Barnsley Academy

from Oxfordian Fall/Winter 2022 Edition

Neff Physical Therapy

Photos by Meghan Newberry Katie Williams and Amanda Taylor

By Marcella Peyre-Ferry Contributing Writer

For full-time day care, pre-school, and before-school or after-school care and summer camp, local families turn to Barnsley Academy. The academy is located in the historic Barnsley School Building at 225 Barnsley Road in Oxford. Barnsley Academy was founded in 2013 by Amanda Taylor. She and director Katie Williams were both new mothers looking for child care that they could trust. “We were moms who just had babies and we wanted to find people we could trust to take care of our kids,” Taylor said. “As they got older, we wanted a curriculum and a program where we didn’t feel like they were at day care all day. We wanted that sense of family. We look at those new parents and we see ourselves in them.” Barnsley Academy provides programs for infants from six weeks of age and up to youngsters who are 11 or 12 years of age. One of the important features Taylor was looking for was hours of operation that fit the schedules of working parents. Because so many families in the area are faced with a long commute daily, Barnsley Academy’s hours run from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. “They’re just having new families. They have to go back to work and things are so expensive these days,” Taylor said. The Barnsley Academy formula has proven to be so popular that families return with siblings and recommend the facility to extended family members and friends. “People stay with us because we feel like a big family,” Taylor said. Continued on Page 26

Barnsley Academy

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Part of the family feel comes from the consistency of staff. At Barnsley Academy, parents know the person who will be working with their child on a daily basis. “This is not a daycare where you have to wonder who will be teaching your child this day,” Taylor said. Children that start in day care typically move on to pre-school format at around three years of age with Pre-K in the year before they are going to enter Kindergarten. The success of that program is evident by how well the children do when they move on to public or private school Kindergarten. Barnsley Academy makes an effort to teach students with a curriculum about a year above what is expected in the schools, so that the Pre-K class is learning at a kindergarten level. “Kids are like sponges, and they will suck up as much information and knowledge as we can give them,” Taylor said. The Barnsley Academy formula rapidly became so popular that a second location was opened in 2015 at 660 Solanco Road in Quarryville with director Heather Robertson. Both sites have the advantage of plenty of outdoor areas for active play. Students do not go out of the school environment for field trips, but they do have outside presenters come to the sites on a regular basis to provide enrichment activities. “We have plenty of theme days during the school year. A majority of our focus now has been toward STEM learning to fit into the mold they are going to find when they go to school,” Taylor said. “You have to have a child that’s very well-rounded, not only learning-wise but socially. I know we’re doing a good thing with the education portion of the puzzle.” For more information visit the website at barnsleyacademy.com.

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La Sicilia To Celeb 20th Anniversary

brate in December

Photos by Joe del Tufo Victor Mascali of La Sicilia

Had Daniel Webster not written the dictionary until 2002, you might find an image of La Sicilia’s menu next to the definition of “mouthwatering.” That’s because the Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Oxford has been keeping families near and far coming back for some of the finest Italian dishes for almost two decades, and it doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. Victor Mascali, the proprietor of La Sicilia, opened the restaurant in December of 2002 as a simple, take-out only, pizzeria. Over those two decades, the restaurant has grown to include an indoor dining area and a banquet facility while becoming one of the most popular restaurants in town. Mascali practically cut his teeth in the restaurant industry, growing up working in restaurants owned by his parents Angelo and Anna up and down the East Coast. Eventually, he would move to Italy to fine tune his craft, before returning stateside, and eventually setting up shop in the borough. Using his expertise in the kitchen and his wife Danielle’s experience in marketing and design, the Mascalis decided that Oxford was an area that could use a little Italian flair. “My wife’s cousin lives here and we came to visit and fell in love with the town,” Victor said. “We decided to buy a home here. While driving through the town on my way to work, I decided Oxford would be a great place to open a restaurant.” Offering something original and homemade rather than the chain restaurant pizza joints that used to dot the area, La Sicilia quickly became a hit in the tight-knit community. Continued on Page 30

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It wasn’t long before the restaurant would expand, and once that happened, Victor needed to lean on Danielle for more than just the restaurant’s aesthetics. “I could not have done this without Danielle,” he said. “Behind every strong man is an even stronger woman. Danielle runs the banquet room. She is great at handling parties. I couldn’t do it (alone). “She takes care of everything at home—I mean everything—and still helps with the business. We are lucky to have each other. It really wouldn’t work if we were not a team.” But just because Oxford is one of those small towns where everyone knows one another, doesn’t mean that owning a small business is a guaranteed success story. The Mascalis knew they still had to integrate themselves into the community and do so with a permanent smile on their faces and an open door into what has become their second home. “We both knew we wanted a small town for our family and children,” Danielle said. “When you establish roots, it all comes together. We enjoy the love we feel out here, between everyone, the business community, and our growing extended family. “Without the Oxford community supporting us from day one and through COVID, we wouldn’t have made it. The community has kept us moving forward to this day. During COVID we watched as businesses supported one another. We need more positivity in the world like we have here in Oxford.” And while customers who walk through the front door of La Sicillia aren’t sitting around a bar swilling beers for hours on end, just like the old TV show “Cheers,” it’s become a place where everybody knows your name. “Sometimes people come in and they don’t know what they want (to order),” Victor said. “(But since) we have become so close with them, we know their favorite menu items. Sometimes we know better than they do. And we take great pride in satisfying our customers that way.” And it’s not just their relationship with the customers. The Mascalis have become fixtures in the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce. They feel the business community works well together, and being a part of that has been a real benefit. It also allows for them to grow with the downtown area, as new ventures are popping up with regularity. “Dave Eldreth and the Oxford Arts Alliance is certainly putting its mark on the town,” Victor said. “I was thrilled when they dressed up our storefront with a painting from a local artist and one that Continued on Page 32

Back Row (L to R): Ben Roman, Gerry SanFilippo, Irene Delp, Amelia Donahue Front Row (L to R): Nancy Belamorich, Angela SanFilippo, Miguel Villatoro, Victor Mascali, Danielle Mascali

my father did as well. … It just makes me so proud to see my father’s painting up there.” The Mascalis are also thankful for Cameron’s Ace Hardware, which paid for the installation of the art, and to Christine Grove, the Executive Director of the Chamber, who keeps the downtown area thriving with novel concepts and ideas. As for how they plan to celebrate the 20th anniversary? Well, the Mascalis’ lips are sealed. “We have some other tricks up our sleeves, but we are keeping them secret for now,” Danielle said.“I don’t think either of us believed that we would stay in one spot this long. But we love it here. Our kids love it here. And we believe in the product we are selling, but more importantly, we believe in the people for whom we provide it.” To place an order, reserve the banquet facility or for more information on La Sicilia Pizza Pasta Grille at 58 S. Third Street, Oxford, follow them on Facebook and Instagram, give them a call at 610-998-9889 or check them out online at LaSiciliaPA.com.