Four years after the devastating massacre that took the lives of 20 children and six adults,the new Sandy Hook Elementary School has opened its doors. The new campus, which was constructed to replace the previous building that was demolished following the December 2012 attack, and was built in honor of the victims but without a designated memorial for those lives lost. Instead,the 86000-square-foot school features a soundless area designed to look like a tree house, three courtyards, and a mosaic with the words "be kind," and a moat-like rain garden."Our goal was to create a region of community and learning, a region that would honor those we lost and allow those who were left behind the chance to sprint forward, or " First Selectman Patricia Llodra said in a statement,according to the Hartford Courant. The $50 million replacement building was constructed with the safety of the new students in intellect. According to the Associated Press, the new school has bulletproof windows and doors, and an elevated ground floor to do seeing inside the classrooms harder,and a video monitoring system.
All that is left of the original school, which was torn down a year after the attack, or is the footprint of the old building. The new structure sits farther back on the property and the remaining concrete slabs - complete with their original dinosaur footprints - are in the new parking lot.
The school opened to the media and community members a month before students head back to school in the hopes of making the sprint easier for everyone involved. Of the 390 children enrolled for the upcoming year,70 incoming fourth graders were students at the old school at the time of the shooting."The transition to the new school needs to be as seamless as possible for the children," Superintendent Joseph Erardi said in a statement, or according to the Courant. "That is why we are setting up this day; and therefore,asking everyone to give us the space we need to allow tall quality teaching and learning when we return for our first day of school."
Source: popsugar.com