Happy Presidents Day from SPARK!
" Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." - George Washington's Rules of Civility

Happy Presidents Day SPARK Family!
Below are some upcoming program highlights, as well as some quotes about kindness and civility from Presidents Washington and Lincoln. Another reminder that kindness is eternal. How we treat one another not only matters most - it lasts forever!

Look for our Spring 2019 Speaker Series Announcement after February Break!

Have a great holiday!
The SPARK Team
Upcoming Programs
Free babysitting provided for all of these programs! Look for an announcement with our full spring schedule next week! Register now!

  • 2/25 (6 weekly sessions) - Single Dads Group - free facilitated group - few spots left - babysitting and dinner provided - go HERE!


3/7 - Raising a Resilient and Successful Athlete - 7pm at Natick High - This program will engage and unite coaches, parents and community leaders to promote resilience, participation and an improved youth sports culture. With expert/former professional athlete Skye Eddy Bruce. Go HERE !
George Washington's Rules
of Civility
Our first President is known for his honesty and character. Did you know that by the time President George Washington was 16 years old, he had copied (by hand) the 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation? They are a set of rules composed in 1595 by French Jesuits. What makes them extraordinary is that (according to biographer Richard Brookhiser) these were rules of conduct that should apply to everyone - not just aristocrats.

" Courtesy  meant behavior appropriate to a court;  chivalry  comes from  chevalier  – a knight. Yet Washington was to dedicate himself to freeing America from a court's control. Could manners survive the operation?" Richard Brookhiser,  Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington  (New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996) pp. 130-131.

Read the entire list of rules here - fun to read with your children because many seem so strange! (ie "Take no Salt or cut Bread with your Knife Greasy.") But many others apply today and are inspiring. Our favorites are the fist and the last:

1st: " Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present." (respect others)

110th: " Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." (have integrity + resist cynicism)
Article of the Week
Settle Your Glitter! From SPARK Speaker
Dr. Lisa Damour
Great article on supporting tweens/teens (that applies to everyone in a moment of upset/overwhelm) "Every time I stop myself from trying to figure out what made a teenager upset, and focus instead on her right to just be upset, I find that doing so either solves the problem or helps clear the path to dealing with it." - from the New York Times. Go HERE .
Inspiring Story of the Week
Hundreds Attend Funeral of WWII Veteran
who died with No Surviving Family
Introducing Katie Ring -  SPARK's 2019 Boston Marathon Kindness Ambassador!
We are so proud to announce that Katie Ring, Natick resident, parent and runner, will be running the 2019 Boston Marathon to benefit SPARK! Katie is wonderful and we're so excited for our community to get to know her over her marathon journey! As you know, our past runners - Judy Dixon (2018), Brian Harrigan (2017) and Dr. Kristen Aberle (2016) inspired our whole community and we are so excited to welcome Katie Ring to this illustrious group!

As Katie says, "The Boston Marathon has always been incredible and incredibly emotional to witness, and I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I’d love to run it one day, but recently an opportunity to partner with a local community organization came up and I decided to jump on the chance." Thank you in advance to everyone for their support of Katie and of SPARK!