SOUTH DAYTON — Two Pine Valley science teachers are working on educating their students about the upcoming April eclipse before the event.

Sandy Karpie and Robert Paterniti will be working on lessons with their students throughout the next few weeks. Karpie has lessons set for her ninth graders, and is working with Paterniti to do something for the fifth grade, but nothing is set in stone yet.

Karpie said it is important for students to learn about rare events such as the eclipse.

“I think it’s important for students to know what everyone in the news and social media has been talking about,” Karpie said. “These are definitely rare events that very seldom happen directly in your town that you can experience.”

Karpie’s plan is to get into the topic of eclipses with her high school students more when they reach the subject of Earth in the solar system. Additionally, she said that she hopes to help not only high school students but everyone to pay attention to the safety aspect.

“But for any aged student, the safety aspect is critical,” Karpie said. “All students should know before the eclipse not to stare at the sun without proper glasses or permanent damage can be done. That’s also a message I hope most adults understand as well.”

As a part of her lesson plan, Karpie has her ninth graders looking at data for total, partial and annular eclipses that occurred from 1991 to 2025. The goal of the lesson is for her students to understand that solar eclipses do not happen every month, but throughout the decade, occurring all over the world and are also predictable.

While Pine Valley is one of the local schools that has made the decision to close on April 8 for safety reasons as the totality is set to occur around the time students will be on the bus, Karpie said she believed students will also receive their own eclipse glasses before leaving for spring break. She hopes the experience will install in her students and all students an interest in science.

“It would be awesome if this eclipse sparked interest in science and an understanding of the Earth for students,” Karpie said. “I will cross my fingers for a clear sunny day and hopefully people of all ages will enjoy the rare experience.”