On Monday, Naperville North High School students flocked to the football stadium to get the once-in-a-lifetime view of the solar eclipse.

This eclipse is particularly noteworthy due to its large totality, the actual percent of the sun covered, with around 90% of the sun covered over Chicago and 100% coverage in various places across the country. According to Adler Planetarium, this degree of totality has not been seen in the continental United States since 1925, and will not be seen again in Chicago until 2099.  This rarity attracted people from all walks of life, as Andrew McWhirter, head of the Science Department at NNHS, explained.

“The greatest thing about a solar eclipse is that it brings people together,” McWhirter said.

The NNHS administration organized a special assembly in the stadium to allow students and staff to watch the astronomical event. They gathered before the eclipse as one body on the bleachers with eyes turned skyward.

Bradley Lopez, a junior at NNHS, recalled the event.

“Everyone was just fixed on the sun, no one had their phone out. We were all just looking up,” Lopez said.  

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Photo by Lauren Emrich

During the assembly, students look at the solar eclipse at the peak of its visibility from the football field. Many Naperville North High School students like senior Ben Benaitis had their expectations exceeded. “The fact that we were in school unexpectedly made the experience a lot better. I got to be with my friends the whole time and I definitely wouldn't have gone out and gotten the glasses on my own,” Benaitis said.