​Over 20 U3A Benalla members attended the Be Connected lunch held on the veranda of the Senior’s Centre on Wednesday 20 October 2021. This was part of the Get On Line week celebrations supported by the Good Things Foundation who run the Be Connected course for the Federal Government.

There were many pleasing aspects of the lunch. First the food from Hide's Bakery was delicious, and the outlook from the veranda of the Senior’s Centre was magnificent. U3A Benalla has never used this as a venue before, but on a beautiful sunny October day the setting worked very well.

We also welcomed three new participants Joy Campbell, Terry Campbell and Trish Saker who wish to join our digital classes.  We were pleased to see our Android Convenor Robyn Lukey joining in the fun.

Another pleasing aspect of the lunch was the interaction between members who were able to share their skills of attaching a vaccination digital certificate to the Services Victoria App for other members who needed assistance. We also distributed a photocopy of the method for attaching the vaccination certificate to the Services Victoria App to several other members.

The lunch ran until Jenny Sawyer’s Apple class commenced, everyone voting that it was a very enjoyable way to celebrate Get On Line week.
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Margaret Jenkins  

Jenny Sawyer

In addition to Jenny’s Sawyer’s Be Connected classes on the 1st and 2nd Wednesdays of the month from 2 to 3.30 pm, we are currently piloting a small group ‘Zoom’ short course for beginners and on-line mentoring sessions for members keen to try hosting Zoom sessions themselves.  There are also some useful ‘self-help’ resources on the website – go to  https://u3abenalla.weebly.com/using-zoom.html. If you are interested in learning to attend or host Zoom Meetings, please fill out the online application form at https://u3abenalla.weebly.com/news/are-you-interested-in-learning-how-to-attend-zoom-meetings or call Margaret Jenkins on 5762 6944.

Also related to Be Connected, U3A Benalla are celebrating Get On Line Week with a Pizza Lunch at the Senior's Centre on Wednesday 20 October at 11.45am. Depending on how many people are allowed in the Senior's Centre that day, plans have been made to use the verandah outside our U3A room for some tables and chairs so that we can enjoy the lunch without breaking COVID regulations.  If you have neighbours or friends who would like to join our computer classes next year, please bring them along to the lunch so that we can provide them with information regarding the various digital classes available in 2022.
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Margaret Jenkins, Bev Lee and Jenny Sawyer