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Featured Class
Italian
Date: April 24, 2020
Time: 9:00 - 10:00 am
Length: 8
Cost: $8 members
$8 non-members
Instructor: Rita Sicilliano
Location: Game Room
Description: Italian is taught by Margherita Sicilliano. Margherita, who also goes by the names Margo or Rita, and is from the old country. Born in Caserta, Italy, she was actually born in the Italian Royal Palace (the Reggia di Caserta). Her mom was touring the palace when she went into labor. Not many people can say that they were born in a royal palace, much less a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Raised and educated in Italy, she was still in college when she came with her family to the United States. She continued with her education getting a Bachelor's Degree. She then went back to Italy to get her Master's Degree. Her teaching experience spans 42 years and includes teaching high school French, Spanish, and Italian in New York, as well as French and Spanish Advanced Placement classes at the local Aquinas High School. After retiring some friends told her about the center. She took a trip here and discovered a fellow Italian, Virginia Kautzman, and the two became friends. Margo also found out about our University Language classes, and decided to get back into teaching. She approached us about teaching here, and after offering a choice between Italian and German, everyone decided that Italian would be perfect. Now it is the only Italian class being offered in the area. Student’s need to bring only a pencil and paper to class. There is a work book students can purchase through Amazon for $16, but it is not necessary. The class is open to absolute beginners and those who wish to keep up their Italian. A presto! See you soon!
Featured Activity
Table Shuffleboard
Time: Fridays 1:00 pm
Cost: FREE members
FREE non-members
Location: Gameroom
Description: In table shuffleboard, the play area is a 22' laminated surface covered with silicone beads (colloquially called 'shuffleboard wax') to reduce friction. Players try to slide metal-and-plastic pucks, sometimes called weights or shuckles, to come to rest within zones at the other end of the board. Cues are not used, the pucks being propelled with the hands directly on the raised table. There are scoring zones at each end of the table so that direction of play can rotate after each frame, or so that teams can play both directions during one frame. More points are awarded for weights scoring closer to the far edge of the board. Players take turns sliding the pucks, trying to score points, bump opposing pucks off the board, and/or protect their own pucks from bump-offs. The long sides of the table are bounded by gutters into which pucks can fall or be knocked (in which case they are no longer in play for the remainder of the frame). A variant known sometimes as bankboard has rubber cushions or 'banks' running the length of both sides of the table, instead of gutters, and as in billiards, the banks can be used to gain favorable position. Come join our shuffleboard bunch and have-a-go at it.
Casino Night 2013
By: Mike Sylva
It wasn’t the day before the beginning of Lent. It wasn’t even a Tuesday. However that didn’t stop us from having a great Mardi Gras in June! That’s when the Highland Senior Center and the Highland Area Chamber of Commerce held their annual Casino Night and Taste of the Town Showcase. This year’s theme was Mardi Gras and was held at the new Highland Event Center at the San Manuel Village.
The playing area was decked out in purple, gold, and green, colors representing justice, power, and faith respectively. These colors were suggested by the visiting Grand Duke Alexis Alexis Alexandrovich Romanoff back in 1872.
Meanwhile, back in 2013, most people were interested in the green of the money, or the gold for the well...gold. Some off our partiers and players arrived dressed ready for Mardi Gras, complete with masks. Some for the fun, but most for the extra $100 in play money they received. Still everyone had a fun time playing because it was not only for fun, but to help out the Highland Senior Center and Chamber of Commerce.
The other part of casino night was the “Taste of the Town.” As part of the admission, even if you weren’t lucky at the gambling tables, you could definitely be a winner at the food tables. A J Barile’s Chicago Pizza took home the honors for the “Taste of the Town” winner as picked by the judges, while Jose’s Mexican Restaurant was proclaimed the “People’s Choice Winner,” by all who attended.
The center and chamber would like to give thanks to all our sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible: San Manuel Tribe of Mission Indians, Urgent Care Center of St. Bernardine, Cal Disposal, Robertson’s, and Mrs. Pat Fischer, Beaver Medical, The Gas Company, Windermere Real Estate, VNA Hospice & Palliative Care, and Burrtec Waste Industries, as well as our other money, raffle, and food sponsors. Most of all we’d like to thank all those who came out to support the Casino Night and the Center and Chamber for this great fundraiser.
