Karoonda area school modernises learning spaces

Project Profile | Karoonda Area School’s outdated furniture no longer suited its vision for collaborative learning. Partnering with Furnware, the school introduced flexible, ergonomic furniture like Bodyfurn® chairs to create dynamic spaces that support student engagement and adaptability.

Based in Karoonda, South Australia, Karoonda Area School is a Government School teaching students from Preschool up to Year 12. They believe in collaborative and connected learning to ultimately empower their students in their journey to becoming successful members of the community.

When Principal, Jacob Dawson, started at Karoonda Area School at the beginning of 2023, he noticed that the quality of furniture used throughout the school didn’t align with their values to set students up for success. The furniture was over 20 years old and no longer met the requirements of the classroom.

The furniture in our classrooms wasn’t flexible and didn’t support adaption of the spaces to suit different learning modes. With our school vision aligned around collaboration, we found the furniture needed to change to support this.

Jacob Dawson – Principal, Karoonda Area School

Upon meeting with Furnware Business Development Manager, Rob Henry, in October of 2023, the pair discussed ways in which they could create a versatile and engaging space. Jacob wanted students to be supported in their learning environments and be excited about their spaces.

The quality of the product was an important factor to Jacob when he was selecting furniture for his school. He wanted the furniture to not only meet the needs of students but to last in the classroom for years to come. After hearing of Jacob’s requirements, Rob believed that the perfect solution was Furnware’s Bodyfurn Chair. He provided the school with a Bodyfurn chair for the students to trial in a real-life scenario.

On returning at the end of the week I found the chair in a senior classroom where a student was reluctant to give it back! We knew the Bodyfurn was going to be a winner for all students.

Rob Henry – Business Development Manager, Furnware

Jacob wanted to involve the teachers in the process, so he met with each of them to get feedback on their desired classroom; whether they valued traditional or flexible spaces, and the types of furniture that would benefit their student’s learning experience. The school collectively determined there was a need to select their products based on their new teaching program, which meant they needed a flexible learning space in senior classrooms and a collaborative space in junior classrooms. Both of which needed to have an option to revert to a traditional learning environment as required.

Once they had agreed on their preferred types of furniture, they moved onto selecting the colour palette to be rolled out in the classrooms. They opted for soft colours that blended in with their rural surroundings. Settling on greens, timbers and clean whites as the main tones, linking with the schools colour palette.

Rob created the rooms in Furnware’s 3D app which provided Jacob and his team with a visual representation of how each classroom would look before finalising his order. This also gave the school an idea of what settings they could create with their furniture.

Unfortunately, due to port strikes, delivery was delayed. To support the school in the meantime, Rob assisted Jacob and the school team in replacing existing furniture taken out at end of the previous year and placed back into the classrooms until their order was delivered in early February of 2024 (First week back).

Rob was on-site for delivery to ensure the process ran smoothly for the team and supporting the delivery team in bumping out the old furniture and replacing it with the new furniture. As this was during school hours, Rob was able to witness staff and students seeing their new classrooms for the first time.

The smiles and excitement on both students’ and staff faces was priceless.

Rob Henry – Business Development Manager, Furnware

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