LYNCHBURG, Va. – Students, staff and faculty of Lynchburg City Schools got to experience the solar eclipse on Monday. They used the donated ISO compliant solar eclipse shades to view the phenomenon. Students at R.S. Payne Elementary School got a lesson along with the special experience. Some third graders learned about what the eclipse is and where they would have to be to see the eclipse in its totality.
Each teacher used this weekend to prepare for their students to watch the eclipse. Last week, students watched flim of the 1979, so they could compare it to and contract it with the eclipse today. Children from pre-K to fifth grade marched outside and screamed in awe at what they were seeing.
"We used a pingpong ball and as the sun, with a hula hoop and different models to kind of build that background knowledge, and they were just so excited while learning about it," Michelle Stevenson, teacher at R.S. Payne Elementary, said.
"It was important that all of our students got to experience this once in-a-lifetime event. We may not be here to experience it again. So we wanted to make sure that they all had a chance to no matter how little they are," Tracy Proffitt, STEM coach math remediation specialist, said.
School officials say, throughout the week. teachers will use poetry and questions, to continue discussing with their students the experience of seeing the eclipse.