GBCRA Monthly News and Updates
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GOOD BYE FEBRUARY
HELLO MARCH
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Bridge Club - March 16
The Music of Chopin - March 20
Board Meeting - March 24
Bridge Club - March 30
"Picnic at Falling Rock" - April 16
Board Meeting - April 21
Stratford Trip - May 21
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George Brown College Retirees' Association and George Brown College Seniors' Association - I'm Kind of Confused.
At George Brown College, retirees are fortunate enough to be able to (re)connect with the college and our former colleagues in multiple ways, via multiple channels depending on their needs and interests. While this is a great opportunity, it can also be a little confusing. Two such groups are described below:
George Brown College Retirees Association (GBCRA)
We are the George Brown College Retirees Association (GBCRA).
Specifically, for George Brown College Retirees, the association aims to reconnect fellow retirees and colleagues through a variety of social and recreational events, excursions, and speakers. Additionally the association endeavors to provide retiring and retired employees with support and pertinent information. By liaising with George Brown College and other retiree associations, our goal is to advocate for and respond to retirees' concerns. Finally, the Association supports students by raising funds toward an endowed scholarship (currently in excess of $10,000) as well as giving an annual bursary.
Examples of some of our recent and planned activities include: Our Annual Holiday Party, a Music Club, Book Club, Bridge Club, Theatre Outings (our annual trek to Stratford is coming up in May), as well as our "Fling into Spring featuring speakers and a luncheon.
George Brown College Seniors’ Association
The George Brown Seniors’ Associations is a separate association open to all seniors. The association sees their mandate as two-fold:
- Offer quality courses for seniors at reasonable prices (usually over a 10 week period).
- Share their wealth in support of students.
For more information about the Seniors' Association contact them at
senex@georgebrown.ca
More to Come
Look to future newsletters for upcoming information on continuing education opportunities, and connecting with other useful associations and resources.
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Message from the Co-Chairs
Greetings!
We have been enjoying some lovely sunny days but know all too well that lion-like days in March may roar back just as we are thinking of green sprouts. The trajectory is inevitable, however, and spring will be here soon. Meanwhile, many of our members have been getting away to warmer places or enjoying the ski slopes and winter activities right here - or both. Some have embarked on exciting and unusual travel and we look forward to hearing more about everyone’s winter adventures as we get together for our social events in the coming months.
As you will see in this newsletter, your association now has a pattern of regular events, like our spring get-together and the Stratford theatre trip, as well as our ongoing music series, book club, and bridge. There is always room for more if there is interest, however, so if there is something you would like that isn’t on offer, let us know and we’ll be happy to help you assess interest and get started. Similarly, if you know of good seniors discounts or community-based activities that others might be unaware of, please let us know and we’ll try to spread the word via the newsletter or website.
Spring is an active time at the college as well, with some conferences and activities that are open to anyone who is interested. You’ll see about them in this newsletter, with links to more details and registration information.
We look forward to seeing you as we move into our next round of activities. Meanwhile, we are hunkering down a bit more than usual and being extra-careful about washing our hands. We hope you are, too, and hope that we can all stay well as we go through the weeks ahead.
Dianne and Georgia
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The GBCRA Book Club
by Georgia Quartaro
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The monthly book club meeting is an opportunity for lively discussion. The book club runs from September until June and the books for the following year are chosen at the meeting before the summer break. There is plenty of time to get library copies and to read the books for the months ahead. So far, many of our choices have been books by Canadian authors. Members who live in Toronto take turns hosting.
This January, our group read
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood. In this 2019 sequel to her 1985 The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood has moved the core story 15 years ahead, incorporating some of the original characters and introducing others. In the meanwhile, of course, there has been a successful TV series based on the first book. Most of our members had read the first book many years ago or more recently or both, and most had seen some or all of the television series. Atwood’s depiction of the US and Canada in this dystopian future invites comparisons to the current political and social climate in the two countries, so our discussion went well beyond our reactions to the book.
These broader conversations are one of the delights of book club meetings. Members often share experiences that relate to and further illuminate the book being discussed. While our common bond is that we have all worked at the college, we have different family backgrounds, have lived in different cities and countries, have experience working in a range of professions and settings, and in many other ways bring different lenses to the book we have all read. These personal reactions add to our collective understanding of the book and are helping us to know one another better as well.
Our February book choice is Patrick deWitt’s
French Exit
. A satirical comedy of manners, it follows a wealthy woman and her adult son as their fortune and the lifestyle it supported finally run out. Much of the book is set in New York City and Paris, and the descriptions of those locales may resonate for people who have spent time in those cities. This Canadian author has written other parodies, notably
The Sisters Brothers
. This book, like Atwood’s, received considerable attention from critics when it was published and was short-listed for the 2018 Giller Prize. It certainly gave rise to some interesting conversation at our February 28
th
meeting!
The book club meets the last Friday of each month from 12:30 to 2:30 and enjoys snacks and wine along with our conversation. Our book for March is Esi Edugyan’s
Washington Black
and we will be meeting on March 27. If you are interested in joining us or getting more information about the book club, please contact Dianne Diniz at
ddiniz@rogers.com
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You Are Invited…and We Have 2 Free Tickets to Give Away.
