We believe that Mildenhall Montessori Schools are distinguished by the following characteristics:
1. Brent Lisowski and Brenda Hebert. Brent and Brenda, with backgrounds as senior corporate counsel at two of Canada’s major law firms, and a commitment to education in their families covering four generations, are the Schools’ owners. Both Brent and Brenda have teaching experience, and Brenda taught high school English for eight years immediately after obtaining her first University degree. Their entire family has been involved in Montessori education since 1978 when their eldest child, Anne, began attending High Park Gardens Montessori School. All three of their children attended HPGMS before going on to earn an impressive 11 University degrees between them. Both Anne and Michael have PhDs and Christopher recently completed his qualifications as a doctor of veterinary medicine. Brent and Brenda, together with Anne, Michael and Christopher, share 16 University degrees from 11 different Universities including Columbia, Cambridge, the University of Toronto, York University and the University of Sydney, Australia, in five countries on three continents. And four of their five grandchildren attend Montessori programs (Emile, born in June of 2010, is still too young). Brent’s and Brenda’s obvious dedication to education ensures that Mildenhall Montessori Schools are true Montessori Schools run to the highest Montessori standards with enhanced programming in French, Music, Art and Sports. They understand the importance of having a well-qualified, experienced professional staff responsible for the education of the students and they allow the staff to do their jobs, providing them with the necessary financial and emotional support. They also understand the importance of the Schools’ being flexible and responsive to parental requests – listening to parents is a distinguishing factor of the Schools and is to a large degree responsible for their success. In addition, all School decisions are made in the best interests of the child – this is the guiding principle of their Schools.
2. The Montessori Program. The Montessori program at MMS, from its beginning in Casa to the end of the Middle School, is true Montessori. It is not “based on” Montessori education philosophy - it is a Montessori program, fully accredited by the CCMA. Classroom teachers have University degrees (a number have their Masters) and the appropriate Montessori credentials for the ages they teach. All classroom assistants (many with ECE) have Montessori training. The Principals at the three locations work carefully with specialist teachers to ensure that they are grounded in Montessori approaches and materials in their classes. At the same time, we recognize the need to “move with the times”: all Upper Elementary and Middle School classrooms are equipped with computers or iPads.
3. Enhanced Programming. In additional to the traditional Montessori education provided at Mildenhall Montessori Schools, there are enhanced programs in French, Music, Art and Sports. HPCMS includes drama and produces a musical play each spring. Well-qualified dedicated specialists lead each of these programs. And HPCMS’ librarian has her Masters of Library Science.
The French program uses the Accelerated Integrated Method (also known as the “Gesture Method”) developed by award-winning teacher Wendy Maxwell from York House School in Vancouver. This method accelerates the children’s learning to the extent that by the time they have completed the Upper Elementary Program most of them are on a par with students of the same age who have been in French immersion since kindergarten.
The Music program is based on Orff and Kodaly philosophies. The children participate in choirs and learn to play musical instruments; they put on performances for family and friends every year that are amazing in the complexity of the music they play and sing. By the end of Upper Elementary, all of the children are proficient in at least one instrument.
The Elementary Art program combines visual arts with art history and enhances the students’ classroom stories, projects and timelines. Student art enlivens the hallways and classrooms at all locations.
All of the children play outside every day except in extremely inclement weather. In addition, dedicated physical education specialists lead them in structured games and sports such as soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf and floor hockey as well as swimming, skating, hiking and karate. Our Sports program is implemented in a non-competitive environment where the children are individually challenged according to their readiness and experience. It is structured to ensure both learning and fun.
4. Special Needs Assistance. From time to time many students require some additional help; for example, children learning to read need opportunities to practice their skills. And some children need more specialized help for them to be able to achieve their full potential. Parent Volunteers and Brent Lisowski make themselves available to beginning readers on a regular basis. Our librarian at HPCMS provides additional assistance to Elementary students doing research and projects. And, Indrani Singh, who has taught in our Upper Elementary programs at HPCMS and Taddle Creek and has training and experience with special needs students, is available to all three Schools as a resource. She is an invaluable aid to the Principals and teachers, and her observations and experiences help many students who are having difficulty. In more serious cases, we work closely with the parents and educational psychologists, speech therapists and other specialists to ensure our students have all the help they need to achieve their full potential. All three Schools are registered with the Community Care Access Centre which provides funding for speech therapists and other specialists.