Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills (RATS) on Cascade Hall

Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

July 22, 2012 1:52 AM

Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills (RATS) by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau

Today was the first day of the Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills exams. Also known as the R.A.T.S. examinations. Much like the C.A.T.S. examinations had fifth years on anxiety reducing potions, the R.A.T.S. examinations had many of the Seventh years wishing they could simply go to sleep and wake up four days from now with the R.A.T.S. exams long completed. These examinations determined if the last seven years of learning had been worth it. Passing as many exams as possible meant more opportunities with careers for the students ,whether that mean going off to University for further education or beginning an internship/apprenticeship in a specific field of expertise.

Like every year before, there were three examiners waiting impatiently for the students to be ready to begin the three days of exams. However, unlike last year, instead of Bernard Starsky, the oldest of the examiners, to be there waiting, it was Nanette Langdon. Bernard had needed a break from the examinations. His age was finally getting to him. Nanette had agreed to replace him. She had a fierce look to her caused by her straight back posture, so tight bun that her face was pulled back, and the pinched up look on her face as though she was constantly smelling something foul. Beyond that, she had such sharp hard features that only matched her hard cold eyes that anyone who was unlucky enough to have her as their examiner might feel as though she was going out of her way to fail them.

David Weatherby was another familiar face as he had been at the school the previous week to assist with the CATS examinations. He was the one examiner that everyone hoped to have. He was tough with his questions, but fair on the over all results of the answers. The third examiner was probably a new face for the students unless they happened to be paying attention to the guests last year. Aurora Septentrion was a fresh look next to Nanette Langdon. Her blonde hair let loose on her shoulders was a stark contrast to the tight dark bun that Nanette wore. Although Aurora did not smile, her blue eyes were friendly and open rather than cold and opposing. Of course, being petite and pretty should persuade students into thinking she was a push over. Aurora took her responsibilities seriously and could sometime be a bit ruthless if necessary.

The mornings where the theoretical examinations were to take place, students were asked to quickly take their seats while the anti-cheating quills were presented to each of them. Examination books and parchments were faced down on desks and only allowed to be flipped once the examinations have begun. Langdon addressed the students in her crisp voice, “We have cast spells to prevent any cheating. Those who are caught will immediately be failed and removed from the room. Anyone who completes the examination prior to the end of the alluded time will remain seated and quiet out of respect to their peers.” Nanette made sure her seriousness of the situation was made clear as she looked at each student before continuing. “You may begin.”

In the afternoons when the practical examinations happened, students would wait outside of the Cascade Hall until their names were called. Once called, they would enter the Hall and make their way over to where the Examiner was awaiting them. The examiner would ask them to perform certain spells or create a certain potion. Once the student had completed each task, they were free to leave.

OOC: Theoretical (written) exams are in the morning and practical exams are in the afternoons. Mandatory classes are covered the first couple of days while electives are handled on the final day. You are free to write for your examiner and choose the one you would like to work with. Have fun!

0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills (RATS) 0 Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau 1 5

Rachel Bauer

August 14, 2012 6:20 PM

Eek! by Rachel Bauer

As Langton, a familiar face from her CATS days she wouldn’t be surprised to learn was causing flashbacks in some of her peers, began her instructions for the RATS, Rachel made a point of sitting comfortable in her desk, of smiling a little and looking calm and relaxed. All those self-help-type books talked about how half the battle was in the mind and how physically acting as though something was real helped trick the brain and stuff, but at the very least, it couldn’t hurt anything. There were very few people in the room, and a last name that started with B put her in the front row; the examiners might notice, and she wanted them to see someone who was confident, not someone shaking in her – figurative – boots about the exams.

Still, though, when the word came to open their booklets, she didn’t waste any time about it, sitting up straighter at once and then leaning in over the book as she began to read the first question about Charms.

This was an important exam, at least for her. Rachel hadn’t yet decided exactly what to do in life, she figured she still had time to think about that one, but Charms was a class she felt she had done consistently well in, so she didn’t want to fall down on the job here at the very end. She read the first question, decided she did know what it said, and wrote in the incantation for a Summoning Charm

The test went on, and on, going further in depth than all but two of the practice tests she had done. She had, it seemed, happened to land in a tough year for the Charms RATS, or at least a tough exam book, if they weren’t all identical. She felt she did well, though; there were only about five, she thought, on the whole test where she’d been really confused, and one of those had been a problem with how she’d read the question and it had cleared up once she came back to it and saw what the question was actually asking for. She’d left one blank and attempted the remaining three. Either way, though, it was over now, along with most of her morning, and there was nothing to do but put it behind her and focus on getting through a presumably equally challenging practical exam.

She’d worried about exam nerves making her not want to eat until sometime after she was in the actual exam, but the opposite happened instead. As soon as she left the room after the written exam, she found herself feeling ravenous, as though she hadn’t eaten all day even though she’d made sure to get in a good breakfast; when lunch appeared, she dug into it without even caring what anyone else in the room thought of her food. She had just made up her mind about scraping the last bit of icing from her cupcake dessert off the plate with her fork when they were cleared out so the Hall could be set up for practical exams.

She was one of the first people called in, which was almost a relief, in a way, and found herself assigned to David Weatherby, the most desired of examiners. Rachel smiled in relief as she shook hands with him and was shown to her exam area, where her first task was to clean a dish.

An easy beginning, she guessed, though the test was long enough for one of the locomotion charms to give her a little trouble when it cropped up near the end of the exam, after she’d already color-changed and Summoned and Banished and animated and established where north was and levitated a number of objects, at least one of which she was reasonably sure weighed more than she did. They did call it 'ridiculously anal' for a reason, after all. Some of the charms toward the end, complex things they had only covered this year, gave her some trouble, and one thing she ended up discussing with her examiner instead of just letting it stand for itself, but at the end, she didn’t feel more anxiety than she thought she’d be bound to have just by default as she walked upstairs. It was all good so far. Now she just had to study for DADA.

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