By J1 Reporters Maggie Timmerman and Anna Feldman 

Field Day season is upon the Marian community. Girls are running around the gym setting up walls, screaming their lungs out in the hallways practice demo, and gluing on ribbons, but what happens behind the scenes? Mrs. Mary Steiner and Ms. Jessica Abel, Marian’s Student Board moderators, spend countless hours planning, organizing, and decorating for Field Day for it to be enjoyed by the entire Marian community.

First, they constantly have to make changes to the rule book, especially this year. “This year is a little different because there is such little work space,” Abel said. Not only do they have to make changes to the rules, but they both have to be on the same page at all times and making sure any questions asked follow all rule guidelines.

Another job of theirs is to find and meet with judges. Traditionally, judges are Marian alumni but not always. The only criteria for Field Day judges is they can have no personal connection to someone who is currently in attendance at Marian.

“Judges can be found anywhere. I even look for people at Target that could be good judges. They are often time alumnae, but they also do not have to possess any field day knowledge,” Steiner said.

Both Abel and Steiner are in charge of decorating and sectioning off each class at Baxter. They meet with Baxter’s planner to go over guidelines and possible restrictions. Although there are only a few, restrictions include no helium balloons and nothing hard that could potentially break or crack the concrete floors of Baxter.

As far as stress goes, Field Day is not high on the list for both women. “Field day is really not too stressful for us. Honestly, we are here to just stop girls from pushing the boundaries that they know are in place,” Abel said. It is not stressful, because they are organized and already know how to deal with problems.

Something that for Abel and Steiner makes it easier is the advice and excellence of former Student Board moderators, Mrs. Ashley Bauer and her husband, who is now principal at St. Peter and Paul elementary school who have passed these important roles onto them. They were both in agreeance that the best advice that the Bauers gave them was to remain on the same page and to make sure they consult one another before making any big decisions.

After countless hours of planning, stress, phone calls, and judge searching, Steiner and Abel have managed to pull off yet another successful Field Day experience for the Marian community.