PLATO Weekly Update 

January 25, 2022

CURRICULUM

SPRING COURSES
Spring Registration continues with 40 courses available! 17 are in-person, 22 are virtual and one is via email. Four of these courses are hybrid, meaning there is an in-person or virtual option. Learn more on the newly formatted COURSES webpage. 

Also, please read this article about how to help make courses pleasant for everyone – it offers some ideas for contributing to a congenial setting. 

REMINDER

These COVID-19 Protocols are required for in-person courses:

· Wear masks inside of Host Location buildings.

· Follow social distancing guidelines.

· Follow any additional guidelines required at Host Locations - visit the Courses Page or check with your course coordinator.

SPECIAL EVENTS

THEATER TRIPS 
NOW is the time to sign up! Join us to see a matinee of a Beatles-inspired version of As You Like It at the Milwaukee Rep on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. We will take a chartered bus with convenient pick-up/drop-off stops around Madison. Although the sign-up deadline is February 15, if sufficient numbers don't register by February 8 (or if COVID interferes), the trip may be cancelled. Interwoven into Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy, the production features more than 20 Beatles songs performed live, including "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Registration and other COVID-19 protocols are required. Register and learn more here.

BREAKFAST GATHERINGS
Join us next month for good company and food on Friday, February 11th at 9:30am at The Marquette Hotel Café, located at 414 South Baldwin Street in the heart of the Willy Street neighborhood. RSVP and other COVID-19 Protocols are required. RSVP and learn more here.

REMINDER 
These COVID-19 Protocols are required for in-person special events:

· Masks are required at all times, except while eating.

· You will need to show: 

o   A picture ID.

o   Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or proof of negative results of a COVID-19 test 72 hours prior to the event. The test must be issued by a medical provider or pharmacy. At home tests will not be accepted. 

· You will not be allowed to join the event without providing acceptable documentation.

· Please stay home if you are not feeling well and contact the trip organizer to inform them of your decision.

LECTURES
Peruse our archive of PLATO Lectures on a variety of topics.

COVID-19 UPDATE

PLEASE READ the latest advice from PLATO’s COVID-19 Workgroup featuring recommendations about the most effective types of masks and a link to request four free at-home tests from the U.S. Government.

CALL FOR BOARD NOMINATIONS

LAST CALL! Each year we need members to serve on the board of directors. This is your opportunity to suggest names of members who you think might help lead our organization. The Nominating Committee seeks names for one at-large board position (3-year term) and for vice-president. Please send your suggestions to info@platomadison.org with the subject line "BoardNominations" by January 31. Remember, PLATO depends on volunteers to make its programs successful!

EATURED AGORA WORKS

Visit The Agora Features webpage for highlights from this past season, created and curated by fellow PLATO members for your enjoyment. 

Our Biweekly Featured Offering for January 25th - February 7th is Coastline, a poem by Nancy Cross Dunham, inspired by a photograph she took on retreat in Hawaii that she calls "a visual meditation on impermanence".

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS

Select from a range of topics and formats 

for your Winter reading, viewing, or listening, 

curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee.

BOOK LISTING – HELL OF A BOOK" by Jason Mott is one of The Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Fiction and The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Best Books of 2021. For more on this acclaimed novel, click the Social Justice Webpage button below.

DID YOU KNOW? for January 18 – 31, 2022

Did You Know…Zaila Avant-Garde,14 years old, spelled “m-u-r-r-a-y-a”, a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees, to clinch a victory at last year’s (2021) Scripps National Spelling Bee. Avant-Garde is the first Black American champion in the competition’s 96 year history. Spelling is not Avant-Garde’s only talent….

Visit the Social Justice Webpage for more about
Zaila Avant-Garde & 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).