U3A Tawa Incorporated
ON COURSENewsletter
May 2016 – No. 79
Website: Tawa @u3atawa
Email: acebook: U3A Tawa
U3A Tawa is 20 years old!
Come along and celebrate the event at the half year meeting
When:Thursday 9 June from 12 Noon at Tawa Bowling Club, Davies St,Tawa.
Members are invited to bring alongthe usual tasty finger food for lunch. Prospective members and visitors are most welcome.
Programmeof the meeting will be:
12 noonLunch
12.45pmChairman and others will speak about
thismost auspicious anniversary, with
recollections from two people there from
the beginning – Bev Johnson and Joy Chaplin
1pmIntroduction of the new U3A courses for the second half of 2016
FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
As we reach the 20th anniversary of U3A in Tawa, we can only admire the foresight of the small group who, back in 1996, had the initiative and the ability to introduce a concept that has endured to this day. ‘Communities of people who come together to learn from one another’.
For two decades, volunteers have been willingly giving of their time and skills as committee members, course leaders, coordinators or assisting in many other ways. To those whohave contributed over the years we can only say a big ‘Thank You.’ Your efforts have given information and pleasure to hundreds of seniors. U3A Tawa is in our hands. It will stay an important part of the local community just as long as its members remain willing to be actively involved.
Happy Anniversary U3A Tawa
A short history
The idea of older people continuing to learn during the:”third age“ of life using information “fed” to them by current university tutors started in Toulouse in 1973 and soon led to 60 U3As throughout France. The concept reached England in 1982, and the French model was modified by emphasizing that “third age” people already possessed much they could share with their peers.Kapiti Coast U3A was founded in 1993 and New Zealand now boasts well over 7,000 members.
Tawa U3A began in June 1996 on the initiative of Tawa Rotary, on whose letterhead early correspondence was sent out. The first meeting was held on 27 June 1996 in the Salvation Army Hall.
Initial courses were Computer Studies, Genealogy, Travel, MahJong, Garden Tours, Yoga, Music Appreciation, Gardening and Bridge. The initial subscription was set at $10.
After just two years, the number of courses had climbed to 20. The preliminary view that Tawa U3A should cover Johnsonville was discarded when Johnsonville Rotary sponsored its own local U3A.
U3A Tawa now offers as many as 40 courses delivered in municipal/churchbuildings and members’ homes. The subscriptionstill offers amazingly good value at only $15 per annum.
NEW COURSES AND INDEXED COURSES BOOKLET
The new course material booklet will be unveiled at the half year meeting. It isa tribute to theorganisational skills of Jancis Potter who has worked long and hard on it. For the first time it will incorporate acategories index. The new course material is extremely stimulating and offers members a wide choice of courses that reflects well onarelatively small suburb like Tawa. They include Floral Creations, World Religions in NZ, Katherine Mansfield, Introduction to Western Philosophy, Your Future Health and Reading Plato’s Dialogues. As the cliché goes – something for everybody!
ENROLMENT REMINDER
If you do not enrol for a course before the close-off date but then decide to come along, you should first contact the course coordinator/leader to let them know. The date, time or location may have had to change from the information initially published.
SITUATIONS VACANT
Chairman and Treasurer 2017Next year a new Chairman and Treasurer will be required.
If anyone is interested or can make a useful recommendation with regard to other likely person(s), please contact the current Chairman on 2347085. / Publicity Officer needed now
There is an immediate need for a Publicity Officer to replace Marie Thomson who has had to resign.
We thank Marie for her valued service and ask anyone interested in taking over publicity to ring the Chairman as soon as possible.
Discussion Groups
U3A Tawa mounts two very well-attended discussion groups.
One meets monthly for an hour or so at the Community Centre in Linden, while the other is hosted by Joy and Bill Chaplin on the second Wednesday of each month at their most comfortable home in Tawa. Many members attend both.
For a small donation the Chaplins, U3A stalwarts for many a year, put on a superb morning tea that starts at 10 a.m. The formal discussion kicks off ‘when morning tea/coffee finishes’ and often goes on well towards lunchtime. Ah, the joys of being retired! Subjects of debate range from local to national to international issues. Robustness is of the essence and raucous laugher is frequently heard.
SHAKESPEARE READINGS
In a time when British schools are moving away from the “archaic” works of Shakespeare as a study topic, U3A Tawa continues to give him plenty of airtime. As many as 35 members under the tutelage of Carolyn Marshall regularly come together to read aloud the timeless works of the Bard. Over this last year they have already covered Love’s Labours Lost, As YouLike It, and The Merchant of Venice with a special session on the various prologues and epilogues. Not all attendeeswant to bereaders as some suffer from pooreyesight while others would rather just listen. Many come a great distance to do so.
Carolyn supervises the process by expertly selecting the more germane parts of the works for reading aloud. She thenfills in the gaps with skillful commentary and witty observations on the social and political context of the plays.
This world-changing work may now be under threat during the anniversary year of the playwright’s death, but in the 20th year of U3A Tawathis man’s unrivalled voice rings loud and clear. Many New Zealanders might be surprised to learn that in the ordinary day they unwittingly quote Shakespeare no less than a dozen times; that is hardly archaic.
Outdoor Games and Botany Group Exploring Local Tawa Bush
Sports pictures by kind permission of Dave Parsons
Editor: Dave SmithPhone 2325084Email:
Printing and Distribution:John BurkePhone 232 4477 Email: John
Disclaimer: This newsletter is created for the interest of Tawa U3A Inc’s members only. The writer and the executive make every effort to ensure that the information it contains is correct but take no responsibility for any inadvertent errors that might appear.
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