Officials and students at Dorchester's B.C. High held a "topping off" ceremony last week, signaling the completion of the first phase of construction of a new addition to the school.

President Bill Kemeza officiated at the raising of a ceremonial evergreen tree as the final white structural beam was lifted into place. The new building will house a state-of-the-art science center, a multi-purpose auditorium, 18 additional classrooms, faculty office space and an open atrium student commons housing a cafeteria for 650.

For this B.C. High alumnus, it was a thrilling moment to see the construction move ahead. The school was the first major facility to occupy the north end of Morrissey Blvd. The Jesuits who operate the school had great vision in re-locating to Dorchester from the South End in the middle of the last century, thus ensuring a continuing presence for excellent private secondary school education in the city. Almost five decades ago, when my family was choosing a high school for me, we considered B.C. High our own neighborhood school, and thus it has remained over these years. And President Kemeza continues to seek out and encourage young boys from the city to enroll at the school at Columbia Point. Currently, there are some 1,300 students there from 80 communities at the 40-acre campus, and the school continues to focus its recruiting efforts on Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, South Boston, and other city neighborhoods.

B.C. High's education is top rate, the faculty is dynamic, and now with the new student center set to come online next spring, it's a thoroughly modern campus. 150 Morrissey Blvd., the address of the B.C. High campus, is an oasis of learning in our midst. As the cost of a private education continues to rise, B.C. High backs up its commitment to neighborhood students with generous financial aid packages. Parents with young boys looking ahead to high school are well advised to check it out.

- Ed Forry