By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) unveiled its new Learning Commons during a ribbon cutting on March 11.
In the weeks prior, students had started using the space, which includes study areas, an audio-visual studio with a green screen and a conference room for student use.
The recently opened Learning Commons features furniture options with differing functionality, specifically allowing guests to seat themselves in “cozy” chairs or at high-top tables, cubicles and traditional desks, the school’s principal Matt Keough said.
The furniture can be moved around to best accommodate instructional sessions or group work.
The bookcases in the library section have been pushed to the exterior walls to create an “open collaborative space,” Keough said.
The Learning Commons will be open from 7:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Fridays.
Keough said the school, which accounts for grades seven through 12, draws in students hailing from within an approximate one-hour radius, so the extended hours four days a week help out in cases wherein students living at separate ends of that scope would be challenged to finish group projects outside of the regular school schedule.
The learning space also contains 40 Chromebooks on hand as well as webcams that can be used for conferencing and presentation monitors.
The project entailed the addition of three classrooms directly upstairs from the Learning Commons that replaced three on the first floor.
The newly introduced innovation lab and accompanying maker space on the second floor consists of soldering equipment and three-dimensional printers.
“We have all of the things that the kids need for academic work and academic improvement,” Brother Joseph Jozwiak, the school’s president, said. “So many have worked so hard to make this dream a reality.”
Jozwiak thanked members of CBA’s leadership committee, school board members, staff and faculty members, alumni and parents at the morning ceremony for their support.
Part of the advancement of the private school’s “Our Mission, Their Future” capital campaign, the Learning Commons fits in as the second phase of construction completed, following up the fall 2019 opening of the renovated front entrance, dining center, spirit store, student commons and alumni hall.
Keough said those in charge of the school have been dedicated to making sure tuition does not increase more than three percent per year, a goal that pressures them to reach out to donors and fundraise for improvements.
“We value every single dollar that’s donated to CBA,” Keough said.
