LIKE HOME: Workers yesterday prepare Chalk Hill School in Monroe, Conn., for Sandy Hook kids — who’ll be greeted by their own school’s sign and by returning principal Donna Page (left). (Douglas Healey)
Sandy Hook Elementary School children return to the classroom today, wrapped in a white blanket of well-wishes from around the world.
The Newtown kids, survivors of one of the deadliest school massacres in history, will walk into the newly repurposed Chalk Hill school in nearby Monroe, Conn., festooned with hundreds of paper snowflakes sent by families across the country and as far away as Australia and Great Britain.
“We have enough beautiful snowflakes to blanket the community of Newtown,” Sandy Hook’s PTA said in a statement, after a call went out across the globe for handmade decorations.
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So many snowflakes arrived that they had to be stored in a rented tractor trailer.
Children will tour their new school today at an open house, and classes will resume tomorrow.
Teachers want to make it as normal a day as possible, said schools superintendent Janet Robinson.
“We want to get back to teaching and learning,” she said. “We will obviously take time out from the academics for any conversations that need to take place, and there will be a lot of support there. All in all, we want the kids to reconnect with their friends and classroom teachers, and I think that’s going to be the healthiest thing.”
Officials have been preparing Chalk Hill — which was closed in 2010 amid declining enrollment — for weeks, working with psychologists to create a sense of normalcy and comfort.
“Once they get into the classroom, it’s going to look as close to the old classroom as possible,” said Monroe First Selectman Steve Vavrek.
When possible, the kids will have their same chairs and desks — down to the crayons, schoolwork, water bottles and backpacks that were left behind when gunman Adam Lanza blasted his way in on Dec. 14, killing 20 kids and six educators.
Classrooms will be painted the same colors, and the same pictures will hang on the walls.
The school will be headed by former Sandy Hook principal Donna Page, who retired in 2010 after 14 years at the school.
“She will run that school with love and compassion. I personally couldn’t have wished for anything better for the kids and the teachers,” said Lillian Bittman, who was president of the local Board of Education president when Page retired.
“The best thing in the world for our community is to have her come back,” Bittman said. “We’re shattered right now. And we need someone who can grieve privately, but in front of everybody be a strong leader. And that’s absolutely who she is.”
Another former Newtown BOE member, David Nanavaty, noted that slain Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung — who died trying to block Lanza’s gunfire — had been chosen to replace Page largely because she had similar skills.
“It’s hard to put into words how good Donna is with students. Part of what we looked for in Dawn was exactly the same type of talents we had in Donna,” Nanavaty said.
“Donna is the perfect person to lead Sandy Hook Elemenary in this very pivotal time between tragedy and moving forward.”
In an open letter posted on the school’s webpage, Page wrote: “I want parents and families enduring the loss of their precious children to know their loved ones are foremost in our hearts and minds…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.”
At the school yesterday, the snowflakes could be seen through windows. Across the street, two young girls put out a banner in green and white, the school’s colors, proclaiming, “Welcome Sandy Hook Elementary.”
Parents yesterday said they were jittery about sending their kids back to class, but said the kids are eager to see their friends and teachers.
“I’m nervous about it,” said David Connors, whose third-grade triplets were unharmed but have nightmares, jump at noises and ask questions about the gunman. “I know it’s going to be difficult.”
“It’s going to be a long road back,” Connors said. “Back to what, I guess, is the biggest question. Everyone keeps throwing that word around: ‘the new normal.’ What does the new normal look like? I think everybody kind of has to define that for themselves.”
Additional reporting by Laurel Babcock, with AP