April 5, 2022eVoiceNews

I hope your Term 2 will be an excellent one. Maria Mead sent us the photo above of her class ‘Drawing and Painting in the Environment’ meeting ‘en plein air’ at the Foote Sanctuary in Buderim. Lynette Kerr is the coordinator for this group, said there is no formal teaching and they share ideas and learn from each other.

Do go on line to look for places in interesting courses, or join a discussion group. ‘Enquiring Minds’ meets on a Tuesday afternoon at 1.45pm at St. Marks in Buderim and they would love some new members to join.

Keep an eye out for new classes – our wonderful yoga teacher Myra Timmerman announced this morning that she plans to run a Zoom Yoga class next term, with a beautiful relaxation session to conclude.

At one of our last sessions, Myra reminded us what a wonderful organization U3A was – but her assistant Doris Cooke quickly piped up “It would be nothing without the tutors” Much applause!

I believe two former prime movers in our U3A, Colin Maddocks and Jim Hales encouraged Jules, the MC for the Jazz and Blues Collective, to run a ‘Jazz Appreciation’ class for us next term, which I am so looking forward to attending!

A simply social Choir?

U3A has a choir of long standing, led by Tutor Kath Jeffers. The choir is always looking for new members, ones who can read music and sing in parts.
There is perhaps a place for a new choir, one consisting of members who would just like to sing socially. Bev Gourlay Schouten is a lovely singer and she has very kindly offered to start up such a group, which might meet at her home on a Tuesday or a Wednesday morning. (Other members who are interested in assisting a designated tutor are Joanna Teazis, our Belly Dancing teacher, and Barry Stewart (pictured right). If you are interested in joining a simply social choir, please give Bev a call on 0439792719.

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February 20, 2022eVoiceNews

Dear Members,

2021 proved to be a challenging year for us all but with a new year and Term 1 commencing we can look forward to an excellent U3A year in 2022.

Term 1 recommences:

Monday, February 21^st will see most of our postponed classes starting Term 1. I am sure that you will be eagerly recommencing your learning. I am looking forward to Chair Yoga and Classic Film study… What’s your choice?

Photo: Friday’s Table Tennis players recommenced play in January: here they are showing support for “D for Daniel Day” last year.

Checking Vaccinations:

Please remember that the first time you attend class is when you show your tutors your green tick or your vaccination certificate. Tutors of Table Tennis, who started their classes from January 17^th, say the once only check was easily carried out, without any fuss.

A couple of tutors have expressed concern regarding the possibility of a member coming to class who is unvaccinated as he or she is medically compromised. However, any such student would also simply show their tutor, once only, a copy of their medical certificate, on their doctor’s letterhead.

It’s worthy to note a recent ABC report: “There are some Australians who, through consultation with their GP, decide that they can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons.

This is, however, incredibly rare. According to Department of Health data provided to The Drum, the number of medical exemptions granted is less than 0.153 per cent of the more than 21 million people who have been vaccinated in Australia. That’s about 32,000 people. And of those, most have only been given temporary exemptions. Only around 1,200 people have been granted permanent medical exemptions from a COVID vaccine.”

Hopes for the future:

Queensland border closures gave us enough time to take preventative action if we wanted to, now every day we hear about acquaintances catching COVID 19 – and recovering. The Omicron variant is spreading so rapidly that maybe we will be through the current pandemic within weeks. Perhaps it’s a pipe dream, but I sincerely hope that by the time Term 2 arrives, the state health have changed and we can rescind our vaccination policy to welcome back every one of our former members.

Photo at right: Chair Yoga students are eagerly looking forward to the recommencement of lessons with esteemed teacher Myra Timmerman and her right hand woman Doris Cooke.

New Venues Coordinator:

We are fortunate that we do not have to go looking for a new Venues Coordinator, a responsible position needing a caring person, who has good communication skills and an ability to keep accurate records. Jodie Thomas, Maths Tutor and Office Volunteer, has very kindly agreed to take over the role and its challenge of ensuring that every semester over 100 classes are all booked into some 45 different venues throughout the Sunshine Coast region.

