U3A Werribee Region Inc. Tri Cycle Newsletter P.O. Box 1264, Werribee Plaza, 3030 EMAIL ADDRESS: sec.u3awbee@hotmail.com WEBSITE: http://www.u3awbee.net.au EDITION: 109 FEBRUARY - MARCH 2017 U3A WERRIBEE OFFICE BEARERS AND CONTACTS Patrons: Mr K.S. Butyn Principal Werribee Secondary College: Mr Tim Pallas MP Member for Werribee Committee: President: John Preston Email: president.u3awbee@gmail.com (note here it s gmail, not hotmail) Vice President: Dave Callan Treasurer: Viga Roginski Email: treas.u3awbee@hotmail.com Secretary: Linda Kazlauskas Email: sec.u3awbee@hotmail.com Membership Coordinator: Jannette Allen Phone: 9395 1606 Email: membership.u3awbee@hotmail.com Course Co-ordinator: Kaye Harvey Phone: 0402 631 171 Email: courses.u3awbee@hotmail.com Committee Members: Glenys Welsh, Brian Beck, Brian Kilfoyle, Merle Deslandes and Don Lee. UPCOMING EVENTS 2017 Term Dates Term 1 6 Feb - 31 March 2017 Term 2 24 April - 23 June 2017 Term 3 24 July - 22 Sept 2017 Term 4 16 Oct - 15 Dec 2017 Morning Tea Thursday 6 April 2017 at 10 am at the Hoppers Crossing Sport Club (HCSC) AGM Tuesday 21 February 2017 at 11am at HCSC FROM THE EDITOR S DESK A Happy New Year everyone for 2017. We seem to be entering a period in human history in which the voice of the ordinary people is being heard above that of the traditional style of leadership. There are so many surprises that has set the common expectations back with many gasps of almost incredulity. What has happened in Britain...what has happened in the United States? Where is Europe headed? What new voices are we hearing within our own democracy? We live in interesting times. In our own small corner don t let us run away with the idea that in our Third Age, we no longer matter that much. Every day of our lives matters a great deal in the World picture; so keep the faith. Take a vital interest in U3A and please send me your written pieces to the email address, or drop the reports to my postal address or even a phone call. Every good wish from Don Lee and myself. Cecilia Conwaye-Wright 1
FROM OUR U3A WERRIBEE PRESIDENT Happy New Year everyone, and may 2017 bring you health and happiness. I hope everyone enjoyed a good Christmas and are now getting rid of the effects of the turkey and plum pudding. It is amazing the way that the years go by, and the changes taking place in the world, so much new technology. Thank goodness for grand children who are able to walk us through it and yet make it seem so easy. The years also make me creak a little but I don t think my grandchildren can help with that. Now, to close off 2016. Firstly, the Christmas lunch went very well with beautiful food and happy people plus positive comments from everyone. Well done to the Hoppers Sports Club for providing a good repast. Secondly the enrolment process worked a treat! There were no queues, no one standing in the heat and the computer system made it so much better for the members, and gave them plenty of time for a cup of tea and an opportunity to catch up with friends. In my case with the new system being so good it was very relaxing and I had time to chat to members without slowing the queue. A big thank you to Brian Beck as we delivered on our promise to improve the process. Summer has started and we have the warmth that I thought would never come back. It was a long winter but perhaps I am getting older and feeling it. Soon the kids are back at school and parents back at work and we will be back amongst our friends at U3A. This year we will continue the morning tea with a variety of presentations. Also remember the second enrolment takes place on the 25th January which gives you another opportunity to pay your dues. This is followed by the AGM on February 21st and I would like to see as many as possible of you there. I would also like to see people to put their hand up and join us on the committee, help us keep it young and with new ideas to benefit us all. John Preston AROUND THE COURSES Art Group The Art session will be facilitated by myself, Carlina. l have had a life long interest in Art, so I offered to facilitate the group rather than have U3A unable to run this class. I see it as a cooperative venture, where members inspire and mentor one another. I also plan to offer guest tutors whenever possible. For the first session members are encouraged to bring along any materials they might already have. It would be great to show each other how we use our materials or media. The first session will include a discussion about group goals or ideas. I look forward to meeting you all. Carlina Ridgeway 2
