Natchez schools closed Monday due to solar eclipse

With classes already underway, many Sacramento area schools are gearing up for an event Monday they don’t usually have to plan for: a solar eclipse.

The Huntington area is expected to experience 92 percent coverage of the sun as the eclipse peaks locally around 2:33 p.m. Monday, around the time most county elementary schools begin dismissing for the day. “Each student in the district will receive a set of glasses”.

This will be America’s first total, transcontinental solar eclipse in 99 years.

Students’ absences can be excused “with proper school notification in accordance with the District’s attendance policy”, the website says. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (http://bit.ly/2i8NuAJ ) Monday will instead be a service day for faculty and staff. Julie Boyle, the district’s director of communications, wrote in an email that it’s up to teachers whether (and how) they participate.

“Student safety is priority, and we want to make sure we do not put students at risk of harm”, Public Relations Coordinator Steven Richardson said. The kids won’t be allowed to go outside before putting on their eclipse glasses, Heatwole says. “The authentic educational opportunity this provides is priceless”.

“About two-thirds of our children board buses, and we’re responsible for them in that time as well as – until they actually walk into their homes at the end of the day”.

The three-hour eclipse doesn’t end until a little before 3 p.m., when students are on their way home, and administrators are anxious the kids will hurt their eyes.

As a teacher, Albert knows that a child’s curiosity is as natural as the solar eclipse itself. Math teachers could use it to illustrate angles.

The glasses are from the Carolina Biological Company, she said.

Broward County issued a mandatory advisory for all schools to keep kids inside between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. for safety concerns. “Therefore no one should remove the eclipse glasses while viewing”, he added.

Some of the PLANS range from community festivals at schools, literature classes reading about past solar events, and astronomy classes understanding the why and how of an eclipse. Both districts are requiring that parents submit permission forms.

Looking directly at the sun, even when it’s mostly covered by the moon, can damage eyes in much the same way a magnifying glass focused on a piece of paper can ignite it.

“We’re trying to make sure our servers are up for a lot of people to join in”, Shannon said.