"Oh ok." he smiled as he looked around the room. He waved hello to a couple people, as he finished listening to Professor Duont. "Any ideas?" he asked. He would definately start thinking of some.

Chris listened as Professor Dumont talked about Jason's idea to have study session. He turned to the professor and nodded. "Yes I do blelieve us Prefects are planning on having some sort of study sessions start up that will envolve all the Houses, but starting a Gryffindor Study Group could work also." he nodded again.

Jack wasn't exactly sure what he could say to the other students that hadn't been brought up already. He knew that the reason HE was lacking behind on homework at the moment was because of tryouts, but he would catch up in due time. Jason had a good idea about partnering with Gryffies in class, but Dumont was right in saying that it wasn't always possible. Like in Herbology, when Jack partnered with Torin, a Huffie.

"I like Jason's idea," he said, finally speaking up. "About partnering with Gryffies. Dumont is right, though, and sometimes there aren't always opportunities to partner with someone of your own house, but that shouldn't discourage anyone from participating anyways! Like in that Care of Magical Creatures slash Herbology scavenger hunt, I partnered with a Hufflepuff and ended up having a great time AND participating in class," he explained. "But if Gryffies are avaliable, it would be great to partner with them for the same reasons--to make friends and strengthen our bond with people from our own house and create house unity," he suggested.

He blushed at his next statement. "Erm--I know one of the reasons I, personally, have fallen behind in homework is because of Quidditch. Perhaps we could post a few guidelines for time management on the bulletin board? That way people who are involved in clubs and teams won't feel so--overwhelmed," he suggested. "I'm catching up now though, I promise!" he added with a small chuckle, trying to make light of the situation.

Josh listened to his housemates' ideas carefully, which were quite reasonable and useful, but somehow all felt as if they lacked something. He looked around than at the professor before standing up to state his idea ''All nice ideas that'd work fine but...'' he took a breath gazing at everyone ''...let's assume we participated in every class and did all existing homework, so would the other houses, would not they? Which means if we keep it this way, just doing homework, the gap of points will remain. Maybe we can narrow it a little but they wont stop and let us pass, will they? So i say we really should do some extra things to gain extra points.'' he knew that was kinda an 'easy to say and hard to do' thing but it had to be mentioned anyway ''Maybe we can help others, do extra work, assist teachers, may even clean the Trophy Room, i dont know. Let's say whatever the professors would give out points''

"He does have a point," Rafe said in response of Josh's comments. "There's a tremendous gap between up and what is it...Ravenclaw that's in the lead right now? If we increase our attendance and turn in homework, that still won't level out because the other houses are attending and participating just as much!"

Rafe raised his hand slightly as if passing a motion. "I mean, I'm all for spreading dragon pox to the other houses, keeping them locked up in their common rooms if that means closing in the gap between houses, but I have a feeling that idea won't fly," Rafe said with a laugh (and sarcasm, of course).

"And yes, doing extra things for points would be nice, but would that really be fair to offer it just to us Gryffies? Everyone should have the same opportunity," Rafe spoke, but couldn't believe what he was saying. "Pretty much, I think we don't have a chance! The early bird gets the worm, and frankly Gryffindor slept through the morning."

LouAnn had literally gone in and out of a dazed state five times since she'd sat down. She'd just blinked her way out of another one when she heard that captain boy, Jack Fritzera, saying something about house points. House points, hmm? Yes, yes, Gryffindor was surely low, but to be honest, LouAnn had never been a really strong student and sort of didn't know if she was capable of earning sky high marks. She supposed she could give it her best shot, though. Participation, now that was something she was really good at, regardless of the whether or not she understood what she was participating in. She nodded as Jack spoke, at least showing that she was properly following along.

Skylark rushed in panting, her messenger bag flapping against her leg. "Sorry Professor Dumont. I'm terribly sorry if I'm late," she managed to say as she collapsed into a nearby seat by Jason. She had not even known there was a meeting until minutes before, for she was rapped up in 'Hogwarts, A History'.

Ainsley had been sitting in the room and listening as the pep rally began. She had to agree that it was sad that their house was last place and all of those that had spoken up had good ideas. Thou she had to admit what the one boy had to say about the rest of the houses doing the same thing seemed like it put them in a disadvantage. "I have to agree that maybe we have to do something outside the box to earn points," she finally spoke up.

"No, you're not late at all, Josh," Antonio said. "We're just getting started."

"Yes, I agree," Antonio said excitedly. "I think this is something that should be kept in mind. If it is possible for Gryffindors to pair up with someone from their house, then it's probably not a bad idea. Otherwise, pair up with someone for the points, of course."

"I agree," Antonio nodded at Chris' statement. "Maybe we could consider setting one of those up. Maybe a little area set aside in the common room would work?"

