It is with great sadness that the governors announce that Ann-Louise Omagan has decided, due to health reasons, to step down as the headmistress of Hogwarts Online. I personally would like to take a moment to thank the former Headmistress for her selfless giving she has done over the past year. Without Prof. Omagan Hogwarts Online would not be around today. Prof. Omagan joined Hogwarts Online on October 25, 2005. She joined as a simply Divinations professor and little did I or anyone else know the impact she would have on Hogwarts.

Ann's loving and kindness went beyond her job title. Ann cared for every person individually and is a role model for many. She quickly rose up the 'ranks' due to her charisma and attitude that made her a beacon of hope to our small site that grew to be one of the largest and most active on the web today. I want to announce publicly that Ann will always hold a special place in my heart because she believed in me when no one else would. I am forever grateful to her. Ann's work on the site far surpasses even my own work. She was a peacemaker that sought solutions instead of more problems. I love you Ann you are simply the best!

Prof. Chauncey Clemenceau will fill the post of Headmaster, but can never fill the void that Ann has left. However Ann will remain as governor for the time being and take it term by term.

The renovation and updating of the site is now fully completed! This new skin is now compatible with Mozilla FireFox, IE 7.0, & Safari!

Also at this time, the governors would like to remind everyone to get their applications sent in as soon as possible, you do not want to loose your spot. If any current professor has not sent in their application by today, their spot is now free to anyone that wants it. If you are new and would like to become a professor, go to www.hswcw.com/profregistration.htm and begin the application process. A reminder that the governors are accepting courses based on quality and quantity not first come first serve. 

The Governors at Hogwarts Online have appointed Prof. Elizabeth Proudian as the next Head of Hufflepuff! Congratulations Prof. Elizabeth Proudian!

All members are reminded that the professor applications are open now! If you are a first-time Professor, please go to http://www.hswcw.com/profregistration.htm and complete each of the steps. If you are a returning Professor, please go into your staff office under "Bulletin Board" and apply as soon as possible. Please be sure to be as creative as possible.

All Hogwarts Professors & Staff are asked to write about two characters about their character's history so that it can be placed in their profiles. Please PM completed bio's to Prof. Chauncey Clemenceau.

Also, TONIGHT there will be a Staff Meeting in a YIM conference. Please be sure to be on around 8pm EST to be in the meeting.

All members should also consider teaching a course if they want. Remember that on November 8th, applications for all will open up for all members.

Prof. Chauncey Clemenceau October 15@ 2:07pm EDT.

Hogwarts Online is starting the preparation for the next term earlier to give you all time to prepare for the next term. So, the first thing you need to do is get your current classes set up and complete. Sometime in the next two weeks, I will be reviewing (auditing) every staff member on the site. Here's how I will do it:

• View their websites.
• Assess the creativity and ease of navigation.
• Assess their class and it's status and student activity.
• Assess how active the professor is on the forum itself with RPing.
• Interview students about your classes.
• Interview you.
• Interview other professors about you.

I will give you a comprehensive report about how you did on the audit. Remember that this will affect your course choices for next term. NEXT you need to begin now thinking about courses that were suggested in the student area or coming up with your own courses, or using courses that are already in existence. Prepare a website according to the instructions listed here: www.freewebs.com/hswcwcom/index.htm. By the time you apply on November 1st-November 5th. You will need to have your entrance page, about me page, syllabus, and lesson 1/assignment 1 totally completed. On the syllabus MUST be a course plan for the whole term.
 

Between November 5th-8th, the governors will be deciding who gets to teach what classes. As of this moment, all courses are open to anyone to teach. Now, how will we decide who gets what? Basically, it will go by rank: Governor>Head of House>Deputy Head of House>Department Chairperson>Professor>Staff, AND how well the site is done, the most important part is quality of the course and lesson. For those professors that have been teaching the same course for every term and want to continue to do so, I guarantee you will continue to do so.
 

On November 8th (maybe sooner) I will announce who got what classes, then the applications will open up for anyone that's not current on our staff. Their selections by the governors will be according to quality of the course and website. In mid-late November, the professors and courses will be announced and by November 30th all applications for professors will close.

Prof. Chauncey Clemenceau October 7@ 2:14pm EDT.