Students, parents return to Stoneman Douglas High for orientation after Feb. 14 shooting

Naples

Courtney Mark, 56, pays his respects at the memorials set up outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during back to school orientation day in Parkland on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. "It's too close to home not to come," Mark said. "These could have been our kids."

PARKLAND — Some people wiped away tears with tissues as others held hands for support.

On Sunday afternoon Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland opened for a back-to-school orientation — a little more than a week after the Feb. 14 school shooting, which claimed the lives of 17, both students and teachers.

Before 3 p.m. thousands of people gathered near the flower-filled memorials for the victims set up just outside the campus.

Once the school was open, parents and students walked side-by-side to the building entrance, many dressed in school colors or T-shirts printed with the words "MSD Strong."

Among them was Diane Feller, who stopped for a moment in front of the piles of flowers and messages of support that were laid in front of the high school. Feller’s daughter, Olivia, is a junior at Stoneman Douglas.

“I think they have to find what the new normal is,” she said. “The new normal will have to be determined, but signs show the school and staff are doing the right things.”

Feller said the first few days after the shooting at the high school were traumatic for her daughter, but Feller said Olivia attended grief counseling and found comfort in being with her friends.

A student dressed in a habit walks to orientation holding a rosary during Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's back-to-school orientation day in Parkland on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018.

Feller said her family has lived in Parkland for 20 years. She said she has admired the strength of the community during a moment of tragedy.

“It’s a great community and a great high school, and there will be greatness going forward,” she said.

Douglas High students shared mixed emotions about starting school again. Classes resume Wednesday from 7:40 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., according to Broward County Public Schools.

"I don't really want to be here," said Jasmine Lozadea, 17.

"It just brings back a lot of memories. ... People are just telling me to move on. Life goes on, and you've just got to hope for the best in the end."

Lozadea said she was in the school's auditorium when the shooting began and could hear gunshots. She lost her friend Helena Ramsay, 17, after Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student, allegedly opened fire on campus.

Victor Lozadea, Jasmine's father, said he doesn't want his daughter to fear going to school. He hopes to hear from school officials how they plan to increase campus safety.

"We want to see what they have to say and how they're going to make the school safe like it was before or safer," Victor Lozadea said.

"Because life goes on, and unfortunately we have to pick up the pieces, put our lives back together, and go through the process, which isn't easy. We don't go to sleep easy now. We're very restless."

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Juniors Amanda Regen and Madison Leal said they are OK with starting school again because they know their community is standing behind them.

"I think it's a little nerve-wracking and emotional coming back to school. But just knowing that we're back here and coming together strong helps," Regen said as she held daisies in her hand in honor of her fallen classmates and teachers.

"We're all family now, and we're all going to be back to school and be there for each other," Leal said.

When senior Taylor Morales entered the school Sunday afternoon, she picked up her bag that she left behind when evacuating the school Feb. 14.

While back on campus Sunday, she said she received hugs from her teachers. Morales and her classmates asked one another how they were doing.

“It’s a really positive atmosphere,” she said of the feeling in the school. “We’re all getting through it together.”

But Morales said she doesn’t think returning to Stoneman Douglas will ever be normal again.

“The media is going to move onto something else eventually. People in Florida are going to get tired of hearing about the Stoneman Douglas shooting over and over again,” Morales said.

“They want different news, but we’re not going to be able to just switch the channel. We can’t get bored with it. It’s our lives. So I think the only way there will ever be any sense of normality is if we get the common sense gun laws passed.”

Students and parents begin to enter Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during back-to-school orientation day in Parkland on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018.