Sandy Hook Elementary students returned to school today and, although classes are being held in a new building, the goal for faculty and staff is simply to make this a “normal day.”
According to People, students were expected to find a setting exactly like their previous classrooms, including familiar desks, old backpacks and pictures from their old classrooms.
Due to the December 14 shootings that left students frightened and traumatized, community officials have increased security at the new school building and one Newtown councilman describes the location as “the safest school in America.”
The revamped school is called Chalk Hill, and it’s located in the nearby town of Monroe, Conn. Since Sandy Hook’s principal was among the 27 people shot and killed in the tragedy, the school’s previous principal, Donna Page, is returning to serve on an interim basis.
Page wrote a letter on the school’s website, sending her condolences and comforting parents as they prepared to send their children back to school.
“I want parents and families enduring the loss of their precious children to know their loved ones are foremost in our hearts and minds as we move forward,” she wrote. “Your strength and compassion has been, and will continue to be, an inspiration to me and countless others as we work to honor the memory of your precious children and our beloved staff.”
Newtown Superintendent Janet Robinson said city officials are doing everything they can to ensure students feel comfortable and at ease. “We will go to our regular schedule,” she said.