CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Some 200 students, teachers, staff, and dignitaries turned out Thursday afternoon for the Topping Out ceremony at the under-construction Mountain View Upper Elementary School as it heads for an opening next fall.

Many signed the steel beam which is placed, draped with an American flag, across the highest point of the school.

Matthew, Noah, Isaac and Amelia were among some of the students currently going to Mountain View Elementary who will be among the 500 going to the new $47-million facility.

“My favorite thing is being able to see how large the library is, ” Amelia said.

 

The students presented, along with their principal Seth Kennard, a stack of cards they and their classmates made thanking the construction workers.

“I want to give a shout out to all the workers because they made the entire school happen, and they were still building it even when it was hot in the summer,” Noah said.

“This school was designed with an incredible amount of community input,” Kennard said.

“And to be here today and walk through it, we’re seeing our dreams really come to life.”

Kennard is the current principal at Mountain View Elementary, and he’ll come over to Mountain View Upper Elementary when it opens. Click here for that announcement last June.

Albemarle County School Board Chair Kate Acuff addressed the gathering.

“It really is a joy to be on the school board to offer our students new, modern, light-filled educational spaces,” Acuff said.

She also announced the school district has been able to purchase two parcels of property between Mountain View and Mountain View Upper which will be able to connect the two spaces for activities.

One of three schools opening in the next couple of years, Mountain View Upper Elementary along with high school Center Two will be the first school openings in Albemarle County since Baker-Butler Elementary opened in 2002.