North country school prepares for out-of-this-world experience

BELLEVILLE, New York (WWNY) - Almost exactly a year from now — April 8, 2024 — there will be a total solar eclipse.

Maps from NASA show the areas that are directly under it. Purple circles show the ideal viewing areas.

And guess what school just so happens to be dead center of one circle?

“Our school happens to be right in the track of it,” Belleville Henderson Central School principal Scott Storey said. “At Belleville Henderson we have many activities and events being planned leading up to the eclipse.”

Yep. At precisely 3:25 p.m., just as school lets out, the sun will go dark for just a few fleeting moments.

“Those types of things don’t happen at Belleville very often,” Storey said, “so we’re excited to teach the students about solar eclipses and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Even though we’re still a year away, the school is preparing for the big event and has bought hundreds of cool eclipse glasses.

“And right now we’re designing t-shirts for each student and staff member,” Storey said.

The school also looks forward to deploying weather balloons the day of. Storey says this is a great way to encourage students to pursue careers in weather, science, or engineering.

“The real-life experience versus just talking about it in classrooms, those real-life experiences really motivate students to pursue careers in those fields,” he said.

So, start the countdown. The best lesson of the school year is coming to Belleville in 371 days,

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