With the fourth anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 12/14 approaching, Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, sent an e-mail to district parents at the end of November, describing the day's plan and sharing that members of the press are discouraged from being in town and will not be permitted on school property that day.

"On Wednesday, December 14, 2016, we will hold a full day of school," Dr Erardi wrote in the letter.

Last year was the first time the anniversary date landed on a school day, and Dr Erardi said a detailed review of how the anniversary was handled then was completed.

"We will look to hold a very similar day as to what was established last December," he wrote. "Our elementary and intermediate school staff will continue to realize that students' knowledge of the events of 12/14 vary greatly. If requested by parents, school staff will provide talking points for parents to assist them with personal conversations with their child."

The school day will begin with a moment of silence in all schools, and at the secondary school level Newtown Middle School Principal Thomas Einhorn and Newtown High School Principal Lorrie Rodrigue will offer age-appropriate prepared statements for students and staff, according to the e-mail.

"I am certain that many of you will join me in finding private space for personal reflection as the Newtown community continues to recover from an unconscionable act of violence," the superintendent wrote.