TEST DRIVE MEME - MARCH

[thewatchers]

TESTDRIVE MEME
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Winter quarter is nearing its conclusion as Finals and Spring Break are quickly approaching. The library is bustling as students frantically prepare, but campus is also buzzing with excitement in anticipation of the school-funded Spring Break trip to Provence.

The administration, however, is not unsympathetic to the stressors of being a student. Comforts such as therapy animals, snack stations, and de-stressing events are being held all over campus to keep students as relaxed as possible and help them prepare for their finals. Daybreak Academy needs their students to succeed, and they spare no expense in helping them do so.

A. STUDY SESSIONS

With the approach of exams, the Hall of Pythia is enforcing 24/7 quiet hours. While it has quiet a few study rooms available, many students will find that the rooms are being booked up at an alarming rate. To account for this, classrooms and media rooms in Theater Lenormand are also being opened up for student use. Many others are spilling over into local restaurants and cafes, coming together as groups to review course material and prepare for their upcoming exams.

During these times, Faculty are expected to take a more hands-on approach as well. Faculty are strongly encouraged to host their own study sessions and rigorously review the exams and what to expect. Faculty are all given first priority for open classrooms and are able to hold after-hours lessons and Q&A sessions as they wish. While it’s not, strictly speaking, mandatory, Faculty can expect it to come up on their annual performance review if they don’t make themselves available to students.

B. THERAPY ANIMALS

Animals have proven to reduce stress, a thing sorely needed during the lead up to exams, and Daybreak Academy has provided three types of therapy animals upon request to aid with making study times much more bearable: The rare Armenian Aralez who is generous with it’s doggy kisses, About six huggable corgi-sized Wooly Bugs with their incredibly soft wool, and a pair of languid Temple lions that don’t mind being used as pillows. Try not to get too distracted from your studies.

C. FASCHING

Also known as Fastnacht Best described as ‘Bavarian Mardi Gras’, Fasching is much like it’s New Orleans and Brazilian counterparts - a celebration of the excess and to live it up until good catholics go give it up for Lent. Least that’s the intent, but like most modern holidays it’s an excuse to cut loose and have fun, and thanks to a sizable German population in Soliel, there is a bit of Fasching in early march with Beer Gardens, Masked Parties, and Live Bands along with decadently rich desserts from both German and French Cuisine. Have fun, but remember there is a curfew.

D. STORYTIME (text)

Hi everyone! This is the Folklore Club! If we could just take a moment of your time…

Daybreak Academy sure is a big school, isn’t it? And the students and staff here come from all over! Here at the Folklore Club, we research myths, legends and stories from all around the world to examine their similarities and differences.

It would really help us out if you told us what your favourite myth or legend is! Don’t be shy - we’d love to see it! Especially if it’s something that we’ve never seen before! And who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone who loves your favourite story too!

[ The results are, naturally, public. ]

Comments

[foolishjustice]

English reading can be kind of complicated, anyway. There are a lot of letters that change their sound depending on what other letters are in the word.

[grantmeamiracle]

[She wrinkles her nose a bit at that.]

That's kind of...

[... Needlessly complex...]

[foolishjustice]

Confusing? The only reason it's not worse than kanji is because there's far fewer of them to remember.

[grantmeamiracle]

At least there's that...

[foolishjustice]

[He writes out the English alphabet on a piece of paper, then writes the vowels out separately.]

These are the main ones you have to watch. Each of them has two pronunciations.

[grantmeamiracle]

[She watches, paying rapt attention, and nods.]

Um... long and short, right?

[She doesn't remember a lot, but she does remember that much!]

[foolishjustice]

That's right. But sometimes this one...

[He taps the 'E' with his pencil.]

Is silent, and only there to say that an earlier vowel is long.

[grantmeamiracle]

[She'll get out what she's been using to take notes to write that down. Along with some of the other things he's said.]

Are there others I should be careful of?

[foolishjustice]

A couple, yes.

[He writes out 'CH', 'TH', 'PH', 'GH', and 'SH' on the paper.]

An 'H' after certain letters can change the pronunciation a lot, treat it a little bit like diacritic: you don't pronounce it individually, but it tells you how to pronounce the letter before it.

[He'll go through and point to each pair, indicating how it's supposed to be pronounced.]

[grantmeamiracle]

[She nods, writing down those letter combinations for herself as she repeats them after him.]