Feb. 15 marked the 100th day of school in the Long Beach Public Schools, and classrooms were buzzing with enthusiasm for education. Students throughout the elementary buildings celebrated the occasion with activities and events based on the number 100.

Pre-K students made hats with 100 polka dots, did 100 exercises, generated lists of 100 words, illustrated pictures of how they would spend $100, built a line using 100 blocks and predicted then experimented to see where 100 steps would lead to.

East School held a 100th day fair. Students rotated stations and enjoyed games and problem-solving exercises that involved both group and individual writing, reading, math and STEM projects. They created structures with 100 Legos, assembled 100-piece puzzles, numbered and colored 100 gumballs, counted how many rounds they could hula hoop for and counted the number of small words they could find. The multipurpose room was glowing with 100th day shirts that students decorated.

A second-grade class at Lido School engaged in STEM stations, each of which contained 100 of an item and challenged students to work together to construct an idea. Their resulting creations included a 3-D pyramid of coins, a town made up of centimeter cubes and towers of popsicle sticks. At the conclusion of the activity, students completed an exit ticket where they reflected on the experience.

Third-graders at Lindell School embraced the day’s theme and dressed up as though they were 100 years old. Classes completed a variety of activities to celebrate being "100 Days Smarter." They built towers using 100 cups and measured the height, rolled two die 100 times and tallied the sums, predicted where 100 steps would take them, flipped a coin 100 times and counted the number of heads and tails, competed 100 exercises and wrote about how they would spend $100. Each task presented questions for students to think about and answer.

At West School, kindergartners dressed up in 100th day t-shirts and first-graders dressed as 100 year olds and marched in a 100th day parade. Students took on a challenge to build the largest structure possible using 100 cups, shared 100 acts of kindness and used various counting methods to reach 100.