Antonio smiled. "Ah, Jack. I want you to do well, of course, but yours is a special task. You need to concentrate on something very important, something that could be of great benefit as far as house points are concerned. And then, of course, there is the matter of glory." Antonio's eyes lit up with excitement, it would be so awesome if Gryffindor were to win the house cup! He felt just like a kid again as he turned to the rest of the group. "Not all of us play quidditch, but I would like to see as much support for the team as possible. To that end, I think it would be great to have those interested in creating posters to promote the team to get involved with that, and we could have a pep rally before the match as well. Of course, all wins will be rewarded handsomely. I have a few things in mind." Antonio wanted to be as shifty as possible, not giving away too much.

"Yes, that's an excellent point," Antonio agreed. "We can't just let Gryffindors get extra points for things, it wouldn't be fair. As Rafe has said, the early bird does indeed get the worm and I do think we have a chance, even though it may not seem that way. There is still a lot of time left in the term, and we just have to get going. Gryffindor is not that far behind, and I don't think all the points have been added in yet so there's still plenty of hope. Never give up! There is so much to work for."

Antonio paused a moment before continuing. "Back when I was at Hogwarts, I was in Gryffindor as well and we were lucky enough to win the house cup that year AND the quidditch cup as well. We can do that, I believe Gryffindor is due. It was a very exciting year for us, and part of the reason we succeeded so much is because we all worked together as a team. Do all of you feel like you are a team?" He looked around the room.

Mandatory Pep Rally.

Daphne was sitting in her corner, elbow propped up, chin on her hand. Whoopie! Gryffindors sure were enthusiastic! Her brown-green eyes observed those gathered in the room with leisure. Lou Ann. Jack Fritzera. Someone. The other someone. That little man. That girl.

Heh.

Yeah, alright. "You could stalk a Ravenclaw," she mumbled in what she hoped would come out as a helpful tone. Impulsively, she almost rolled her eyes but managed to pass it off as a pretty flutter of her golden lashes. "See how they do it? Sit by them in the library. Remark casually to them during class about note taking. Befriend one even if you dare. First you have to know your enemy before you can defeat them. Right?"

Simple war tactic really. Who didn't know that? Partnering with your own house wasn't really getting you anywhere but--walking in circles. Heh. At least that's how she saw it.

Which is why Phoebus was her tutor. Daphne giggled.

Zoe didn't know if she really felt like she was part of a team yet, but she did really want Gryffindor to pull ahead (that may have something to do with her own need to always be good at things though).

She worried that she couldn't get the same excitement into her voice as the professor so she stayed quiet for now. "A Gryffindor study group might be nice. I have trouble finding partners for assignments sometimes and that could be a real help," she added at the in a rush, which was usually how words came out of her mouth.

Alexandra had been sitting silently in the corner of the room chewing on her fingernails shaking her head. After sighing rather exasperatedly she said, "The study groups aren't going to do much good if people aren't attending classes. A rewards system would be great for building morale, though."

" You know Jack, I heard the idea from our last prefect. Cale Newell" Jason told him. " I think we should help out our Quidditch players a lot, too" Jason told Professor DuMont and Jack. " This way the players can concetrate on homework as well as practice" Jason told everyone there.

"Are you ok? Jason asked LouAnn as she seemed to lose her concetration in the meeting. "What do you think about Jack and my ideas?" Jason asked her.

"Hi Skye- I am glad you are reading your books" Jason said to her. " Professor wants us to give ideas on being the top point getters for our house" Jason said to Skye. "Any ideas?" he asked her.

"Actually, I like the idea "Jason told Daphne. " Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right ? " Jason asked Daphne. Jason let out a small laugh.

"Know your enemy. Yes, that's a great point. What is that other saying - Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? There is definitely something to say for this idea," Antonio said thoughtfully.

"Yes, I agree," Antonio said. "Study groups only work for those who attend the classes, so a rewards system would be good." Antonio thought a moment, wondering what rewards will be appropriate. "What kind of incentive are you as students interested in? What would it take to get everyone really motivated and excited? I really want to hear your ideas on this."

Jack blushed. He hadn't been expecting that reaction from Dumont when he spoke up. He knew that their head of house wanted the cup as much as he did, and he had no idea he would be so enthusiastic about the support. "Hehe, thanks Professor Dumont. Support is always great in the stands, we can always use extra people there to cheer us on!" he said with a grin. It was true that the last time they had played the red and gold in the stands was awfully lacking. "Pep rallies would be GREAT, professor!" he added with a grin, VERYYYY excited about that idea. "Even if we didn't end up winning, the morale and excitement built up at the rallies could carry into the classroom too."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Potter Weasley

" You know Jack, I heard the idea from our last prefect. Cale Newell" Jason told him. " I think we should help out our Quidditch players a lot, too" Jason told Professor DuMont and Jack. " This way the players can concetrate on homework as well as practice" Jason told everyone there.


"Are you ok? Jason asked LouAnn as she seemed to lose her concetration in the meeting. "What do you think about Jack and my ideas?" Jason asked her.


