When walking through the halls of that building, you wouldn't know a tornado ever touched down. While what happened here was devastating, everything is brand new, including knowledge on where to take cover during a tornado.

As custodian Dave Williams put together desks on Tuesday for the first day of school, he said his job has been much more laid back recently.

“It's a lot easier to clean this summer than it has been in the past,” he said.

That's because a lot of things are brand new.

“New paint on the walls; all these floors had to be replaced, so it's new tiles on the floor; and new cabinetry in classrooms. It looks great,” said Williams.

Last spring, Republic E3 underwent major construction after a tornado ripped off the roof that covers a hallway, busted out windows and scattered debris through the school. Now, new bulletin boards and cabinetry are up is in most of the rooms because of the wind and water damage.

Also new this year are two mobile classrooms -- trailers outside the school to make room for the growing number of students.

Still, memories of the powerful twister that tore through this school, displacing students and teachers, will linger.

“It will probably be still sort of fresh on a lot of minds,” said assistant principal Cindy Crabtree.

That will be especially true during emergency drills for severe weather outbreaks.

“We would like to think that lightning wouldn't strike twice, so it made for an interesting year, but I think it showed us how resilient everybody was,” said Crabtree.

The procedures for taking cover during a tornado changed. School officials learned the old method of taking cover in the hallway was flawed. Now, when there's a tornado warning, students will go to the core of the building, away from windows and doors, to designated safe rooms like the cafeteria.