Dartmouth South Academy opened in late 2017 bringing students together from a nearby elementary school and junior high. Because students from both schools were coming to this school together for the first time, careful planning was done to make sure the furniture choices were developed with both younger and older students in mind.
The Principal and staff wanted to incorporate activity and collaboration into as many areas of the school as possible and Ven-Rez helped them design some new products to help them satisfy that need. With the input of staff and students, we developed a swivel chair which could be used in all classrooms. This newly developed chair allows students to move in their chair while learning in the classroom. Movement is helpful to many students as part of the learning process and we are proud that our chairs can help with that process. In addition to active learning chairs, the classrooms are furnished with collaborative clover shaped tables with white board surfaces. This allows the students to work collaboratively on projects and problems right at (AND ON) their desks.
The library has lots of natural light and has areas that allow for collaborative work and also areas that allow for independent reading. Our helicopter style library shelving adds some style to the library and maximizes space for book storage. The D shaped table which also has a white board surface is helpful when students need to work in groups on assignments. Traditional library shelving is set up around the perimeter to store and display the collection. This has left the centre of the room to be an area where all of the furniture is mobile and can be moved around and reconfigured depending on what activities are happening in the library on any given day.