Skip to main content
Georgia Charter Schools Association
My Account      Teacher Certification      Vendor Directory      Events      Facebook Twitter Search
  • About GA Charters 
      • About GA Charters 
      • Get the Facts 
      • Atlanta Charters 
      • Approved GA Charters » 
  • Advocacy 
    • Take Part 
      • Advocacy Training 
      • Market Data Analysis 
      • Become an Advocate 
      • Serve on a Charter Board 
    • Tools You Can Use 
      • How to Plan an Effective Legislative Visit 
      • Communicating With Your Legislator 
      • The Language of School Choice 
      • Combatting Charter School Myths 
      • GA House & Senate Page Program 
      • National Charter Schools Week 
  • Training & Services 
      • Academic Services 
      • Charter Renewal 
      • Communications 
      • Facility Resource Center 
      • Financial Certification Training & Services 
      • GCSA Charter Incubator 
      •   » Apply for the GCSA Charter Incubator 
      • Governance Training & Support 
      • Operational Services 
      • Professional Development 
  • Membership 
    • Members 
      • Membership Overview 
      • Members Area 
      • Blog 
      • Specialty Benefits Plan 
      • Associate Membership 
      • Join AAE 
      • GCSA Affinity Groups 
    • My Account 
      • My Profile 
      • My Orders 
      • My Addresses 
      • Payment methods 
      • Lost password 
  • Job Board 
  • Find a School 
      • School Locator 
      • Approved GA Charters » 
  • About 
      • Who We Are 
      • Mission & Vision 
      • Staff 
      • Board of Directors 
      • Partner Organizations 
      • GCSA Jobs 
      • Press Inquiries 
      • Directions & Parking 
  • Blog 
  • About GA Charters
    • About GA Charters
    • Get the Facts
    • Atlanta Charters
    • Approved GA Charters »
  • Advocacy
    • Take Part
      • Market Data Analysis
      • Advocacy Training
      • Become an Advocate
      • Serve on a Charter Board
    • Tools You Can Use
      • How to Plan an Effective Legislative Visit
      • Communicating With Your Legislator
      • The Language of School Choice
      • Combatting Charter School Myths
      • GA House & Senate Page Program
      • National Charter Schools Week
  • Training & Services
    • Overview
    • Academic Services
    • Charter Renewal
    • Communications
    • Facility Resource Center
    • Financial Certification Training & Services
    • GCSA Charter Incubator
    •   » Apply for the GCSA Charter Incubator
    • Governance Training & Support
    • Operational Services
    • Professional Development
  • Membership
    • Overview
    • Members Area
    • Become a Member
    • Specialty Benefits Plan
    • Associate Membership
    • Join AAE
    • GCSA Affinity Groups
  • My Account
    • My Profile
    • My Orders
    • My Addresses
    • Payment methods
    • Lost password
  • Job Board
  • Find a School
    • School Locator
    • GCSA Quality Initiative
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Mission & Vision
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Partner Organizations
    • GCSA Jobs
    • Press Inquiries
    • Directions & Parking
  • Teacher Certification
  • Vendor Directory
  • Events
  • Contact
  • $0.00

GCSA Member Schools Use Eclipse as Teachable Moment

by Michelle Wirth

On Monday, August 21, A number of GCSA member schools used the solar eclipse as an interactive lesson opportunity for students. Other member schools incorporated the eclipse into their lesson plans in the weeks and days leading up to the major scientific event.

Statesboro STEAM
Statesboro STEAM took a school-wide field trip to Santee, South Carolina so they could view the eclipse in totality.  Students traveled by charter buses and viewed the event from the Santee Town Hall Complex. A textile science class at the school designed a special T-shirt to commemorate the event. They learned how to embroider and heat press among other skills gained in the class. 

       

Charles R. Drew Charter School
Charles R. Drew Charter School commemorated the eclipse by holding a special viewing event on the school’s athletic field for all Drew students in grades K-12. The event included STEAM demonstrations and a live feed from NASA. 
 
       
 
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS) dedicated much of the day to exploring all things “eclipse:” eclipse folklore, eclipses in popular culture, eclipse math and the making of eclipse viewers. In the afternoon, ANCS parents were invited to join students and teachers at both campuses to watch the eclipse outside. The school plans to donate its used eclipse glasses to Astronomers Without Borders.
 

        

KIPP STRIVE Academy
KIPP STRIVE Academy students observed the solar eclipse outside their school building with special eclipse glasses. A number of parents came to the school to be with students as they watched with students in their school team. 
 
       
 
Westside Atlanta Charter School
Westside Atlanta Charter School held a “Solarbration.” The school’s older students paired up with younger ones to view the eclipse. A number of families attended the special day at the school. Prior to viewing the eclipse, students participated in a study around the history, significance, and experiments related to this scientific event. Students received “Solarbration” button, sun chips, and moon pies to take home with them. 
 
       
 
Lake Oconee Academy
Prior to the eclipse, Lake Oconee Academy teachers of all subject areas taught eclipse related lesson plans so students could truly appreciate and understand this celestial event. The entire student body was provided with eclipse viewing glasses to watch the moon cross the path of the sun. Students were outside during first contact and for the minutes of totality. While inside, students viewed the live streaming provided by NASA. It was a celebration of science and something students will remember in the years to come.
 
