With the first hot lunches served from West Valley School’s new kitchen on Monday, the last major piece of construction is complete in the school’s new addition.

The inaugural lunch featured pulled pork, cole slaw, grapes, a brownie and milk.

School staffers will unveil the $6.8 million construction project to the community on Jan. 14.

The grand opening is planned with a dinner and silent auction in the cafeteria from 5 to 6 p.m. hosted by the West Valley School PTO.

The cost is $5 per person with proceeds benefiting the PTO. Children under 5 eat for free. An opening address and a school band performance will be from 6 to 6:15 p.m. followed by building tours through 7:30 p.m.

For overflow parking, a free shuttle will be available starting at 4:45 p.m. to bus people from the southwest parking lot of Glacier High School to West Valley School.

The construction project, which began in August 2014, added approximately 36,000 square feet to the school. The addition includes 13 new classrooms, a music room, Special Education life skills room, science laboratory, library, kitchen and auxiliary gym. Upgrades were made to the existing building such as new siding, windows, flooring, paint and furniture.

The addition was built to accommodate a growing student population that has increased by 5 percent annually over the past decade.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.