Right now it has to be the safest school in America' Parents and students of Sandy Hook Elementary get private tour of new building a day before classes begin

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MONROE, Conn. -- The children who escaped last month's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., have been welcomed with their parents at a school in a neighboring town that was overhauled specially for them.
And their new school is being renamed for their old one.
Newtown Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said Wednesday the change is appropriate because "they are the Sandy Hook family." She spoke after a private open house for the families at the former Chalk Hill School in Monroe.
It was the students' first time in a classroom since Dec. 14, when a gunman killed 20 students and six educators. Classes resume Thursday.
Numerous police officers were at their new school Wednesday. Monroe Police Lt. Keith White said, "I think right now it has to be the safest school in America."

The road leading to the school in a rural, largely residential neighborhood was lined with signs greeting the students, saying "Welcome Sandy Hook Elementary School" and "Welcome. You are in our prayers." Several police cars were parked outside the school.
Teams of workers, many of them volunteers, prepared the former Chalk Hill middle school with fresh paint and new furniture and even raised bathroom floors so the smaller elementary school students can reach the toilets. The students' desks, backpacks and other belongings that were left behind following the shooting were taken to the new school to make them feel at home.
Counselors say it's important for children to get back to a normal routine and for teachers and parents to offer sensitive reassurances.

One parent, Robert Bazuro, said he is pleased his second- and fourth-graders are going back to school on Thursday.
"We're very happy the kids are going back and we're very thankful for Monroe for everything they've done for us," said Bazuro, who was with his children at a Newtown barbershop.
 When classes start, schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said teachers will try to make it as normal a school day as possible for the children.

"We want to get back to teaching and learning," she said. "We will obviously take time out from the academics for any conversations that need to take place, and there will be a lot of support there. All in all, we want the kids to reconnect with their friends and classroom teachers, and I think that's going to be the healthiest thing."