Sixth graders at the Scholars’ Academy in the Rockaway’s now have a permanent record of their experiences following Sandy: a documentary they produced with the help of professional teaching artists.

As schools displaced by flooding and storm damage return to their buildings, and the holiday volunteer buzz fades, communities hard hit by Sandy still face a long recovery. One student recently undertook a book drive to help an elementary school, and he collected over 400 books.

Twelve more city schools will re-open on Monday, after having relocated because of storm damage from Sandy. Relocating has been an unsettling experience for teachers and students. It was especially challenging at the Goldie Maple School, from the Rockaways, which was moved twice and split between different sites in the last three weeks.

A principal’s heartfelt account of the early response and relocation of his school after Sandy drew praise, especially from inside the school’s community.

Over 6,000 students can return to their original school buildings Tuesday, two weeks after the storm surge knocked out dozens of schools from operation. The city plans to allocate about $200 million dollars in extra spending to repair the still-damaged buildings.

As of Thursday morning, the Education Department said all schools are open to students for the first time since Sandy hit the region. Many students expressed relief to be back, even though some are getting used to life in new buildings for the foreseeable future. Students from Scholars’ Academy in the Rockaways settled in to a new home at P.S. 13 in East New York.

Administrators tackled the daunting task of planning the relocation of their students from schools too damaged by Hurricane Sandy to open to schools in other parts of the city that are making space for the displaced children.