Story highlights A rebuilt Sandy Hook Elementary will open to students in August

26 people were killed in 2012 in a mass shooting at the old school

Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) Sandy Hook Elementary will be filled with students again this August.

The rebuilt school bears no memories or resemblance of the old building that stood on the same property December 14, 2012. That was the day an armed man walked into the school and took the lives of 26 people -- 20 of them children.

The only sense of familiarity some of the returning students will have is Shelley the turtle, who's waiting for school to start in her brand new aquarium. Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra says Shelley has been with Sandy Hook Elementary for over a decade.

"When students come in that front door, they're going to see their turtle," Llodra said. "Keeping something they love front and center ... makes them feel much more comfortable."

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The nature-themed, two-story school takes after what the community is most familiar with, Newtown's green scenery.

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