While kindergartners wobbled around Morgan Academy Tuesday morning with canes and graying hair, first graders wore hats adorned with 100 ribbons, 100 puzzle pieces and 100 cotton balls. The number 100 was the theme of the day, as students celebrated the 100th day of school.

Terri Austin, long-time kindergarten teacher at Morgan Academy, said celebrating the 100th day of school is something she does with her students every year. She even grays her hair for the special day.

“The kids always love doing this and dressing up,” Austin said, her walker in tow. “This year, along with dressing up, we decided that everyone would bring in 100 pennies and donate the money to the Selma Animal Shelter.”

First-grade teachers Debbie Moore and Kitty Cosby also celebrated the school year’s milestone by having each of their students wear a hat decorated with 100 objects. Many of the students, Cosby said, got very creative with the assignment.

“Every one of the hats were so different. They really used their imaginations,” Moore said. Some decorated their hats with jewels, some with crayons and others with buttons.

“Most people have a hat lying around at home so we said lets decorate a hat, but it has to have 100 objects,” Moore said.

Besides dressing up, Cosby said her students have been celebrating the number 100 by learning how to count to 100 in different ways.

“We’ve been learning how to count to 100 using 2s, 5s, and 10s,” Cosby said. “We’ve been counting up to this day since the first day of school.”

And aside from all the creative activities and fun ways to celebrate the number 100, both Moore and Cosby said that the best part of the day was seeing the excitement on all their students’ faces as they celebrate the 100th day of school.

“They’re excitement has been really over the top all day,” Moore said. “They’ve been really looking forward to this — and now there’s only 75 days left.”