HELENA — Friday marked the 100th day of the school year for Helena Public Schools and students at Warren Elementary School enjoyed a sweet treat to celebrate. The school’s annual Sundae Day has been happening on the 100th school day for nearly five decades.
Before dessert, students worked on writing and math projects throughout the day. The main event was a 100-foot-long ice cream sundae for teachers and their classes to dig into.
(Check out the size of the Sundae! Click here.)
Former Warren teachers Rose Powell and Maria Goebel initiated the event, which has become a tradition at the elementary school. The annual Sundae Day celebration has been a staple for 45 years. It was first started by Powell and Goebel around 1980 to acknowledge students’ progress at this point in the school year. The event offered students a special break from the routine school day and helped them practice counting, an essential math skill.
Rachel O’Brian has taught at Warren for 21 years and, when Powell and Goebel retired, took over organizing the 100th-day Sundae event.
She emphasized how the sundae activity and the 100th-day classroom activities and lessons help her first graders practice their math skills at a crucial developmental stage.
"In first grade, as they're learning to count that high, we celebrate by counting by fives, counting by tens, counting by twos, and engaging in many fun 100-day activities.”
