School boards in Calgary, Lethbridge and Edmonton have set restrictions for the solar eclipse Monday, April 8.Regions where a total eclipse will be experienced, such as Ontario, Texas, Indiana and Oklahoma, have already implemented much more extreme measures, such as declaring a state of emergency, advising residents to stockpile supplies, warning pilots of travel delays, and keeping students and teachers home from school for the day. Further, NASA intends to use the rare opportunity to fire three rockets into the atmosphere to research the occurrence of the eclipse. A partial eclipse will be visible in Alberta between approximately 11:45a.m. and 12:45 p.m., with a magnitude of 34.5% to 37.5%, depending on the region, according to the website Eclipse 2024.“We would like to invite all students to remain at school during the lunch break,” the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) wrote on its website. .The CBE said students and parents were issued advisories to prevent “viewing the eclipse in an unsafe manner.”“We know that this provides a unique learning experience for students and staff in our schools; however, there can be a serious impact on vision,” the CBE said, adding parents should send their children to school with a packed lunch the day of the eclipse. “If students are not participating in educational activities around the event, schools may choose to have students … be involved in supervised indoor activities,” the CBE said.“If you decide that your child will walk home for lunch on Monday, please discuss with your child not to look at the sun to protect his/her eyes from damage by the solar eclipse.”The Calgary Catholic School District issued a warning that echoed CBE. As did the Peace River School Division. Lethbridge’s Catholic School Division confirmed in an email to Global News the superintendent told principals that students should be kept inside “at this time,” while the Lethbridge School Division sent warnings to parents that their children should know how damaging the partial solar eclipse could be to their vision. Edmonton Public Schools also will have students “remain inside for the duration of the partial solar eclipse.”“For schools that have an open campus, with students leaving offsite for lunch, we have asked staff to reinforce the risks of viewing the sun without proper eye protection.”
