Page 16 - spaces4learning, Fall 2022

• School spirit shop: Through the generosity of one specific donor, we’re adding a spirit shop where students can purchase merchandise adorned with the Valley Christian logo. Walking into the space,
students see the furniture
situated throughout, the
coffee shop on their left
and the spirit shop on their
right—similar to the way a
college student union would
be set up. The walls are
glass, so even if there isn’t
anyone manning the shop
at the time, students will be
able to select items using a
QR code, grab a cold drink
and just kind of hang out with the furniture.
• Multipurpose options. The student union isn’t just for academics. We're also going to use this space for pre- football game tailgate gatherings, because who wants to tailgate outside in Arizona in August and September? Our
home football games start at 7 p.m., so we’ll open it up at 5 p.m., bring in food and play videos of previous games to get everyone motivated for the upcoming one.
THIS IS A SPACE THAT GETS KIDS OUT OF THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM SETUP AND INTO A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN WORK TOGETHER ON PROJECTS, ATTEND A CLASS IN A DIFFERENT SETTING OR JUST RELAX AND UNWIND.
With our new student union, we now have a powerful tool to help us prepare kids for life after high school and for success in college. This is a space that gets kids out of the traditional classroom setup and into a place where they can work together on projects, attend a class in
a different setting or just
relax and unwind. As we go forward, we’ll be coming up with even more ideas for using
the space for both academic and non-academic purposes.
Josh LeSage is the Principal at Valley Christian School in Chandler, AZ.
16 FALL 2022 | spaces4learning.com