The first solar eclipse since 1999 will happen on Aug. 21. The apex of the eclipse in Maize will be at 1:03:52 p.m.

Looking directly at the eclipse with you bare eyes will cause partial-irreversible blindness that cannot be fixed by glasses, contacts or surgery. There are special glasses designed to protect your eyes while you watch the eclipse.

The administration is planning to take students with a signed permission slip outside between 11:36 a.m. and 2:32 p.m. to watch the eclipse. The school will provide the special solar eclipse glasses and there will be a modified schedule for third block and C lunch.

Science teacher Amy Hammett says it is important for students to witness and experience the eclipse.

“It’s an interesting astronomical phenomena that will only happen once in your young life,” she said.

There is folklore and and mythology surrounding the cause of the eclipse but “the astronomy behind it, and there is a lot of physics and chemistry at work,” says Hammett.

The next solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2028