John Grant High School Gets Makeover from Burovision

Last spring, John Grant, which caters to students with special needs, was chosen by Burovision’s “Get Inspired” team to receive a classroom makeover. Burovision is a contract office furniture dealership located in Montreal and Ottawa that sets up offices with state of the art furniture that encourages productivity in the workplace. 

The “Get Inspired” program has been making dreams come true since 2009, when the Burovision team realized that schools don’t have the budgets to enhance their learning spaces. They decided to roll up their sleeves and give back to the community. Every year, Burovision provides one school with a classroom makeover. This year, JGHS was selected as their ‘Get Inspired recipient. “When we found out that we were chosen, we felt like we had just won the lottery,” said Grace Fanelli, vice-principal at JGHS.

Burovision came to JGHS to work on one classroom, but saw a great need, resulting in the refurnishing of three spaces. The new CASP (Competency-Based Approach to Social Participation) classroom, where students who are between the ages of 12 and 15 who have a moderate to severe intellectual impairment receive a specialized education suited to their needs, was redecorated with soothing yellow tones. Designed with the TEACCH method in mind, it is complete with communal and individual spaces where students can relax and have their quiet space.

The JGHS library was refurbished to provide spaces that promote cooperative learning, quiet reading, and interaction with reading materials. “It has a cool coffee shop feel which not only makes the room more user-friendly and versatile, it actually makes our students excited to use the space,” said Angela Vaudry, principal of JGHS.

Finally, Burovision created the attractive ‘Chill-and-Chat’ senior student lounge in a space that was an empty alcove, making it a special place for students to hang out and socialize, play a board game or a match of foosball with peers and teachers alike.

“Burovision donated a lot more than some furniture and new rooms to our school. What they have created for our special needs students is a space that lets them feel a greater connection to our school, and more significantly, a sense of belonging and of being important to us, a feeling that many of them had never experienced before,” shared Ms. Vaudry.

The Burovision team enjoyed learning and understanding the particular needs of the JGHS student population, carefully choosing colours, textures, and design that would both sooth and encourage learning and connection. “We are inspired by the teachers and staff at JGHS and thank you for what you do to give your students a good environment to learn in,” shared Burovision president Renzo Fraraccio.

Alexandra Chooquette, vice-president of Burovision added: “We know how hard it is for educators to promote learning in the classroom. We want to help by enhancing their learning spaces.”