Surprisingly Surprising

Students were stunned when they exited Chapel Tuesday morning to see a green runner on the ground, green paper hanging from the Schoolhouse windows, and the prefects (dressed in green) throwing candy as they careened around the Circle in green vehicles. When the headmaster showed up in the traditional green jacket, there was no question: it was Surprise Holiday.

 

Surprise Holiday is always meant to be, well ... a surprise. But sometimes the news slips out, especially among older students. On this holiday, however, even the Sixth Formers were clueless. Students stopped faculty to ask, “Is this real, or a senior prank?” It was real indeed: the prefects and the deans had worked hard to keep the secret.

The news had remained quiet in part because the holiday came unusually early in the term. Students hadn’t yet begun their ritual of assessing the school calendar and calculating the odds for each day. They hadn’t yet badgered prefects to answer when Surprise Holiday would be.

 

The four senior prefects were determined to pull off a real surprise. "All of us really wanted to have one last Surprise Holiday that no one knew about," said Senior Prefect Richie Santry '18. "All of us made sure we wouldn't tell anyone."

After getting over their shock, students were exuberant, as they always are when facing a day off of classes. The day went on as other Surprise Holidays had: students headed to Boston, Cambridge, or a nearby mall, or just relaxed on campus. 

Lead photo by Bob Low