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Debating Club as at 15/2/2008 by Mike Boyle:
We have now reached the position where we have thirteen members who are committed to the Club, and they have been divided into two teams –one based at Penrith and the second at Springwood.
Set-up meetings were held on Wednesday at Penrith and Friday at Katoomba, and the basis of the operation of the Club and its teams was discussed and agreed.
In general, formal debates will be held approximately monthly on a Saturday afternoon at Penrith. The first debate is tentatively set for Saturday 8th March at 2.30pm.
Weekly team strategy meetings will be held at the U3A rooms at Penrith (Thursdays), and arrangements have been made with the Springwood Library (on a trial basis) for meetings to be held there (Fridays).
Although none of us expect the first debate to be spectacular, it is important that we make a start, and it is equally important that we have an audience. For this reason it would be appreciated if U3A members could be advised that it is on and that they are invited. Your assistance in this would be of great help. Additional members of the Club are still wanted so that scheduling of people’s commitments can be juggled with the debating timetable.
I will provide you with a complete description of the Club and its members shortly for the Committee’s information.
If you need any further information, please give me a ring on 4751 4229 or mwboyle@optusnet.co.au – Mike Boyle
(OK Mike, We will be at the Penrith School of Arts at 2.30pm on Saturday 8th March and I hope many other members and their partners and friends will join me. The audience does not have to be U3A members. Let us take this opportunity to introduce as many of our friends as possible to our U3A)
U3A NSW State Conference 2008 - Tuesday 11 March, 2008
Thirteen of our members will attend the 1st day of the U3A NSW State Conference 2008 to be held at the Warilla Bowling Club, Warilla NSW on Tuesday 11 March, 2008. The committee has organised a bus that will leave from the Information Centre in Panthers’ car park at 6.30am.
In the year 2010, we will be holding the U3A NSW State Conference in Penrith and we are going to need all the knowledge and help that we can get.
Afternoon Tea for Tutors & Volunteers – 2.30pm to 4pm on Saturday 12th April
We have been very lucky this year in the U3A with many new tutors and volunteers. Many organizations struggle to get adequate numbers of volunteers and the majority of the work is left to “a few willing horses”. But this is not the case with our U3A.With a view to getting to know our tutors and volunteers better, the Committee wishes to invite all tutors and volunteers for afternoon tea at the Penrith School of Arts between 2.30pm and 4pm on Saturday 12th April.
Invitations will be sent out in March by email (where possible) or by post to all tutors and volunteers. At 4pm, the Debating Club will have its 2nd Debate and tutors and volunteers will be welcome to join the audience.
Aboriginal Spirituality – 2.00am to 4.00pm Sunday 4th May
What it offers to the Spirituality of Australians. A discussion led by Eugene Stockton – Author of The Aboriginal Gift and Blue Mountains Dreaming - at OLN School Hall, 254 Gt Western Highway, Lawson.
For further information contact Eugene Stockton Tel: 4759 1818 or Helena Lucey Tel: 4759 1461 or hmlucey@tpg.com.au
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea – 11.30am Thursday 22nd May
After last year’s success, it’s on again – Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at the U3A, 3 Castlereagh St, Penrith. Come and bring your friends to help the fight against cancer. Please bring a small plate of food and a donation – tea and coffee will be provided. There will also be a “Bring & Buy” stall – so you can clean out your cupboards and aid a good cause as well.
Term 1 of 2008 started on Monday 4th February.
I have received good reports about several of our courses – including some of our brand new courses:
Creative Writing has proved so popular that we are trying to set-up more courses.
Tai Chi – Single Fan Session is proving a challenging and elegant form of Tai Chi for students.
The Fundamentals of Financial Statements – Robert Coombes will run another course next term starting Monday 5th May.
Time Machine is giving its students a new perspective on the many forms of time.
Introduction to Lapidary: Students have had their cabochons to the grindstone.
Kitchen Gardening in Our Third Age had so many students that a second class has been started.
The Art & Science of Happiness has so many happy students!
I would appreciate getting feed-back from tutors and students about all our courses. If there are problems or suggestions, we will follow them up and if there are complimentary comments we would like to publish them in our Newsletters.
Courses Starting in March:
Basic German starts at 9.00am to 10.00am on Monday 3rd March – Penrith School of Arts.
Yoga starts at 11.30am to 12.30pm on Tuesday 4th March – Penrith School of Arts.
Intermediate French starts at 10.00am to 11.30am on Wednesday 5th March – Penrith School of Arts.
How to Trace Your Ancestry for Beginners starts at 1.00pm to 3.00pm on Thursday 6th March.
