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Subscribe to RSSAfter three long and challenging weeks, Sandy Hook Elementary students returned to class Thursday at a nearby middle school in Monroe, Conn., where they will remain until their old school is no longer designated a crime scene. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.
The children of Sandy Hook Elementary School returned to class Thursday, filling buses that took them to a new building where they were thrilled to reconnect with their friends and teachers after three weeks of mourning.
“Most of the kids were excited,” said Monroe, Conn., Police Lt. Keith White.
“They were anxious to get into the hallways and meet up with the other kids, and you could see the teachers had the same response.”
The 400-plus students had not been back to school since Adam Lanza blasted his way into Sandy Hook and killed 20 first-graders, six staffers and himself with a semi-automatic rifle.
Their old school in Newtown is still a crime scene, so an unused middle school in nearby Monroe was refurnished for them.
Teachers tried to make the new surroundings as familiar as possible. Their old desks were brought in, along with backpacks, coats, and lunch boxes that were left behind as they fled on Dec. 14.
Even the new principal was a known face: Donna Page, who retired from the role at Sandy Hook in 2010, agreed to come back after her successor, Dawn Hochsprung, was killed in the rampage.
Yet there were also reminders of how much the Sandy Hook community has changed since the shooting rocked the nation and stirred debate on gun control.
Monroe Police Dept. / AP
This photo provided by the Monroe Police Department shows the new Sandy Hook Elementary School on the first day of classes in Monroe, Conn. The school, formerly known as Chalk Hill School, was overhauled especially for the students from Sandy Hook
Police officers and counselors were on hand. Parents were allowed to stay in the building for the day. And children cuddled with therapy dogs.
He said attendance was robust, with most school buses full as they rumbled down streets that had been decorated with balloons and welcome signs.
Andrew Paley said he waited for the bus with his 9-year-old twins at the bottom of his driveway Thursday morning.
“They just ran on. They didn’t even look back,” he said. “There was probably some anxiety but it was more excitement. They both love school, so they loved going back.’
PhotoBlog: See images of Sandy Hook students returning to class for first day
While security was very visible, it will become more low-key as the weeks pass in an effort to restore some normalcy.
“We don’t want them to think this is a police state,” White said. “We want them to know that this is a school and a school first, and that’s a place that they are to come to learn, enjoy their friends and grow up.
“We want to move on and let the kids move on, too.”
Lt. Keith White says Sandy Hook students were excited to see friends as they returned to school on Thursday for the first time since the Dec. 14 massacre in Newtown, Conn.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said it took a “Herculean effort” to prepare the school in Monroe for the Sandy Hook kids.
He also announced a commission that will spearhead legislative and policy reforms designed to ensure no other children have to endure the horror they survived.
“We don’t yet know the underlying cause behind this tragedy, and we probably never will,” he said, referring the mystery of Lanza’s motive for attacking the school. “But that cannot be an excuse for inaction.”
He said the 15-member commission would look at three areas -- school security, mental health services, and gun laws.
“If 30-round clips had continued to be illegal in the nation or in our state, the availability of that clip to this particular perpetrator may not have existed,” Malloy said.
“These things aren’t used to hunt deer. You don’t need a 30-round clip to go hunting ... to honor the Constitution of the United States.”
The panel, which will issue recommendations in March, will be headed by Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson, who said the issues resonated with him personally.
“This is an issue that touches us all,” Jackson said. “My son is in first grade.”
NBC News' Joo Lee contributed to this report.
Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
Children from Sandy Hook Elementary School make their way to their new school in Monroe Conn. As they leave Newtown on Jan. 3.
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OK media...you can all go home now.
I never comment on news stories and I know this is a story about the kids going back to school but I am over the top frustrated and disgusted that all we keep reading/hearing about are the 26 children and teachers who were killed. His mother was number 27 and deserves to be remembered as well. Yes they were her guns and yes she did teach him to shoot but I bet she wasn't thinking "gee I sure hope Adam uses these guns and what I'm teaching him about them to open fire on a bunch of innocent people one day." She did NOT deserve to die the way she did and she does NOT deserve the disrespcet she is getting. It's time we place the blame where it belongs on Adam and no one else. He was a grown ass adult and knew exactly what he was doing. If we want to play the blame game then we should all be sent to hell for every single mistake our own personal children make. Because we taught them to walk, talk, read, eat, drink, everything. Not one of us is a perfect parent. Does that mean we deserve to be punished and disrespected??
