On Monday, April 8, 2024, MICDS students, faculty, and staff enjoyed one of nature’s grandest and rarest spectacles—a partial solar eclipse with 99% totality. Leading up to the main event, teachers in all divisions touched on various aspects of the celestial event, with Lower Schoolers going all in on « Moon Week. » It was a sight to behold, and our community seized the moon-ment as the light and shadows started to change, leading up to near darkness, with streetlights popping on, birds fluttering, and a chilly breeze in the air.
During the special « Moon Week » in the Lower School, students had the unique opportunity to delve into the world of celestial bodies. They enjoyed classroom visits from Liz Crowder, Lower School Literacy Coordinator, where she read Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty. The students engaged in a « cause and effect » literacy activity, which helped them build sentences to improve their reading and comprehension skills. Lower School Librarian Thomas Buffington curated some eclipse and planetary book selections and helped students create a LibGuide page to explore additional eclipse resources during Library time.
In Lower School science and math, activities ranged from making models of the earth, moon, and sun out of modeling clay to mapping the distance and ratio of planet size, distance from other planets, and orbit rotations. Students also created planet models, used light devices to create shadows, and programmed Ozobots to zip through an orbital journey. Fourth graders even traveled to the Dana Brown Overnight Center at Shaw Nature Reserve for their annual science overnight and added in some special galactic activities.
In Spanish class, students read Buenas Noches, Luna, the Spanish version of the classic Margaret Wise Brown book Goodnight, Moon. Then, after watching a video of how an eclipse works, they created their own sol, luna, and terra models on paper with oil pastels.
On the official eclipse day, our entire community came together to witness this celestial wonder. Students eagerly flocked outdoors while teachers orbited around their students, ensuring everyone was using proper ISO-certified solar glasses. All eyes were (safely) on the sky as the moon eclipsed the sun, creating a shared day of cosmic proportions.
Lower Schoolers set up camp on the playground, while Middle Schoolers enjoyed a wide open swath of space with their advisories on the Thomas Field turf. At the same time, Upper Schoolers hung out by advisory on picnic blankets on McCreery Field. During the celestial event, they enjoyed music by our in-house DJ and Upper School Arts Teacher Patrick Huber. Top Eclipse Day tunes included Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden and the perennial favorite, Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.
After the event, our community demonstrated its generosity by turning in their eclipse glasses. These glasses will be donated to Eclipse Glasses USA and sent to children in Latin America for the August 2024 eclipse, allowing them to safely enjoy this natural phenomenon just as we did.
Preparing for this fantastic opportunity to witness this historic event with our students, faculty, and staff was such fun. Here’s to the next planetary party in 2044!