S04.E15: 100th Day of School

[chitowngirl]

During Abbott's 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter; Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.
 

Airdate February 26, 2025 on ABC, next day Hulu

[Galileo908]

I KNEW the announcement was that Barbara's daughter was pregnant. And now that she's on the cusp of becoming a grandmother, with all the little kids dressing up as 100 year olds (with one kid dressing up like HER)...they definitely setting up a retirement arc. I was happy to see Janine give HER the pep talk for once. Glamma suits her so well. (And HOW DARE the other Grandma try to claim it!)

Jacob teaching Spanish via telenovelas is clever as hell. People learn English by watching tv, so it only seemed natural. Some kids watching Narcos remind me of those stories about people who learned Japanese by watching Yakuza movies.

Sweet Cheeks! It's been so long! We do NOT allow Sweet Cheeks slander around here, Jacob!

Of course Ava would have her own wardrobe closet installed in her office just in case Barb wanted. "Ooh, White Chicks! Er, wrong movie." And Barb thinking it was about the Olsen twins (great callback) had me DYING.

Totally like Janine to try to meddle with O'Shon and Ava. Loved that he totally ignored her and Gregory's advice and just asked out Ava directly. And it worked! 

Edited Thursday at 02:03 AM by Galileo908

[Crashcourse]

The little girl who dressed like Barbara cracked me up! 🤣

Also, the kid who so perfectly described Barbara, down to her wardrobe, was spot on!  🤣

[Annber03]

I absolutely LOVED the whole thing with the kids learning Spanish through telenovelas XD. Or "Narcos". The way they kept translating everything they sad was great. 

Yay for Barbara becoming a grandma! Kudos to the kid who was dressed up like her, she had her personality and delivery down. I'm not surprised it gave her a bit of a crisis about her age, though, but I did LOL at this exchange:

"Andrew, how old do you think we are?"

"Not touching that." 

Of course Janine would try and push Ava and O'Shon together. I like that even Gregory got in on the meddling. But yay for them finally just going for it, I look forward to seeing where they go with those two from here. 

[Galileo908]

"Help me Jesus! HELP ME JESUS!"

"...I'm Margaret."

2 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Also, the kid who so perfectly described Barbara, down to her wardrobe, was spot on!  🤣

And of course Gregory loves muumuus because of how functional they are. And Janine kept shooting him down. 

Just now, Annber03 said:

"Andrew, how old do you think we are?"

"Not touching that." 

"Smart kid."

[Crashcourse]

Ava/Janelle looks like she's lost some weight, and she looks great.  

[kathyk2]

This was the best episode in weeks. The kids were hilarious and I loved Melissa's subplot. I thought Janine was really sweet to Barbara and Ava, She and Gregory know that Ava has expensive tastes so they were giving O'shon good advice.

[JeanJean]

I so appreciate Quinta B's willingness to make her costars the focus of  episodes.

I really wanted Abbott to get the SAG Award for best ensemble and for her to get Best Actress in a comedy.

[jah1986]

Loved this episode. You could see Barbara just deflating with each comment. I really hope she is able to maintain boundaries with her daughter. Good for Janine doing such a good job helping Barb out. 

The kids were on fire this episode! "Not touching that" was awesome, the delivery was perfect. I knew at least one of those kids would think Barbara was 100, never ask children how old they think you are, you WILL get your feelings hurt.

So glad Sweet Cheeks is okay, Jacob dodged a bullet there.

Curious to see where Ava and O'Shon go from here.

[txhorns79]

12 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

I KNEW the announcement was that Barbara's daughter was pregnant. And now that she's on the cusp of becoming a grandmother, with all the little kids dressing up as 100 year olds (with one kid dressing up like HER)...they definitely setting up a retirement arc.

I know that Sheryl Lee Ralph is 68, but how old is Barbara supposed to be?

[peeayebee]

Now THIS is the Abbott Elementary show I love. What a great episode.

First off, yes, the telenovela way of teaching Spanish was great. Funny cold open.

Is 100 days of school a real thing? Loved this whole thing. The kids dressing like 100-yr olds was cute and funny. Margaret dressing as Barbara was perfect. That one little boy cracked me up: "My arthuriasis are acting up."

Great plot about Barbara being sensitive about her age and how she's perceived. 

"These pearls will be placed respectfully in my pocketbook right next to my peppermints."

Is a phone necklace a real thing?

