Prospective parents and the media were given a chance to look around the old school’s $US50m replacement, which is on the same spot but is built to a different footprint.
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NEWTOWN, Conn. – When the children of Newtown, Connecticut, report to the new Sandy Hook Elementary School next month, they will enter a building carefully created to protect them from the unthinkable. The fate of the 57-year-old building was decided by a 28-member task force of elected officials following a series of public hearings.
“The safety and security measures that are in this building are second to none”, Erardi said.
“From the very first day, we were aware of just how important it was to build the best possible building for the students and the Newtown community”.
The architect is Svigals + Partners, and the construction manager is Consigli Construction.
Sandy Hook officials were faced with the decision to renovate the school or level it and start over.
Windows and doors are bulletproof.
About 35 returning students were in kindergarten at the time of the shooting and are now returning as fourth graders. Llodra said when students return, they will see their turtle and that “keeping something they love front and center” will give the children a sense of comfort.
Sandy Hook Principal Kathy Gombos said she expects the transition to be hard emotionally. This fall, the new building will be open for students once again.
“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 Ms. Gombos.
The only obvious remembrance of the shooting was a green magnet on a refrigerator in one classroom that was created to resemble a memorial ribbon with the date of the shooting on it and the words, “We’ll always remember”.
Erardi said school administrators will continue meeting with families of the victims confidentially about a permanent memorial in the town.
Mixed emotions accompanied the opening, though, with the New York Times reporting that one special education aide at Reed Intermediate School, Lisabeth Kuroski, said the reopening of the school was bittersweet.
First Selectman Llodra added that while the new school is exciting, everyone “would trade in a minute this attractive new school for the more familiar and aged sandy hook school, built in the 50s, if we could just change the past”.
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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.
