Sandy Hook students prepare to resume classes at new school

NEWTOWN, Conn.

It has been nearly three weeks since 20 students and six staff members were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Classes start Thursday at a repurposed school in the neighboring town of Monroe. The students' desks and belongings have been moved, and families have already been stopping by the new school.

An army of workers has been getting the school ready, painting, moving furniture and even raising the floors in the bathrooms of the former middle school so the smaller elementary school students can reach the toilets.

School officials said they want to get the kids back into their regular routine as soon as possible. Julian Ford, a clinical psychologist at the University of Connecticut who helped counsel families in the days immediately following the shooting, recommended addressing it as questions come up but otherwise focusing on regular school work.

To make a contribution to the Newtown Memorial Fund please visit: www.newtownmemorialfund.org

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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