Solar Eclipse

20th March 2015

Dear parents and carers,

Shortly after 8am on Friday, the skies above Britain will start to grow dim. At first, the change will be slight, but a little more than an hour later about nine-tenths of the Sun will be blocked out.  Not until nearly 11am will the Sun finally be restored to its full glory.   The event taking place will, of course, be a solar eclipse, when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth and casts a deep shadow over the Earth’s surface.  It will affect the entire country as the eclipse travels from the Isles of Scilly and all the way north to the Orkneys.

Whilst this is very exciting and hasn’t happened for more than 16 years we want to warn you of the dangers, especially to children, of looking directly at the sun during the eclipse.  Sunglasses are useless and there is a danger that you could burn the retina of your eye.

Advice from The Royal College of Ophthalmologists says: "The general public must remember that they should not look directly at the Sun or at a solar eclipse, either with the naked eye, even if dark filters such as sunglasses or photographic negatives are used, nor through optical equipment such as cameras, binoculars or telescopes.  There is no safe system to directly view an eclipse.  Particular care should be taken with children.  Children should not be allowed to look directly at the Sun at any time."

Please heed this advice and do not under any circumstances allow your child to view the eclipse directly.

If you have any questions please come and speak to myself or any of the teachers.

 

Kind regards,

Sue Simmons,

Principal.