At the Anna Maria Elementary student drop-off, a handful of school staff members held up hand-written signs and waved as children walked by.
"All the signs here say, 'welcome home dolphins.' It just feels like a homecoming,” said Jen Serra, mother of a third grader and the president of the school's parent-teacher organization.
"It is a feeling of hope and a feeling of excitement. It's a beautiful morning out here. The wind's blowing, the sun's shining. It's just a feeling of love and home."
Students and staff celebrated returning to Anna Maria Elementary on Monday, 42 days since it closed ahead of Hurricane Helene. The storm's surge caused significant water damage, especially to an original building where the school's auditorium is housed, as well as the outdoor playground.
The students were temporarily relocated to Stewart Elementary in Bradenton.
Serra said giving them a sense of normalcy throughout this experience has been "paramount."
"Kids thrive on routine. They thrive on knowing what to expect, but our little kids were also just so resilient and flexible, and sometimes it was them reminding us that it's OK, that things are a little different, and we'll be OK, and we're just going to move through it together," she said.
Holmes Beach police chief William Tokajer has been working in the area for 45 years and said the school is part of the fabric of the community.
"That was the first place that I came as the police chief, I came to the school to see how things were, what the security was here, what we could do to enhance that,” Tokajer said. “The school is a great place. It's got a big spot in my heart for the school and these kids."
The city's mayor was also there for the reopening. Principal Katie Fradley welcomed the support.
"All of those people came together because they knew how important it was to get the kids back on the island and back in their school. So, I just feel really, really grateful,” she said.
PTO President Jen Serra said she’s not planning to leave, even though her own home got 27 inches of water from Helene’s storm surge.
"We love our community, we love our island, and we just work together to put it back together," Serra said.
“Storms come and it's just a part of life… wherever you live, there's some sort of natural disaster that can happen. We moved down from Ohio, where we had tornadoes and things like that. It's just what we deal with here, and we're prepared for it, and we're ready, and we love our paradise."
The school community is now looking forward to building an outdoor marine learning area that can be used by other schools on field trips.
It will include a learning deck with outdoor aquariums and a dock. Students will be able to do dip netting and bring water samples back to the teaching station.
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