The total solar eclipse of 2024 and its potential risks forced at least four school boards in West Toronto to reschedule their sports activity days in April, according to officials.

According to announcements published this week, the Peel District School Board and the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board said the previously planned sports activity day on May 17 will now take place on April 8, when the celestial event will block the sun across eastern Canada for a few minutes.

The school boards said in matching newsletters, quoting the Canadian Space Agency's guidelines, "There are risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse, and looking directly at the sun without proper protection can lead to severe eye damage or vision loss, even during the eclipse."

The boards added that since the eclipse will occur at almost the same time students are dismissed, postponing PA Day to April 8 "will ensure students are not outside during" that time.

Last week, the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board also jointly announced they would move the PA Day scheduled for April 22 to April 8, saying the decision was made in consultation with student transportation services.

The boards continued in a statement, "By rescheduling PA Day to coincide with the eclipse, we mitigate student transportation, safety concerns, and potential challenges for families that may arise due to the darkness students may face while leaving school."

In emails to CTV News Toronto, both the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board said they have no plans to reschedule their April 19 day.

According to the Canadian Space Agency, the total solar eclipse will begin in Hamilton at 3:18 PM and 50 seconds.

Although the Peel and Toronto areas are not in the path of totality, people in those areas will still see a "deep partial" view of the event, based on calculations from Eclipse2024.org.

Astronomer and York University professor Elena Hyde told CTVNews.ca via email earlier this month, "This is a very rare astronomical event." "Only a small area of the earth will be able to see the total solar eclipse, and many people spend their entire lives without seeing any eclipse at all."

The last total eclipse visible from major Canadian cities occurred in the 1970s, and scientists say the next eclipse of this magnitude will not happen until 2079. The last total solar eclipse across North America was in August 2017, but that was only in the United States.

The Canadian Space Agency confirmed that proper eye protection is required to view the event, even if only a partial display.

Specialized glasses can be purchased through the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada or observers can make their own solar eclipse viewer using a cardboard box and a sheet of white paper.

The Canadian Space Agency warns that looking directly at the sun at any time without using proper equipment can cause partial or total vision loss.