Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Enews10-15

About OLLI E-News

OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Editorial Staff
Chief Editor/Technical Editor: Irene Osterman
Associate Editor:
Weekly Editorial Team: Pat Bangs, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere
Proofreaders: John West, Gordon Canyock, Susan Van Hemel Backup Chief Editor: Sheri Siesseger

Submissions. Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles and photos. Submit material to: ollienewseditor@gmail.com.
Deadline – 6:00 pm Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 pm Monday for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words.
Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:ollidev2.earthcare.com/" without the quotes.

OLLI E-News April 3, 2015
Print a condensed .pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.
New Member Coffee on March 27

April 3, 2015


Editor of the Week: Gordon Canyock
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices

Reminder: The deadline for submitting articles for E-News is 6 pm on Tuesday.

To read bios of the candidates for the Board of Directors, click here

Back to Top of Page

Spring Term Fun



By Jennifer Disano, Executive Director


Activities abound at OLLI in April & May! Check out the following events for OLLI Members and Community Members, too.

April 10, 1–2:30, Tallwood Trio at Lord of Life, Fairfax
April 30, 2:15-3:40, Tallwood Trio at Meet The Artist, Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods
April 17, 12:00 noon – 2:30pm, Super Salad Social, at the Reston Community Center’s Rose Gallery at Lake Anne. 
April 23, Shakespeare’s Birthday Party, 2:15pm – 3:40pm at Loudoun
May 1st, Annual Business Meeting (10:00am) and Picnic (11:00am) at Tallwood. Register on the OLLI Member Portal. Registration required.

In May OLLI will be hosting the following 4 events for the Creative Aging Festival:

May 4, Readers Theater
May 15, OLLI Players
May 21, Tai Chi Demonstration
May 29, Poetry, Music, & Arts Open House

These events are all open to the public at no fee but registration is required via the Member Portal. Non-OLLI Members can also register via the Member Portal by creating a Student Profile. 

Checkout the Senior Section of your area Connection Newspaper to learn more about the Creative Aging Festival http://connectionarchives.com/PDF/2015/040115/Great%20Falls.pdf

 

Back to Top of Page

Parking at Our Church Venues

 

As guests at the facilities, we need to be mindful of the preschool programs at the churches where we rent classroom space. Since there are small children around, it is important to drive slowly through the parking lots. Please be sure not to park in spaces reserved for the use of the preschools. This has been an issue at Church of the Good Shepherd. At Lord of Life in Fairfax, the preschool sets up a chain across the parking lot when the children will be taken to the playground. When you see the chain, it is necessary to turn your car around to exit the lot.

 

Back to Top of Page
Program Committee Needs Volunteers

   By Peg O'Brien, Committee Member

 

Literature, Language and Theater Help Wanted

A volunteer interested in Literature, Language and Theater (LLT) to assist OLLI in maintaining and improving our course offerings in those areas.  Special extra credit goes to a person who attends classes on the Loudoun campus.  Duties include acting as a conduit for suggestions and feedback for LLT topics and courses, recruiting instructors for those areas, and attending 2 - 4 program planning meetings a year. The volunteer would join an active group of co-chairs already in place. Contact Doris Bloch (dbloch50@hotmail.com) if interested.

 

Future Courses Looking for Instructors

The program planning groups are hard at work throughout the year seeking and developing future courses for all our program sites. OLLI members have submitted a number of good ideas and we are now searching for instructors who are knowledgeable in these topics and who would be willing to teach them.

 

The first three courses listed below have been requested for the Loudoun site. The contact is Barbara at bwilan@webtv.net

 

1.   The Least You Should Know About ____________. (Geology, Geography, Astronomy, Ancient History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Math, Chemistry, Physics, Art History, Music, Psychology, Philosophy, Politics, etc.)

The instructor can choose any topic above or any subject area he or she knows well.  In one 85-minute class introduce any vocabulary, concepts, facts, and other general background needed to provide context for further individual, personal reading and exploration of the topic.

 

2.  So You Want to __________. (Buy a Car, Plan a Trip to Europe, Start and Maintain a Vegetable Garden, Downsize, etc.) The instructor can share a special hobby, skill, knowledge or experience that he or she has.

 

3.  Any conversational language classes

 

4. Education. The Humanities and Social Sciences Committee would like to offer a course on “Education” that would incorporate issues such as: ranges of cultural diversity among students, interdisciplinary teaming and block scheduling, testing requirements and screening for special programs, recent changes in curricula and educational emphases, and other factors that make today’s education far different from what most OLLI members experienced in school.  We are especially looking for former teachers, counselors, administrators, or specialists to assist in planning and/or conducting this course. Contact: Johnnie Hicks at johnniehicks@earthlink.net or Camille Hodges at mimihodges2@aol.com.

Back to Top of Page
OLLI Book Club April Meeting

    By Ceda McGrew, Club Coordinator
 
The OLLI Book Club will meet at 1:30 PM on April 8 at Tallwood. The book for discussion is Still Alice by Lisa Genova.  It is the fictional account of the early-onset Alzheimer's disease of Alice Howland, a well-respected cognitive psychology professor at Harvard. In December 2014 a movie based on the book was released with Julianne Moore playing Professor Howland. All OLLI members are welcome.
 
The book for discussion in May is Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.
 

Back to Top of Page
Ask Uncle Olli



By Uncle Olli, Driver Safety Consultant 



Uncle Olli has lived in Northern Virginia most of his lifetime, and has encountered every traffic problem. But sometimes the little problems seem so trivial you are embarrassed to admit them. Easy. Ask Uncle Olli at ollienewseditor@gmail.com. He is embarrassed by nothing!

