Dear RCS families,
Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School District will be closed on Monday, April 8, on the day of the solar eclipse. Several factors were considered before making this decision, including safety concerns for students and potential staffing issues caused by numerous neighboring schools closing or shortening their days.
Our area is not in the path of eclipse totality, but it’s anticipated that the Capital Region will be significantly affected. While this is a rare and exciting phenomenon, it presents a risk of eye injury to everyone, especially children who may not understand the dangers of looking directly in the direction of the sun. At no time will it be safe to look at the sun without the protection of authentic and properly certified eclipse viewing glasses. Here are some safety suggestions from NASA.
We understand canceling school can be a hardship for many of our families who have to make childcare arrangements or miss work. We have used no emergency closure days during the 23-24 school year. The school closure on April 8 will not require us to make the day up at some other time this year. Looking ahead, we also anticipate that Thursday, May 23, 2024, will be a contingent day (no school) up against Memorial Day weekend because we have not used all of our emergency closure days.
This solar event will not occur again in our part of the country for many years. We encourage students and families to learn more about the eclipse as well as ways to observe the eclipse with the proper eye protection. We have and will be providing lessons to students about the eclipse and eclipse safety this week. More information about the solar eclipse event and eye safety may be found here:
2024 Total Eclipse: Where & When - NASA
Eclipse Eye Safety