On Monday, April 8th, scholars across every grade level at Alliance Patti and Peter Neuwirth Leadership Academy headed out during nutrition and midway through their third period to witness a solar eclipse.

The state of California is nowhere near the Path of Totality (where the moon entirely covers the sun), but that didn’t stop fellow students from grabbing specialized glasses and modified cardboard boxes to take a look for themselves.

Even after its end, students were left in awe. For example, senior Matthew Jaramillo was so excited to share this moment with others and was overheard repeating “You should stare at the sun for three hours.”

Though only a partial solar eclipse, students made the most of the unique spectacle, which is said to be the last one to travel across the states for the next 20 years.