On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe inspiring sights – a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere – the corona – can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun’s disk.

To ensure the safety of all students during the upcoming partial solar eclipse, the Cobb County School District will delay dismissal of students for approximately 45 minutes on Monday, August 21. Buses at elementary, middle, and high school levels will depart approximately 45 minutes after their normally scheduled time.

The peak time to experience the solar eclipse falls during the school’s regularly scheduled elementary school dismissal time. Since student safety is always our first priority Cobb Schools will start the day on time and delay dismissal to ensure that neither students nor employees are on the roadways during the time of the eclipse. Subsequently, high schools and middle schools will delay dismissal as well.

Schools will be provided with further guidance and instructional resources as appropriate. Parents are welcome to pick-up their child at the typical dismissal time if needed.

On August 21, the continental United States will see its first total solar eclipse in 38 years. The shadow of the moon will cross the country, touching land in Oregon and leaving from South Carolina, providing an opportunity for what may be an unprecedented number of people to witness this extraordinary natural phenomenon. Total solar eclipses are a big deal not because of how infrequent they are — there’s a total solar eclipse every 18 months on average — but because of how little of the Earth’s surface falls in the path of any given eclipse shadow. The next total solar eclipse to visit the US will be in 2024.

For more information regarding the solar eclipse visit the National Weather Service at www.weather.gov/sgf/ SolarEclipse.

 

This article originally appeared on page 31 of the August issue of the EAST COBBER magazine.