Fire training:

And on a safety note, our Office Coordinator, Jennifer Strike, has invited Jordan Gover, Emergency and Fire Safety Officer for USC to provide some fire/emergency training for our office volunteers and advice has already been posted as how to respond in the event of a fire in our rooms.

New Office Volunteers

We always welcome anyone who would like to help out in the office, to sign up for a weekly or a fortnightly shift from 9am-12noon please contact Jennifer Strike at u3aofficecoordinator@u3asunshine.org.au

I hope that you will enjoy your classes this term. If you do take any good photos, remember to send us a copy to publish! Here’s my contribution: How to celebrate a magical 70th birthday: watching the full moon rise at Cottontree, with friends and fine wine. And the venue is free!

Please be kind to each other – and to us, your Management team, if you write to offer constructive criticism. Remember, we are all volunteers!

Sincerely,

Glyni Cumming
President U3A Sunshine Coast

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February 20, 2022eVoiceNews

The next major event on the U3A calendar is our Annual General Meeting scheduled for Saturday, April 30^th at USC’s Lecture Theatre C7.

President Glyni Cumming said that U3A Sunshine Coast had coped well during a challenging year. “Despite the negative impact of the pandemic on the running of classes, we will be able to present a positive annual report, as we’ve held up very well and managed to retain a healthy membership, already so far this year at 1690.

“We will also present our new Strategic Plan, conduct elections, have a guest speaker and award bursaries to three worthy young USC students, who will be invited to be present either in person or via video.

“Thank goodness, the current Management Committee members are willing to nominate again for another year; however, we still need two extra members on the team. If you, or any member you know, would like to help keep our wonderful organisation in good running order, please contact the office on u3aoffice@u3asunshine.org.au

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February 20, 2022eVoiceNews

An Editor for our Facebook page is needed.

One of our current Facebook editors, Patricia Rennie, who is also Tutor of Drawing and Painting in the Environment, is relocating with her husband to New South Wales.

Patricia was a great support to Judy Wells in maintaining our Facebook page, as well as assisting Communication Officer John Armstrong with the development of the new Online HUB. Consequently, this leaves a major gap in our Communication team.

If any member would like to step up to become a U3A Facebook editor, to assist Judy Wells in posting news and information on our Facebook page, please provide your contact details at u3aoffice@u3asunshine.org.au

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February 20, 2022eVoiceNews

Members of the U3A Executive had a most interesting meeting with the Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Bartlett to discuss issues relevant to U3A Sunshine Coast, and how we can offer further support to the university.

President Glyni Cumming said this would be apart from our annual student bursaries, an annual scholarship, and last year a one-off financial contribution to assist those students stranded by the pandemic.

“We hope our members will again be invited to contribute to a variety of ongoing Clinical Trials as well as act as voluntary patients in the training of student nurses,” she said. “However, another way in which we might be able to support the university is to assist new international students, helping them to settle in and find their way around the Sunshine Coast.

“Professor Bartlett, herself a research specialist in health and aged care, advised us that USC is proposing to become an AFU (Age-Friendly University) which is very positive news for us! We look forward to hearing more about this from Professor Joanne Scott, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) who also attended the meeting.”

The ten age-friendly university principles are:

1. To encourage the participation of older adults in all the core activities of the university, including educational and research programmes.
2. To promote personal and career development in the second half of life and to support those who wish to pursue “second careers“.
3. To recognise the range of educational needs of older adults (from those who were early school-leavers through to those who wish to pursue Master’s or PhD qualifications).
4. To promote intergenerational learning to facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages.
5. To widen access to online educational opportunities for older adults to ensure a diversity of routes to participation.
6. To ensure that the university’s research agenda is informed by the needs of an ageing society and to promote public discourse on how higher education can better respond to the varied interests and needs of older adults.
7. To increase the understanding of students of the longevity dividend and the increasing complexity and richness that ageing brings to our society.
8. To enhance access for older adults to the university’s range of health and wellness programmes and its arts and cultural activities.
9. To engage actively with the university’s own retired community.
10. To ensure regular dialogue with organisations representing the interests of the ageing population.

(https://www.dcu.ie/agefriendly/principles-age-friendly-university)

Photo above: USC Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Helen Bartlett with our 2021 Bursary awardees, Abbey Abdul and Leo Wiles, with President Glyni Cumming.

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