By J1 Reporter Anna Voelker 

While most Marian girls spend their second semester making theories about when the highly anticipated date of Surprise Day is, there are a select few who have an entirely different task of keeping this date a secret. For Student Board, planning for this date takes months of preparation, many phone calls, and avoiding questions about anything Surprise Day- related. 

“When trying to keep it secret I would just try and use the same three responses, so when the actual day came I would not say something that would give it away,” junior Student Board member Amelia Zimmerman said. These three responses were yes, maybe, and I do not know. She believes her strategy works well for steering clear of giving up the secret.

Zimmerman also revealed the hard work and long planning process it takes to put on Surprise Day. From picking the date, March 3, in December, to brainstorming ideas, this one day took months of preparations. Along for the ride are Student Board Moderators, Mrs. Beth Dye and Ms. Jessica Abel. When it came to Surprise Day planning, Ms. Abel and Ms. Dye were there to assist in budget planning, phone calls, and low- cost ideas to make the day special for the Marian student body.

When Surprise Day finally came, everything was set in place to make a great surprise. A last minute idea to have the state championship winning swim and dive team announce the special day was put into place by Principal Mrs. Susie Sullivan. 

“That idea came up that weekend because we originally had planned to have Deacon Fuller announce it, but then once swim and dive won state, Mrs. Sullivan wanted to make sure that we had a pep rally to celebrate, and minutes before the surprise, the swim and dive team found out they would be the ones to announce it,” Ms. Abel said. 

After the initial shock of the surprise wore off, the day’s events and activities were explained to the students and staff in the gym by Student Board. There were bounce houses, dodgeball, cotton candy, karaoke, face paint, and the most anticipated activity of all, puppies! 

“The puppies from Surprise Day were definitely the best part. They were so cute and fun,” freshman Harper Sabin said.

“My favorite part of Surprise Day is making cotton candy because we mess up alot and I think I ate like six sticks of messed up cotton candy,” Zimmerman said. 

All the planning and anticipation from the Student Board were well worth it, because Surprise Day exceeded expectations. Surprise Day 2020 was a success and definitely one to remember for all of the Marian students.