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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Montessori preschool launched By Jim Cornelius News Editor Parents who want an engaging educational experi- ence for their preschool-aged children have a new option in Sisters. Becky Mallon is opening Mountain Montessori at 104 E. Adams Ave. in Sisters, part of the former site of A Joyful Noise. The school has open- ings for children ages 3 through 6. As is common in the Montessori model, the mixed-age school provides lots of opportunities for hands-on, active learning in different, well-designed areas of the school. “We don’t all sit down and do math together, or lan- guage together,” says Mallon. “It’s all about individual learning.” At the start of the day, the children have responsibilities to take care of. “They have jobs to do, so every morning they come in and they’re responsible for something,” Mallon says. That could be watering plants or getting a space orga- nized — something to get the students active and engaged. “It’s very organized … everything has a purpose and a reasoning behind it,” Mallon says. Mallon says there is a conscious effort made to prepare the young ones for kindergarten, with an empha- sis on learning sounds that will become necessary for reading. “They take off reading when they know the sounds the letters make,” Mallon says. “It’s nice that some of SISTERS GARAGE DOORS Sales • Service • Installation Residential • Commercial Broken Spring Specialist Dale Lester CCB#151832 541-815-1523 British firefighters visit Sisters By Jim Cornelius News Editor photo by JiM coRnelius Becky Mallon has years of experience teaching in the Montessori method. them are reading and writing sentences before they leave, which gives them a lot of confidence.” The school also encour- ages a strong learning/teach- ing dynamic among the stu- dents, with kids teaching kids how to do things and learning to lead. “The 3-year-olds look up to the 6-year-olds and the 6-year-olds help the 3-year- olds,” Mallon explains. Mallon has 16 years of experience with Montessori education, 13 of those years in Bend. Her direct experience with success in Montessori school drew her into a career in the field. She was the nanny of two boys in Seattle, who were having a tough time in a traditional environment. “We found a Montessori school and they did awe- some,” Mallon recalled. She received her certifi- cation through University of Puget Sound and taught in Washington before moving to Bend. Now Mallon, her husband, Desmond, and her three chil- dren have chosen to come to Sisters. “We lived in Bend, and Bend was getting a little too big,” she says. “We wanted to live in a small town.” Registration is underway now. School starts September 1. Schedule an observation at Mountain Montessori at www.mountainmontessori sisters.com. For more infor- mation call 541-549-0000. A contingent of firefight- ers from the United Kingdom are in Sisters to study wild- fire firefighting organization, infrastructure and tactics. Five firefighters from Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service arrived here last Friday and participated in emergency calls on Saturday. Three of them rolled out with a Sisters task force to pro- vide structure protection on the still-raging wildfire near John Day. Station Manager David Hodge (roughly equivalent to a Battalion Chief in American Parlance) explained why the British firefighters are here: “We want to be one of the best fire services in the UK,” he said. To do that, officials from Hampshire Fire & Rescue are traveling to different areas of the globe to tap specific expertise and experience. “We appreciate that the West Coast would lead in wildfire,” he told The Nugget. Hampshire, located on the central south coast of England, may not have vast forests nor the dry climate that makes Sisters Country so vulnerable, but they have experienced serious wildfire incidents. We want to be one of the best fire services in the uK. — david hodge “We appreciate that we don’t have wildfire on your scale,” Hodge said. However, “the skills we’re learning here should be easily trans- ferable to an incident of that scale” as would be found in Hampshire. Another contingent is set to travel to Hong Kong to tap their world-leading expertise in fighting high-rise fires. Hodge explained that Sisters was chosen through a personal connection: his See FIReFIghTeRs on page 16 NOW ENROLLING! FULL/PART-TIME • AGES 3 - 6 www.mountainmontessorisisters.com 104 E. Adams Ave., Sisters Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben Over 22 years Serving Sisters General Cosmetic Implant Family Dentistry 541-549-0109 | 304 W. Adams Ave. www.SistersOregonDentist.com TAEKWONDO, KICKBOXING, AIKIDO, JIU JITSU with Coach Q SELF�DEFENSE FOR THE REAL WORLD Every Tue & Thurs 4:45-6 pm 6 weeks for $75 – We can straighten ‘em out – Scholarships available, contact SPRD for information 1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091 View activities & classes and register online! Loaner Cars Deductible Assistance Windshield Replacement p 541-549-DENT — 541-549-3368 — 332 W. Barclay Dr., Sisters 9 www.SistersRecreation.com SNO CAP MINI STORAGE Sisters Industrial Park 157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575 www.SistersStorage.com • State-of-the-art Security Technology • Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40 • Individual Gate Codes • Long-term Discounts • On-site Manager
