This Week at OLLI – March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Week of March 31, 2025

NEW CLASSES ADDED FOR SPRING: Click to view the flyer or read below.

TickSmart: Mastering Tick Biology, Identification, and Protection
3 sessions with Thomas Mather on Tuesdays, May 6, 13, 20  9:30AM-11:00AM

With ticks and tickborne diseases increasing as dangerous public health threats, it’s more important than ever to be TickSmart. Almost everyone seems to know something about ticks, but unfortunately often what they know is just wrong enough to leave them at risk for a bite and possibly a disease. We will dispel common tick myths, and you will learn important aspects of tick biology, tick identification, tick hosts and disease reservoirs, along with safe and effective personal and residential tick protection strategies. And we’ll even practice some of what you’ll learn, so that, next time, you’ll be just right enough to stay tick safe whenever and wherever you venture outside. In the meantime, we encourage you to save any ticks you may encounter in a small Ziplock bag and bring them to the second class. The third class is a field trip to Potter Woods in Kingston where you will learn to work as a tick biologist.

Enhancing Kingston Station: RIPTA’s Vision for a Modern Transit Hub– 1 Session with Ella Ackerman on Monday, April 14, 1:30PM-3:00PM  

Join us for an informative session on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s (RIPTA) exciting project to enhance the bus circle area at Kingston Station in West Kingston, RI. Ella Ackerman, a Long-Range Transit Planner at RIPTA, will lead the presentation, detailing the planned improvements and enhancements at Kingston Station. The session will cover the project’s history and context, an overview of the current conditions at the station, and the conceptual plans RIPTA is moving forward with. We’ll conclude with a Q&A and discussion period. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more and share your thoughts!

Colonial Newport: A Walking Tour
1 Session with Ken Johnson on Tuesday, June 3, 10:00AM-11:30AM  

This walking tour includes stops at Washington Square, White Horse Tavern, the Quaker Meeting House, the 1697 Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (the oldest house still standing), the oldest synagogue in America, the Colony House, burial/gravestones at Trinity Church, and Queen Anne Square, to name a few. Information on a meeting spot and parking will be sent to those who register.

Earth Care Farm Tour
1 Session with Jayne Merner Senecal on Tuesday, June 10, 10:00AM-11:30AM

Learn about what makes a high-quality compost. Join Jayne Merner Senecal for a walking tour of Earth Care Farm as she explains what goes into her family’s compost making process. Then check out what a good quality garden soil looks like under the microscope. Feel free to bring a sample of your own soil to look at. You are bound to get excited by the unseen world under your feet.

ADDITIONAL CLASS OFFERINGS: The following Second Sessions of full classes have been added to the spring semester. Please look at the dates carefully as these are additional sessions and not the dates listed in the catalog.

Canceled Classes: These classes have been canceled due to low enrollment. Refunds have been completed.

  • Beginning Digital Photography
  • Music, Media and the Counterculture
  • The Best Rock Songs of All Time

ZOOM – If you have never Zoomed before and need assistance, please contact our office well in advance of your class. Call the office (401-874-4197) or email (olli@uri.edu) and we’ll be happy to assist you. Please do not wait until your scheduled class to ask for help.

CLASS SPOTLIGHT – Register online or call 401-874-4197.

Friendship Tune-Up – 6 sessions with Marion Freiberg, starting Tuesday, April 8, 1:30PM-3:00PM. Friendship is an essential element of a happy and full life. In this experiential workshop we will explore fresh insights about friendship, assess our own friendship patterns and hopes, and refresh our friendship skills. This course mixes it up: expect part lecture, part pondering and self-inquiry, sharing, gaining useful insights, and maybe even some fun. Click Here To Register.

TRAVEL WITH OLLI – Join us on Thursday, April 10, at 2:00PM at OLLI for a travel preview. Our Collette representative will be here to share details on trips planned to Finland (Jan 22-29, 2026), Italy’sTreasures (April 6-17, 2026) and Mackinac Island (May 15-23, 2026). Registration is not required.

CYBER SENIORS HOURS: The last day for Cyber Seniors this semester will be Thursday with Isabella from 2:00PM-3:00PM. If you need help after Thursday, you can visit cyberseniors.org or call Cyber Seniors at 844-217-3057 for free help.

RHODY OUTPOST– Click here to view the updated list of all urgently needed items. You can also purchase items directly from Amazon on the Rhody Outpost Wish List. 

ENJOY A CUP OF COFFEE! – Ground coffee donations are always appreciated and will help us welcome the spring semester! Please drop off any donations in the office – thank you!  

LOST & FOUND – If you are missing a yellow notebook – we have it in the office.

