On Monday, April 8th, 2024 was the great solar eclipse. What is the solar eclipse you ask? Well, for those of you who don’t know, the great solar eclipse is when the moon happens to pass perfectly between the sun and the Earth, and a dark shadow is cast down upon certain parts of the Earth. During the solar eclipse, you can experience a moment of peace in complete darkness; this is known as a totality or half totality when the moon has completely covered the sun, but this isn’t a science lesson.
At DSST Montview, students, staff, and teachers were lucky enough to have the chance to witness the solar eclipse. Students from Prep and Senior Academy got to see it pass across the state of Colorado in partial totality.
Seeing this miraculous thing occur in our sky, some staff members at Montview traveled far and wide to see the total darkness; one of the many people was a freshman teacher, soccer coach, and gym teacher, Mr. Hoover.
“This was the coolest experience of my life! I just had lots of fun and it was wonderful.”
Many other teachers like Mr. Hollenbach gathered and set up a student experience of a lifetime, bringing protective glasses and giving the students a science lesson on the solar eclipse. The last solar eclipse was six years ago, in 2017 when many of us Montview students were in elementary school, but on Monday during prep academy lunch, teachers and students gathered outside to experience the amazing moment in which the state of Colorado got the opportunity to see a part of this mind-blowing experience. Students and staff got to see all of this happen, as Mr. Hollenbach, the freshman Physics teacher, brought eye-protective solar glasses for students to use so they wouldn’t get permanent damage to their eyes, as well as other items.
Mr. Hollenbach along with other teachers taught students some mini astronomy lessons, it was all-inclusive with seniors and freshmen, and it was so much fun. They taught the ways of how and why the solar eclipse occurs, and everyone was so interested and invested getting to learn about something that maybe they hadn’t known about before. This was also a great opportunity for all classes to come together and hang out with people that they don’t often get to see during the school day; upper and lower-classmen found ways to have fun while also being educated.
Quoted by Emma Oliver , a sophomore, “The solar eclipse was amazing! We can’t wait till the next one.”
She couldn’t have said it better. Having this experience and getting to be part of history is something that you can’t ever feel more grateful for. But it doesn’t end here. This is just one of many more solar eclipses to go. And that was the Montview solar eclipse student experience.
