Birchwood Isle Family Roleplay

Basic Information

Where do you live? Northern Isle
Are you married? If yes, to whom? Yes, to [TBD]
Do you have any children? If yes, list them. Yes, Anthony (18), Scarlett (14), and Joey (11)
Is your family open to adopting children or adolescents? Definitely. The more the merrier!

Appearance
Height: 5'8"
Build: slender but athletic
Hair Color: red
Eye Color: blue
Distinguishing Features: rare combination of hair and eye color; upturned nose
Brief Description: Cass is the type of youthful beauty that somehow manages to both look her age (due to smile lines, mostly). She bears an exuberant appearance, ready smile, clear skin, and thick hair that belongs to women younger than her while also bearing the signs of aging that come with laughing a lot. She looks friendly and open, which is attractive to most people. It gives her an approachable air that draws people in with a smile that lights up her blue eyes and lines her face with the reminder of past smiles, too.

Personality
Strengths: upfront; personable; hospitable; outgoing; energetic; enthusiastic; supportive; athletic; generous; kind; gentle; accepting; spontaneous; adventurous
Flaws: critical; forgetful; tardy; demanding; demonstrative; poor respect for boundaries; easily confused; changeable; gullible; easy to manipulate; doesn't always stand on her principles; often needs extra support
Likes: running; hiking; camping; camp fires; fresh fish for dinner; cooking; family traditions; sharing with others; baking; Halloween; horror novels; giving out treats; gardening
Dislikes: tight blue jeans; low-rise blue jeans; styles from the 2000s; short hair on women; dirty bathrooms; public restrooms; long shopping trips; disrupted sleep; night shifts; being treated as a non-parent
Vices: oversleeping
Fears: being late for work; getting fired
Personality: Cass is an extraordinarily effervescent person. Her energy seems to bubble up and out of her, where it infects other people with her enthusiasm for all sorts of tasks, which can range from cleaning the kitchen stove to going on an adventure. In fact, she can make just about anything sound fun. Some people think of her as something of a Mary Poppins. It's unfortunate that this skill is only so useful for someone who works overnight! She'd be able to do a lot more with it if she were working during the day! On the other hand, it means that she gets a lot done during the nighttime hours while the residents and the house parents are sleeping -- like cleaning the kitchens, or deep-cleaning the hobby room. She only really seems to have two settings: high speed, or dead to the world. And if she's not moving at night, she's too likely to fall asleep, so she is always moving throughout the night. This does mean that she is very available for young people who need her at night -- such as if they have a nightmare or are determined to sneak out of the house against their better judgement.

Relationships & Discipline

How do you normally get along with other adults? It honestly depends on the adult. Cass is so full of youthful energy that she can be pretty annoying for adults who don't find her charming, and she doesn't have the good sense to avoid these people, so instead she winds up becoming more annoying instead of less. Some people, however, will find this behavior charming because she generally elevates the mood in any room she enters.

How do you normally get along with teenagers? Again, some teenagers will find her annoying. Others will find her energy infectious. It goes one way or the other. She can also be quite strict with adolescents and for that reason she's not always the most popular adult when there are less strict (or harsh) adults around to help them avoid trouble they've brought on themselves.

How do you normally get along with children? Children are generally the easiest age group for Cass to get along with. She gets on well with children of all ages because, generally, her energy matches theirs.

Link to your discipline sheet: click here

Orphan Village

What is your role at the Orphan Village? Night shift worker at Maple House
Which house or building do you work for? Maple House
Do you live in the Village or commute? Commute
Do you have any special training, certification, or skills relevant to your role? No
Do you prefer to work with a particular age group? Which one? Ages 5-11 or thereabouts
Do you struggle with a particular age group? Which one? No, not particularly

Briefly describe your caregiving or mentoring style. Cass is the type of caregiver who proves that it's possible to be both loving and strict at the same time. By the time she got to Maple House, the day shifts had all been filled, and so she had to take on an overnight shift until a day shift opened up (if it opened up). Some residents won't see her much at all because they're in bed before she arrives, while others will see a lot of her if they have high needs. The good news for the kids is that they aren't as likely to wind up being punished by her when she's working -- but that doesn't mean that they won't see her during the day on special occasions or elsewhere in the village on her days off. As far as she's concerned, they're all "her kids," whether she's on shift or not, and the Maple House kids should expect that she will hold them accountable for their behavior if she happens to be the one notified of their poor behavior.

Anything else they want to know about who she is as a caregiver, they can find out from her biological children.

Describe how you see your role in the village. In spite of working the night shift at a specific house, Cass views herself as a parent to the kids of Maple House. She's not one of the house parents, but the Orphan Village really espouses the idea that it takes a village to raise a child, and she considers herself part of that village. Cass is, therefore, very active within the community, involved in all aspects of raising the children in the Village, and not at all afraid to step in or step up for children or adolescents of other houses, too.

Is there anything else we should know about your role in the Village? Although her children are all still minors by the island's laws, Cass considers herself an "experienced parent" and she trusts herself to know what she's doing with and for the children who live in the village. She's incredibly warm, even if she is quite strict, and most children and adolescents find it easy to approach her.

Background

Education: High School Diploma
Work History: Homemaker for the past 18 years
Current Goals or Challenges: Getting the children and adolescents of Maple House to trust her when they don't spend as much time with her as other staff members.
Reason for Living on Birchwood Isle: The educational system in the US has been struggling since Covid, and Cass and her husband wanted to get their kids away from the technology being used in the classrooms.
Brief History: Cass and her husband came to Birchwood Isle two years ago, when the situation with the American Education system really started to feel like the country was crumbling. They'd never been big believers in classroom technology or allowing children to have too much access to screens, but when the schools began to hand Chromebooks out to every student, they made the collective decision that it was time to head for greener pastures. It was hard to give up their life in America, but when they arrived on Birchwood Isle they discovered that there was a whole community and culture here that better reflected their parenting philosophies.