News
Eclipse Day at GPS
That one afternoon, when the moon covered the sun, and we all gathered to view it.
Over the summer, the faculty at GPS began planning for August 21, the day of the total solar eclipse. Middle School students spent the first week of school discussing eclipse-related facts, especially in science classes. Department chairs were asked to task their faculty with incorporating eclipse details into their class curricula.
The week leading up to the eclipse, all chapels, which is how GPS closes the school day, began with some eclipse focus: Tracie Durham, science department chair, gave an Eclipse 101 lesson; Sarah Jackson, dean of Upper School, and Ralph Covino, dean of the junior class and history/social sciences teacher, discussed eclipses in history. Meg Brock included the eclipse in her fine arts classes.
When Monday finally arrived, after lunch on the DeFoor Patio, the students made their way to the lower athletic field, where they played tag, Heads-Up, volleyball and Sequence; turned cartwheels and peered into one of several telescopes—and some homemade viewfinders—while waiting for the eclipse to be viewed from Chattanooga. The girls snacked on eclipse-themed cookies, lounged under pop-up shade tents, and looked to the sky through special eyewear to track the moon’s journey across the sun’s surface.
Trish King, sixth grade history teacher, quizzed her students on solar eclipse trivia after the girls traced their shadows and colored eclipse-themed drawings.
"In any given location, a total solar eclipse happens just once every how many years?" Trish asked. "This makes mathematical sense!" The girls guessed, from two years to 400, before finally listening for the answer: 360 years.
Despite the warm temps—OK, it was really hot that afternoon—the faculty and students all enjoyed their time outdoors together. “When it was getting darker, I felt like I was on a different planet,” one student was overheard saying. Other comments such as “It was stellar!” (pun intended) and “It’s so awesome” were tossed about.
As the cicadas began chirping and the scoreboard clock counted down closer to zero, the midday haze dissipated and suddenly the atmosphere felt other-worldly. GPS had survived the total solar eclipse of 2017!