AROUND THE COURSES (Cont.) Exploring History I am looking forward to welcoming everyone back after the Christmas holiday. In Term 1 of 2017, we will be taking a look at the history of China. Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1500 BC under the Shang dynasty. Its written history is probably second only to that of Egypt. There doesn't seem to be a single video series covering the whole of Chinese history, but I will show several stand-alone videos and try to link them together with explanations and PowerPoint presentations. Brian Beck This year is the five hundred year anniversary of Martin Luther s challenge to the Roman Church to break through the crust of Powerful and Organised Religion to find the true and simple salvation message in the Bible that Religion for its own sake is finished and that direct access to the forgiving Father God (always true in the Jewish Faith) has come with new dynamic certainty for all humanity with the death and resurrection of Jesus. That obvious truth had been much too economical for a Church Power Hierarchy that turned to murder to hold on to wealth and power. This group of members will be appreciating the rise of Reform and Reformation this coming term. Christian History cannot be divorced from World History any more than true Christianity can be divorced from ordinary life. The members are finding that as we watch Christian History on our DVDs we are also seeing the wings of World History bearing up the evidence and the facts. Fascinating stuff. Indeed! There is one empty chair left in Cecilia s lounge room for you. Cecilia Conwaye-Wright The Christians: Their History Walking Group Seven members have so far enrolled for our Walking Group planned to start this term on 21 February and continuing each Tues thereafter throughout the term. Members are to meet at the Hoppers Crossing Sport Club initially to sort out the ongoing arrangements. For any inquiries, please call Merle Deslandes on 97497746 or Kaye Harvey on 0402 631 171 3
AROUND THE COURSES (Cont.) Music you like to hear Christmas and New Year Celebrations are well behind us and we are still enjoying the holidays with the summer weather, but also wonder what the year 2017 has in store for us. I can t help thinking about the simple Italian song by the Italian composer Licinio Refice (1883-1954) that we played as the last piece of music in December : The sky is an arc of dazzling blue: A brilliant light shines down on my heart. Oh, shadow of a cloud, do not bring me darkness; Do not obscure the beauty of life for me. Fly, cloud, fly far away, bring back the light; Let me see the clear sky for all eternity! No doubt there will be dark clouds occasionally but they ll quickly disappear when we listen to beautiful music each Friday. Remember...Music energises the soul! A Happy 2017 and hoping to see you all on 10 February. Anna Mitchell. We have a wonderful group of Parlez-vous français, who meet every Wednesday at the Hoppers Crossing Sports Club (HCSC) between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm. Knowledge of the language may be curious sometimes, but it is sufficient to get you to the Eiffel Tower for lunch! Everybody has a story to tell en français bien and it is always very amusing and exciting. In addition to French history and culture we will also cover the history and culture of Belgium. Alors nous vous disons au revoir à bientôt Martha Siwek French Music at Cecilia s There is room for one more chair in Cecilia s living room for a recorder player to become part of the consort. But since we are entering our fourth year we are fairly competent on our instruments and the reading of music and fitting in with the consort. A new member would need to be a useful player of the descant recorder and a music reader and I would need to hear a short audition. We are starting Year Four with a new volume of work which includes part playing and a repertoire of Baroque and Traditional and Folk Songs. Cecilia Conwaye-Wright 4
MERLE S SOCIAL ACTIVITES & OUTINGS Here we are at the start of another busy year and as always it looks like being a very busy one. As you all know the buses are now very costly, so to help with make it possible for more people to join us, your committee has agreed to help with a subsidy. This will enable me to keep the costs as low as possible. I look forward to seeing you all and meeting new people. Notices will be sent to each class and e-mails sent out. As well, I will be at each class, so keep an eye out. Last week some of our members were lucky enough to go to Barwon Park to the Night Exhibition. This was an exhibition drawn from the fashion collection of the National trust, featuring many never before seen costumes, from a world of 1920s and 30s glamour, such as shown in the photo. The costumes revealed embellished surfaces and patterns and many were made locally in Victoria to represent fashion worn here during the 20's and 30's. There were over 35 costumes selected and they showed many patterns and ornaments. Who were the ladies that had great fun dressing in the costumes and showing us their dancing skills? Who knows? Finally we then headed to the chocolate shop for a delicious lunch before returning home via the You Yangs. Our Christmas lunch at HCSC was a great success and here are a few photos from that event. Look forward to seeing you at our future social events during the year. Merle Deslanders 9749 7746 MEMBERSHIP NEWS For all U3A Werribee membership enquiries, please contact our membership co-ordinator, Jannette Allen on Tel 9395 1606 or you can email at membership.u3awbee@hotmail.com Our next newsletter will include a list of all new members joining us this year. 5
