blueridgefac:

Hello students and staff!

What an exciting week! Shenandoah and Shawnee met on the quodpot field and after what seemed like it would be a sure win for Shenandoah, Shawnee turned it right around! Shawnee took home a narrow victory, leaving the spectators to wonder what is going on with Shenandoah's ending strategy. Congratulations to Shawnee for their first victory of the year!

Saturday was a most exciting day for quidditch! The University team, lead by Mackenzie Dubinsky, took on the Badlands College of Witchcraft and Wizardry and showed them how to properly play the sport! Blue Ridge swept the game, a perfect score leaving Badlands in the dust with a score of zero. Teams One and Two faced off and it was a stunning victory for Team One who hasn't won a game since the very start of the season. Whatever changes the team made, they should stick to them! It was a most excellent game!

The quidditch teams don't play again until after break but on Saturday, January 7, 2012, Blue Ridge University will be playing the California College of Magic and Team One will be facing Team Two as usual. Next week the Blue Ridge University Quodpot team takes on the Badlands College of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Saturday and on Friday night Appalachia will take on Quirank. Please join us on the pitch to watch the games!

Some things for everyone to think about are winter safety. Be careful on the sidewalks along the school, there may be ice! The sun is setting earlier, as most folks have noticed so please, if you're off campus, make sure you use the buddy system. We don't want anyone getting lost in the dark. Don't forget about Secret Santa gifts and the Winter Formal which is on the sixteenth at seven. Regular rules are enforced at the dance so be aware! The winter concert is on the 23 of December, the day after classes end so make sure you come support our musicians! Speaking of our musicians, this week I had the chance to sit down and talk to some of our band and choir members about the upcoming concert!

The percussion section was very enthusiastic. Sam Ruiz commented "We're all super psyched about the show. We been practicing all year for it so it'll be nice to share some music with friends and family. Not to mention the sick solos me and Shelby been workin' on." Shelby Ginnish said "It's gonna be awesome, everyone should totally come check it out for sure. I've been working on this new solo, it's kind of like a mix between the Batman theme and Jingle Bells, but way faster... Anyway I don't wanna give too much away but it's gonna be sick."

The choir was also quite excited for their part in the show. An enthusiastic Ella Parry shared that "choir is totally fun! we've been practicing so much for the concert and I think we're going to sound completely amazing! Having such a cool teacher helps too!" Sunny Garcia said "We've been practicing our butts off! Everyone should drop in and enjoy the show. Frost the Snowman has never sounded this good before." Jenny Parry commented, saying "There was a little bit of a debate this year about traditional versus modern when it came to our song selection, but I think professor Knight came up with a really good happy medium! It's great."

"I'm really just doing my best.. y'know, backing people up. Kinda what I do. But Shelby got us to do these solos too that are pretty cool, like remixes and stuff. I'm a little bit psyched," said Tatum Donnelly, guitar. "Some of us are pretty nervous but it's gonna be a good show," Hendrix Turner, piano. While Meka Palakiko, piccolo and flute said "It's gonna be a great concert. We're playing classics and modern songs, so there's something for everyone." Julian Prideux, rhythm guitar, said "even though practice has been a drag the band is on top form." Liam Knight, the band and choir director said "the kids have all worked really hard and we would love to see as many familiar and new faces as possible. Please come to the show and support out budding musician."

Don't forget students! It does get cold up here in the mountains so be on the look out for snow and dropping temperatures! Also, as a new addition to the calendar, we will be adding a winter carnival for when you students return to school. It will be added to the calendar as soon as the faculty meets up and decides on a good date!

Thanks so much!
-Headmaster Ichirou Sato