JANUARY 2024

Winterim January 2024

Newsletter

WINTERIM IS ALMOST HERE

DON'T MISS OUT

If you haven’t yet, check out our wide-ranging selection of Winterim session courses. Topics include literature, music, politics, games, relationships, and participatory art. Classes start the week of January 15, so register soon! Find out about all the classes here, then click on any class to register.

MEET OUR PEOPLE

TALKING WITH TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND VOLUNTEERS

IN THIS ISSUE: TRUDY MILLER

What is your role with Senior College?

I am a Senior College Trustee, serving on the Executive Committee as Board Secretary. I am also on the Outreach Committee. I will be teaching a Mah Jongg class soon and also enjoy being a student. My favorite class of late has been Jim Kosinski’s photography class.

How did you find out about Senior College?

I have friends who spoke highly of the classes they attended, so I decided to get more involved. I wanted to meet new people and do something I thought would be meaningful. I like that this Board is about rolling up your sleeves. Doing the work is very important and satisfying.

How long have you been a part of the Belfast community?

In 2007, my husband and I bought a house in Northport and began spending part of every year here. We started living full time in our present Northport home in 2016. In 2019, we bought the Spring Street building, naming it “Social Capital” because we wanted to create a welcoming community space for people to get together. (Note: According to socialcapitalresearch.com, “The core idea of social capital is that ‘relationships matter’ and that social networks are a valuable asset.”)

How do you keep your brain synapses firing?

I listen to a lot of podcasts. My favorites are Pod Save America and Pod Save the World. I watch a lot of documentaries and subscribe to Atlantic Monthly and the New Yorker. For over fifty years, I’ve played Mah Jongg and have been teaching it locally for three years.

What are your hopes and fears for Senior College?

I hope we’ll regrow our membership to what it was years ago when we had 500 members. I'd love to see new members joining us from beyond Belfast as well as community members who haven't had the four-year college experience.

CANCELLATION POLICY

HOW TO FIND OUT IF CLASSES ARE BEING HELD

When Senior College classes are cancelled due to weather conditions, students can get information from the Senior College website, the Senior College voicemail (207 707-6010), and the Belfast Senior College Facebook page. Senior College follows the lead of the Belfast Public Schools, RSU 71. When schools are closed, classes will be cancelled.

When classes are cancelled due to instructor illness or any other reason, students will be notified by the instructor or class assistant via email or phone.

Whenever possible, cancelled classes will be re-scheduled by extending the course one additional week.

NOTE: Since these decisions are dependent on developing weather conditions, they can be made at any time of day. Therefore, you should check just before your class starts. Also, each notice will include the date and time of the posting so you can assess how up-to-date the notice is when you receive it.

THE COOKIE CONNECTION

A CHANCE TO MEET AND MINGLE

Many at Senior College miss the social contact we had during class breaks at the Hutchinson Center. While that experience will be hard to duplicate, we want to at least provide an opportunity for everyone to socialize on a regular basis.

Therefore, we will be providing a social time at Social Capital (28 Spring Street, Belfast) every Thursday between classes, from approximately 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

Bring yourself! Bring your lunch! Bring a friend! Meet new people! Cookies and coffee and hot chocolate will be provided.

SENIOR COLLEGE BY THE NUMBERS

WHERE DO WE ALL LIVE??

WE'RE LISTENING

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

We are hoping to ask our members something in each newsletter so we can understand how we can make Senior College even more appealing to you.

This time we have a question about evening classes. It would be very helpful to know how you, our members, feel about the possibility of holding classes after current hours.

Please click this link to answer our poll question. Your answers are completely anonymous and you should only fill out the form once. We will let you know what we found out about this topic in our next newsletter.

LOOKING FORWARD . . .

COMING UP TO DO: In the Spring timeframe we will be organizing several outside activities for our members and the general community.

We are planning a trip to the University of Maine Planetarium prior to the upcoming total solar eclipse.
We will also have an opportunity to attend a group glass-blowing lesson at Waterfall Arts.

CLASS PROPOSALS FOR SPRING SEMESTER: If you are thinking of teaching a course during the coming semester, now is the time to submit a course proposal! The deadline is February 2nd. We want to know your ideas. You can submit online here.

Check our web page and our future newsletters for more information.