NOTICE OF 2017 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Twenty-fifth Annual General Meeting of U3A Werribee Region In will be held on Tuesday 21 February 2017 at the Hoppers Crossing Sports Club (HCSC), Hogans Road, commencing at 11am. Agenda Welcome to all members and invited guests Apologies Confirmation of minutes of the Twenty-fourth AGM Meeting of 25 February 2016 Any matters arising from the minutes Presidents Report Treasurer s Report Set the annual membership fees for the following year (2018) Election of Office Bearers: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Course Co -ordinator. Election of other committee members Appointment of Auditor Special business Following the meeting, members are welcome to stay for lunch at the HCSC which offers various menu items at reasonable prices. All members are encouraged to attend. If you cannot attend and wish to appoint a proxy, you may use the form below. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PROXY VOTE FORM I, the undersigned, (print name) of (address) being a member of the U3A Werribee Incorporated and entitled to vote at General Meetings of this organisation, hereby appoint: ( name of appointed person) of (address) as my proxy to vote on my behalf at the U3A Werribee Annual General Meeting to be held on 21 February 2017 and any adjournment of that meeting. Signed (signature) (date) 6
U3A WEERIBEE INC. MINUTES OF THE TWENTY FOURTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Held on Thursday 25th February 2016 At Hoppers Crossing Sports Club (HCSC), Hogans Road at 11.00am ATTENDANCE The Attendance book recorded the names of 44 members present and 6 members tendered their apologies. Guest present were: Councillor Heather Marcus Wyndham City, Harry Dobson U3A Victoria, Lea Twyerould and Dorothy Kendall of U3A Altona, Robin Temby and Fran Horton of U3A Moonee Valley Apologies were received from Mr Tim Pallas and Mr K.S. Butyn MINUTES of A.G.M. of 2015: Minutes were circulated to all members and taken as read. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES George Leakes name be removed from the minutes and the chairman gave apologies for misinformation regarding George s status - moved by John Preston/ seconded Dave Callan PRESIDENT S REPORT I would like to begin by thanking the Committee for their support, input, work and understanding during the year. Libby, Brian Kilfoyle, Viga, Dave, Merle, Janette, Brian Beck, Don and Glenys have all contributed to ensuring that Werribee U3A exists and continues to move forward. Thanks also to Don Lee and Cecilia Conway- Wright who publish and distribute our Newsletter. A special thanks to Brian Kilfoyle who covered the position of Course coordinator for an extra year. Of course without the tutors there is no U3A so I offer a special thank you to them. I would also like to thank our Patrons: Tim Pallas MP for Tarneit. Whose office is also kind enough to print our Newsletter, Mr Steve Butyn, Principal of Werribee Secondary College and Prof Ken Hinchcliff; Dean of Werribee Veterinary Clinic. Unfortunately Ken is moving to a new position as President and CEO of Trinity College Melbourne and has resigned from his position as a Patron. 2015 was a year of adjustment after we combined the various Council premises into this location. We still use Council premises for several courses but the main drive is the use of these premises which, financially, has made a big difference to us. Now we are looking to introduce some variety; keep watching the Newsletter. For the various external meetings Brian Beck was kind enough to attend both the U3A Regional Meeting and the Network Council Meeting for Werribee U3A Regarding Courses, a new tutor, Trevor, has taken over Yoga, Mah Jong is new for this year and Armchair Movies has resumed Excursions Merle, as always has done a top job with outings. In 2015 there has been a number of great excursions topped by a superb Christmas lunch. I am sure that this year will be another good year. Membership Current Membership is 213 including 3 associates. There are 113 unfinancial members and we are following up to understand why they are not part of U3A. It is important that we understand any reason for people who do not renew their annual membership so we can address it. There are usually a number people who, for family or health reasons, do not renew and this we understand. Reported accepted moved by Brian Beck/Barbara Callan 7
