Walk through the hallways at PS/MS 105 in Far Rockaway and you would never suspect that anything terrible had happened here. The school is spotless, its brightly painted walls filled with colorful student work, and inside classrooms, students and teachers are engaged in learning and teaching.

Yet just one year ago, this large K-8 school, which is across the street from Jamaica Bay and two blocks from the ocean, was among the hardest-hit by Hurricane Sandy and is still, in fact, in the process of rebuilding from the storm.

On a bulletin board, 20 of the 30 6th-graders responded to their teacher’s essay question “How are people shaped by the challenges they face?” by writing about Sandy.

“Can you imagine a giant wave flooding your neighborhood and school? Well, guess what? That happened to me,” writes one student.

In Bonnie Petrone’s 6th-grade class, a student said, “I feel like I’m back alive,” describing his return home after living with relatives and attending school in another part of Queens for months.

“Everything is back to normal, but you could still remember what happened,” another 12-year-old shared.

Not only was PS/MS 105 inundated with 20 feet of water, but two large sinkholes opened up in the ground abutting the school. The school’s in-ground oil tanks were flooded and backflowed, mixing with the water to create a toxic mess. The school auditorium was partially underwater and the basement, where the oil burner was located, was flooded to the ceiling.

“We were pumping out the oil and water for five days after Sandy,” said Principal Laurie Shapiro.

In the storm’s immediate aftermath, staff and administrators collected water, food and necessities to help neighborhood residents, who went without electricity and heat for weeks.

“We received donations from all over the country. We wondered how they found us,” said Chapter Leader Theresa Pepe.

After a six-day hiatus, the students were relocated to two schools in Jamaica, Queens, for two months.

Just getting information out about the relocation plans was a challenge, recalled parent coordinator Alla Miller. “People were stuck in their buildings; phone service wasn’t working. We put out fliers, posted signs. It was word of mouth,” she said.

The Department of Education sent coach buses to transport students from outside the school building — rain, snow or shine — to their host schools. Marjory Faber, a 5th-grade teacher, recalled how excited students initially were about riding the buses and reuniting with their classmates and teachers.

Many students and staff may not have had electricity or heat at home, but this was the beginning of the long return to normalcy for everyone, Faber said.

This small, close-knit school community was uniquely prepared to deal with the cataclysmic event. “People don’t leave here, and we’re friends,” said Faber. The staff quickly figured out how to help each other in ways both large and small.

Teachers and administrators formed carpools so that those who lost homes and cars could still get to work during the days of gas rationing and the many months before streetlights, subway and public transportation returned. They supported each other through the trauma of devastated homes and destroyed belongings.

“What was terrible really ended up being beautiful,” said paraprofessional Maureen Peterson, whose home in Breezy Point is still not rebuilt. She said that she was deeply moved by the concern her students showed and by their generosity with each other as she saw them share donated clothing and school supplies with classmates who needed them more.

“You really do learn to appreciate the little things in life — a cup of coffee, a shower in the morning,” colleague Faber said.

In addition to the personal and emotional recovery of its students and staff, PS/MS 105 itself needed a lot of work before students could return on Jan. 7. And to this day, the building is not back to its pre-storm condition.

The school has a temporary oil burner, located outside. Building cleaner Bryan Steiger took turns with the rest of the custodial staff sleeping every night at the school for two and a half months after the hurricane to ensure that the boiler did not freeze. They will be sharing the midnight to 8 a.m. shift again as the cold weather returns. The School Construction Authority is scheduled to begin work on a permanent indoor site for the oil burner in January, but Steiger fears that if it is put back in the basement, another disaster could strike because the basement routinely floods during rainstorms.

The school still lacks a fire alarm system. Instead, it is relying on a human fire watch made up of trained and certified fire wardens who patrol each floor with whistles, radios and flashlights when classes are in session. A new fire alarm system should be up and running in January.

“Everyone in this building is resilient,” said Shapiro. “We overcame and are still overcoming.”