WISE President's Blog: January 2019

Dear Fellow WISE Members,

I hope that your December holidays were enjoyable and that 2019 has been good to you and yours so far.

While we celebrate the beginning of a new calendar year, we also look forward to the beginning of WISE’s C session on February 4. As I write this, WISE has 454 members. In case you have wondered what WISE enrollment looks like across all courses, here are some data for both C and D sessions as of December 17, 2018. (Thanks, Joe Corn, for creating these reports.)

C session offers 18 courses that provide 789 slots (i.e., seats available per room)
- 738 slots were filled; 36 waitlisted in six courses
D session offers 22 courses that provide 1009 slots.
- 762 slots were filled; 65 waitlisted in seven courses

Regarding wait lists, with leadership and hard work by the Curriculum Committee, plus willingness from course leaders, several courses that have waitlists are being repeated. Members who are waitlisted for a course are given the opportunity to enroll in that class the next time it is given before enrollment is opened to all members. If a slot becomes available prior to the start of a class that has a waitlist, the open slot will be offered to waitlisted members in order of enrollment.

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” Confucius

Breaking New Programmatic Ground in January

Since its inception, WISE has “vacationed” during the month of January. This year, with the confluence of requests from members for programming during January and the offer by Music Worcester for their artist in residence, Simone Dinnerstein, to provide a program for WISE, mid-January 2019 is an exciting time. If you have not already done so, you will want to put the following on your calendar. All three events are in Curtis Performance Hall in the Tsotsis building from 1:00 – 2:30 pm. They are free of charge and open to the public.

January 16: Ms Dinnerstein explains the intricacies of Bach’s Goldberg Variations
January 17: Ms. Dinnerstein performs the complete Goldberg Variations
January 18: An Afghani refugee student of Ms. Dinnerstein’s, Milad Yousufi, will perform his new suite for piano and narrator and will converse with Ms. Dinnerstein about his musical background and journey.

The Word about WISE Continues to Spread

This attractive and informative display now greets people coming into the Shrewsbury Library. Thanks go to Carol Fauerbach and Pat Hurton who are responsible for creating and installing the display.

With best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy 2019,

Marsha Addis, President
maddiswise@gmail.com
land: 508-829-9383
cell: 626-422-6701

Mission Statement

The Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE) at Assumption College is a member-directed organization providing lifelong learning opportunities for older adults.