It was a “paw-some” and “fur-tastic” day at Sandy Elementary! “Fur-st” graders looked “fetch” as they were “having a ball” the 101st day of school, affectionately known as 101 Dalmatian Day.

The day wasn’t just a “paws” in learning; it was a fun, themed event where students’ lessons in reading, writing, math and science revolved around the classic story of “101 Dalmatians”—and they were absolutely “digging” it.

Many students wore black-and-white spotted clothes, while others dressed in Dalmatian costumes. Lauren Tenney, whose stepmother had painted her face, joined her classmates in a creative activity where they added 101 spots to paper dogs.

Classmate Emmy Germanson had just finished coloring her spots and was cutting out her Dalmatian to be displayed on a hallway bulletin board.

“It’s been a lot of fun because I like Dalmatians,” she said.

Izabela Uhlir agreed, calling the day “paw-some” as she worked on her crafts.

In the morning, Makenna Karren’s class worked on a writing prompt that asked, “If you had 101 Dalmatians, what would you do with them?” The students’ responses were too “a-dog-able” to resist.

“I would play with them.” “I will sleep with them.” “I would cuddle with them.” “I would love them.” “I will have fun.” — And even “I would potty train them” and “I would sneeze a lot.”

Parker Phan, who has a Yorkie at home, said if he had 101 dogs, “I’d be busy feeding them.” Meanwhile, his classmate Jaxon Goates had a more playful idea, saying, “I’d teach them tricks, like spinning around or balancing a treat on their nose.”

Karren said the idea came to the first-grade team a few years back after seeing so many kindergartners dress up with granny glasses and canes for the 100th day of school. Now, the 101st Dalmatian Day has become a beloved tradition.

“We make it fun because they’re 6 and 7. They can dress up, which is really cute; and tie-in activities where they’re still learning. They’re counting to 101 and learning about place value in our dog-themed math activities,” she said.

Next door, Ali Weaver’s students had just listened to the “tail” of “101 Dalmatians” and compared the book to the movie, discussing the differences between the two.

 “We learned how to compare and contrast,” Weaver said. “Sometimes parts of a book are left out in the movie, so we focused on those differences.”

Some classrooms even showed photos or clips from the animated “101 Dalmatians” movie. 

Weaver also connected the theme to science. 

“We’re learning about animal traits and inheritance. We looked at different dog breeds and how they can all look different, even though they might have the same parents. Just like us, animals inherit traits from their parents,” she said.

In Michelle Alejandre’s class, many students wore headbands with dog ears as they worked on an assignment. They had colored 50 spots on one ear and 51 on the other. Afterward, they posed for “fur-tographs” taken by the “pup-arazzi” with a puppy-themed cardboard frame.

At the end of the day, they’d take the photos along with some Scooby Doo cinnamon-sugar bone-shaped treats and a fudge-striped cookie.

“The students are definitely more engaged in their learning,” she said about the activities, which were “dog-gone” cute.

Alejandre also noticed a touching act of kindness. One student brought spot stickers to share with “fur’ends” who didn’t have costumes or spotted shirts. 

“She was ‘su-paw’ inclusionary,” Alejandre said. “She made sure everyone could participate dressing up.”

Quinton Boggs realized how “fur’tunate” he is, recounting how much he’s learned during his 101 days of school.

“I’ve learned how to count to 101,” he said. “Actually to 120.” λ