He was not a grown ass adult, as age is not a determining factor in ability to make adult decisions. He was a mentally impaired individual as recounted by the people that had direct contact with him. His mother appears to have failed in securing the firearms where he would not gain access to them. Little has been accurately reported about how the firearms were stored. It appears that there are some serious issues that she failed to consider and it is possible that she should not have owned guns, even if she was legally allowed to if she was unable to secure them to prevent unauthorized access by him.
Wait until the ACLU sees the signs with the angels on it. That is crossing over the line of separation of church and state isn't it.
So why did you tell them?
I agree the media is too much. The kids are too young and need to get back to their routine at school. It is up to the adults to remember this terrible tragedy and keep the children and adults who lost their lives in our hearts and prayers.
Tracy Connor - You reported that the shooter used a semi-auto rifle to commit the crime, but we know from the investigation that the shooter actually used 4 handguns and the rifle was found in the mother's vehicle. I am wondering why media continues to misinform the public about the weapon used in the crime?
It would be great to get the correct facts out to the public. Currently every semi-auto rifle in America has been purchased. Ammunition sells have caused dealers to list waits up to 9 months on numerous calibers of rifle ammo. Prices for firearms that were reasonable, are now 300% of the original asking price.
I must applaud the President as he and a few others have finally stimulated teh economy but increasing jobs, all gun stores have had to hire additional help. People are spending, they are buying guns and ammo at record rates. In Nov, 2.01 MILLION people bought guns. Thanks to the fear of banning certain firearms, Dec showed 2.78 MILLION people went out and bought guns! That is amazing, nearly 5 million people went out and bought MORE than 5 MILLION GUNS in just 2 months!! Ammo sale in the last 30 days is equivilent to more than 5 YEARS worth of average ammo sales.
While a few people denounce firearms as bad and believe certain guns should be banned, it appears that most simply can't own enough firearms and ammo.
I would love to see you do a investigative report on the factual information only based on the Sandy Hook case. Actually do the interviews and obtain the video footage and let's see what guns were used. What guns were present and found in the vehicle. We know he tried to buy guns and was denied, which leads a reasonable person to believe the laws work. Since he murdered his mother and stole her guns, we have to assume that he would have gained access as any other criminal would. Nothing has been reported as to how she stored the weapons. I would like to know if she failed to properly lock them in a gun safe. She know he had mental issues, how were the weapons kept from him?
I think it is time we all received factual information on this case and not the third or fourth hand friend of a friend of a guy that was nearby information. Thank you.
You are right. This administration is taking advantage of this shooting and its victims to push there anti-gun agendas. Before the facts are known the president goes on the air and makes guns control the main issue. You see, Fast and Furious that did not work to control guns. The administration got caught when the border agent died from a gun the ATF took control of. We still don't have the facts for the border agents family. Remember he sealed that. (Sorry Folks)
Any time a government wants to control something, it gets people in a panic. Now its gun so people buy guns and arm themselves before another right is taken away from them. Some people think they can stop every bad thing that happens and you can't and never will. Unfortunately there will always be bad people that will do bad things with what ever resources they have available. No laws or bans are going to stop it. Criminals don't care about laws.
You can put arm guards in schools but that cost money.( Also dose not help his anti-gun agenda). Obama said, "I will do everything he can to protect our kids." This is reasonable. The school his kids and other official go to have armed guards to protect them. It not done for us folks. Funny how it works.
This is like all things tarnished and stained by the hand of humans. For them to heal we ALL need to step away from these people and let them grieve and heal in their own time and fashion. To impose ourselves on these people beyond this point is a violation of their privacy and intimacy as a community. Unless of course they ASK for our help. Leave them alone media!
Its sad the media cant let this community heel. People have even put up signs asking the media to go home and the media can't respect that.
Just wondering how many communities have an "unused middle school" to spare. That was a fortunate turn of events in what is otherwise a horrible situation.
All I can say is this:
I DO understand the reasons why, but is it normal policy to build a new school, after a tragedy like this happens? Something like this has thankfully never happened near me, I just don't seem to remember anything lioke that happening after past events, like this...