Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra said during a press conference in the new building that she expects students to be upset and anxious in the new school, but also excited.
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Among those killed were 20 first-graders and six educators.
When Newtown children head to back to class this fall, they’ll be going to a brand-new, super-secure Sandy Hook Elementary School.
One thing missing from the school is a memorial to the lives lost in the 2012 mass shooting.
The school superintendent said, “My direction was that this building needed and must feel like a warm and nurturing elementary school”.
Building the school on the same site has taken years, and school officials are finally ready to give media a look, according to WFSB. Erardi requested privacy during the school’s first day on August 29.
The school was constructed by the Consigli Construction Company. “However, a rebuild that is under-penned with integrity, best for children, and an absolute, relentless pursuit to make tomorrow a better day than today”.
The new, 86,000 square foot school is forest themed, featuring wave-like wooden panelling and three courtyards. The $50 million project was paid for by a grant from the state.
If there is any thing that deserves a fresh start, it is the community of Newton and the incoming fourth grade students attending Sandy Hook Elementary School – about 30 of them who were only in kindergarten at the original property when the shooting occurred. “Our focus was always, always to bring our students and teachers home”.
Erardi said school administrators will continue meeting with families of the victims confidentially about a permanent memorial in the town.
Sandy Hook Principal Kathy Gombos said she expects the transition to be hard emotionally.
About 60 percent of the teachers from the previous Sandy Hook school are returning to the new one, 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”.
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None of them witnessed the shootings, which were heard throughout the school, prompting students to hide where they could in their classrooms until the building was cleared by police. “Its powerful objective was never lost on us”, said Matthew Consigli, president of Consigli Construction Co., Inc. “Items like the rain garden created a buffer zone to the school and was a safety feature”.
