OLLI at DU South has been providing Lifelong Learning in the southern suburbs of Denver since the Fall of 2009!  Thank you to all the volunteers, members and staff who make OLLI at DU South a great place to be!  

Location

OLLI at DU South meets at Columbine United Church, 6375  S. Platte Canyon Rd. Littleton, CO 80123

Snow Closure Policy

OLLI at DU South follows Littleton Public School District closure policies. If Littleton Public Schools are closed OLLI at DU South is closed. If there is a delayed start, we begin classes at the regular start time of 9:30.  Please use your best judgement in deciding about coming to class.  

Darcey VanWagner, OLLI at DU South Site Manager

darcey.vanwagner@du.edu

Sherilee Selby, OLLI at DU South Program Assistant

scselby@comcast.net

Christine Liptak, OLLI at DU South Program Assistant

christine.liptak@du.edu

This calendar includes events pertinent to all members.  You may click on an event to learn more information and see the event's scheduled location.  Click on the "Week" or "Month" tabs to get a weekly or monthly view of the calendar.  You can also use the "Print" option to print a copy if you are connected to a printer or save as a .pdf file.  To suggest updates to the calendar, please send email to ollisouth@gmail.com.

TIP:  If you have a Google calendar, by clicking on the event you will get an option to copy to your own calendar!

Take a moment to see what is happening at OLLI at DU South.  

On June 16th we gathered to celebrate the wonderful OLLI at DU South facilitators.  It was the first time in three years we were able to get together in-person.  It was a wonderful time.  We had around 60 people join us at Columbine United Church for brunch.  A big thank you to Peggy Winn, Becky Stout for organizing the event.  And a thank you to Sandy Wischmeyer, Mary Ann Lang, Sherilee Selby, Christine Liptak and Darcey VanWagner for assisting with the food and setup.

OLLI at DU South is looking for Volunteers!

OLLI at DU members and volunteer facilitators are the heartbeat of the institute and are the reason it will thrive while keeping the fees low. Volunteering is a direct way for members to have input into the decisions and direction of OLLI at DU. Volunteering is a rewarding and stimulating experience, and another way to meet new people.

If you are interested in helping out on a committee or just one time at an event, contact darcey.vanwagner@du.edu for more information.  We need you!

We Need Facilitators to Teach our Classes!

Our OLLI at DU South facilitators teach our courses and we would love more of you! While some facilitators have backgrounds in education/academia, many simply have an interest in a subject and want to share views with OLLI at DU members. We offer the opportunity to facilitate your classes once a week for  4-, 6-, or 8-week periods during one of our terms. The process to explore this opportunitiy is very simple. If you'd like to learn more, please contact Darcey.vanwagner@du.edu for our proposal form and find out how you can join the terrific OLLI at DU facilitators!

Curriculum Committee

OLLI at DU courses are taught by facilitators, who serve as the instructors for our classes. These individuals are selected by our Curriculum Committee, which is composed of volunteers who serve on one of our five subcommittees: Arts, Writing and Literature; History, Economics and Public Affairs; Health and Well-being; Philosophy, Religion and Psychology; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). These small teams work to find facilitators in current OLLI at DU classes, in the community and among their friends and acquaintances. We'd love to share more with you if you're interested in sharing your passion with the OLLI at DU community. Please contact Darcey.vanwagner@du.edu for more information.

What Is a Class Assistant Volunteer?

One of the required questions to answer when registering for OLLI at DU classes is whether you will be a class assistant. This is an important volunteer position to support the facilitator whether in person or online. With Zoom classes, the class assistant checks the course roster to verify names and admits members to the Zoom room 15 minutes prior to class start time, shares the weekly announcements and assists the facilitator monitoring raised hands and chat, as needed. When in person, the class assistant takes attendance, supports the facilitator, and makes announcements, which are provided by OLLI at DU staff. 

So, give it a try!  Check “yes” on the registration form for a class for which you would like to volunteer to support the Facilitator and OLLI at DU.  Training is provided for new class assistants. 

Please join us on Tuesday 11:45 am - 12:45 pm for Lunch and Learn.  We have some fantastic speakers lined up. These are free events.  Feel free to bring a friend.

We had a wonderful time at the open house on August 24th and enjoyed the guest speaker, Dr. Jonathan Ormes.  He has shared his slides with us and they can be viewed below.

James Webb Space Telescope.pdf

OLLI at DU South is always looking for new facilitators!

Facilitators are the very heart of our OLLI at DU program. OLLI at DU is successful because every term we have an intriguing curriculum and a "faculty" of dedicated people volunteering their time to make it happen.

If you are interested in finding out more about facilitating at OLLI at DU South, please contact the current Curriculum Committee Chair.

Thank you for your willingness to present a course for OLLI at DU South.  The course submissions are due by December 19th for the Spring 2023 term.

All areas on the Approved Course Submission Form must be complete prior to the deadline.  Please send the completed form to Sherilee Selby, sherilee.selby@du.edu and to the appropriate curriculum committee chair.  The list Curriculum Committee Chairs is below.  If you have any questions please contact Sherilee Selby or Darcey VanWagner.

Approved COURSE SUBMISSION FORM:

APPROVED Course Submission Form AUG 10 2022.docx

OLLI South could not exist without our wonderful volunteers.  We have two main committees, Curriculum Committee and Community Building Committee (MRC).

Our curriculum committee is responsible for putting together all the wonderful courses that are offered each term!  Each sub-committee is responsible for recruiting new facilitators, encouraging development of new courses in their topics, reviewing and making recommendations based on member feedback, attendance at various committee meetings, to name a few!  If you are interested in volunteering your time to this outstanding committee, please contact one of the co-chairs or the sub-committee chair in which you're interested!

• Open

History

•  Mary Morris / Open(Co-Chairs)

Literature/Writing

• Patty Smilanic/Jan Burda (Co-Chairs)

Philosophy/Religion/Culture

• open (chair)

Political Science & Economics

• Bill Gernert / Open(Co-chairs)

Science/Math/Technology

• open (Co-chairs)

Visual & Performing Arts

• Jan Friedlander / Open(Co-chairs)

Interdisciplinary

• Jan Friedlander (chair)

A new committee has been formed at OLLI at DU South, the Community Building Committee.  The purpose of the Community Building Committee is to develop and implement activities and other support mechanisms to rebuild a sense of community at OLLI at DU South, being very mindful of the need for member safety in the time of Covid.

Gary Wyngarden,  garywyngarden@gmail.com – Committee chair

Sue Bramley,  suebramley18@gmail.com – Newsletter editor

Natalie Conklin,  nataliec3@comcast.net. – Around Town

Pat Paul,  patjohnpaul@hotmail.com – Events

Sheila Jones, Tosheilajones@msn.com – Events

Mary Ann Lang,  malang@q.com - Events

Jan Friedlander,  janfriedlander@comcast.net – Opera, Hike & Bites

Janet Kester, jlkgarden@comcast.net - Marketing

Pat Smith, pks9909@gmail.com - Events

Thanks to Sheila and Pat for planning a wonderful event at Vehicle Vault in Parker.  We had 30 OLLI members join us to tour the Vehicle Vault.

We had a wonderful event at Highlands Ranch Library on March 16th.  The Community Building Committee had several speakers share upcoming activities.  It was great to be together again.