The total solar eclipse was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

For some people, this will be the first eclipse they have ever seen. 

“The eclipse in 2017 was during the school day, and for some reason, the teachers at the middle school wouldn’t let us watch it. Some teachers even put things over the windows so we couldn’t see it. It was pretty annoying so I was really excited to see the eclipse going into it,” senior Dalton Hockersmith said. 

One GHS student will be able to see another total solar eclipse very soon. 

“The solar eclipse was very cool to see. Since I am an exchange student from Spain, I will see another one in 2026. I am very excited for it,” sophomore Luis Giner-Perez said. 

Many students had parties to celebrate the event.

“My family had a watch party for the eclipse, and I also had some friends over. It was really fun preparing for the eclipse and seeing the streets go dark. I definitely will not forget the eclipse any time soon,” freshman Jaxon Mcilwain said.

Freedom Park was a popular place for viewing.

“My family went to Freedom Park to watch the eclipse. There were so many people there. Everybody wanted to get a spot on the big view, which was a great view to see the sun,” Giner-Perez said.

Seeing the sky dark in the middle of the day was a unique experience. 

“My favorite part of the eclipse was seeing everything go dark. All of the birds were going crazy, and the street lights turned on,” Mcilwain said. 

The total eclipse this month is thought by many to be better than the partial eclipse in 2017.

“The total eclipse was way cooler than the eclipse in 2017. In the partial eclipse, the sun was still covered, but we weren’t in the path of totality so it didn’t go totally dark,” Mcilwain said.