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On April 16 you are invited to join a group of GBCRA members for a light supper followed by a performance of “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” presented by the George Brown Theatre School Students.
Relax and enjoy a meal and beverage with your friends and colleagues at The Mill Street Brewery in the Distillery District at 5:30. A short walk across the lane at 7:15 takes us to the Young Theatre for the Performing Arts. Following the production, some of us may want to take advantage of the many taverns in the Distillery to de-brief the presentation over a beverage while some of us will depart for home but, no matter what, we are certain that you will enjoy yourself. The Mill Street Brewery offers a 15% discount for theatre patrons, and the theatre tickets are $10 p.p. for groups of 10 or more, or $20 p.p. for groups of less than 10.
The Play: Based on the Australian novel of the same name, the story centres on an ill-fated picnic on Valentine’s Day 1900, when a girls’ school picnic ends in the baffling disappearance of three senior girls and their math teacher. The play explores the toll tragedy takes on a community and is a delicate look at crisis, greed and honesty at the turn of the century.
There will be a draw for the free tickets on Thursday April 2. Let us know that you are coming and/or enter the draw for the free tickets, simply let us know that you intend to be present for the performance by emailing
GBCRA2017@gmail.com
and put “picnic” in the subject line. Make sure you tell us how many tickets you want to reserve.
Draw is open to “paid”members only.
We look forward to seeing you then
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We Want to Hear from You
There is a possibility that we may be able to offer GBCRA members a cooking class where participants will advance their culinary skills, have fun and enjoy the food they have created. In order to proceed, we need to gauge your interest.
Please let us know if this kind of activity would be of interest to you by completing the following poll.
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Are you interested in participating in small group cooking led by a professional Chef?
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Spring is Conference Season
Here are a Couple You Might Enjoy!!!
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George Brown College's 12th annual Four Sacred Colours Pow Wow
Have you been to a Pow Wow recently? Check this out at the Waterfront campus on Saturday, April 4th. The event is free and is open to all, including children. It runs from noon until 5 P.M, You can come for the whole afternoon or drop by for an hour or two. There will be drumming and dancing and great photo opportunities. The event is organized by the college's Indigenous Services team and student volunteers.
Upcoming Conferences that you might want t take in:
April 23, 2002 -
Mental Health and Food - Understanding the Connection
Click
here
for information
May 21, 2002 - The Tommy Douglas Institute -
Our City and the Green New Deal
.
Click
here
for information
May 22, 2002 - The Philosophy of Education -
The Idea and Process of Creativity
Registration information to follow next month.
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Good Cooking with Ke
nzie
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Kenzie Osborne is a graduating Culinary Arts student at George Brown College. Kenzie is a recipe developer, caterer, nutrition research assistant, and a blogger.
Each month, Kenzie will design recipes specifically for retirees, keeping caloric intake, fat and sugar into account, all wrapped up in great taste!
For March, Kenzie created
Creamy and Toasty Avocado Rice Chicken
and
Kiwi Lime Breakfast Cheese Cake Parfait.
To view this months recipes click
here
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Stratford Here We Come!
An even dozen of George Brown College Retirees will descend upon Stratford Ontario to take in "As You Like It" and "Chicago" on May 21st. We'll take plenty of photos to share with you in the June newsletter. In the meantime, however, if you let Jennifer Cooke know immediately that you want to join us, she may be able to find you a seat! Call Jennifer at
416-699-1681
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Resources for Retirees
This month we added a "Resources" tab to our web site. Under that tab you will find some interesting articles that have been collected by various members pertaining to retirees. Please take a moment and review the information we have included at
www.gbcra.org While you are at it, perhaps you have helpful information to share with others. To share yours simply send
Bob Cox an email with the pertinent information.
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Book Club
The book club group meets the last Friday of every month.This month, we are meeting on March 27 to discuss "Washington Black" by Esi Edugyan. It is available at most book stores and at the Toronto Public Library. Each meeting features a great discussion, a few snacks to munch on, and often a glass of wine! If you are interested in joining this group please contact
Dianne Diniz
Bridge Club
The Bridge Club has resumed its regular meetings and will be meeting on March 16 and march 30th at Yonge and St. Clair.
Classical Music Club
The Classical Music Club is offering a monthly series of three presentations by Joseph Sharon. The third and final presentation will be on March 20:
The
Music of Frederic Chopin.
Purchase tickets for $15.00 for this last of the season presentation by e-transfer to
GBCRA2017@gmail.com
.
In the subject line put "music", or send a cheque to GBCRA 46-2146A Queen Street E, Toronto M4E 1E3.
The seminar will take place at the Waterfront campus, 52 Dockside Drive M5A 0B6 Room 721 - 10:30am
Contact
Bob Cox
for more
information.
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The GBCRA Board of Directors
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Newsletter Design and Publication: Bob Cox
Editors: Anne MacKenzie-Thompson, Georgia Quartaro, Dianne Diniz, Debbie Plested, Bob Cox
This Month's Contributors: Bob Cox, Jennifer Cooke, Kenzie Osborne, Georgia Quartaro, Debbie Plested
To submit an article or give us feedback click
here
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