As the date of the upcoming total solar eclipse approaches (April 8th), there’s some anticipation locally for those in Port Hope as our area falls in the path of totality. The eclipse will begin at 2:06 p.m. local time with the entire event spanning slightly over two hours. Full totality – which will result in total darkness – will start at approximately 3:21 p.m. and will last just shy of one minute.

Here are some eclipse facts that might pique your interest:

• During the eclipse, some animals and birds might exhibit unusual behavior or prepare for sleep
• Local temperatures could drop by 10 degrees or more
• The shadow of the eclipse (the umbra) will move across the Earth’s surface at more than 2,400 km per hour
• Most geographic locations on the Earth’s surface will experience the totality of a total solar eclipse approximately every 400 years

And, sticking to the celestial theme, while I have you reading this blog post, I thought it would be interesting to share some of the many exciting offerings and happenings that take place at TCS over the course of time that it takes our Earth to rotate our sun.

Did you know…?

• There are over 30 categories of stewardships at TCS with approximately 140 active stewards who serve different facets of the School’s educational and operational program
• There are 25 TCS mentors involved in supporting child-focussed organizations, such as Rebound Child & Youth Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters, on a weekly basis
• All 35 Grade 8 students are involved in a months-long community-focused endeavour through the Hearts & Minds Project
• Last month, at the Ontario Band Association’s provincial festival, both the Junior School’s Tottenham Band and the Senior School’s Trinity Winds played admirably, winning invitations to perform at MusicFest Canada’s National competition
• The 15 members of the TCS Dance Team and eight members of the AFL dance club recently staged an incredible, high energy show titled Dance the Night Away
• TCS offers 118 academic courses in the Senior School
• Students can write one or more of the 21 Advanced Placement (AP) exams offered; last year, TCS students collectively wrote an impressive 352 AP exams
• Two new AP courses will be introduced next year at TCS: AP African American Studies and AP Precalculus
• In addition to English, TCS offers five language courses in the Senior School: French, Spanish, Latin, German and Mandarin
• Senior School students have supported 16 weekend service learning or volunteer opportunities in the greater community so far this year (this is in addition to Week Without Walls!)
• 78 student-athletes tried their hand at field hockey this year, with two CISAA gold medals and two CISAA silver medals earned across our four teams
• This winter, our alpine ski team swept every team category at the recent CISAA Championships
• Our Under-14 boys basketball team recently won 10 straight games to post an undefeated season and win CISAA gold
• There were 63 students involved in our Littleside and Bigside football teams this year
• There are 56 competitive athletic teams at TCS

Of course, this is a very small sampling of the hundreds of initiatives, activities and events that take place in our community every year.

And here’s a fascinating final tidbit to ponder: the Earth rotates at roughly 1,600 km/hr (!) to complete one full rotation in 24 hours.

As an active community, we’re constantly in motion at TCS, but I didn’t realize that we were moving that fast!