PLATO Weekly Update

August 24, 2021

CURRICULUM

Registration for Fall Courses – is now available! For those members interested in attending in-person, please review updated COVID-19 protocols listed below. All courses require that participants register with the coordinator so they can be reached via email should there be any updates due to the dynamic nature of the pandemic. Our Fall Course Schedule includes 40 courses almost evenly split between in-person and online offerings to meet the various needs and wishes of PLATO members. 

COVID-19 Protocols for Courses:

• All coordinators and participants are required to wear masks when inside host locations at all times and to observe social distancing guidelines.
  
  
• All coordinators and participants must follow any and all of the host location’s additional COVID-19 Protocols which will be communicated by coordinators.
  

Currently, Capitol Lakes and Oakwood have additional protocols:

• Capitol Lakes requires all visitors to be vaccinated and to bring a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination card. Additionally, our first-time fall course participants will need to fill out a registration form and then have temperatures checked before each class session.
  
  
• Oakwood requires all people entering their building to register at the Accushield kiosk. The only entrance open at Oakwood is the main entrance at the Heritage Oaks.
  

SPECIAL EVENTS 

Walks of Dane County

Reservations still available – Walk Indian Lake County Park will take place on Wednesday, August 25th at 8:30am – please register here. Indian Lake County Park is a beautiful, well maintained Dane County Park that you'll want to return to seasonally. The park features a small lake, a prairie currently in bloom, deciduous woods-covered hills with accessible paths and a historical chapel partially hidden along a ridge. Please review updated COVID-19 protocols below before registering.

Updated COVID-19 Protocols for Fall Walks:

Walk guides and participants must:

Wear a mask at all times.
Maintain social distancing, when possible. This is especially important when the group stops to hear and discuss information. We provide the group leader with a directional microphone to enable social distancing.

THEATER
Attending a virtual theater performance from your home can be a refreshing way to spend a hot summer day! Browse a variety of options on PLATO’s Virtual Theater Trips page – and check back as new items are frequently added.

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

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 we are pleased to share a vibrant watercolor titled Madison Skyline 2021 by Edie Umess-Pondillo.

SOCIAL GATHERINGS

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

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Select from a range of topics and formats 
for your late summer reading, viewing, or listening, 
curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee.

DID YOU KNOW? for August 24 – September 6, 2021

Hamdi Ulukaya, born in Ilic, Turkey, is a businessman, activist and philanthropist who founded and owns the company Chobani, the #1 selling strained yogurt in the US. He was born to a dairy farming Kurdish family in 1972 and immigrated to the US in 1994 to study English and take business courses.

Visit the Social Justice Webpage for more about Hamdi Ulukaya
and past DID YOU KNOW? features.

DID YOU KNOW? – spotlighting notable contributions made by non-mainstream individuals you might not have learned or read about. Suggestions for inclusions are welcome (send to Kathy at: ksmichaelis@gmail.com)