The Solar Eclipse at EDS

We have been planning for this year’s near total eclipse since February! Here’s how EDS is managing this wonderful rare event, as well as many of the unpredictable logistics surrounding it:

1. 1. • We will be in school all day on Monday, August 21. In fact, afternoon carpool will not begin until 3:15, which we hope allows you to view the eclipse wherever you are before having to get on the road for carpool.
      • We are planning educational activities surrounding this event for every grade level, including significant training and practice of safe viewing guidelines.
      • At an appointed time (between 2:15 and 2:30), every student in grades K-8 will proceed to their designated location on either the Trustee Commons, Barfield Courts, or Barton Playground. We have purchased enough viewing glasses for every student and faculty member. Sometime around 3:00 students will return to their classes to debrief before a 3:15 dismissal.
      • We will need some help, so in the first week of school teachers by grade level will be reaching out to some parents for assistance with this activity.
      • Preschool students who are here in our Afterschool Program that day will have an adjusted schedule so they can watch on a computer. Preschool parents in afterschool who want their child to see it live can come to school and take their child to the Barton Playground. We will have glasses for the child; parents will need to bring their own.
      • Although we will experience a roughly 99% eclipse, we know that some families will want to take their children somewhere to observe the full eclipse. Please know that students will not  be penalized for such absences, but please let your teacher know in advance. Also, for safety reasons, we will not allow students to be signed out after 12:00 noon. If you plan to go elsewhere, you need to leave early.

Parents are welcome to join us for this great event, but you will need to bring your own viewing glasses. (We will ask the children to keep theirs on, so NO sharing, please).  

Please also know that we have limited parking. If you decide to join us, please carpool as much as possible. Arrive by 2:30. Do not park at Appleby Library or in the Woodlawn Parking lot on the half of the lot nearest their building. You may park in designated parking spaces at Good Shepherd, EDS, Reid Memorial Church, and in half of the Woodlawn lot (farthest from their building). If those are full, you will need to find legal parking on a nearby street.

This is a remarkable, wonderful, and rare experience. We are so excited to have the privilege to share this incredible learning opportunity with our children. It is also an unprecedented school event for us, so there are many unknown variables, mostly in terms of how many of you to expect, what traffic will be like, etc. We are paying careful attention to the preparation, teaching, safety, and planning for the students. Obviously, we will need to count on the rest of our community to be patient and mindful of these details. We will not be able to assist with things like parking.

Click here for a safety article on viewing the Solar Eclipse.