The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) will extend its school day by one hour on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, to provide safe viewing and instructional opportunities related to the expected solar eclipse that day.
Dismissal will occur one hour later than usual, at the end of the extended learning period. Our three-tier dismissal system starts with elementary schools, followed by high schools, and finally middle schools. Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s school to determine the exact dismissal time on Monday, Aug. 21.
According to NASA, the solar eclipse will occur across North America that day when the moon obscures 97.4 percent of the sun. The solar eclipse will be viewable around 1:02 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. DCSD reminds its community that it is not safe to stare directly into the sun without special glasses, and it is providing lessons that will allow students to safely take advantage of the moment.
Those lessons may include the distribution of special viewing glasses, and opportunities to view the eclipse using monitors and safe viewing options. Many teachers will also include information on the eclipse in their lessons that day, as appropriate.
Note: It’s a bad idea to look directly at the sun during an eclipse.
Other schools delaying dismissal:
COBB COUNTY – 45-minute delay
FORSYTH COUNTY – 40-minute delay (ES I: 3:00 p.m., ES II: 3:40 p.m., High: 4:20 p.m., Middle: 4:55 p.m.)
GWINNETT COUNTY – One-hour delay
HENRY COUNTY – One-hour delay (Elementary: 3:25 p.m., High: 4:15 p.m., Middle: 4:55 p.m.)
MARIETTA CITY SCHOOLS – 15-minute delay
PAULDING COUNTY – One-hour delay (Elementary: 3:30 p.m., High: 4:25 p.m., Middle: 4:35 p.m.)
ROCKDALE COUNTY – Elementary: 3:00 p.m., High: 3:45 p.m., Middle: 4:30 p.m.
Cobb County School District – Eclipse 2017 Parent Information
The 2017 Eclipse Across America will happen on Monday, August 21st and Cobb Schools are ready! Cobb teachers and students will have the opportunity to experience an extremely rare and awe inspiring event – a total solar eclipse. Cobb will be using this “teachable moment” to increase the science literacy of our students. We will be utilizing a variety of resources curated by NASA, the Tellus Science Museum and Cobb educators to provide an unforgettable learning experience for our students K-12.
Information For Parents
Cobb is in the path of the eclipse. We will experience a 98% total solar eclipse. The eclipse will begin after lunch and last about 2 hours. The skies will gradually begin to darken as the moon moves into the path of the sun. Over time the sky it will become increasingly dark. Here in Cobb, the near total eclipse will happen between 2:35 and 2:40. It will last just over 2 minutes. Then the skies will gradually become filled with more light, as the moon moves out of the path of the sun.
Each Cobb school will provide students opportunities to participate in the eclipse phenomena. Participation will vary from going outdoors to view the eclipse with official eclipse glasses or student engineered solar eclipse viewers (pinhole cameras) to watching the live NASA eclipse broadcast. Teachers across the district have been working hard to align the learning experiences on the 21st to concepts taught in each grade or course. For example, students in grade four will be learning about the motion of the moon and Earth and how it relates to the Sun. While students in Kindergarten will be communicating observations about the sun and moon in the sky. And students in grade eight will be exploring light waves and lenses.
Schools interested in having students go outdoors to view the eclipse will be sending home forms requesting parent permission. To learn more about the 2017 Eclipse Across America please visit http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”