VIENNA — School officials are hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mathews Elementary School Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21, at Mathews Elementary School, according to a news release from the district.

The ceremony will follow the district’s 6 p.m. Board of Education meeting, which includes the swearing-in of an unnamed new board member. Community members, staff and local officials are invited to attend.

The announcement comes nearly a month after Superintendent Russell McQuaide reported that the gymnasium was nearing completion and only needing its floor poured.

The gymnasium’s completion will wrap up a $2.2 million project, which was revealed in September 2024 and separates the elementary school’s gymnasium and cafeteria. The school operations were originally part of a multipurpose room in one space, said McQuaide during its initial announcement.

McQuaide said then that the new gymnasium also will benefit high school students who use a gym dubbed “the shoe box,” because of its reputation as one of the smallest regulation gyms in the state.

Ground was broken for the project in April, months after the Mathews Board of Education selected C. Tucker Cope and Associates as its design-builder.

The release states that district officials plan to announce upcoming spring improvements, including a new playground for Mathews Elementary School, at the ribbon cutting.