Rosewater Academy

**Rosewater Academy** is a co-ed orphanage and school serving students ages 3-18. It was founded and is funded by Rosalina Thorne. The school colors are red, white, and black, and school motto is *Familia, Gladius Et Fortitudo* (Family, Sword, and Courage), which was chosen to represent the main tenants that the school stresses: familial support for students and staff, headstrong pursuit of goals, and the ability to keep trying no matter what obstacles are thrown into one's way. Rosewater Academy is the only inhuman/magical human -oriented school in Harrisburg, and widely considered the best of such schools in the state.

Although it is not known to the general public, Rosewater Academy has mafia ties through Thorn. The overall percentage of Rosewater graduates who work for Thorn in some capacity is roughly 20%; the student government has a nearly 100% rate of its alumni going straight into the Bloody Roses.

## History

Rosewater was originally founded in late 1997 as a small orphanage for those inhumans whose families were killed in mafia-related events. Effie Wolfe was left in charge due to her maternal nature. As Rosewater, and the children in it, grew, Effie pursued an education degree and began to turn Rosewater into a bona fide school. By the year 2002, it was recognized as such in addition to its orphanage status, and additional teachers were hired onto the staff. From 2002 on, the numbers stopped growing exponentially, and instead found a slow but steady stream of new students, most orphans, but some children of Bloody Roses. In 2013, the school moved to its current location following the move of the Catholic school previously on that property and the building's subsequent renovation.

2016 opened Rosewater Academy to non-Rose affiliated students for the first time, as well as to magical humans with the admission of seer Cassie del Fye into the junior class. That event marked the beginning of a slow but steady transformation from orphanage and highly exclusive school into a popular private school for those who don't do well in primarily human environments, though admission was still open by invitation only. In January 2018, Rosewater integrated Piper's Row School, gaining 40 students from that, and began publicly accepting inhumans from the general public for their 2018-2019 school year and forward.

## Demographics

### College and Employment

96% of Rosewater graduates immediately find employment or attend college in the following semester. College is emphasized heavily in Rosewater culture, though before October 2017, it was limited to those who could disguise themselves as human easily.

### Species

Over 93% of students are inhumans of various sorts, with elves being the most common. The remaining 7% of students are humans with magical heritage, ranging from witches to those of hunter lineage to a denizen-in-training.

### Tuition

Only about 33% of students pay tuition, with 75% of tuition payers paying the full tuition.

### Boarders/Non-boarders

Rosewater's current student body is split about half and half between boarders and non-boarders, though the split is much less even depending on section. The nursery section has the highest amount of boarders, followed by the upper section, while the lower section has the highest percentage of non-boarders, followed by the middle section.

## Tuition and Finances

Due to the generous financial backing of Thorn, the school does not primarily fund its budgets through student tuition, although some students do pay it. The school operates on a simple rule for tuition: those who are invited to the school automatically receive a full scholarship, while those who seek enrollment individually generally pay around $10,000 a year to attend for nonboarders, or $15,000 for boarders. "Invited" extends as a definition to any orphans the school hosts, the children of Piper's Row (who use Rosewater in place of a public school system), children of Bloody Roses, and any individuals recruited to join.

Exceptions to these tuition rules can be made in certain circumstances... for example, Piper's Row students wishing to board pay $5,000 a year to cover boarding costs, and it is possible for a student not invited to seek a scholarship.

## Education and Curriculum

### Format

Rosewater Academy is a year-round school. Weeklong breaks occur every six weeks, with a two-week winter break in December/January, and a three-week summer break in June/July.

### Sections and Divisions

Though officially serving ages 3-18, the actual age range of students goes from infant towards 19 years old. The school is divided into four sections, each serving a different age range.

#### Nursery Section

Rosewater "students" who are too young to attend a proper school are hosted here. The youngest of these are infants, rarely newborns, while the eldest are as old as four years old. It is the smallest section and provides the children in it with social interaction, individual attention, and careful care. Graduation from this section is based upon school readiness as opposed to other factors, and happens usually around ages three to four. There is no uniform for this section.

#### Lower Section

Encompassing preschool through fifth grade, or ages three through eleven, the lower section has a mixed curriculum of active learning and desk/book learning in order to foster energetic spirit while also teaching the basics of school etiquette. Students in the lower school stay with one teacher all day, with the exception of special subjects such as music and gym. They also have modified uniform options that are more active and easier to wash in order to encourage active play. Lower section students graduate upon successful completion of the fifth grade.

#### Middle Section and Upper Section

The middle and upper sections operate in much the same way, although they are separate schools to promote friendship with peers of similar age. The middle section serves students in sixth through eighth grade, or ages eleven to fourteen; the upper section serves ninth through twelfth grade, ages fourteen to eighteen. Students graduate upon successful completion of the highest grade in their section.

Both sections have students switch classes and teachers on a designated schedule. They wear the complete school uniform, and have a majority of typical book classes, though there are active times throughout the day for students to stretch and socialize.

### Curriculum

Rosewater's priority in curriculum is to prepare students for a world where the nonmagical are the majority without discounting or forcing them to hide their magical heritage. Almost every class pulls both human and inhuman achievements into the lessons; students are just as apt to learn about the magical elements as the periodic table of elements in science, and vice versa. History especially has a mixture, with lots of discussion focusing on how inhuman events may have influenced human history. Due to the duality of worlds meaning there's twice as much to learn, Rosewater's curriculum is considered challenging by many students, though rewarding. To balance it out, many electives choose to focus either on the magical or nonmagical in totality, though the interesting duality of the school is still there... Spell Formation I is offered in the course catalogue right below Spanish I.

There are other challenges that the school curriculum offers. For example, the upper section offers college courses for students with high grades to pursue, with the majority of those credits transferring to most universities.

## School and Residential Life

### Uniform

The Rosewater uniform is non-gender specific and any variation of the official uniform can be worn by anyone without consequence. Summer uniforms consist generally of a red or white polo shirt, grey vest with the school crest on it, and a grey skirt or pants. Winter uniform changes the shirt to a long-sleeved Oxford style and adds a capelet and optional hat, both of which are generally taken off while indoors.

### Dormitories

Students who board for whatever reason do so with those of similar ages and gender identities. Roommates are not guaranteed to be in the same grade, though they are usually, but are always in the same section of the school. The largest amount of students to one room is four, and the fewest is one in a small room; need determines who shares and who does not. Students also share a common area with age-appropriate activities with nineteen other students.

## Notable Alumni

* Skuld "Skull" Rose
* Orianna Rose

## Trivia

* Rosewater Academy still functions as an orphanage. Any orphan or guardianless student attending who does not have a known surname is given the surname of "Rose."