NCS faulty members Landry Smith, Kevin Green, and Caleb Goff safely watch the progress of the eclipse through their eclipse glasses.

     On Monday, August 21st, 2017, the first total solar eclipse to hit Tennessee since 1869 and Nashville since 1478 happened. It was an event that swept excitement over the nation, having crowds of people traveling down to Music City to witness this amazing, natural phenomena. Nashville Christian decided to have a school-wide picnic for the viewing of the eclipse, providing all the students, families, and teachers with glasses.

     “First, my mom and grandparents brought a picnic to school for me. Then I lay on the blanket I brought and periodically watched the partial eclipse with the glasses. When it was totality, we all took our glasses off and it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ben Simpson, 11th grade, about his experience of the viewing. He was one of the many students who brought along family and had a picnic lunch. 

    “The eclipse was amazing! I was so excited and ran around like a little kid the whole time. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I was able to experience with my friends and family,” said Abby Shivers, 11th grade, about her first time viewing an eclipse. Like many of the students, she had never seen an eclipse before and was very excited to see it.

    “I went to Percy Priest lake with my family on our boat for the eclipse. While the eclipse was happening, I was in the water on a float and could look right up at it. It was really cool,” said Devon Clarke, 11th grade, who didn’t attend the eclipse viewing at school, but went out to watch it elsewhere. 

The next total solar eclipse to come across the United States will be in 2024, and you will have to travel to another city if you want to see this amazing sight again. Hopefully, all who weren’t able to view it this year will be able to view the next one.