Toronto public school board to vote on whether to cancel classes on day of solar eclipse
Canada’s largest school board is voting Wednesday on whether it should revise its school calendar so students can stay home on the day a rare solar eclipse will chart a course through parts of Canada.
If the Toronto District School Board votes in favour of the revision, it will join at least six other Ontario school boards, as well as two school service centres in Quebec, that have already notified parents classes are cancelled on April 8 in preparation for the celestial event.
“Looking directly at the sun during the eclipse, without appropriate protection, can lead to serious problems such as partial or complete loss of eyesight,” TDSB staff state in a document that outlines the agenda of Wednesday night’s board meeting.
“There are also traffic related safety concerns as thousands of children would be returning home at the end of the day in temporary darkness … Out of an abundance of caution, staff is recommending that the Board move the (professional activity) day scheduled for April 19, 2024 to April 8, 2024.”
“There is no significant impact in changing the date,” it added.
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Other Ontario school boards moved PA day
School boards in the Greater Toronto Area, like ones in the Peel, Durham, Hamilton and Halton regions, have already made the change, the document noted. The other boards have moved a previously scheduled professional activity day to April 8.
The eclipse is expected to be observed in Mexico first at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, when the moon will move in between Earth and the sun, casting a partial or total shadow on the “lucky humans” who are able to observe the moment, said Elaina Hyde, a professor of physics and astronomy at York University in Toronto.
The eclipse will then be visible in the United States before moving toward southern Ontario, then Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton, lasting for about two hours around the same time many kids in Canada are let out from school.
“It’s got a curved path and everyone’s very excited for it,” said Hyde, who is also the director of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory.
“Even those of us who study astronomy for a living still have not seen a total solar eclipse, so fingers crossed.”
The partial eclipse is set to cast its shadow in several parts of southern Ontario, Hyde said, while observers in the Ontario communities of Niagara Falls, Hamilton, and Grimsby specifically can expect total darkness for about four minutes some time between 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT.
Given how rare the celestial event is, Hyde said precautions need to be taken, particularly with children, that include not looking directly at the eclipse.
Canadian school boards that are rescheduling personal activity days to keep children home are making the right decision, she said.
“The big danger with this event is, of course, that a lot of people will be trying to look up at the sun, which is incredibly hazardous to your eyes. You can literally go blind,” said Hyde.
“The pure intensity of the light that will be coming out of the sun will be enough to permanently damage the sensitive materials inside your eye and it’s not worth (the) damage.”
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