THIS WEEK AT OLLI

Monday

  • 5:00PM The Essential Jane Austen (OSHER ONLINE)

Tuesday

  • 11:00AM Biking Group
  • 11:00AM Mainstreaming the Margins: A History of LGBTQ+ America (OSHER ONLINE)

Wednesday

  • 9:30AM Compassionate Conversations: Effective Communication
  • 10:00AM The Tempest
  • 12:30PM Bowling
  • 1:00PM Hiking Group
  • 1:00PM Future Proofing your Healthspan & Longevity (OSHER ONLINE)
  • 1:00PM The 20th Century American Short Story II (Zoom)

Thursday

  • 9:00AM Let’s Skate!
  • 10:30AM Tech Committee (Zoom)
  • 11:00AM Biking Group
  • 11:00AM Current Events
  • 1:00PM Mah Jongg
  • 1:00PM Russia Beyond Russians (OSHER ONLINE)
  • 5:00PM Science Charcuterie (OSHER ONLINE)

Friday

  • 10:00AM Photo Friday (Zoom)
  • 1:00PM Writers Group (Zoom)

TEDxURI VOLUNTEER USHERS STILL NEEDED- Sunday, April 6, 2PM-4PM Edward Auditorium, 5 Volunteer Ushers are needed and will be able to sit and enjoy the show in exchange for their assistance (Tickets Normally $30). TEDxURI brings people together around a theme – a common thread between speakers and a catalyst that helps shape the conversations for the day. The theme for 2025 is Finding Truth. If you are interested in this opportunity please contact Gavin DiFranco (House Manager) difrancogavin717@gmail.com. To purchaseTEDxURI tickets click HERE

URI THEATRE PRESENTS – Guys & Dolls Sunday April 27, at 2:00PM An exclusive opportunity for OLLI Members: Purchase tickets for the show and attend a FREE Pre-Show talk with the Director, Jimmy Calitri. Click HERE to purchase tickets and register HERE for the Pre-show talk. Or call the office at 401-874-4197. Also VOLUNTEER DOCENTS are needed for the show! Complimentary tickets will be issued to all volunteers. To volunteer please email paulam@uri.edu. See the flyer for more information.

TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT STUDY: The URI Physical Therapy Department is currently running a study that evaluates movement and its relation to function in individuals that have had total knee replacement. They are actively recruiting adults aged 50-80 years old who have had a total knee replacement for this study. Contact davidornstein@uri.edu if you’d like more information or to register. Click here for the flyer.

SMITH’S CASTLE IS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS: interested in becoming docents or greeters for tours at the Castle? Group training sessions will start Saturday, March 29, and continue for the two following Saturdays, 12-2:00PM at Smith’s Castle, 55 Richard Smith Drive, North Kingstown 02852.  Please see their website at http://www.smithscastle.org for more information and to register for the training. Click to view the flyer.

RESEARCH STUDY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED: The URI Biomechanics Lab is currently recruiting older adults for controls in one of their studies. Click here for all the details. Email marker_als@etal.uri.edu or call 401-874-2980 for more information.

URI STEEP LAUNCHES 2025 WEBINAR SERIES: The STEEP Superfund Research Program at the University of Rhode Island is launching a five-part webinar series to help Cape Cod residents and other communities better understand and respond to PFAS contamination. STEEP—Sources, Transport, Exposure & Effects of PFAS—is a URI-led science effort to address the ubiquitous human health impacts of PFAS in our everyday lives. The 2nd webinar on PFAS in Cape Cod Water & Fish is set for April 17, at 12:00PM Click Here to Register

SAVE THE DATE: The URI Spring Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 3, from 9-12PM in the URI Botanical Gardens on the Kingston campus. The sale will feature annuals, perennials, herbs, and vegetable seedlings grown by URI Master Gardener propagation volunteers in our East Farm greenhouses. This annual sale supports educational services offered through the URI Master Gardener Program throughout the year, including the Gardening and Environmental Hotline, Gardening Information and Soil Testing exhibits, and our Educational Workshops. Click here for more information.

VISIT THE 2025 ANNUAL JURIED STUDENT EXHIBIT– URI Department of Art and Art History Presents The 2025 Annual Juried Student Exhibit, April 1-30 in Green Hall 1st Floor Lobby. The exhibit features 50 works of art in all media by URI students taking classes in the Department of Art and Art History, chosen for exhibition by Juror Michael Rose, artist, lecturer and General Manager of the Providence Art Club. These include works by Ife Alarpon, Gabrielle Antonelli, Kendra Apgar, Jade Buongiovanni, Rowan Chaves, Ace Compres, Tyler Cordeiro, Emmett Cummins, Alexa Danis, Tyson Enes, Hanna Ferro, Logan Firestone, Andrew Garcia, Cece Good, John Lima,  Kaitlan Machado, Sophie Grace Mercier,(OLLI volunteer 😀)  Karla Monterroza, Bryant Pablo, Emerie Peterson, Megan Reighley, Aspen Spencer, Ella Stinnette, Cody Szczepanski, Jeannelle Tejeda, Madeline Walsh. Free and Open to the Public  Monday – Friday 8-4:30. For information contact spennell@uri.edu 401-286-4620.