MY CAR HAS DAY-TIME DRIVING LIGHTS. DO I STILL NEED TO TURN ON MY HEADLIGHTS WHEN IT RAINS?
By now, we are all familiar with the new rule that if your windshield wipers are on, your headlights need to be on. This increases visibility in rain or snow.  And yes, you still need to turn on your headlights. The driving lights help in the front, but they do not light your tail lights. You need to turn on your head lights to make sure your tail lights are on, too!

Back to Top of Page
Arts & Music at George Mason

Performances, next ten days

By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer

For tickets for either CFA or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton ticket purchase page.
At the Fairfax Campus Venues

East Coast Dhamaka
Sat, Apr 4, 7:00
Indian dance competition featuring 3 Fusion, 3 Raas, and 3 Bhangra teams.
Concert Hall
Admission: $20

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Sat, Apr 11, 8:00
Luke Frazier, guest conductor
National Broadway Chorus presents A Civil War Portrait.
Concert Hall
Admission: $55, $45, $27.
 
Todd Ellison and Friends: Classic Broadway
Sun, Apr 12, 4:00
Pre-Performance Discussion: member of the company.
Concert Hall
Admission: $46, $39, $28.

 

Back to Top of Page
Mason Student & Faculty Performances
(see music.gmu.edu for additional student recitals)

An Experiment with an Air Pump
Fri, Apr 3 and Sat, Apr 4, 8:00
Sat, Apr 4, 2:00
Harris Theatre
Admission: Adults, $25; seniors, $15.
 
GMU Persian Club: Norouz Show 1394
Fri, Apr 3, 8:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $12
 
United States Air Force Clarinet Quartet
Wed, Apr 8, 8:00
deLaski 3001
Admission: Free.
 

 

Back to Top of Page
At the Hylton Center

Mason School of Art Selected Faculty Exhibit
Mar 9–Apr 20
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00–6:00, Thur., 10:00–8:00 and two hours before performances. Gallery Reception: Thur, Mar 12, 6:00–8:00. For more information about the current exhibit, visit HyltonCenter.org/gallery. For reception RSVP to Hylton@gmu.edu.
Admission: Free

GMU Persian Club: Norouz Show
Fri, Apr 3, 8:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $12
 
The U.S. Army Concert Band and Army Voices: Musical Masterpieces
Fri, Apr 10, 7:30
Free tickets are available while supplies last online at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-us-army-concert-band-and-army-voices-musical-masterpieces-tickets-16086209285.
Tickets are for seating in the 1st and 2nd balconies and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. House opens for seating at 7:00 PM. Patrons without tickets are welcome to fill any empty seats at 7:15 PM.
Merchant Hall
Admission: Free
 
Peter Yarrow
Sun, Apr 12, 2:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: Adults, $15; children, $5.

 

Back to Top of Page
For further details on any of the above events, please see the CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar

Back to Top of Page
Mason Highlights

Other Mason events, next two weeks

By Helen Ackerman, OLLI E-News Staff Writer

Discussion: “Global Climate Change: No Longer Tomorrow’s Challenge.” US Representative Gerry Connolly (D, VA 11th District), who is the co-chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus, will talk about climate change solutions. Connolly is an advocate for protecting the environment and investing in clean and renewable energy. The dialogue will be followed by refreshments and a discussion with representatives from local organizations in a strategy session. Mon, April 6, 6:00 to 8:00. Merten Hall, Room 1201. Free.

Discussion: “The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis”. Just what will it take to reform Congress? Former Congressmen Tom Davis and Martin Frost will discuss their new book, The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis. Tue, Apr 7, at 6:45.  Arlington Campus, Founders Hall, Room 716. Seating is limited. RSVP to rguttman@gmu.edu. Free.

Lecture.  Dr. Mark Koyama, assistant professor, economics department, and Mercatus Center Senior Scholar, delivers the annual Fenwick Fellow Lecture on “The Birth of Religious Freedom: Liberalism, Rule of Law, and State Capacity, 1100–1800.”  He discusses western Europe as the birthplace of modern ideas of political freedom and religious toleration using new historical data and approaches from modern political economy. Wed, Apr 8, 2:00 to 3:30, Johnson Center, Gateway Library, Room 228. Free.

 

Back to Top of Page

Meetings & Clubs


The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, Kickoff Coffees, etc. (bolded below).
Sat Apr 4 10:30am Tai Chi Club­­–TA-3
Tue Apr 7 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club­­–Panera, Herndon
Wed Apr 8  1:30pm
 1:45pm
 2:00pm		 Book Club–TA-2
Bridge Club–TA-3
History Club–TA-1
Fri Apr 10   9:00am
  9:30am
10:00am
11:00am
11:00am		 Recorder Consort–TA-3
Photography Club–TA--1
Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Classic Literature Club–TA-2
Homer etc–Annex
Sat Apr 11 10:30am Tai Chi Club­­–TA-3
Tue Apr 14 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club­­–Panera, Herndon
Wed Apr 15   1:30pm
  1:45pm
  1:45pm		 Mah Jongg–TA-2
Bridge Club–TA-3
A/V Committee–Cottage
Fri Apr 17   9:00am
10:00am
10:00am
11:00am
11:00am		 Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Board of Directors Meeting–Loudoun
Classic Literature Club–TA-2
Homer etc–Annex

Back to Top of Page

OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384
Email: olli@gmu.edu

Copyright ©2025 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Website designed and developed by Earthcare Technologies Inc.

OLLI Mason is a nonprofit, equal opportunity 501(c)(3) organization
and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national/ethnic origin.