This year, the Middle School administration broke with tradition and canceled Aqua Day, noting its environmental and financial costs as well as the safety risks it poses to students. In the past, Aqua Day, which was organized by Middle School Council, took place during an A period and lunch period in the spring semester. It featured fun water-themed activities for Middle School students, including water torpedoes, water bounce houses, and games in the Marlborough pool.

According to Middle School Director Robert Bryan, this year’s new “Fun Day,” which will take place on campus on May 5, will feature fun and games and pizza and ice cream just like Aqua Day, and the pool will continue to be available.

Marlborough’s initiative to make a greener campus played a role in the decision to cancel Aqua Day. The bounce houses, which were part of Aqua Day for years, used a lot of water and cost more than a thousand dollars.

According to Bryan, another concern about Aqua Day was student safety.

“Everyone running around in the water barefoot seems very dangerous,” he said. Although there have not been any accidents in previous years, the faculty continues to worry about the threat of a student slipping in the water or tripping while running around.

Gracie ’17 feels that the change is for the better.

“It was always a hard thing to go and change and get wet then go to a class. I hate going to classes wet from swimming,” Gracie said.

For the most part, the Middle School Council agreed with Gracie, remarking that replacing Aqua Day with a different event is a good initiative because it gives students a chance to have fun on campus without wasting money or harming the environment.