Volunteer of the Month
Archives

No volunteer selected this month

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

Knitting
Time: Fridays 10am - 12pm
Cost: Free members
      Free non-members
Location: Parlor
Description: Knitting has been has been around (depending on who you ask) for between 2000 to 600 years. The oldest real knitting (formed on two sticks by pulling loops through loops) object that have been discovered are the \'Coptic socks\' from Egypt, dating to around the year 1000 AD. The term 'to knit,' according to the Oxford Unabridged English Dictionary, wasn't added to the English language until the 1400s. Our knitting group is headed by Keiko Holcombe. When Keiko joined the center ten years ago, she almost immediately began teaching others to knit. She has been knitting since she was six years old, and has been teaching here in the states for over 39 years. That's not counting the years she taught in Japan. The students all work on individual projects, ranging from items as small as booties to items as large as afghans. Keiko helps each student on their projects and teaches skills to class when they are having a problem. The class is small, with about 12-15 students, so 1 on 1 time is guaranteed. If this art form sounds like something you might be interested in, the group meets on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Membership Fee Increases for the 1st Time Ever
By: Mike Sylva
For over 30 years of our membership fee holding steady at the unbelievable cost of only $10, we are finding the need to increase the cost of our membership to $20. The membership price has not increased since the Highland Senior Center began. Some might think that is a lot, but consider that it means our membership is still only $1.66 a month now. Find that type of membership ANYWHERE. And that still doesn’t cover the cost of just to mail out the newsletter, let alone the cost of making the newsletter!

For those wishing to take advantage of the water aerobics program, membership cost will be $25 annually. Again, this means a only a $2.08 monthly membership. Those wishing to use the pool, they will receive a membership card with a special stamp on it to let the YMCA know that a member is eligible for the water aerobics program. If you have paid ahead, under the old price structure, you will need to pay the additional $15 to receive a membership card with the stamp on it.

We are sorry that we finally had to increase our membership after over 17 years, but we were not financially able to continue subsidizing the cost. We still believe that $1.66 a month for membership, and $2.08 for membership with water aerobics is a great deal, and hope you will too.