fall Advanced Studies!