And thanks to those here who mentioned O'Shon's name. I was just calling him the tech guy. Anyway, I'm so glad he ignored Janine and Gregory's advice.

L'Shon: You want to go on a date with me?
Ava: Yes.
L'Shon: Alright. I'll text you.

Perfect.

For a minute I was worried that Sweet Cheeks was going to die. Not be stomped on, but die of old age or whatever. So I'm very happy he was found. Very funny when Mr Johnson said he found him, and it was a Koosh ball. What did he say? "You're not the only one who loses things."

"Last time I saw him he was wearing a red wig and a leather jacket." Great callback. And at the end: "You should have told me he was wearing a wig. I could have found him earlier."

Mr Johnson flips off the cook's hat. "I was looking for Sweet Cheeks. Thought he might be under there in a Ratatouille situation."

Hilarious that the students were doing a step dance to Stomp. Melissa's worst nightmare!

Gregory: The male body can withstand a muumuu. I wouldn't mind a menmuu.
Janine: Hey, you got to stop pitching the menmuu.

Oh, and I LOVE Ava's assistant Dia. Her dry delivery was cracking me up. "Just so you know, I am slowly building my case."

Just a stellar episode.

[DearEvette]

This episode was fire.  The jokes were pop-popping!

That cold open was awesome.  I loved Jacob's creativity.

Ok, Dia is great.  I love how dry she is with Ava. "Just so you know, I am slowly building my case."  Her delivery was everything.

And then the scene in the break room with Jacob insulting sweet cheeks and Melissa ready to squabble up. 'Run' and he ran the hell out of there. LOL

The kids, as usual, were hysterical.  Andrew: "Not touching that" meanwhile Stevenson giving the detailed breakdown, also thinking Janine is 19.  While Margaret thinks Janine is 50! LOL. Speaking of, Little Margaret is actually a little Tik Tok star name Savannah “Van Van” Mcconneaughey. She is super cute.

Janine and Gregory popping up to give O'Shon ideas... Barbara's makeover...eeek (much to Krsytal's approval)

So fun!

 

[marceline]

This episode was classic Abbott and I loved it. So much goodness to choose from.

Sheryl Lee Ralph looked amazing in that outfit. I've been watching her in roles my whole life and I just love how people are seeing her beauty and brilliance now.

The children on this show are so good.

Teaching the children with telenovelas is pure Jacob. He loves his kids and he will do everything he can to send them into the world with every advantage he can give them. Also, yes to teaching foreign languages in elementary school.

"Last time I saw Sweet Cheeks he was wearing a wig and a pleather vest." I love these random callbacks. The same for Barbara thinking the Olsen twins were in "White Chicks."

Edited Thursday at 07:52 PM by marceline

[Empress1]

53 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

“These pearls will be placed respectfully in my pocketbook right next to my peppermints."

My late grandmother, who would be 95 this year (and who was fly as hell until the end - she was much shorter and smaller than I, otherwise I’d have taken all her clothes), said “pocketbook” and “peppermints” and kept peppermints in her pocketbook. That made me laugh and laugh. 

The kids dressed up as the elderly had me rolling. I also love “100 seconds of joy” dance breaks as a concept.

Jacob is a creative teacher. It was he who came up with getting the kids to recognize historical figures through roasting, and now the telenovelas.

Ava and Dia as … I don’t know. Rivals? Antagonists? Is great. Dia is building her case!

The little girl who said 100 years was a long time also cracked me up. She’s right!

[tennisgurl]

That episode was hilarious, every subplot had me cracking up, so many great lines! I love that Barbara not only decided to dress like a young person, but also a young person from 2005. "I got the pants from Ava, a man from Florida wrote a song about them." Getting the news that she's going to be a grandma just as the kids are all dressing like old people was truly a perfect storm for Barbara freaking out about getting old, even though Barbara is clearly aging like the finest of wines. The talk she had with Janine was really sweet, Janine really has grown a lot. 

"Damn Barb not jointh"

I'm not surprised that Margarete has a following online, she's super charismatic, and she nailed that Barbara costume! The kids on this show are just the best.

Nice to see Krystal again!

Thank God Sweet Cheeks was alright, all of that stomping was making me nervous. 

Edited Thursday at 07:23 PM by tennisgurl

[mrsbagnet]

Margaret was gold!

I thought Sweet Cheeks had had a heart attack and died inside the exercise ball.

Barbara probably didn't feel too great about having SLUT shirt mom compliment her outfit 😂

ETA: My favorite line was from Mr Johnson about seeing two sweet cheeks (i.e. Barbara in tight jeans).

