Our unique Sparhawk culture is built on a vision developed by our Board of Trustees in the summer of 2015. Two years later, as we were scrambling to secure financing and close on our school property, Bob Sylvain had 100 4”x6” index cards printed which read:
Our Vision
Parents are the primary educators of their children.
Boys will thrive when taught by men.
An excellent curriculum includes education in virtue.
What does it mean to say parents are the primary educators of their children? In its 1983 Charter on the Rights of the Family, the Holy See wrote:
The family constitutes much more than a mere juridical, social and economic unit. It is a community of love and solidarity, which is uniquely suited to teach and transmit cultural, ethical, social, spiritual and religious values, essential for the development and well-being of its own members and of society….
Parents have the right to educate their children in conformity with their moral and religious convictions, taking into account the cultural traditions of the family which favor the good and the dignity of the child; they should also receive from society the necessary aid and assistance to perform their educational role properly.
Sparhawk is a society of families and teachers that aspires to offer that necessary aid. Every day, you see to it that your children are well-fed, clothed, and sheltered, and care for their physical and spiritual health. And yet most of us no longer grow our own food and make our own clothes – although at Sparhawk we do some of these things! – but instead turn to specialists to help us in these tasks. As specialists in the education of boys, we aim to help parents by teaching from a thoughtful, challenging, attractive curriculum we have developed that draws on the best of our rich cultural patrimony.
But Sparhawk is much more than just a great classroom experience. Outside of the classroom, we depend on engaged and committed families to help create and strengthen our school culture. We depend on your prayers, your involvement, and your donations of time, attention, and money. Here are some specific volunteer opportunities at Sparhawk. Feel free to contact us about how to get involved in any of these areas of service to the school.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT SPARHAWK
Admissions Ambassadors
Nothing promotes the school better than when prospective families meet current Sparhawk families and hear directly from them about the difference the school has made in the lives of their boys. Our website, the Minutemen Mail, and our annual Open House all do their part, but a gathering hosted by a current Sparhawk family is the single most effective method for recruiting new students to our school. These gatherings normally happen over evening wine and cheese during which someone from the Sparhawk faculty and administration will speak for 30 minutes or so and then open things up for questions.
Past activities have included:
- Wine and cheese
- Cookouts
- Helping meet and greet at Fall Open House on campus
Chapel Care
Daily Mass is the root and center of our school day. By caring for our chapel and doing our best to make it beautiful and inviting, we show by our actions that God comes first at Sparhawk. The upcoming year will be particularly important as we design, procure fixtures, and install a new chapel in our new building.
Past activities have included:
- Annual Mass of the Holy Spirit planning and execution
- Daily Mass set-up
- Providing chapel flowers
- Upgrading chapel carpets
- Weekly chapel cleaning
Class Agents
There are many organizational advantages to having one person or couple act as point person for activities at the class level.
Past activities have included
- Grade 8 Farewell Dinner planning and execution (Grade 7 only)
- Organizing Farewell Class gift to Sparhawk (Grade 8 only)
- Organizing year end class gifts to teachers
- Welcoming new students and their families to Sparhawk
Garden Club
We are blessed with a beautiful setting for our school, and over the past four years we have done a lot of planting to further enhance that beauty. We have an especially exciting opportunity this year to be creative with our new entrance and classroom building. We welcome anyone with a green thumb, or aspires to one, to help out.
Past activities have included:
- Caring for Marwood shrine
- Design planting plan
- Donated sit-down mower
- Plant trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables
- Water and weed plantings
Human Resources
There are a variety of tasks involving human resources skills, including
- Helping to manage medical insurance claims and filing, including https://mrf.healthcarebluebook.com/trustmarksb
- Helping to coordinate summer program counselors and volunteers
- Helping to manage various insurance policies
Farm Club
At Sparhawk we regularly sing the praises of immersion in reality. There is nothing quite like tending a brood of chickens, pressing apple cider, or growing pumpkins from seed to put virtual reality in perspective.
Past activities have included:
- Care for bees
- Care for chickens
- Harvest apples and pears
- Plant flowers, fruits, and vegetables
- Water and weed plantings
Mother’s Club
With an all-boy student body and an all-male faculty, we are acutely aware of how important it is to have a strong female influence on our day-to-day life as a school. The Mother’s Club serves Sparhawk in more ways than I can count.
Past activities have included:
- Annual Family Picnic planning and execution
- Ice Cream Social planning and execution
- Faculty Christmas Luncheon planning and execution
- Festival Day Feast (fall and spring) planning and execution
- Friday Morning Rosary
- Hosting Monthly Pizza Day (First Thursdays)
- Organizing Book Exchange
- Organizing food and clothing drives for charity
- Organizing Guest Speaker series
- Providing refreshments for Parent/Teacher Conferences
- Supervising Lost & Found
Father’s Club
The Father’s Club offers opportunities for fathers, often with sons in tow, to grow in friendship through work, prayer, and play together. We try and have some activity at least once per month, usually on a Saturday morning.
Past activities have included:
- Annual Fall Grounds Clean-up
- Book Club
- Building granite pathways
- Building Pizza Oven patio
- Erecting outdoor classroom tents
- Fatherhood panels
- Father/Son Campus Campout
- Installing Barn insulation
- Organizing Guest Speaker series
- Overnight trip to Vermont
- Monthly Evening of Recollection
- Splitting wood
Sports Advisory
Many of our boys enjoy competing on our baseball, basketball, cross country, and soccer teams. And there are impromptu games every day during recess and lunch, and before and after school. Our pioneer spirit has allowed us to adapt on the fly, but as the school grows we need a more strategic plan for our athletic growth.
Past activities have included:
- Building GaGa Ball pit
- Building outdoor skating rink
- Building soccer goals
- Coaching Basketball
- Funding outdoor basketball court