“The transition to the new school needs to be as seamless as possible for the children”.
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Officials unveiled the new Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, giving reporters a preview in the hope that students can return to school in September without the glare of media scrutiny.
Melisa Horan found touring the new school with her now sixth-grade son cathartic. In order to get into the school, however, visitors are required to pass through a driveway gate, a rain garden that resembles a moat, and two police at the front, all being watched over by video surveillance.
The project has a forest theme and was designed in remembrance of those lost, along with a focus on being safe, environmentally friendly and conducive to learning, WTIC reported. All the doors and windows are bulletproof.
Sandy Hook officials were faced with the decision to renovate the school or level it and start over. Only about 30 of them were in the building at the time, he said, attending the morning kindergarten session.
The school’s design was the result of dozens of meetings among Sandy Hook educators, families, community members, architects and builders.
The 59 first-graders who survived the Sandy Hook Massacre will not be returning to the new school as they and the rest of their class, 79 students total, are moving up to the fifth-grade at Reed Intermediate School.
The district will provide returning students and staff with special mental health resources to help them cope, Erardi said.
Jay Brotman, who is managing partner of Svigals + Partners, said the building has become an example of how communities can come together in a positive way.
“There have been some tears, but I think after they spend about an hour or so here, they feel like it’s going to be an unbelievable learning space for kids”, said Gombos, whose predecessor, Principal Dawn Hochsprung, was killed that day.
Although the school has received national attention, Superintendent Joseph Erardi said he wants the school’s opening to be peaceful.
First Selectman Pat Llodra said the town is still deciding on a permanent memorial.
The school also integrates many naturalistic features, part of the design team’s efforts to mitigate any fear or anxieties that may arise among teachers and students.
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“That is what a school should be”, said Moran, “the excitement of learning and seeing all the new stuff”.
