WOODBURY — If you tell kids not to do something, they’ll do exactly that.
That’s why Region 14 and many other school districts have taken precautions for the April 8 solar eclipse.
A solar eclipse will happen across much of the nation today, and the moon will partially cover the sun in Woodbury between 2:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. While our area isn’t in the path of totality, meaning the sun won’t go dark, the eclipse has gained enough attention for school districts to worry about curious students staring at the sun. Simply telling students not to look at the sun wasn’t enough of a precaution for administrators.
Region 14 superintendent Brian Murphy has made clear that students will be safe during the eclipse.
“A lot of schools just want to ensure that every student is safe during this,” says Murphy. “If you look directly at the sun during the eclipse, it can be harmful to students’ eyes.”
Many students don’t understand why the district decided to have a full day. Two sending districts, Seymour and Oxford, declared half-days for their students, and those students who needed bus transportation were dismissed early from Nonnewaug.
“I feel like our district should have had a half-day,” says freshman Morgan Willis. “Other districts from our school, like Seymour and Oxford, got half-days. Also the elementary school should have had a half-day because how can you expect toddlers to keep their glasses on and not look at the sun?”
However, Murphy said that was never under consideration in Region 14. Instead, the district has secured solar eclipse glasses for students so they can view the event safely, and athletic practices and games will start a little later than usual.
“No, there was never anything to dismiss early,” says Murphy. “I feel that we have enough precautions set in place for all the students. The eclipse is happening at the end of the school day around 3:25, which happens to be right at the time the elementary school students, [and] the middle and high school dismiss earlier than that.”
The only notable impacts will be on student-athletes. Athletes will have to stay indoors until 3:45 p.m., and games were moved to 4 p.m. starts. That could affect team warm-ups for the baseball team, which has an away game against Shepaug.
“It’s really annoying that we have to stay inside due to the solar eclipse,” says junior R.J. Barksdale. “I just want to play my game.”
The directives came from administration, and athletic director Declan Curtin distributed information to coaches about how to modify their plans.
“We have done a lot of research and have gathered some information as a district to see how this is going to play out and affect students,” Curtin said. “In terms of an athletic perspective, games are [typically] set for 3:45, but we know that the eclipse will be at [its peak] at 3:27 today, which is right before warmups. There will be a dusk-like eyesight viewpoint out there. Our superintendent has requested that all athletes remain inside until the peak of the eclipse is over. At that point, [teams] will go outside and start warm ups. The games will hopefully start around 4.”
