Schools in the Kingston area are changing their scheduled P.A. day in April for a most unusual reason.
A total solar eclipse is taking place on April 8 that will plunge the area into darkness.
Local school boards are moving the P.A. day so that students will be home during the eclipse in order to ensure their safety.
People in the Kingston region have a few months to prepare for an upcoming solar eclipse, but this isn’t just any old solar eclipse.
It’s a total solar eclipse, which occurs once every year or two, but it depends on where you are in the world.
In April, southern Ontario will be in the path of totality, which means the region will be plunged into complete darkness, something that hasn’t happened here in centuries.
“Kingston was last in the path of totality about 700 years ago. So in the year 1340-something — 725 years ago — so it’s been a while. The next time we are in a path of totality is in 375 years,” said Nikhil Arora, an eclipse outreach co-ordinator with Queen’s University.
Those who want to see the eclipse for themselves can do so, as long as they wear proper eye protection.
Queen’s University will be distributing glasses closer to the eclipse that will allow people to see it in its full glory.
“Not only will you be able to see the stars, you will also be able to see Saturn and Jupiter around the same time as well,” Arora added.
He said the eclipse will happen in the mid-afternoon, just as school would be letting out for thousands of students in Kingston.
“Many students would already be in school buses on the way home, and also, other students would be preparing to get on to a bus. Obviously, they would be on the bus when the totality point of the eclipse was over, and we’re still in a partial eclipse at that time,” Limestone District School Board director of education Krishna Burra said.
Rescheduling P.A. days doesn’t happen very often, and in this case, it’s an anomaly.
“This is the first time in my career of well over 30 years in Catholic education to move a P.A. day because a natural occurrence,” said director of education for the Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, David DeSantis.
The total eclipse will be happening at 3:22 p.m. on Monday, April 8, 2024.