Week of May 15

SUMMER REGISTRATION begins Tuesday, May 23. You can view the summer classes online by clicking here.  If your membership is up for renewal in May, June or July, please call the office and we will be happy to renew your membership over the phone. You can also log on to URIOLLI.AUGUSOFT.NET.

Summer catalogs will be in the mail shortly and we have over 50 classes! 

CLASS SPOTLIGHT- Don’t miss out on some great classes starting this week! Register for either of these classes and bring a friend! Log on to register or call 401-874-4197.

The Most Controversial Game in International Basketball History, 2 Sessions with Raymond Birch, starting Tuesday, May 16, 11:30AM to 1:00PM. Register today and bring a friend! 

We will begin with a short review of some of the world events of 1972, including the tragic massacre of Israeli athletes by terrorists and some of the controversies surrounding the Munich Olympics. Then we will look at the relatively short history of Olympic basketball up to 1972. Even after 50+ years, the result of the mens’ basketball championship final game remains controversial, with the Soviet Union team defeating the United States team by a single point at the final buzzer, 51-50—the first loss by a United States team since the inception of basketball as an Olympic sport in 1936. We will take a look at how the United States team was constructed, including the coaching staff and its approach in a rapidly changing basketball world. Finally, we will watch segments of the original ABC broadcast (with Frank Gifford and Bill Russell), including the final questionable, game-deciding calls.

Lessons Learned: The 2019 Boeing B737 Plane Crashes, 1 Session with Jet Vertz on Tuesday, May 16, 3:00PM to 4:30PM.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) certified the B737 commercial fleet in March 2017. Two years later, in March 2019, the B737 was grounded after two catastrophic crashes that killed 346 people. Repairs were made, the Boeing CEO was fired, and settlements of more than $2.5 billion were made, after which the US FAA recertified the B737Max-8 fleet. However, Boeing’s largest overseas customer, China, has not yet certified B737 to fly. To date, Boeing has incurred a loss of more than $20 billion and sacrificed its #1 spot in the sale of commercial airplanes to Airbus SE. We will discover the root cause of the 2019 failure and will examine what lessons can be learned by other large corporations and conglomerates from this experience.

This Week at OLLI

Monday

9:30AM Italian Conversation

10:00AM Walking Rhode Island

10:30AM Basic Horsemanship

1:00PM The United Nations

1:30PM Playing with Classics: Poems

5:00PM Becoming a Better Listener

5:00pm Honey, Honeybees and Pollinators

Tuesday

10:00AM How to Make the Best Pictures of Your Life

10:00 Golf

11:30AM The Most Controversial Basketball Game

2:00PM Classic Foreign Films

3:00PM Decluttering 101: How to Get Your Organizing Done (Zoom)

3:00PM Lessons Learned-Boeing B737

Wednesday

10:00AM The Warm Up Guy

12:30PM Bowling Group

1:00PM Events Comm Mtg

1:00PM Walking Group

1:00PM Building a Resilient Brain

5:00PM Fresh Approach to Well-Being

6:00PM Censorship in Libraries and Schools

Thursday

9:00AM Let’s Skate

10:00AM Beginning Digital Photography (Zoom)

10:00AM Pirates of RI

10:30AM Rhody Ramblers

1:00 PM Mah jong (lobby)

1:00PM Three Mini Retreats

1:00PM Cosmic Questions

1:30PM Wrongful Conviction

2:30PM Finance Comm Mtg.

5:30PM Renaissance Art History

Friday

10:00AM Strolling Through History

10:00AM Great Decisions

1:00PM Book Club

1:00PM Bring Meditation into Your Daily Life

1:00PM The Life and Legacy of Johnny Cash

COMMITTEE RECRUITMENT– OLLI continues to be a strong organization due in part to members serving on various committees providing leadership in partnership with the staff. Looking ahead to our new fiscal year, it’s time to recruit new members to serve. To learn more in detail about these opportunities plan on attending one of the following meetings: Join us at OLLI on Monday, May 22, at 10:00AM  OR Thursday, May 25, at 1:00PM. Click to read about our committees. 

RHODY OUTPOST The May collection theme for the Rhody Outpost is mother/child/baby centered items in celebration of Mothers’ Day. Here are some suggested donations but if any of you moms recall a “must have” item please add it to the basket!

• Baby wipes

• Hand soap

• Lotions and sunscreen (for moms and children)

• Tea and coffee

• Chocolate 

GARDENING WITH THE MASTERS TOUR, June 24-25, 10AM-4PM

Tour gardens feature environmentally friendly vegetable and herb production in spaces big and small, habitat-rich pollinator gardens and water protecting rain gardens, easy and effective composting systems, native plants in all their glory, and more! URI Master Gardener volunteers will be present at each and every garden, ready to answer your questions and guide you through the spaces they lovingly tend. Your ticket purchase also includes admission to Jardin de Mar, a private garden on Block Island that will be open to ticket holders the weekend before the tour, on Saturday, June 17, and Sunday, June 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tour tickets cost $30 each and are required for admission to the gardens. Admission is free for anyone younger than 18. Each ticket you purchase includes:

• Admission to Jardin de Mar and reduced taxi fare on Block Island on June 17 and 18.
• Admission to all other tour gardens on June 24 and 25.
• Science-based gardening handouts and gardening-related information at all gardens.
• Soil pH testing at select gardens—soil testing sampling instructions are available online.
• A workshop and book-signing at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center Native Plant Gardens in Charlestown on June 24.Click here to purchase tickets online.

2023 AGING AND SAFE DRIVING SYMPOSIUM. It is a free virtual event that spans May 15-19. There are virtual seminars scheduled throughout the week and those interested can register for the topics they wish to “attend”.It’s open to older adults, health care providers, students, etc. Click here for all the details.

A CONVERSATION WITH MARY MCALEESE, FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, Wednesday, May 17, 2:30PM at Salve Regina University. Free event. Click to reserve your spot.

The wide-ranging “fireside chat” will explore McAleese’s longstanding interest in issues such as justice, equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and reconciliation. McAleese was president of Ireland from 1997-2011. Currently chancellor of Trinity College Dublin, she also is professor of children, law and religion at the University of Glasgow. McAleese holds a doctorate and licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University Rome and a master’s degree in canon law from the National University of Ireland. During its 75th anniversary year, Salve Regina has presented a variety of events and programs sharing its history as a transformative, academic community and showcasing how it is fulfilling the mercy promise of its 1947 founders, the Sisters of Mercy.