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"Leave Your Mark Thing!" is the twenty-first episode in the first season of 100 Things to Do Before High School. It first aired January 30, 2016 on Nickelodeon.

Synopsis

CJ, Fen and Crispo try to find their own unique ways of creating lasting memories of their time at Pootatuck.[2]

Summary

CJ, Fenwick, and Crispo make a wish on the Pootatuck gum wall. CJ tells them she wished they would leave their mark in middle school. Fenwick tells them he had already left his mark in the form of his perfect attendance record and being a member of the Academic Merit Society, but CJ tells him to leave another mark. Crispo wants to get his name on a plaque, and the Froman twins, seemingly overhearing, want to do the same.

CJ finds out that Slinko wants to get rid of the gum wall because it is disgusting and germ-filled, and students are upset. Before leaving her mark, CJ decides to save the gum wall from being torn down. Fenwick sees students standing by the broken water fountain and tries to use it, but is splashed with water. He asks the janitor to fix it and continues to try and leave his mark. Later, when the custodian has not fixed the fountain, Fenwick decides he will as a way to leave his mark.

Crispo wants to get his name on the Pootatuck Ultimate Fitness Recipient plaque and asks Coach LeBeau how it would be possible. The Froman twins and Paul appear because they would like to get their names on the plaque as well. When Coach LeBeau tells them about the test of fitness they had to do, they leave, overwhelmed by the challenge. Crispo then tries to become the new president of the Pootatuck Historical Society and sees that the Froman twins, Paul, and Martha were also vying for the spot. The students fall asleep when Mr. Bored starts recounting requirements for the position, however.

CJ goes to Mr. Roberts's office for help with keeping the gum wall. Mr. Roberts tells her he tried going to the board, but Slinko had won them over by telling them he would do the work himself. CJ is determined to get Slinko to change his mind, but he does not budge. After school, CJ tries to stop Slinko from tearing down the wall by taking his scraper when students make one last wish on the wall. This doesn't change Slinko's mind about tearing down the wall, though is he temporarily halted from doing so. Mr. Roberts reprimands CJ for stealing and tells her Slinko would not stop from trying to tear down the wall. Fenwick and Crispo then meet up with CJ, Fenwick soaking wet from attempting to fix the fountain and Crispo with an arrow in his leg as a result of trying to join the archery team.

Later in the day, CJ talks with her family about the gum wall and discovers that it was more than just a wall with gum stuck to it. The next day, Fenwick dons coveralls in excitement at fixing the water fountain and Crispo is determined to get his name on the achievement wall. He finds out that Aubrey and the Black Lipstick Girls have joined him and the others too. CJ tries talking to Slinko again, but he still refuses to let the wall stay, and she gets an idea to show him what the wall really was to students.

Fenwick tries to fix the fountain and when he fails, the custodian offers him a sledgehammer. He does not believe it could fix the fountain, so he does not take it. He finally gets the fountain working properly, but it breaks again and sprays water all over him. The custodian turns off the water pressure and Fenwick, now angry at the fountain, takes the sledgehammer and knocks it out of the wall. The custodian hands him a book to place an order for a new fountain and explains the school board wouldn't pay to fix anything unless it was broken.

Crispo and his group find out that the Academic Merit Society is their last chance to get their names on a plaque. When the Froman twins see how much work had to go in so they could get their names on the plaque, they feel as though they are unworthy and become discouraged. Crispo tries to make them feel better and explains the wall of achievement is unfair because they all have talents that should be remembered. He then gets the idea to make their own society and plaque when he learns three of the group's talents.

CJ approaches many students, teachers, and faculty about what they wished for on the gum wall and takes note of them. She gets Mr. Roberts to write her a pass to get out of her classes so she could work on her idea. After school, students stand by and watch as Slinko sees the sticky notes attached to the gum wall. He reads them and appears to have a change of heart as he goes through a few. He comes to one that involves doing better in his class and asks who wished it. When some students raise their hands, he tells them he could help make it come true. The gum wall soon becomes known as the wishing wall, so people could put their wish up or could grant someone else's.

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Guest Cast

Notable Dialogue

CJ's voice-over: Middle school: it can last two to four years, but if you leave a mark in middle school, you can be there forever.
Custodian: Can I help you?
Fenwick: Yes. The south hallway water fountain isn't working again.
Custodian: What's wrong with it?
Fenwick: I can't tell.
Custodian: Oh, you can tell me; I'm a janitor.
Fenwick: Can you fix it?
Custodian: Of course I can; I'm a janitor.
Custodian: [wiping a wrench with a towel]
Fenwick: All done?
Custodian: All done.
Fenwick: Great. [tries to use the water fountain but is sprayed with water] Aah! Aah! You said you were finished!
Custodian: I am finished. [holds out the wrench] And look at that shine.
Fenwick: What happened to the old janitor?
Custodian: What did he look like?
Fenwick: I don't know - red hair, mustache, about six feet.
Custodian: Hm, that's a long mustache.
Mr. Roberts: All right, where's the scraper?
CJ: [hands him the scraper]
Mr. Roberts: Okay, first of all, stealing is wrong. This should be returned to its rightful owner. [throws it in the trash]
CJ: I have no idea how to save the gum wall.
Mrs. Martin: How can Mr. Slinko tear down the gum wall?
Ronbie: I love that wall. If you look three feet to the left and two feet down, you'll see my "R." I wished I would grow a beard one day, [points to his beard] and I did.
Mr. Martin: He did.
Mrs. Martin: It's good.
CJ: But there's good in everyone, right?
Mr. Martin: Hm...
Mrs. Martin: Tough call.
Crispo: The Wall of Achievement is unfair. We all have talents that should be remembered forever in shiny plaque form.
Mr. Slinko: [sees sticky notes on the gum wall] What's this? What's going on?
CJ: I thought you might like to see all the hopes and wishes that are up there before you take them down.
Mr. Slinko: "I wish the gum wall would be here forever." Ha. "I wish I could get my brother the skateboard he wants." "I wish there were no wars in the world."
CJ: I just thought it might help for you to really see it's not just gum up there.
Mr. Slinko: "I wish I could do better in Mr. Slinko's class." Who wished this one? [some students raise their hands] Come with me. Let's go make this wish come true.
CJ's voice-over: And believe it or not, that's how the sticky middle school marks of many survived to see another day.
Mr. Roberts: [hands CJ a sticky note] Put this on the wall for me when you get a chance.
CJ: "I wish more of my students saw the good in people like CJ Martin."

Trivia

  • This episode was filmed in March 2015.[3]
  • Aubrey's last name is revealed to be Garcia.
  • Many of the names seen on plaques are names of people who work or previously worked on 100 Things. See the trivia on the Pootatuck Middle School awards and recognition page.
  • Daran Norris previously played Gordy, another school custodian, on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, which was also created by Scott Fellows.

Continuity

  • Fenwick's desire to attend Stanford is mentioned.
  • Fenwick's perfect attendance record is mentioned.

Cultural references

  • Eleanor Roosevelt and Ben Affleck's names can be seen on the National Shiny Plaque Society plaque.

Gallery

Episode placeholder image
To view the Leave Your Mark Thing! gallery, click here.


References

  1. UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.30.2016 This episode received 1.571 million viewers on its premiere night and came in thirty-seventh place in the top 150 original cable telecasts.
  2. Leave Your Mark Thing!
  3. The episodes filmed before and after this one ("Get the Most Out of a Sick Day Thing!" and "Run for Office Thing!" respectively) were both filmed in March 2015, so it can logically be assumed this episode was also filmed in March 2015.
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