Champe students were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to watch the 2024 solar eclipse from their classrooms and outside on April 8th during their third and fourth blocks.
Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes in-between the sun and the earth. When this happened, students were able to see the corona (also known as the ring of light around the sun) whereas the rest of the sun was dark.
As it states in a NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) article for a coverage on the types of solar eclipse,“The sky will darken, as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people can see the Sun’s outer atmosphere, which is otherwise usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun.”
The eclipse was the first one seen in Virginia in a while as the last one was seen in 2017. Those living in Virginia unfortunately were not able to see a total eclipse, but this year the totality of the eclipse was definitely higher than the last. This raised the stakes and the excitement for students who were looking forward to viewing the eclipse.
“The sky looked really beautiful during the eclipse,” sophomore Kashish Lotlikar said. “We were able to see some of the clouds turn pink and tints of orange in the sky during the different phases while the moon was passing over the sun.”
Though watching an eclipse is very mesmerizing due to its beauty and rarity, it is important to acknowledge that it is also risky. Students had to make sure to stay protected while watching the eclipse.
“No one is ever recommended to watch an eclipse with the naked eye,” medical assistant Simple Pareek said. “Looking at the harsh rays of the sun can burn your retina and cause permanent damage.”
Loudoun County Public Schools acknowledged this and provided protection for the students by giving out eclipse glasses to all the students at every school. These glasses were then distributed to all fourth block classes.
“It was really convenient for all the staff and students that Loudoun Country gave out eclipse glasses,” counselor Irene Nettekoven said. “I did expect Loudoun to give out glasses to all the students because that is what they did in the only district I worked at but either way it was helpful and motivated everyone to watch the eclipse.”
Students seemed to be very glad that they were given the chance to see the eclipse. This let them not only see the wonder, but it also gave them the opportunity for them to get out of their last block that day. Students used the eclipse to their advantage to get out of what little school work they would have had to do during the last block.
“I had my biology class last block and I could not be more thankful for the eclipse giving the opportunity to go out during that class,” Lotlikar said. “I think that the eclipse was a good use of our class time as it is such a rare sighting and it is what I truly needed to unwind and end the day off with.”
Staff, surprisingly, shared similar thoughts about where they stood on whether students should be taken out during their last block class. Some teachers found it hard to reschedule some of their already pre-planned activities and wanted to go ahead with the previous lesson plan, but staff at Champe encouraged all classes to go out, even if it was just for little.
“I really wanted to see the eclipse as it isn’t something that comes around very often,” Nettekoven said. “I thought that it was super nice that students were taken out of these classes as the eclipse was not only beautiful, but could also be used as a great learning opportunity.
Overall, Champe loved being able to see the eclipse and really made sure to make many memories during this one as the next time we see something like this would most likely be in 2044.
“I loved watching it, especially with my friends,” Lotlikar said. “I don’t even remember the last one and the next one is way too far away so I’m glad I got to see this year’s solar eclipse.”
(Aaukruthi Ganesh)