"Hi Skye- I am glad you are reading your books" Jason said to her. " Professor wants us to give ideas on being the top point getters for our house" Jason said to Skye. "Any ideas?" he asked her.


"Actually, I like the idea "Jason told Daphne. " Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right ? " Jason asked Daphne. Jason let out a small laugh.

"Really?" Jack asked. That was pretty cool. He nodded in agreement with Jason's idea before looking over at LouAnn. He chuckled and whispered to Jason "I think LouAnn is a little sleepy." He could definitely relate--the Captain hadn't gotten much sleep at ALL this past week. He was surprised he was keeping his eyes open.

Zoe couldn't possibly think of a reward that she wanted at the moment other than a get out of jail free card when it came to homework. She didn't think that was possible though. With out any other gems of inspiration she scrunched up her nose while she thought, kept her mouth shut, and tried to make her brain churn out something useful.

Alexandra thought about what incentive would be appropriate for the students. "Maybe we could plan some fun activity for everyone to participate in and the end of the school week. That is, for those who have been participating in class and putting forth an effort." Alexandra suggested.

" Your idea is very interesting" Jason told Alexandra. " Hopefully if that happens, we will all do better" Jason said to Alexandra and Professor DuMont. " I wonder if all the other houses would be jea;ous of us?" Jason asked anyone there.

It is de'javu all over again. Daniel walked in for the pep rally. It is for the poor performance of the Gryffindors. Are we slacking off or what? He sat at the chair near the window over looking the castle. He listened to every word they are saying and nodded a little.

"Yes, I think that would be fun for everyone, and great for the team as a morale builder," Antonio said with a smile. "Anyone who wants to work on those posters, feel free to do so."

"Ther's an idea," Antonio said. "I need to work on that, but I was kind of planning something at the end of the season."

"I hope not," Antonio said. "I never thought of that, but I'm trying to motivate you guys."

"Yeah, it seems that way, but we are discussing ways to improve performance right now," Antonio said. "Any ideas are open and very much appreciated."

ooc: Guys, I'll be back to wrap things up later today! Meanwhile, discuss away!

Lilly was feeling a little bored. it was hard enough getting to classes and getting homework done, now seh had to listen about ways to do so more effectively. "well maybe we could i dunno, have accountability partners. i know it sounds dumb but we could have someone talk to us and remind us every day about homework and classes." lilly said finally piping up "we could go to class together, then do the homework together. then we wouldn't forget you know?" lilly added. hopefully someone liked this suggestion. it was hard to come up with something to help.

"Like a study buddy?" Carter said. That sounded like a good idea. Especially if they were going to put in a study table thing. "Oh, and our own end-of-term party sounds like fun."

"Well, it's not our problem if the other Heads of House don't plan fun stuff for their students. We are not getting preferential treatment, they are capable of doing the same things as we are." Alexandra pointed out.

LouAnn just shrugged when Jason asked if she was alright. Truthfully, she didn't really know if she was alright or not. Things had been happening to her lately---things she couldn't understand or figure out at all. It was almost as if she couldn't remember entire parts of her daily life, and sometimes she'd be completely aware of what was going on, then she'd come to several minutes later to find that large amounts of time had passed without her knowledge. It was weird---really weird.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Thanks for asking, Jason," she said, nodding when she heard Jack mention being sleepy. She turned to the boy and continued her conversation. "Yeah, sleepy. Maybe that's it. You know, adjusting to a new school and all. I guess it's kind of hard coming from being home-schooled to going to a regular school." Feeling as if she needed to contribute at least something to the conversation, she said, "How about recognition? Everyone likes to see their name hung up somewhere."

OOC: This is what LouAnn is suggesting.

" Thanks for liking my ideas" Jason told Jack. " Should we let Lou Ann sleep?" Jason asked Jack."When I played Quidditch a couple of terms ago, there was no one in the stands and we came in last place for the cup" Jason said to Jack and Professor DuMont. " The year before,we won the Quidditch cup and we had loys of fans rooting us on in the stands" Jason told the students thereat the rally. "Go Gryffindor!!!" Jason called out.

"Alexandra, you said it well" Jason told her. " Yes. if Professor DuMont gives us an incentive, that is the way to go and I agree with you" Jason said to Alexandra.

''I liked the 'stalk a Ravenclaw idea'.'' Josh said grinning ''There was a veela girl, Victoria, if i'm not mistaken. I can stalk her if we are on it'' he laughed ''Other than jokes i want to state my idea of composing a new cheering song for our team. I dont mean 'Go Gryffindor', like Jason just said, is bad but is not it a little bit old fashioned and...umm... simple? 'Here comes the Gryffindors/ if you dont want to be crushed/ get out the way and open the doors!'' he cheered and laughed again at how ridiculous it was ''I know i'm definitely not a poet and should not try to be one for all humankind's sake but i think it may help setting off the perfect team and house spirit which is the basic formula for success, team work makes best as you mentioned before''