Edited Thursday at 07:41 PM by mrsbagnet

[SilverLake0315]

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Is 100 days of school a real thing?

Not sure why, but yes it is  lol

[MicheleinPhilly]

This episode was Abbott Elementary gold and should be the show's submission for the Emmys for Best Comedy. I laughed out loud throughout the entire thing. It was just *chef's kiss.* 

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Getting the news that she's going to be a grandma just as the kids are all dressing like old people was truly a perfect storm for Barbara freaking out about getting old, even though Barbara is clearly aging like the finest of wines.

She's poreless!

[chitowngirl]

I’m glad Gregory and Janine were plotting together, immediately and instantly. The usual TV way to go would be Janine wanting to plot, but Gregory would be the one to keep telling her not to…

[Empress1]

“Where did you come from?” as Janine comes trotting in. This episode was so good. I think this and “The Deli” are my faves of the season so far.

[Boofish]

The little girl who nailed the Barbara impression is VanVan and she is the cutest. She gained famed when she went viral on Instagram with her little rap song "My name is VanVan I aint come to play, playing outside every day" .. Then she does this little shuffle and it's the cutest ever.

My grandson's school did the 100 days dress up and my daughter put him in a wig that made him look like Sophia from the Golden Girls. When he grows up and takes her to court, I will be a witness for him 😂

[SoMuchTV]

8 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Is 100 days of school a real thing?

 

3 hours ago, SilverLake0315 said:

Not sure why, but yes it is  lol

 

26 minutes ago, Boofish said:

My grandson's school did the 100 days dress up and my daughter put him in a wig that made him look like Sophia from the Golden Girls. When he grows up and takes her to court, I will be a witness for him 😂

Interesting! In my (kids’) experience, it was a thing at the kindergarten (& maybe 1st grade) level, and the emphasis was on working on counting skills (like, bring in 100 of something - cheerios were popular). I never heard of the dress-like-a-100-year-old aspect!

[ItCouldBeWorse]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

 

Interesting! In my (kids’) experience, it was a thing at the kindergarten (& maybe 1st grade) level, and the emphasis was on working on counting skills (like, bring in 100 of something - cheerios were popular). I never heard of the dress-like-a-100-year-old aspect!

I agree: 100 Cheerios, pennies (that won't be a thing in the future, I guess), etc.

It did take me a little bit out of the show wondering how every single student in Barbara's class had parents who could afford wigs (and possibly special clothes). Or who were all into the project enough to powder their kids' hair, or whatever.

Edited Thursday at 11:48 PM by ItCouldBeWorse

[Boofish]

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

 

Interesting! In my (kids’) experience, it was a thing at the kindergarten (& maybe 1st grade) level, and the emphasis was on working on counting skills (like, bring in 100 of something - cheerios were popular). I never heard of the dress-like-a-100-year-old aspect!

My baby in pre-K. I've never seen it done other than elementary schools. 

1 hour ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I agree: 100 Cheerios, pennies (that won't be a thing in the future, I guess), etc.

It did take me a little bit out of the show wondering how every single student in Barbara's class had parents who could afford wigs (and possibly special clothes). Or who were all into the project enough to powder their kids' hair, or whatever.

It's a very popular and fun day for the little kids. They go all out so this was very close to real life. They even sell the kits for it on Amazon. And you can get white paint for hair at Walmart. It's really not expensive for kids to participate. Now I don't know where they got the tiny little walkers but the rest was what I see every year. The kids love it!

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

It did take me a little bit out of the show wondering how every single student in Barbara's class had parents who could afford wigs (and possibly special clothes).

I also thought about that, particularly the wigs, but I pushed that out of my head since the show was so enjoyable.

[Galileo908]

12 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Is 100 days of school a real thing?

I remember that when I was in elementary school...thirty years ago. We didn't dress up like 100 year olds, it was more or less a way to teach us kids how to count to 100.

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

It did take me a little bit out of the show wondering how every single student in Barbara's class had parents who could afford wigs (and possibly special clothes). Or who were all into the project enough to powder their kids' hair, or whatever.

47 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I also thought about that, particularly the wigs, but I pushed that out of my head since the show was so enjoyable.

I hadn't even thought about how each and every kid had an outfit ready to go for Less Scary Halloween. The wardrobe department keeps killing every week.

[possibilities]

I felt bad for Gregory, with everyone shooting him down on the menmuu, even Janine. 