Spanish for Beginners starts at 10.00am to 11.30am on Friday 7th March – Penrith School of Arts.
Spanish for Beginners starts at 2.00pm to 3.00pm on Friday 7th March – Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre.
175 Years of the Mechanic School of Arts
Lucy Bantermalis has cancelled this course in term 2 - but may run it later in the year. Lucy is busy doing a Masters. Due to the popularity of her course on Ancient Egypt and requests from members, Lucy is considering giving a 6 week course on Ancient Egypt later in the year.
Singing
We have singers at Blackheath who want a Leader of the Choir and at Penrith we have a Leader of the Choir but only a few singers.
If you want to sing or lead a U3A choir at Blackheath, please contact Kerry Speak Tel: 4787 7948.
If you wish to join a U3A choir at Penrith (you do not have to be a good singer – just enjoy singing), contact Marie Stewart Tel: 9832 7190 or mar-stew@bigpond.net.au
Walking with a Touch of History in March:
The first walks this year were a bit damp. But recently, the weather improved and the walks have been magnificent.
The walking program is shown elsewhere on the web site. Please CLICK HERE to view it.
English Classical Music 20th Century by Paul King
The 20th century English music course is well under way, and the members of the group are very enthusiastic. There is much spirited discussion as well as quiet listening.
Although we have 16 attending we are able to fit quite comfortably into our lounge room, which is larger than average.
I apologise for the delay in writing, but as we meet only fortnightly I wanted to wait until after the second meeting to prove the group is indeed a popular and viable one.
Regards, Paul King
Silent Auction
Helmut Ullrich has donated numerous items to the U3A, including the mountain bike that we raffled on our 2008 Enrolment Days in January. The other items will be listed in our next Quarterly Newsletter at the end of March so that all members have an opportunity to bid. Members may bid for as many items as they wish by contacting the Office, giving Name, Membership Number, item bidding for and the amount of the bid (minimum bid $10).
The items include: TVs, Video Recorder, Sewing Machines; Dinner Sets, Steam Irons, Coffee Makers, Toasters, Sandwich Makers, Kettles, Blenders; Vacuum Cleaner, Fan Heater, Circular Saw, Grinders, Drill and a Petrol Generator.
Study with u3aonline by Ruth Todd
Roaming around the web a few weeks ago, I found u3aonline. It’s run from Griffith University and can be accessed from that website www3.griffith.edu.au ; or from www.u3aonline.org.au. The list of courses is quite extensive and courses can be studied independently or some are available for study with a tutor. I have enrolled in Botany for Knowledge and Enjoyment and, this week, I have printed out the study notes for Week 1. These notes are clearly written with easily readable type and diagrams. Questions for Reflection and an activity are included at the end of the notes. You can read the notes on screen if you wish but I would suggest that notes are saved to disk so they can be accessed as often as you need. I found both sites easy to navigate. There is a fee of $20 for current U3A members for the year which can be paid either by post or online.
So, well worth a look . . . Ruth Todd
Mah Jong
The Mah Jong class at 1.00pm to 3.00pm on Wednesdays is now so popular that we have run out of Mah Jong sets. Does anyone have a Mah Jong set that they would like to donate or sell cheaply to the U3A? Please contact Brenda Emerson Tel: 4721 1735 or brendae@tpg.com.au
Office Volunteers
This year we have been lucky in gaining the services of eight new office volunteers, and there is even a stand-by list of people waiting to help out as well. Our Office Manager Brenda Emerson would like to extend her thanks to all those who have volunteered, and advises that we cannot take on any more new volunteers at the moment.
Membership
Our membership this year now exceeds 1,000 with many new members. We will shortly publish the numbers of members by location on our website. Our biggest increase in membership is at Blackheath. Last year we had 21 members from Blackheath and this year we have over 80 - largely due to the efforts of Kay Barlow and Kerry Speak.
Our membership also appears to becoming more computer literate with over 470 members recording their email addresses on their Membership Application Forms.
2010 State Conference at Penrith
The first meeting of the Sub-committee for organising the 2010 State Conference at Penrith
will meet at 2.00pm on Tuesday 18th March at the Penrith School of Arts.
Vacancies on the Committee:
The two positions of Vice-President – Blue Mountains and Social Secretary are vacant. Any member wishing to apply for these positions, should advise the office or a member of the Committee.
The next Committee Meeting will be at 1.30pm on Tuesday 18th March 2008 at the Penrith School of Arts.
Disclaimer – Articles contributed to this Newsletter and published as a service to members; do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of this association. Articles are intended as opinions and items of debate only and should not be acted on without expert advice
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