Seneca Valley art student Ruby Gomez works on a mosaic project that will be hung at the new district pool facility. Students in grades 9-12 are working on the project with contracted artist in residence teacher Elizabeth Klevens.

Students from the three-building Seneca Valley high school campus are working on an 8-foot by 16-foot mosaic mural for its new natatorium.

Their goal: bridge the gap between the present and the future in terms of the district's aquatics center.

The mural — which, when complete, will feature water with waves, swimmers, divers and the Seneca Valley logo — is the result of the brainstorm between senior high school art teacher Jason Woolslare and contracted artist-in-residence Elizabeth Klevens.

But it's the work of the students, and the input they provided for the mosaic design, that ultimately will complete the public art exhibition.

At a school board meeting in November, Woolslare said the art department selected an “eclectic” group of students, including those not enrolled in art courses, to look for examples of public art from different eras to create an aesthetically pleasing display that will both tell a story and relate to Seneca Valley.Several students at the November meeting said they wanted to come up with a mural that would be relatable not only to those who use the natatorium frequently, such as swimmers and divers, but also to the average student.Aaron Shaffer, Seneca Valley Intermediate High School art teacher, said at that meeting the goal was to section the mosaic such that students from any grade — “a seventh-grade class or a ninth-grade class (or) a senior career arts class” — could work together on small segments for when it's pieced together.That way, the wall of the natatorium featuring the mosaic would contain the hard work of students from across the campus.

Seneca Valley sophomore Charlie Madden works on a mosaic project that will be hung at the new district pool facility. Students in grades 9 to 12 are working on the project with contracted artist in resident teacher Elizabeth Klevens.

Seneca Valley senior Johnathan Mejcan works on the mosaic project that will be hung at the school district's brand-new natatorium. Individual parts will be pieced together for the final artwork.

Seneca Valley art teacher Jason Woolslare shows Alejandro Herrera-Rondon how to cut tile for the school's mosaic project friday. When complete the project will be hung at the new district pool.