In the middle of one of the worst natural disasters in our state's history, there is now a little bit of normalcy. On Wednesday, students impacted by the Palisades Fire went back to class, but at new schools.
With the amount of smiles on students' faces outside Nora Sterry Elementary and Brentwood Science Magnet Elementary, you might not realize that some of these kids evacuated from the Palisades schools that went up in flames last week.
"The real story is, the staff and teachers at Marquez Elementary School literally rescued the children and saved their lives. When they were evacuating the upper yard where the classrooms are to the lower yard an assembly point, fixed wing aircraft were doing water drops as the fires were climbing up the hill towards the campus," said Ethan Tyer, whose daughter and son had attended Marquez Charter Elementary School in Pacific Palisades. Now you can barely see the water fountain there which was once under a mural.
The 300 kids from Marquez are now welcome at Nora Sterry.
"It's a happy day. It's a really exciting day seeing the Marquez children seeing their teachers, I think that just brought them together," said Nora Sterry Principal Dr. Sara Lasnover.
"Excited that we can help them!" said one parent.
"We're excited to help them out. We feel bad they lost their school and everything and they're having a hard time," said Lindsay Christensen, who had just picked up her son when we spoke to her.
But there is concern from some in the Nora Sterry community, including teachers, over current students having to move for the Palisades students.
The principal addressed that.
"It's very important to me as the principal at Nora Sterry that my community not feel slighted in anyway. Let me set the record straight -- every one of our students is in a classroom," said Lasnover.
Memories of the fire are fresh in the minds of many of these students.
"I was a bit scared at first, the winds were like picking up," said one student.
But there is a belief that just being back will go a long way in healing.
"There is nothing that provides normalcy than just having routine and school is the No. 1 source of routine for kids, so being able to be around their friends and commiserate and talk and share stories and just see that their friends are okay, and even if their friends suffered loss and as we all have to some degree or another that they are all okay and they are going to get through this and there is a path ahead," said Tyer.
When ABC7 reporter J.R. Stone was in the school office at Nora Sterry Elementary, he saw at least one teacher in tears. Some of these instructors spent all night moving their classrooms and while they're happy to have the Palisades kids, they don't want their students getting the raw end of the deal. The principal though says that will not happen.
