We are excited to announce that on Monday, April 8, 2024, all Grayslake Central High School students and staff are invited to participate in a special GCHS Solar Eclipse viewing event. In an effort to provide our students relevant, engaging and authentic learning experiences, we are choosing to alter the instructional day for this rare celestial phenomenon. We will be following a special bell schedule on Monday.
To help understand this event, here are some basic Q&As.
Q: What’s happening on April 8, 2024 – and why is it special?
A: Grayslake will experience a partial solar eclipse over 90% of totality. You can see a simulation of the Grayslake eclipse experience at eclipse2024.org and timeanddate.com. Only portions of the world are able to view any solar eclipse, either in totality or partial, so the opportunity for our students to view this degree of a solar eclipse is a rare opportunity. The next total solar eclipse visible in the United States will be in Alaska during 2033, then Montana and North Dakota in 2044, and coast-to-coast in 2045. Learn more about solar eclipses from NASA.
Q: How are we going to safely view the eclipse?
A: Our primary goal is keeping our students and staff safe. Event participants will be provided with and expected to wear special, CE & ISO Certified solar eclipse glasses purchased from Rainbow Symphony, to protect their eyes, because they filter out 100% of harmful ultraviolet, 100% of harmful infrared, and 99.999% of intense visible light, and meet NASA approved guidelines (ISO 12312-2). Students and staff will be trained on safe eclipse viewing practices, following NASA’s guidelines, prior to leaving the building for the viewing.
Please note that cameras, binoculars and telescopes require separate solar filters and different viewing practices. We will only be providing equipment and guidance for viewing with the solar eclipse glasses.
Q: Who can participate?
A: Assuming weather is clear and calm on the eclipse day, all GCHS staff and GCHS students who have not opted out will participate directly during the viewing assembly. During the 2017 experience, while we had clouds, we were able to see portions of the eclipse through the clouds using our solar glasses. Of course, we are hoping for good viewing weather!
To request a student opt out and remain inside during the eclipse, please complete this form: https://tinyurl.com/d127eclipse, or leave a voicemail message including student name and grade identifying that a student will opt out for Deanna Mazanek, Science Department Chair, at 847-986-3300 x5503. Students who opt out will watch the live stream of the eclipse event and be supervised inside the building.