2024-01-31 21:28:54
The Eastern Ontario Public School Council (CEPEO) announced in a letter sent to parents on Wednesday that, in conjunction with the Central-East Catholic School Council (CECCE) and the Catholic District School Council of Eastern Ontario (CSDCEO), it was decided that April 8 will become an educational day on the calendar. Moved forward, the one initially scheduled for April 26 will therefore be a class day.
These organizations, which follow in the footsteps of others in Toronto as well as in Estrie in Quebec, argue that the eclipse which will partially plunge the region into darkness might cause “potential security issues at the time of leaving classes and students returning home.
This means that 55,000 schoolchildren will be on forced leave the day the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and projects its shadow on the Earth, with school authorities judging that young people will be safer at home.
The phenomenon will occur between 2:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.
Partial
In the federal capital region, the eclipse will be partial, with only the extreme south of Ontario and Quebec falling within the geographical area approximately 200 kilometers wide where we will be able to observe a total eclipse, expected around 3:30 p.m. . A period when surveillance is “less structured”, they say.
“This period coincides with the time when the majority of students leave school and return home. However, viewing the eclipse without appropriate eye protection poses potential risks of eye damage and permanent vision damage. Challenges might also be encountered in terms of school transportation, both due to the availability of bus drivers and in terms of road traffic during the eclipse,” mentions the letter sent to parents.
Health authorities also remind us that it is very important not to look directly at the Sun without adequate protection during a solar eclipse.
“At any time, looking directly at the sun without protection can damage the retina (the light-detecting membrane at the back of the eye) and cause a condition called solar retinopathy, or burning of the retina. This can lead to loss of vision, temporary or permanent, without there being any pain,” warns Ottawa Public Health.
Please note that the celestial phenomenon is a first in 52 years and the next one is not expected until 2106.
Quebec shore
On the Quebec side, the Outaouais school service centers have not yet announced any changes to their school calendar linked to these exceptional circumstances.
Discussions to this effect have, however, taken place in recent weeks between the general directorates and the Ministry of Education, according to the director of communications and secretary general of the CSS au Coeur-des-Vallées (CSSCV), Jasmin Bellavance, due to of the peak hour at which the eclipse is anticipated. The reflection continues and no decision has been made.
After the smoke from forest fires, strikes, winter storms and even COVID-19 in recent months and years, a solar eclipse will partially disrupt the school calendar this spring.
Process
The total eclipse is expected to be first observed in Mexico around 11:07 a.m. Pacific Time, when the Moon will move between Earth and the sun, casting a partial or full shadow. The eclipse will then be visible in the United States before moving towards southern Ontario, then southern Quebec, northern New Brunswick, western Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland for regarding two hours, around the same time that many children in Canada get out of school.
Some areas can expect complete darkness for regarding four minutes during midfollowingnoon.
With The Canadian Press
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