Seneca Valley Area School District students Lila, 11, and Crosby, 9, Fulkerson, with their father, Brian, sign the final steel beam to be placed in Ehrman Crest Elementary and Ehrman Crest Middle Schools during the district's topping ceremony Tuesday. Brian Fulkerson is the owner's representative for the project. Crosby will attend as a fifth-grader in 2022.

CRANBERRY TWP — No longer mounds of dirt surrounded by hills, Ehrman Crest, Seneca Valley School District's newest elementary and middle school, had its final steel beam put into place amid much fanfare Tuesday afternoon.

At a “topping out” ceremony — at which construction workers hoist the final beam into place — community members, staff and some students joined in the signing of the steel beam, which superintendent Tracy Vitale said is part of the building's overall mission.

“The building itself will serve as a learning tool, and I am pleased to announce today that all of you will be a part of that learning effort — and even the legacy of the school,” Vitale said. “The steel beam we are all signing today is going to be positioned in a way that allows people to view it from inside the building. For as long as this building exists, we will all be a part of Ehrman Crest's rich and storied history. I think it is a fitting start to the mission and vision of this school.”Also at the event was the unveiling of the first sign bearing Ehrman Crest's name, a task at which the principals and assistant principals from Evans City elementary and middle schools helped. For the principals, and the district, it was an exercise in continuity. Board president Eric DiTullio said he sees Ehrman Crest as continuing the learning tradition in the 82-year-old Evans City schools.

“Each of those students and staff members contributed to the traditions that made that building a place of learning,” DiTullio said. “The tradition of that building will not be lost, but incorporated into this new building, passing its acronyms, ECE and ECM, to this new building.”Although the building will not be completed for about another year, and it will only begin teaching students in the fall of 2022, Vitale said she's grateful the construction was able to begin, continue and hopefully end on time.“We were able to start this in the middle of a pandemic and not lose any time,” Vitale said. “It's been just a real joy. Sometimes construction can be a headache; this has been a joy.”

Construction crews raise the final steel beam to be placed in Ehrman Crest Elementary School and Ehrman Crest Middle School during the Seneca Valley Area School District's topping off ceremony Tuesday. Board president Eric DiTullio said he sees Ehrman Crest as continuing the learning tradition in the 82-year-old Evans City schools.

Seneca Valley Area School District superintendent Tracy Vitale signs the final steel beam to be placed in Ehrman Crest Elementary School and Ehrman Crest Middle School during the district's topping off ceremony Tuesday. District officials, school board members and invited guests signed the beam before construction crews raised and placed the beam.