The Last Day

Summary
It is a time of change at Lakewood Elementary. Arthur and Buster are going into fourth grade and will do anything to get the cool new teacher, MC (voiced by guest star B.J. Novak). Meanwhile, D.W. and Bud prepare to enter kindergarten and Muffy and Francine contemplate how spending the summer away from each other will affect their friendship.

Plot
Arthur, Muffy, Francine, and Buster are at the treehouse. Buster comments on how his jeans are too tight and discovers a cheese sandwich from the first day of school in the pocket. The characters start to reminisce on their first-day experiences.

D.W. is leaving preschool. She and Bud talk about kindergarten and agree to "practice being big kids" in anticipation for kindergarten. This practice includes doing homework (albeit incorrectly), wearing sunglasses, and imitating Arthur and Ladonna. Bud also has trouble memorizing the alphabet, particularly "L-M-N-O-P."

At the Ice Cream Shop, Arthur and Buster are discussing what teachers they will have for fourth grade. Mr. Cramp, a new teacher, comes into the shop and impresses the boys with his demeanor.

Muffy and Francine are excited about the prospects of going to camp. However, Francine wants to go to Camp Meadowcroak and Muffy wants to go to Camp Elysium, a luxury resort for "discriminating children" to which Francine finds unsatisfactory. This leads to a rift between the girls.

Arthur and Buster try to get into MC's class the next year by making a poster about what they have learned in the present year. Buster is surprised to discover that he has learned much throughout the school year. However, they are disappointed to find out that MC repeats himself and does not have original content. They plan to use that poster to impress Ratburn.

D.W. tries to take the trash out but ends up tearing the trash bag and is reassured by her mother that she does not have to do anything special for kindergarten.

Muffy and Francine choose to go to separate camps, but they will update the other through a blog that the pair have access to.

On the last day, the class sings a song thanking Ratburn for being a good teacher. It is revealed that Ratburn will be moving to fourth grade along with his students, while MC will be teaching third grade.

Greater

 * Arthur Read
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Francine Frensky
 * Buster Baxter
 * Nigel Ratburn
 * MC
 * D.W. Read
 * Bud Compson
 * Binky Barnes
 * The Brain
 * Ladonna Compson
 * Jenna Morgan
 * George Lundgren
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Fern Walters
 * Maria Pappas
 * Alex
 * Jane Read

Background

 * David Read
 * Nemo
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Slink
 * Francis Haney
 * Mrs. Grimslid
 * Rapty
 * Prunella Deegan
 * Beulah McInnerny
 * Becky
 * Kate
 * Jessica
 * Mrs. MacGrady
 * Mrs. Tibble
 * Timmy Tibble
 * Tommy Tibble
 * Cheikh
 * Cheikh's father
 * Emily's mother

Songs

 * 1) "Big Kid Song"
 * 2) "Dear Mr. Ratburn"

Trivia

 * Mr. Ratburn will become a fourth grade teacher the next school year. In the book Arthur's Teacher Trouble he mentioned of going to become a kindergarten teacher the next year, but this part was not kept when the story was adapted into a TV episode.
 * Lobster is not kosher. Since Francine is Jewish, this fact could have added to her anxieties about going to Camp Elysium. In her dream sequence, she tells the lobster, "I don't even want to eat you."
 * This episode is dedicated to the memory of Greg Kramer, the voice actor of Nemo.
 * Although the Arthur series does have some continuity, primarily in the form of references to past episodes, the students in Mr. Ratburn's class are not seen in the fourth grade in subsequent episodes, nor is D.W. and her friends seen in kindergarten.
 * Moral:
 * Dont overreact.
 * Dont force people to do something they don't like doing.
 * Teachers may have a reason to give so much homework.

Episode connections

 * MC wears a Static Airwaves sweater.
 * References are made to the events in Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn and Arthur Goes to Camp.

Errors

 * In the flashback scene when Mr. Haney posts the upcoming class list, Alex is not on the list. (Ladonna is also not on the list because she moved to Elwood City during the school year.)