Maybe he could consider a thobe?

https://shukronline.com/collections/thobes

 

[peeayebee]

I didn't know that's what they're called, but yes, that should satisfy Gregory.

My BIL used to use what he called a murse (or merse) when he traveled. A purse for men.

[Galileo908]

11 hours ago, peeayebee said:

My BIL used to use what he called a murse (or merse) when he traveled. A purse for men.

"It's a European carry-all!"

[Irish Mermaid]

On 2/27/2025 at 6:09 AM, jah1986 said:

never ask children how old they think you are, you WILL get your feelings hurt.

 

And even if you *don’t* ask! I’m 11 years older than my youngest sibling. The year I finished college (age 22), he was 11. I picked him up from football practice one day and one of his teammates asked if I was his mom! Kids have no concept - everyone who isn’t their age is old. (We are now 56 and almost 45, I don’t get mistaken for his parent anymore. 😂)

[Mountainair]

Our school does a big celebration for the 100th day but really only K-1st grade. Like others mentioned it’s just a way to count to 100 repeatedly and do different 100 counting activities. We do have a very enthusiastic male teacher in 1st grade who dresses up as “Zero the Hero” I.e. Superman and surprises every K-1 classroom throughout the day. They used to do the dress as an 100 year old but did away with that before I started working there. 

[PokerDot]

On 2/26/2025 at 8:18 PM, Annber03 said:

But yay for them finally just going for it, I look forward to seeing where they go with those two from here. 

I can imagine Ava becoming some sort of outdoor sporting type, complete with hiking boots and fishing rod, because that's what O'Shon likes. 

Edited Saturday at 10:57 PM by PokerDot

[Black Knight]

On 2/26/2025 at 6:02 PM, Galileo908 said:

I KNEW the announcement was that Barbara's daughter was pregnant. And now that she's on the cusp of becoming a grandmother, with all the little kids dressing up as 100 year olds (with one kid dressing up like HER)...they definitely setting up a retirement arc.

I'd say entirely the opposite, that Barbara is nowhere near ready to retire. She loves teaching and is in good health. She's one of those who will teach until they physically can't anymore.

Someone upthread asked how old Barbara is, and while Sheryl Lee Ralph is 68 Barbara is clearly supposed to be a good bit younger, because when that kid guessed 63 for her everyone gasped. So she's in her late 50s. She has a good 15 years of teaching ahead of her, even more if her health holds up.

I loved the Sweet Cheeks subplot. I wasn't worried during the stomping, because that would have been far too dark for this show.

I also enjoyed how the writers eschewed the cliche of having O'Shon get psyched out by Janine and Gregory and either not ask out Ava or do something transparently ridiculous and not-him that would go over poorly with Ava. He clearly has a very strong sense of self, which will serve him well in dating Ava.

Props to Janelle James for memorizing and flawlessly delivering that incredibly convoluted line about Janine and Taylor.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Little Margaret is definitely not awe of Barbara. And she's not Jesus either.

Possums aren't the same as opossums. Learn something new every day. (Basically, opossum = Americas, Possum = Australia.)

O'Shon showed up because Ava said there was flooded computer. Bet it wasn't only the computer. 😏

Okay, I want to hear the unbleeped version of what Ava said she'd do if things got up-close and personal with O'Shon.

A dress, a blanket, and a napkin all in one. Dang, Greg, muumuus aren't that bad. Who hurt you?

There's a Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia. Maybe O'Shon could arrange a private tour for him and Ava since she's a fan of banks. Sure.

Ava is amazing with an Etch A Sketch. But why Tony Soprano?

Whoo chile! Barbara's new look put together by Ava was stunning. She was working her Mary J Blige vibe.

Was that a Tribble Mr. Johnson was holding? Oh boy. Hopefully they can't mate with guinea pigs.

Mr. Johnson knows Cowboy Carter is about way more than wearing a big belt buckle and riding a broom horsie, right?

I was hoping there'd be a mention of the Eagles' Superb Owl victory but maybe this episode was filmed before that happened.

[DearEvette]

On 3/1/2025 at 5:34 PM, PokerDot said:

I can imagine Ava becoming some sort of outdoor sporting type, complete with hiking boots and fishing rod, because that's what O'Shon likes. 

She's a Doomsday prepper who has been planning for the Zombie apocalypse.  I'll bet she already has top of the line hiking boots and fishing gear and knows how to use them! 😂

Edited 2 hours ago by DearEvette