NEWTOWN, CT – The Town of Newtown welcomed members of the local, statewide, and national press to the new Sandy Hook School (SHS) on Friday, July 29th for a media access day.

The event featured tours of the new school and remarks from First Selectman Pat Llodra; Superintendent Joseph Erardi; Architect Jay Brotman, Managing Partner with Svigals + Partners; and Matthew Consigli, President of Consigli Construction Co., Inc.

“Our role now, as adults and leaders, is to bring this new, beautiful place into its rightful status as the SHS of the present and the future,” said First Selectman Llodra. “Despite its birth from a horrible tragedy, SHS will be a place full of laughter, love, and learning.”

“Sandy Hook will have a quiet opening in September,” said Dr. Erardi. “We’re asking everyone to give us the space we need to focus entirely on teaching and learning when we return for our first day of school.”

“From the very first day, we were aware of just how important it was to build the best possible building for the students and the Newtown community. Its powerful purpose was never lost on us,” said Matthew Consigli, president of Consigli Construction Co., Inc. “This has truly been an honor for us to be a partner in this special project.”

“As architects, we aspire to opportunities like this: to be involved in the design of a building like the Sandy Hook School, a meaningful and symbolic building that truly serves a community on so many levels, today and for generations to come,” said Jay Brotman, Managing Partner at Svigals + Partners Architects. “A building that has become a national and even global emblem of what communities can achieve when working together for a common cause.”