Welcome to the first lesson! To start off with, we’ll be covering some of the key people and places here at HOL.
First, I need to tell you about the HOL Handbook. This long guide explains everything you need to know about HOL in lots of detail and is also where all the formal rules can be found. While I'll be taking you through the basics in HOL 101, it's always worth checking the Handbook if you're ever in doubt.
You can find a link to the Handbook in the footer (the section right at the bottom) of every page on the main HOL website once you've logged in.
HOL time is the standard time on HOL. It will be used for all your class deadlines, activity deadlines and to schedule events like Quidditch Matches. HOL time corresponds to the time in the UK (GMT/UTC or BST/UTC+1, depending on Daylight Savings), as this is where Hogwarts is located. You can find the current HOL time on the Calendar Page
There are many staff members who help make HOL the wonderful community it is. Each area of HOL has one or more people overseeing it. Knowing who these people are can help with who to speak to if you need to.
To find out who the current staff members are for each area, you can visit the Members Page. Under the section called Contacts List, there are different tabs for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Departments and Hogwarts Staff.
All HOL staff are unpaid volunteers who generously offer their free time to keep the school running and don’t ask for anything in return. That means they have to fit their HOL responsibilities around their real lives and may not always be able to respond right away. Please be patient and respectful.
The founder of HOL and first Headmaster was Prof. Emerald Dybendahl, who has since retired. Our current headmistress is Prof. Kyrie Adderholt.
HOL is run by a group known as the Head Office (HO). This currently includes Headmistress Adderholt and the deputy headmasters/headmistresses: Prof. Sindor Aloyarc and Prof. Sky Alton.
They work behind the scenes to make sure everything at HOL runs smoothly. Some of their duties include appointing people to important positions (like Heads of House or Head Students), ensuring HOL rules are followed, approving new classes and clubs, and verifying House Points have been awarded correctly.
As with Hogwarts, each House at HOL is headed up by one or more Heads of House (HoH). In some cases, they have Deputy Heads of House (DHoH) as well. They are responsible for running their Houses’ Common Rooms and appointing Prefects.
The Heads of House are Prof. Sky Alton for Gryffindor, Prof. Felicia Hartwick for Hufflepuff, Prof. Will Lestrange for Slytherin, and Prof. Ryan Granger for Ravenclaw.
The Deputy Head of House is Prof. Maxim Trevelyan for Gryffindor and Prof. Sindor Aloyarc for Ravenclaw.
House prefects are students who have been hand picked to answer questions, organise activities and enforce rules. They’re probably the most important people for you to know about as a student because they are the first people you should get in contact with if you need to ask a question. Your house might also have some aspiring prefects (students who are training to be prefects) who you can contact if you need help too. Prefects and aspiring prefects are also the people to talk to if you have a suggestion or concern.
Like at Hogwarts, Professors are teachers. They might have chosen to be part of a particular house or they might have chosen to stay house neutral. Many professors help around their house and/or hold other positions on HOL but their main focus is usually on the classes they teach.
Student Teachers are students who have decided to teach a class as well as continuing their studies.
While prefects are the people you should go to for regular questions, you should always send questions about classes directly to your teacher or their class assistant (if they have one).
Grading classwork and awarding points takes time. Some teachers grade and submit points multiple times a month, while others do it less often (sometimes not until the end of term). It’s acceptable to double check with your teacher to make sure they received your assignment but please do not pressure them about when you’ll get your points or quills.
If you have questions or concerns about a class and you haven't heard back from your teacher within a few weeks, please contact the Class Committee (currently led by Prof. Kyrie Adderholt). They will take over a class if a teacher has to leave unexpectedly.
Head Students, unlike Prefects, don't serve a certain House but the entire school. They keep order around the castle and oversee the prefects. Our Head Students this year are Emily Spencer and Mia Fountain.
Prof. Dario Brighton also serves as HOL’s Groundskeeper, meaning he is responsible for maintaining the HOL website. Prof. Amy Lupin is HOL's Caretaker and works alongside him.
There are other positions related to specific areas of HOL but I'll introduce you to the people in charge when we learn more about those areas.
If you haven't already done so, you should head over to the main HOL Forum. You’ll need to register for a separate forum account (using your HOL name and the same email address you used to register on the main website). You can find links to that and to the house forums on the Forums Page.
The HOL Forum is the social heart of the community: a great place to mingle with other members and take part in fun activities. There are many conversations there about classes, clubs, Harry Potter, hobbies and interests. Additionally, important announcements and special events are posted there from time to time, so it’s a very good idea to check regularly.
IRC (which stands for Internet Relay Chat) is HOL's chat feature. Like with the HOL forum, it is also a great way of connecting with people. The easiest way to access the chat is usually by using the widget on the Chatrooms Page, found in the footer of the main website.
There are several official HOL channels, including a general one (#hol) and one for each house (#gryffindor, #hufflepuff, #slytherin and #ravenclaw). The people who moderate the chat and make sure everyone is following the rules are known as ops (short for operators). You’ll be able to tell who the operators are as they have a particular symbol next to their name, which varies depending on which chat program you’re using - usually, it’s a star or an at (@) symbol. If you have a problem while on chat, please approach them privately and they will sort it out.
HOL has rules to make sure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience here. You should have already read through the Code of Conduct. Here are some of the most useful rules to keep in mind.
First and foremost, everyone should be treated with respect. No bullying, rudeness or the like will be tolerated.
HOL is an all-ages community so everything you say and post must be G-rated.
English is the official language of HOL, so please use English in all public areas. This is so we can make sure that everyone is keeping to the rules. We understand that English might not be your first or even second language though and we’ve tried to make HOL a place where everyone can feel comfortable no matter how familiar they are with English. If you need help, check out the List of Language Helpers on the HOL forum to see if another member speaks your language.
Spam is not allowed. This includes but is not limited to useless or pointless posts, one-word posts, overusing punctuation or creating new threads on subjects which are already discussed somewhere else on the forum. We also ask people to avoid using Netspeak (like ‘u have 2 go c it’ instead of ‘you have to go see it’) as it makes it difficult for people to follow what’s being said.
Anything you submit on HOL (whether it’s in class or for an extracurricular activity) must be your own work. That means that even where you’re presenting research from other sources, you need to rewrite what you found out in your own words. This rule also applies to using AI/ML tools like Chat GPT - for more information on HOL’s AI policy, please read this topic on the forum.
Additional rules can be found in the Code of Conduct as well as in the Handbook.