N.B. students may be sent home early on day of solar eclipse: Education Department
The eclipse's path of totality will track across the central area of the province April 8
New Brunswick students may be sent home early on April 8 so they can "safely arrive at their after-school destination before the eclipse begins," said a spokesperson with the Department of Education.
"The department has communicated this with districts, and they will be sharing further details with families," said Diana Chávez in an emailed response on Thursday afternoon.
Chávez was asked about the use of "may" and when and how a final decision will be made, but did not respond by publication time.
Anglophone West School District notified parents on Thursday afternoon that school will let students out three hours early on April 8, and no after-school activities will be allowed.
Some school boards in Ontario, including Canada's largest in Toronto, have completely cancelled school on the day of the eclipse. Several of them moved a previously scheduled professional-development day to April 8 to make up for it. In Quebec, some districts have also completely cancelled classes that day.
The president of the New Brunswick Association of Optometrists said she'd like to see all New Brunswick schools closed on April 8 in order to protect children's eyes.
Dr. Alexis Keeling, who taught school before becoming an optometrist, said "it wouldn't hurt to cancel school" that day, especially considering the time of the eclipse — mid-afternoon when children are often waiting outside for buses or walking from buses to their homes.
During that often-unsupervised time, Keeling said children may be tempted to look at the sun.
"It would never hurt to have the school day cancelled to make sure that those kids are supervised, they're at home, they're well-informed about the eclipse," said Keeling.
"So yes, I would keep them home for the day. It's a great learning opportunity as well for them. It's a fun event."
The eclipse is expected to be observed in Mexico first on April 8, when the moon will move between Earth and the sun, casting a partial or total shadow depending on the location.
The path of totality, where the moon will completely block the sun, will then track through the United States before passing over southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the northern tip of Cape Breton and then Newfoundland.
According to calculations by the Canadian Space Agency, the partial eclipse will begin in Fredericton at 3:23 p.m. AT on April 8, as the moon first touches the edge of the sun. This is known as "first contact."
Totality begins in Fredericton just before 4:34 p.m. — the moment at which the moon covers all of the sun.
Maximum eclipse will be roughly 4:35 p.m. and is considered "the deepest point of the eclipse, with the sun at its most hidden."
Totality in Fredericton ends at 4:36 p.m., while the partial eclipse will end just before 5:42 p.m.
Can cause permanent damage
Keeling said it's really important for people to know about the eclipse — "especially with children, because we don't want people walking outside and looking up at the sun and causing damage without knowing about it."
She said people won't even know they've damaged their eyes until a day or two after the eclipse since there are no pain receptors in our retinas.
"When there's no pain receptors, you don't notice or feel that you're doing any damage," said Keeling.
The damage is caused by sunlight on the fovea, which is the central part of our vision.
She said the sun's rays are "burning or cooking this little fovea, and a lot of times they wake up the next morning and they say, 'I have a spot in my central part of vision. I've got a blind spot right where I use my centre of my vision.'"
While damage may improve over time, it could also be permanent, said Keeling.
"You have to sit and watch and wait to see how somebody is going to get better. So the prognosis or the severity can't be predicted."
While the total eclipse will last more than three minutes in some areas of the province, Keeling said there's an hour and a half of partial eclipse before and after when damage can also occur.
In fact, the only time that it's safe to look directly at the eclipse is when the moon is fully in front of the sun — and not all parts of the province will experience a full eclipse. Moncton and Saint John, for example, will only see about 98 per cent coverage at maximum eclipse.
"During that time, we need to make sure that kids are well supervised, that the parents are well informed or the school is well informed to make sure that no one is staring at the eclipse unprotected," said Keeling.
Viewing precautions
Keeling said every optometrist in New Brunswick will receive 200 pairs of eclipse glasses to distribute to their patients and people in the community.
She stressed that sunglasses are not enough protection since eclipse glasses are about 200 times more dense than sunglasses.
On Wednesday, Canada's largest school board approved a revision to its school calendar so students can stay home on April 8.
The Toronto District School Board joined at least seven other Ontario school boards, as well as two school service centres in Quebec, that have already notified parents that classes are cancelled on April 8 in preparation for the celestial event.
In addition to the potential dangers of looking at the eclipse, the board said, "There are also traffic-related safety concerns as thousands of children would be returning home at the end of the day in temporary darkness."
Educational opportunity
In preparation for the solar eclipse, Chávez said New Brunswick's Education Department has produced educational material about the eclipse for students and for parents.
"Virtual and in-person information sessions will be provided to all educational personnel to ensure that they are well prepared for the event," wrote Chávez. "Resources and activities have also been developed by some districts.
"Educational sessions will be held in six francophone schools around the province that are on the eclipse's path to educate the entire school community about the event, its characteristics, and dangers."
She also said "solar viewers" will be given to all students.
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