US students who escaped massacre to get new school
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This combination of photos taken on Jan 2, 2013, shows signs of support along the road between Newtown and Monroe, where the kids from Sandy Hook Elementary will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Crosses are seen in the snow as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A man waves to a child on a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn.,Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. School resumes Wednesday for students in Newtown, except for the Sandy Hook Elementary School students, who will begin classes on Thursday at a school that was overhauled specially for them in the neighboring town of Monroe, Ct. -- PHOTO : AP
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A green and white ribbon, the school colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School is seen attached to a bus on the first day of school after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. -- PHOTO : AP
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Children board a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. -- PHOTO : AP
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A "Gun-FreeHome" sign is seen in front of a house along the route to the Chalk Hill School where the Sandy Hook Elementary School children will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The repurposed school is having an open house today and will begin hosting classes tomorrow. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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Angel paintings are seen along the route to the Chalk Hill School where the Sandy Hook Elementary School children will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The repurposed school is having an open house today and will begin hosting classes tomorrow. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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An angel in the snow is seen as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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Stuffed bears are seen in the snow as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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A sign is seen in the snow as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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A sign is seen along the route to the Chalk Hill School where the Sandy Hook Elementary School children will attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The repurposed school is having an open house today and will begin hosting classes tomorrow. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
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Volunteers (from left) Adrian Szepietowski, Guy Veneruso, Craig Schultz and Len Sabia, work on the installation of 26 stars on the roof of the Sandy Hook fire station Tuesday, Jan 1, 2013, in Newtown, Conn. The stars were made and installed by a group of local contractors to honor the memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage, classes are set to begin again for the Sandy Hook students Thursday, Jan 3, 2013 at a repurposed school in the neighboring town of Monroe. -- PHOTO : AP
This combination of photos taken on Jan 2, 2013, shows signs of support along the road between Newtown and Monroe, where the kids from Sandy Hook Elementary will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Crosses are seen in the snow as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A man waves to a child on a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn.,Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. School resumes Wednesday for students in Newtown, except for the Sandy Hook Elementary School students, who will begin classes on Thursday at a school that was overhauled specially for them in the neighboring town of Monroe, Ct. -- PHOTO : AP
A green and white ribbon, the school colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School is seen attached to a bus on the first day of school after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. -- PHOTO : AP
Children board a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break, in Newtown, Conn., Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, students and teachers from the school will return to class Thursday in the neighboring town of Monroe. -- PHOTO : AP
A "Gun-FreeHome" sign is seen in front of a house along the route to the Chalk Hill School where the Sandy Hook Elementary School children will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The repurposed school is having an open house today and will begin hosting classes tomorrow. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
Angel paintings are seen along the route to the Chalk Hill School where the Sandy Hook Elementary School children will begin to attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The repurposed school is having an open house today and will begin hosting classes tomorrow. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
An angel in the snow is seen as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
Stuffed bears are seen in the snow as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
A sign is seen in the snow as part of a makeshift memorial at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, approximately three weeks after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The other memorials in town have been bulldozed as the town tries to return to normalcy. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
A sign is seen along the route to the Chalk Hill School where the Sandy Hook Elementary School children will attend classes in Monroe, Connecticut, Jan 2, 2013. The repurposed school is having an open house today and will begin hosting classes tomorrow. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
Volunteers (from left) Adrian Szepietowski, Guy Veneruso, Craig Schultz and Len Sabia, work on the installation of 26 stars on the roof of the Sandy Hook fire station Tuesday, Jan 1, 2013, in Newtown, Conn. The stars were made and installed by a group of local contractors to honor the memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Nearly three weeks after the shooting rampage, classes are set to begin again for the Sandy Hook students Thursday, Jan 3, 2013 at a repurposed school in the neighboring town of Monroe. -- PHOTO : AP
MONROE, Connecticut (AP) - The children who escaped last month's shootings at a Connecticut elementary school will be returning to classes in a neighbouring town in a refurbished school now named after their old one, school officials said on Wednesday.
Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson announced that the students' new school, the former Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe, has been renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School. She said the Sandy Hook staff made that decision.
"That's who they are. They're the Sandy Hook family," Ms Robinson said after a news conference at a park in Monroe a few kilometres from the school, which will open for classes on Thursday morning. An open house was held for parents and students on Wednesday.
Ms Robinson added that renaming the Chalk Hill school will allow staff and students to keep "their identity and a comfort level". The school where the shootings occurred remains closed and guarded by police. Newtown officials haven't decided yet on the building's future.
