( CNN ) -- For the first time since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School , Christine Wilford plans do something remarkable on Thursday that once was routine : drop her child off at school . The last time her 7-year-old son , Richie , was in class was on December 14 , when a gunman smashed his way into his school in Newtown , Connecticut , and killed 26 children and adults . As shots rang out , Richie 's teacher locked the door and huddled her students into the corner as the shooter roamed the hallways , wielding an AR-15 assault rifle and firing . When it appeared safe , the children were then hurried away to a nearby fire station , where teary parents either reunited with their sons and daughters or learned that they had been killed . Nearly a month later , Wilford said her son still has trouble sleeping and is often scared by loud noises . Newtown chooses faith , charity , hope . But on Thursday , he will join hundreds of other Newtown students returning to class for the first time since the tragedy . `` We think it 's good he 's going back , '' Wilford said . `` If I leave my child anywhere , I 'm leaving a piece of my heart , so it 's difficult to leave him . '' But Richie apparently is n't afraid and says he 's looking forward to seeing his friends , she said . They wo n't be attending Sandy Hook Elementary , which police say remains part of an ongoing investigation into Adam Lanza , the gunman who also killed his mother before opening fire at the school . Instead , Richie and his classmates are expected to travel to Chalk Hill Middle School in the nearby town of Monroe , where a green-and-white banner greeting the children hangs on a fence . Survivor 's attorney withdraws lawsuit . Newtown Public Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said that part of the building had been transformed to resemble an elementary school . `` ( We want ) to have as much ( of ) a normal routine as possible , '' she said . `` Tomorrow is a regular schedule , and we will do the kinds of things that we know are good for kids . '' The school has also been outfitted with rugs and furniture similar to those at Sandy Hook to help ease the transition for students . Even the school 's pet turtle was relocated , Robinson said . Security measures have also been increased , with a new system incorporating more cameras and locks , according to Jim Agostine , superintendent of Monroe Public Schools . `` I think right now it has to be the safest school in America , '' added Monroe Police Lieutenant Keith White . Read more : FBI background checks soar .
Sandy Hook students return to class for the first time since the December 14 shooting . The students will travel to Chalk Hill Middle School in the nearby town of Monroe , Connecticut . The shooter killed his mother and then 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School .