        
 
Amana Academy
Student scientists at Amana Academy built background knowledge through an expert visitor from the Milton Astronomy Club in the days leading up to the eclipse and then looked to the sky as the 0.97 magnitude solar eclipse unfolded before their eyes. Students participated in hands-on activities and set up an Experimentation Dissemination Station to record changes in light intensity, temperature, and other measurements for later study. Kindergarten and first-grade students followed the eclipse online.
 
         
 
The Globe Academy
The GLOBE Academy, a dual language immersion public charter school, participated in this week’s eclipse viewing by preparing for the event in the four languages: English, French, Mandarin, and Spanish. Students also learned about the solar system in science class and practiced wearing their eclipse classes prior to the big day.
 
 
The Main Street Academy
Approximately 600 students and 100 parents at The Main Street Academy celebrated the striking phenomenon by watching the eclipse outside with solar glasses donated by Fulton County Schools. To top off the event, students, educators and parents ate moon pie and wrote about their experiences.
  
        
 
Ivy Preparatory Academy at Kirkwood
Students  created pinhole viewers with cereal boxes. They also enjoyed the remainder of the day with a glow-in-the-dark party complete with dancing, fluorescent shirt painting, glow in the dark bracelets, necklaces and glow-in-the-dark bowling with water bottles.
 
        
 
Ivy Preparatory Academy at Gwinnett
Students performed a series of on-campus projects and assignments to increase their depth of knowledge on the current phenomenon. They also tracked the eclipse from the NASA website and viewed the eclipse outside utilizing special glasses.
 
       
 
Latin Grammar School
Prior to the eclipse on Friday, August 18, Latin Grammar School students learned about the eclipse in STEAM and science class. On the day of the eclipse, students who received permission from their parents watched the eclipse with viewing glasses provided by Fulton County. Students and educators gathered in a large open field on campus and viewed the phenomenon –with sun chips, Capri Suns, and moon Oreos for a snack.
 
 
Resurgence Hall 
Sixth-grade students at Resurgence Hall got the opportunity to participate in this once in a lifetime event. During the eclipse, scholars spent time gazing at the sky and followed by taking notes about changes in the sky, temperature, shadows and even animal behavior. 
 
 
Cherokee Charter Academy
Student at Cherokee Charter Academy students had fun viewing the solar eclipse. The school allowed students to bring in their own eclipse viewing glasses. For those that did not bring glasses, teachers helped them create box and paper plates viewers. 
 
        
 
Coastal Empire Montessori Academy & Charter School
Coastal Empire Montessori Academy & Charter School closed for the special event, so the school used Friday, August 18 to focus on the eclipse. Since eclipse viewing glasses were in short supply, the school’s elementary students made simple pinhole cameras using card stock and tinfoil.
 
       
 
Odyssey Charter School
Odyssey Charter School held an essay contest on “The Importance of a Solar Eclipse.” Ten winning essays were selected and the students were awarded with a trip to Clemson University with Principal Scot Hooper to watch astrophysicists and aero-space engineers conduct experiments during the Solar Eclipse.
 
         
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Michelle Wirth

Michelle, GCSA's Director of Communications, is an award-winning journalist with a background in strategic communications. She has a Master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Denver.

Michelle Wirth Facebook Twitter

Published : August 23, 2017   |   Category : Blog, Newsletter


Leave a comment

Cancel comment

All Monthly Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022

Tag Cloud

Alexandria Sweeny Alisha Morgan Amana Academy Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School Bhumi Sukha Board Boost Board Member Brookhaven Innovation Academy Byron Thornton Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts Charter School Governance Charter School Incubator Charter School Leadership Charter Schools Cherokee Charter Cirrus Academy Digital Governance Drew Charter School Education Reform Fayette County Fernbank Elementary School Georgia Georgia Cyber Academy Georgia PTO Jason Lin Lake Oconee Academy Latin Academy Macon Madison Davenport Matthew Mitchell Mountain Ed Charter High School Museum School of Avondale Estates Myah Crowell New Schools Opportunity School Districts Pataula Charter Academy School Choice Senior Recognition 2022 Shizue Sommer Student Engagement Teacher Appreciation Day Teacher Appreciation Week Teacher Appreciation Week 2022 Training Weekly Charter News

FB Pixel

Stay connected

Join our GCSA Weekly Newsletter to receive the latest news and updates from our team. We send out weekly updates about charter schools and legislation. We don’t like spam either, so we’ll never share your email with others.

Subscribe

Georgia Charter Schools Association
Facebook Twitter RSS
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy  &  Terms of Use
+1 470 236 0671
back to top
About Us
  • Who We Are
  • Mission & Vision
  • Press Inquiries
  • Directions & Parking
  • Contact
Quick Links
  • Advocacy Training
  • Market Data Analysis
  • Training & Services
News
  • Charters in the News
  • Press Releases
  • Subscribe
  • Blog
  • Calendar
Careers
  • Job Board
  • GCSA Jobs
 

Subscribe to the GCSA Weekly Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Subscribe to the GCSA Weekly Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!