Give us some of your great ideas for our U3A
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We are always looking for ideas/suggestions for activities and courses for Benalla U3A. Do you have any you would like to share? Contact us through the form on this page.
Ideas for our courses come from many sources. After hearing about a popular play reading group at Deniliquin U3A and an Antiques group at a Melbourne U3A, programs were developed for 'Play Reading' and 'Collectors'. 'Bird Watching' was inspired by observing a member with undoubted skills in this area, while 'Demystifying Psychology' was inspired by the name of a course offered by U3A in Shepparton and knowing a psychologist happy to introduce it ‘when I retire’. Some courses have been developed with a suitable convenor to meet demand, such as the new 'Photography' and 'Wise Guys Book Group'. Most courses are ongoing and are offered on a year-long (10 session) basis. Some ongoing courses have a theme each year, Armchair History's theme 'The Tudors'. Semester length courses of five sessions are also offered. Meg Dillon's 'Opera' courses have had wonderful titles including 'A Night at the Opera - French Style'. Meg also offers semester long history courses and literature courses such as last year's 'Russian Literature' and this year's 'Jane Austen's Book Club'. John Barry's popular course about World War I, 'Over There' was semester length, however this year's course 'In the Lap of the Gods' is a full year course. Short courses of two to four sessions are offered at times, including John Barry's 'Legal Matters' sessions. Single session courses on 'Advanced Care Planning' and 'End of Life Care & Decision Making' have been popular. The U3A meeting room at the Seniors Community Centre is in constant use, with three sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays, and two sessions on other days. 'Exercises for Fun' and 'Let's Talk Books' are held in the Auditorium while 'Family Research--Beginners' and 'Tech Talks' are using the small classroom in 2023. |
'Hands on' courses offered in the meeting room include 'Play Reading', 'Recorder', 'Patchwork', ‘Brain Games’, and 'German'. A light-hearted ‘hands on’ activity in the meeting room is ‘Cards '500’, held on the third and fifth Wednesday afternoons.
Serious matters are discussed in 'Politics and Current Affairs', 'Sustainability' and ‘Investment’. 'Stock and Land' and the new course 'The Sky's the Limit', feature monthly guest speakers and an excursion or two throughout the year. Monthly ‘Meet and Mingle’ sessions feature a guest speaker on a matter of community interest, together with a news update from the executive committee. Participants are the guest speakers when 'Armchair Traveller' is on offer. Courses offered at outside venues include 'Lifeball' (Benalla Leisure Centre); 'A Taste of Art' (Broken River Painters' Studio), 'Art Appreciation' (Benalla Art Gallery); 'Film Discussion Group' (Benalla Library) 'Singing for Fun' and 'Community Singing' (The Hub, Cooinda). 'Garden Team' and 'Pagemakers' are held at people's homes, while 'Garden Appreciation' draws upon venues with exceptional gardens throughout the region and 'Birdwatching' our local lake and bushland habitats. Local restaurants provide the venues for monthly ‘Chat ‘n Chew’ lunches, while regional wineries and restaurants are visited by ‘Wine Appreciation’ members each month. Drawing upon adult learning principles, 'Collectors', 'Coin Collectors', 'Creative Writing', 'As Time Goes By (Memoirs)', 'Family Research' and 'Let's Talk Books', involve each person contributing content to each class. Lesson content is included on the website for later review for 'Music Appreciation', 'Exploring the Universe', 'Family Research', ‘Tech Talks’ and 'German'. Our 'Tech Savvy' courses continue to evolve to meet the digital literacy needs of members, with 2023 seeing the new course 'Enjoying the Internet'.. The Australian Government sponsored 'Be Connected' program offers rich resources for our Tech Savvy Beginners' courses. . .
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If you have an idea for a course as the year progresses, talk to Geraldine McCorkell. Completing a Program Proposal can help to clarify your ideas. If you haven't taught before or are working as a team and would like assistance in turning an idea into a course, contact Beverley Lee 0478 607 838.
2023 has seen many new courses emerge. Course proposals currently awaiting convenors include ‘Armchair Ecologists' ‘Gallery Hoppers’, ‘A Taste of (local clubs and activities)…’ while others are on the drawing board--have you heard about Pickle Ball?. Perhaps you’ve heard or thought of an idea for a course. The possibilities are endless! |
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