NEW Day 2: 10 Things for Your Community

Happy Day 2 of National Etiquette Week!

It's easier than you think to include good manners in your everyday life. Not only does it brighten your day, but it also builds a connection with the community around you. Good feelings all around! Why not follow our to-do list...

10 Ways to Help Others with Manners!

• Hold a door for someone.

• Compliment three random strangers.

• Help someone with their groceries/packages.

• Buy someone’s newspaper/coffee for them.

• Help someone who is lost.

• Smile at five strangers.

• Write a thank you note to the teacher that changed your life.

• Leave a generous tip.

• Sing your favorite song out loud.

• Pay the toll for the car behind you.

See you tomorrow as we continue to celebrate NEW!

NEW Day 1: Manners & Meals

Welcome to National Etiquette Week! 

We talk a lot about good manners benefiting society in a lot of ways, some of them subtle. Right now, we're going to focus on some more tangible results —specifically related to manners and meals.

Knowing how to set a table is a life and career skill, especially for those pursuing hospitality careers. All of us need to know how to set a table for guests at least once in our lives! But there are other benefits beyond that.

According to The Family Dinner Project: 

• Keeping a conversation going over dinner is good for your health. It takes around 20 minutes for your stomach to feel full after eating, and a good chat with family and friends can replace mindless eating.

• Teens who regularly dine with their families are less likely to smoke cigarettes, use marijuana or abuse alcohol, according to a Columbia University study, while researchers at Harvard have found family meals encourage a child's language skills and may improve school grades.

• Family dinners increase healthy eating, and can reduce obesity.

If you want to have more family dinners but feel like you don't have the time or resources to  get food on the table, or to get everyone together at once, check out The Family Dinner Project's tips on how to make it happen.

Come back tomorrow and learn how manners can help your community!

                                

Coming soon: National Etiquette Week 2013!

Please join us as we celebrate National Etiquette Week! 

We believe that etiquette and good manners is all about being kind to others, and isn't that worth celebrating?

National Etiquette Week (NEW) was established in 1997 by Sandra Morisset, a children's etiquette consultant, as a way to raise awareness of the importance of courtesy, civility, and good manners in everyday life.

The theme of this year's NEW, held May 13-17, is "Put the Civil Back Into Civility." Civility is a vital part of the professional and social realms—business, social, dining, travel, technology, wedding, and international protocol. But we also need civility in everyday life.

Just imagine:

• Taking a break from digital screen time to be fully present with loved ones.

• Finding ways to say "Hello" or "How are you?" to colleagues throughout the work day.

• Replacing negativity, judgmental attitudes, and condescension with gratitude, acceptance, and happiness.

Next week, we'll be posting daily with easy tips on how to be more mindful of your manners, and how to use those manners to brighten the lives around you. We'll remind you how manners help nurture friendships, build meaningful connections with others, and put a smile on your face! Good manners do make an impact in your community!

So join us next week as we celebrate NEW 2013! 

Dog Park Etiquette

Want to take your favorite furry companion to the dog park? While animals have their own social rules, their human friends can make sure that visits to the dog park can be both safe and fun. Read our tips before you grab the leash!

• Only bring vaccinated dogs! Dog parks are the perfect place to spread disease and you want to protect both your pup and others.

• On that note, wear close-toed shoes. Humans can catch diseases from dogs, too!

• Leave the food—both doggie and human—at home. Snacks or meals can lead to dog aggression or disease transmission.

• Make sure your dog if fully off-leash before you enter the park—some dogs have leash aggression or fear. 

• Know your dog. Skittish or aggressive dogs would not enjoy a dog park visit and could cause altercations with other dogs. Remember that a lot of stimulation can lead to fear-related aggression, resulting in a dog fight. Instead, consider "playdates" with dogs (and their responsible owners) you and your dog already know well.

• Pay attention to your dog—don't let your animal wander on the other side of the dog park while you chat with human friends.

• Keep big dogs from bullying smaller dogs—or smaller dogs from bullying larger dogs!

• If your dog does get into an altercation with another dog, address the issue immediately. Some people might not know what to do, get embarrassed, or laugh it off. Own the situation, and accept the fact your dog might be the aggressor.

• Some dog parks do not allow children, and for good reason. Dog parks exist first for dogs, and not all dogs are great around kids. (Also, dog parks are not the place to go if you are trying to help your child lose a fear of dogs.)

• If the dog park is gated, open only one gate at a time.

• Dogs who aren't fixed make puppies. Remember that.

• Follow all posted rules! 

A little human etiquette on behalf of their doggie friends goes a long way! 

Perfectly Polished in a Year

As the school year winds down, so does another year of Perfectly Polished - the business we have loved and nurtured since 1986. It's the perfect time to reflect on some of our favorite memories of the 2012-2013 school year. In no particular order:

Working with the Ron Clark Academy....The Mystery Mistletoe Dinner Dance with the seventh graders....Training Week!...The Three-Course Dining Tutorial, where even the children had a great time (really!)...The Cotillion Club Tea Dance with the eighth graders....Our Valentine's Dance....The Spring Formal....Watching our students and staff keep cool on Conan!

We can't wait to see what the next school year brings!

Watch us with Conan O'Brien!

That's right - We made a fun appearance on Conan! You can watch it here. Enjoy!

You are cordially invited....

...to our Spring Formal! 

Perfectly Polished will "Light up the Night" on Saturday, March 30, 2013, 6:30 p.m., at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA. Last year, around 3,000 guests came to see 600 of our fantastic students dance, our staff receive awards, and Perfectly Polished graduates assisting on the dance floor. It is a wonderful night and we hope you join us this year!

Just see how we've been getting ready...

Hope to see you there!