We are having a party.

Some days are just full of good ideas.

Today felt like one of those days.

I started the day with a Do Now brainstorm.

We are in the midst of "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell.

So I asked them a question:

If you were going to be stranded on a remote island, what 3 items would you bring with you? Why?

We had fascinating discussions based on this question.

Students argued about what counted as an item.

Some decided to invent new items (laser gun/cutter and fire starter combo, for example).

A couple noticed no time period was specified and chose a smart phone, assuming rescue would occur prior to battery drain.

Then someone mentioned the powering power of apples and potatoes to produce additional charge.

They were flabbergasted when I pointed out that the island might be in the Arctic.

At which point, several decided to change their answers to avoid freezing to death.

It was a ton of fun!

It turns out, lightening can strike twice.
Because we also solved the Halloween dilemma in a productive way.

NaNoWriMo is creeping up on us (quickly, oh, god, so quickly).

November 1st is a Tuesday.

So what better way to celebrate the enormous endeavor we are embarking on that with a launch party?

Instead of trying to cram in last minute planning,

Instead of fighting the energy of upcoming Halloween shenanigans,

Instead of a disastrous day of costume complaints,

We are having a party.

Students will sign their pledge letters.

They will make recordings summarizing the novel they plan to write.

They will share, eat, laugh, and get amped about writing (of all things).

And it won't get too crazy.

Because I plan to invite our central office communications staff to come and document our fun.

Two of us will be combining classes to make the event feel even more special.

What!? How awesome is that?

Ok, so actually, lightening hit us three times today.

In addition to all that classroom inspiration, my PD co-chair and I had a super productive brainstorming session about our next PD day.

We had a riveting conversation about how best to collect information and support our teachers.

We came up with some really clever ideas for sharing.

Though we won't have the details until next week and a lot more work, I feel confident about our direction.

So, good things in threes.

Mostly ideas, but ideas are like a tease...

They keep you wanting more.