GOOD SIGN: A sign in neighboring Monroe yesterday welcomes kids to their new school after the Newtown massacre. (Reuters)
HARD TO LET GO: A mom gets one last hug in before her kid returns to school yesterday for the first time since the Sandy Hook massacre. (AP)
Sandy Hook schoolkids bravely stepped back into classrooms yesterday for the first time since the horrific Newtown massacre that claimed 20 of their schoolmates and six educators.
As nervous parents looked on, the children hurried out of SUVs and into brightly decorated hallways for an “open house” at a repurposed school in neighboring Monroe, where they’ll officially return to class at 9 a.m. today.
“They’re so excited to see their teachers,” Newtown schools Superintendent Janet Robinson noted as the pupils arrived at the former Chalk Hill middle school.
The nearly 500 kindergarten to fourth-graders had not been in a classroom since the deadly Dec. 14 rampage.
Teachers arrived hours early to make sure everything was in place for yesterday’s easing back into the swing of things.
Neighbors decorated the road leading to the school with “welcome” signs, ribbons and balloons.
Workers have spent weeks cleaning, painting and renovating Chalk Hill, which had sat unused since 2010.
They brought in pupils’ desks, chairs, cubbies and pictures — virtually everything from Sandy Hook — to make them feel at home.
They even raised bathroom floors so the elementary kids could reach the toilets.
Monroe teachers came in to help the Sandy Hook teachers set up classrooms.
“At one point, there were 80 people in the building, cleaning up, doing different kinds of things, painting, to make it really look cheerful and happy,” Robinson said.
“Chalk Hill has been transformed from a middle school to a very cheerful, nurturing elementary school.”
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy took a tour yesterday, “and was amazed at the transformation,” the superintendent noted.
“The students coming in completes a circle,” she said.
“A lot of the children were very excited about different aspects of the building that they didn’t have at the old building,” noted Monroe police Lt. Keith White, who was among the heavy police presence at the school.
“The gymnasium has been the biggest thrill as they come through. They light up to see such an area to have gym class and run around in.”
Chalk Hill, which is about seven miles from the shooting site in Newtown, has officially been rechristened at the suggestion of Sandy Hook staff, Robinson said.
“If you notice the sign, it has been renamed Sandy Hook School, so we can carry on our traditions and help make this a very nurturing, caring place.”
“The advice we’ve been giving is to have as much a normal a routine as possible.”
Principal Donna Page, who came out of retirement to head the new school, said parents will be welcome in classrooms and the school auditorium during the first few days of adjustment. Lt. White said police, including those from surrounding towns, will be at the school for the foreseeable future. Monroe schools were already monitored at the police department by video cameras, and “numerous security devices” were installed at the new school, he said.
“Obviously, we don’t want to overburden them with the police,” White said. “We want this to be a normal school where they can go and enjoy themselves throughout the day.”
White said, “Right now, this has to be the safest school in America.”