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Sussex Academy hosts 101 Days of Learning showcase

Second-grade students at Sussex Academy participate in a reader’s theater performance at the 101 Days of Learning academic showcase Feb. 20. Sitting in back (l-r) are Sunny Oldfather and Liam Arthur. In front are Ridley Fiorentino and Dean Belfiore. ELLEN MCINTYRE PHOTOS
Ellen McIntyre
March 7, 2026

Sussex Academy Elementary School held a 101 Days of Learning showcase Feb. 20, an opportunity for students to share their academic and creative achievements with their families.

Second- and third-grade students put on reader’s theater performances, in which they read scripts aloud and put on a mini play. Reader’s theater, which doesn’t involve costumes or memorizing lines, is meant to improve reading comprehension and engagement.

Second-graders read a story about a trip to Washington, tying in their knowledge about capitalization and grammar. Third-graders read a story about a judicial court and the rules of plural nouns, relating to their unit about government and civics.

Also at the showcase, in the kindergarten and first-grade hallway, the walls were adorned with a variety of student projects, from posters about notable African American historical figures to worksheets with mini narrative stories.

Kindergarteners and first-graders also dressed in costumes, with each child dressed as a different word or phrase they learned about and defined. For example, Owen Whitaker, whose phrase was solar system, was dressed in a shirt that he decorated with models of the planets and a hat with a cutout of the sun.

Sussex Academy first-grader Owen Whitaker sports a homemade solar system costume at the academic showcase.
Students wait in the hallway ahead of their reader’s theater performance. Shown are (l-r) Addison Catts, Madison Thompson, Esther De Souza, Weston Leonard, Michael Campanese, Fallon Roos and Graham Magee.
Elijah Gulab holds up a note card with information about Martin Luther King Jr.
First-grader Keylor Castillo-Molina writes on a white board as Georgie Penny, right, looks on. Between them is first-grader Baylyn Penny.
Blaire Jenkins, left, hangs out with her grandmother, Jody Jenkins, at the showcase.
Classmates (l-r) Evelyn Denham, Reagan Rodearmel and Kamaya Tindal are ready for their reader’s theater performance.
Erin Capasso, left, plays with her daughters Sophia, middle, and Gigi. Sophia is a kindergartener at Sussex Academy, and Gigi is in preschool.
Sussex Academy elementary students (l-r) Emily Jovel, Terrance Williams, Noah Carneiro Duarte and Trip Kirk prepare for their reader’s theater performance.
Third-graders participate in reader’s theater, reading a story about a judicial court and the rules of plural nouns. Shown are (l-r) Drew Dickerson, Jake Bunting, Graham Magee, Molly Schaefer, Emersyn Proctor and Adeline Eakle.
Sussex Academy elementary students (l-r) Teagan Hayes, Daphne Satey-Perez and Aldo Jr. Samayo wait outside a classroom ahead of their reader’s theater performance.
Kindergartener Frankie Tarlecki, left, writes out a sentence with the help of her dad, Damian.

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Ellen McIntyre is a reporter covering education and all things Dewey Beach. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State - Schreyer Honors College in May 2024, then completed an internship writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In 2023, she covered the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand as a freelancer for the Associated Press and saw her work published by outlets including The Washington Post and Fox Sports. Her variety of reporting experience covers crime and courts, investigations, politics and the arts. As a Hockessin, Delaware native, Ellen is happy to be back in her home state, though she enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures. She also loves live music, reading, hiking and spending time in nature.

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