PLATO Weekly Update

July 20, 2021

CURRICULUM

We are gearing up for fall!

As the Curriculum Committee coordinates efforts for in-person and virtual offerings to resume this fall, it's a good time to share PLATO’s Covid-19 guidelines, which follow the CDC’s guidelines, including:

– Vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask in a group gathering indoors, but should if they feel more comfortable.

– Unvaccinated people must wear a mask in a group gathering indoors.

– All PLATO members must follow any and all additional Covid-19 protocols that our Host Locations require.

SPECIAL EVENTS 

Announced just last week, there are a number of "Walks in Dane County" planned through October, occurring twice monthly on various mornings. A list can be found at PLATO's Local Tours page. Simply scroll through the list to find dates and times and click on "Show Details" to find out when registration will open.

PLATO's Lecture series will return this fall. In the meantime, members can access Past Recordings.

THEATER
Take a break from hot summer days by "attending" theater performances from your home through a variety of options on PLATO’s Virtual Theater Trips page.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL UPDATE

Have you renewed your PLATO membership? 

DON'T FORGET - current PLATO memberships will expire on July 31. Renew online now to be ready to take advantage of the wide variety of in-person and virtual courses and events PLATO will offer this fall.

After a year of free membership, dues have been reinstated, but remain at the pre-pandemic level of $60 per person.

Renew online now or mail a check for $60 to PLATO, 21 N. Park St., 7th Floor, Madison, WI 53715‐1218. If mailing your check, please let us know if your contact information has changed since June of 2019 and email any further questions to Stephanie Steigerwaldt, PLATO's office coordinator, at info@platomadison.org.

Thank you to those members who have already renewed – we look forward to seeing you at our many offerings lined up for the coming year. 

FEATURED AGORA WORKS

Each week, we offer for your enjoyment, a featured piece from contributors to The Agora, PLATO's journal of arts and ideas. This week’s contribution, Aging Acrobat, by Grethe Brix-J. Leer, is a collage about the paradox of aging and life.

SOCIAL GATHERINGS

Social Gatherings will resume this fall with in-person breakfasts. 

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Suggested readings, films, activities, and podcasts.

Select from a range of topics and formats for your reading, viewing, or listening, curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee. 

NEW BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Forgotten – The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, At Home And At War by Linda Hervieux (description and review on the Social Justice Webpage).

Launched in June is our new biweekly feature called DID YOU KNOW? – an opportunity to increase awareness of the many contributions in all areas of our community by individuals outside of our mainstream white world. Suggestions for inclusions are welcome (send to ksmichaelis@gmail.com).

DID YOU KNOW? Effie Waller Smith, a black woman with Wisconsin ties, was an early 20th-century poet known for her books of poetry, Songs of the Months (1904), Rhymes from the Cumberland (1909), and Rosemary and Pansies (1909).

Visit the Social Justice Webpage to learn more about Effie Waller Smith!