Dear Centennial School District Parents/Guardians:
I hope this letter finds you well. We want to inform you about an upcoming event impacting our school schedule on April 8th, 2024. On this day, a solar eclipse will occur during school dismissal hours, and as a precautionary measure, we have decided along with many of our neighboring school districts to implement an early dismissal schedule.
The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our utmost priority. While solar eclipses are fascinating astronomical events, they also come with certain risks if proper precautions are not taken. Viewing a solar eclipse without appropriate eye protection can cause severe damage to the eyes.
Therefore, to ensure the safety of our students and staff, we have decided to dismiss school early on April 8th. The exact dismissal time will be the same as the typical CSD early dismissal schedule.
EARLY DISMISSAL SCHEDULE for SOLAR ECLIPSE*
• High School - 10:30 a.m. (No PM MBIT)
• Middle Schools - 11:00 a.m.
• Elementary Schools - 11:45 a.m.
**All elementary, middle and high school after-school activities/events are canceled.
*The evening high school Fine Arts program will proceed as scheduled.
For those who drive students to school, please arrange to pick up your child at the designated dismissal time or ensure they have arranged transportation home by an authorized person listed in the school records. The Pennsylvania Department of Education has indicated that April 8th may be treated as an inclement weather release day, so those parents/guardians who choose to keep their student(s) home or pick up early will have their student coded as an excused absence or early release.
We encourage you to take this opportunity to discuss the solar eclipse with your child and emphasize the importance of using proper eye protection (ISO 12312-2 standard) if they plan to observe the eclipse. Additionally, please remind them to only look directly at the sun with proper eye protection, even during partial eclipse phases. CSD has a significant number of walkers and we ask parents/guardians to reinforce to their children who walk the importance of them going directly home or to the location determined by you the parents/guardians.
If you have any questions regarding the early dismissal schedule, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s school. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in ensuring the safety of our students during this exciting astronomical event.
Thank you for your continued support.
Warm regards,
Dr. Dana T. Bedden, CAA
Superintendent of Schools