The School Committee opened its meeting on Wednesday with a moment of silence for the 20 children and six adults who were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14. Officials assured the Wareham community that local emergency procedures are being reviewed in light of the tragedy.

"Most people think that you can send your children to school and trust that they're going to be safe," said Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch. A tragedy such as that in Newtown "makes everyone [question that] trust that children are going to be safe."

Rabinovitch explained that all schools have lockdown procedures in place in the event of an emergency, or if an unidentified person gains entry. Additionally, outside doors are kept locked during the day.

Wareham High School actually had a lockdown drill the day before the shooting, and more are scheduled.

"What you learn from these things is that you have to be adaptable to the situation," Rabinovitch said, explaining that drills would take place in all schools after the holidays.

Rabinovitch reported that he and other administrators, as well as two school resource officers from the Wareham Police Department, were on hand on Monday to address any concerns and anxiety as Wareham children returned to school.

"What we were trying to have was as much normalcy during the school day," said Rabinovitch, noting that he noticed older students holding the hands of their younger siblings, and more parents than usual walking their children into school that day. But, he added, "once the kids got to class, kids being kids, they got on with their day."

Rabinovitch said he let principals decide how they wanted to address the Newtown incident at their own schools.

At Minot Forest Elementary, Principal Joan Seamans opted to address concerns when they arose, but did not hold a school assembly or otherwise discuss the incident. Across town, an assembly was held at John W. Decas Elementary.

Some parents were in favor of the schools discussing the situation, while others were not, Rabinovitch said.

School Committee member Rhonda Veugen, who has a 6-year-old son, said she wished parents heard from the school district over the weekend, perhaps in the form of a prerecorded phone call, so parents would know what principals might be doing.

"There was no communication to me, as a parent, over the weekend as to how the schools were going to address" the shooting, Veugen said. "I didn't realize the angst that I would feel until I woke up Monday morning and I didn't know what to expect."

Rabinovitch said he understood Veugen's position, and added that he and administrators planned to debrief "and change our procedures if necessary."

"It hits all of us in different ways," the superintendent said. "We go through it, we learn from it."

Speaking during the "public participation" portion of the meeting, Wareham Education Association President Brian Fitzgerald, a 5th grade teacher at John W. Decas Elementary, said teachers are wearing green and white ribbons to honor the Sandy Hook victims, and "to respect the incredible braveness of our colleagues."

Fitzgerald assured parents that the "sense of protectiveness and grace" that was in the hallways at Sandy Hook Elementary "is in the hallways of every school in the Wareham Public Education System."