TREASURER S REPORT 2015 Audited Financial statement for the year ending 31st December 2015 Was taken as read moved Viga Roginski/Libby Pearson ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARER 2016 The following persons were nominated: President : John Preston; Vice President: Dave Callan; Secretary : Linda Kazlauskas; Treasurer Viga Roginski; Course Coordinator : Kaye Harvey and Membership coordinator: Jannette Allen. Being the only nominations each was declared duly elected. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS The following persons were nominated: Brian Beck,Brian Kilfoyle, Libby Pearson, Merle Deslandes, Glenys Welsh and Don Lee, Being the only nominations each was declared duly elected. APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR Viga Roginski nominated Gary Wolfenden as Auditor; seconded by Dave Callan. GENERAL BUSINESS The following matters were raised: 1) Could the committee member s phone numbers be published in the newsletter? 2) It was requested that the committee apologise to George Leake concerning the AGM minutes of 2014. 3) Should the committee contact the new Dean of The Vet College to be a Patron? 4) Could U3A sponsor a HCSC club trophy? 5) Could a newspaper be contacted about U3A and HCSC? The President explained these matters will be discussed at the next committee meeting and the members will be advised of the outcome. The meeting was declared closed at 11.25am GUEST SPEAKER: Councillor Heather Marcus from Wyndham City Council. Councillor Marcus portfolio on the Council covers Education, Employment and Training. Heather gave some fascinating facts including that there are 58 different cultures in Wyndham, a proposed university is being discussed and an average of 60 babies a week are born and many more facts and figures. President John Preston thanked Heather for a very interesting talk and invited those who were able, to stay to lunch in the restaurant. 8
PROGRAM OF COURSES FOR TERM 1 OF 2017 Monday 6 February Friday 31 March 2017 Day/Time Activity Group Leader/Tutor Venue MONDAY 10.00-12.00 Exploring History Brian Beck 9741 5460 HCSC 10.00-12.00 Lunch & Movies (1) Kaye Harvey 0402631171 SY 10.00-12.00 The Christians: Their History Cecilia Conwaye-Wright 0407558825 PH1 10.30-12.00 Photography John Moore 9734 7537 HCSC 01.00-02.00 Tai Chi Marie Dean 9741 7733 HCSC TUESDAY 9.30 start Walking Group (3) Merle Deslandes 9749 7746 HCSC 09.30-10.30 Senior Men in Light Exercises Tony Bradford 9749 2248 HCSC 09.45-11.45 Needlecraft Faye Weston 8754 1006 HCSC 10.00-11.30 Great Songwriter s Course In recess 9741 7693 PH2 10.00-12.00 Beginners Computer Course Don Lee 9749 2798 TCC 01.00-03.00 Intermediate Computer Course Don Lee 9749 2798 TCC 01.00-02.30 Music at Cecilia s Cecilia Conwaye-Wright 0407558825 PH1 01.00-03.30 Armchair Movies Dave Callan 9974 2008 HCSC WEDNESDAY 09.00-10.30 Health and Wellbeing Lyn Alder 97417735 HCSC 09.45-12.00 Mosaic Helen Galea 9749 1207 WCC 10.30-12.30 Intermediate French & Culture Martha Siwek 97417610 HCSC 01.00-03.00 Australian History Merle Deslandes 9749 7746 HCSC 01.00-04.00 Cards 500 Kay Dwyer 9731 6976 SD 01.30-03.00 Book Club (1) Libby Pearson 9749 8295 PH THURSDAY 10.00-11.30 Current Affairs Tony Mason 9741 6476 HCSC 01.15-02.30 Yoga for Older People Trevor Walsh 0438 304 638 UC 01.00-04.00 Mahjong Rita Funnell 9296 1036 HCSC FRIDAY 09.00-11.45 Introduction to Bridge Serita Mudford 0410 599 323 HCSC 09.00-11.45 Bridge Brian Kilfoyle 0409 073 869 HCSC 10.00-12.00 Art Carlina Ridgeway 9395 3237 WCC 01.00-03.00 Music You Like To Hear Anna Mitchell 9741 2730 HCSC 01.00-03.00 Singing for Fun Robyn Camilleri 9748 1356 WCC Notes: (1) The Lunch & Movie Group meet on the second Monday of the month at the Sun Theatre, Yarraville. (2) The Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month at members' houses. (3) The Walking Group meets initially on 21 February and will sort out further arrangements. FOR ENQUIRIES RING OUR COURSE COORDINATOR KAYE HARVEY ON 0402 631 171 9
Venues HCSC Hoppers Crossing Sports Club, Hogans Road, Hoppers Crossing - see map below PH At a private house decided by the group contact the tutor for details PH1 Address: 5 Colliet Place, Werribee, 3030 PH2 Address: 96 Tower Rd, Werribee, 3030 SD Lifestyle Seasons, 13 Sundial Boulevard Tarneit (at the Clubhouse) SY Sun Theatre, Yarraville. TCC Tarneit Community Centre, c/r Leakes Rd & Sunset Views Boulevard, Tarneit UC Crossroads Uniting Church, Synott St., Werribee WCC Wyndham Park Community Centre, 57 Kookaburra Ave, Werribee The Hoppers Crossing Sports Club (HCSC) is situated here at the Hogans Road Reserve POSITION VACANT: TREASURER Our current U3A Werribee Treasurer has advised that she is unable to continue in the treasurer position so we will need to find another member willing to take on this role. We do therefore ask our members to please either consider whether they may be prepared to take up this position or think about whether they know any other person who might be prepared to assist. Please contact one of our committee members if you can help. THIS TRI - CYCLE NEWSLETTER IS PRINTED FOR U3A WERRIBEE BY COURTESY OF TIM PALLAS, MEMBER OF THE VICTORIAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR WERRIBEE. DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for information purposes only and views expressed here are not necessarily those of U3A Werribee Region Inc. While efforts have been taken to ensure that the material contained in this newsletter is accurate, U3A Werribee Region Inc does not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the material. Readers are advised not to rely solely on this information when making any decision and should seek independent advice before making any decisions. Contributions to our newsletters are welcomed and may be emailed to: newsletter.u3awbee@hotmail.com Closing date for the next edition is 17 March 2017 10