School boards in Chatham-Kent and Lambton County are making changes to planned professional activity days due to a rare total solar eclipse.
The local region will affected by the eclipse between 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8.
After consulting with local emergency service partners and public health units, the Lambton Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School Board have made the decision to change the Professional Activity Day scheduled for April 26 to April 8.
The school boards issued a joint statement this week, citing safety concerns associated with the eclipse including the danger of looking directly at the solar event and the potential issues caused by visiting tourists.
“Solar eclipses and similar natural environmental occurrences have, historically, resulted in a large number of tourists visiting the area,” the boards said in the statement. “This poses a significant number of safety issues for our students and bus drivers who will be leaving schools and travelling on the roads during the time of the eclipse.”
The decision locally comes after several other school boards across the province made similar changes to PA Day schedules earlier this month in response to the eclipse.
More information regarding safety during a solar eclipse can be found online by clicking here.
