Sat, 08 Jul 2023 18:23:01 -0400WeeblyTue, 04 Jul 2023 17:56:29 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/merger-with-shared-learningAfter 30+ years, Peer Learning of Chapel Hill will merge with Shared Learning of Chapel Hill effective July 21, 2023 to create a new organization that combines the strengths of both entities with a large vibrant membership and enthusiastic, knowledgeable instructors/facilitators.  The new organization will operate under the name of Shared Learning of Chapel Hill.

We thank all our membership for their enthusiastic support over the years and hope you will join us in the new Shared Learning organization.
]]>Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:49:21 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/spring-2023-letter-from-peer-learning-leadership-committeeDear Friends of Peer Learning,

As we come to the end of 2022, we are looking back at how the year has gone for the Peer Learning of Chapel Hill organization.  As with many volunteer and senior groups, we continued to struggle with the shut downs and quarantines necessitated by the COVID virus, but we kept our members engaged with exciting on-line classes and one-time events on Zoom.

We are taking the lessons learned from those experiences into 2023 and incorporating them into our new term starting at the end of January. We found that some—those for whom travel might be difficult and those who live outside of Chapel Hill—enjoyed the classes on Zoom that made attendance easy. Others really missed the social and intellectual interaction of in-person classes on the Binkley Church campus.

The roster of classes in our new term starting January 30 will be a mix of on-line and in-person classes, including a couple of classes that will alternate between on-line and in-person!  As well as a choice of how to meet, Peer Learning will be offering an invigorating selection of classes, from reading Shakespeare to climate change to cartography, along with long-time favorites like Kitchen Table and Short Story.

​Make visiting the Peer Learning website (https://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/) to check out the upcoming winter/spring term one of your New Year’s resolutions.  We look forward to seeing you, and we will be contacting you again in this upcoming term to get your feedback and your opinions on how to improve Peer Learning.

​]]>Fri, 07 Oct 2022 01:02:34 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/american-beginnings-october-12th-class-canceled​I'm sorry that I will not be able to meet with you on October 12, because I am having an eye procedure which, while minor, will probably prevent me from seeing straight that afternoon.
Sorry about this; the class will resume the following week when we will learn about the settlement of New England.

Hope to see you then.
​
Frank Binkowski]]>Fri, 08 Jul 2022 21:21:07 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/message-from-the-president-fall-2022Dear Peer Learners,

Thank Goodness! That’s what folks are saying now that we are finally able to return to in-person classes. We’ll be back this fall with a new line-up of classes held at Binkley Baptist Church and we hope you will all be joining us. 

This semester, we’ll have a great mix of old favorites, like “Kitchen Table” and “Short Story” with some brand new, never-before offerings in history, literature and film. Popular class leaders will be back with us, too, some teaching new subjects. Grab out course list and take a look!
One change you will notice is that our classes don’t get underway until 11:15. This change is to accommodate members who are participating in activities offered by other organizations. You will also notice that the film class has a later end time; we will be watching some longer movies this semester.

What about COVID? Alas, it hasn’t gone away and we will be following Binkley’s directives in this. At this time, masks are not required but they are welcomed and we will make sure we have hand wipes and extra masks available. We are not currently planning activities involving food at Binkley; please have patience as we take things one step at a time. And please, please, don’t attend classes if you have any symptoms. 

Meanwhile, choose your courses, send us you membership fee and spread the word to your friends. We’re off to a great new start.

See you at Peer Learning!
​
Sally]]>Wed, 09 Mar 2022 03:06:41 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/peer-learning-of-chapel-hill-in-person-classesHi Peer Learners,

This week starts the second half of the Peer Learning Spring 22 Semester with changes! 

This week will mark our partial return to in-person classes.


This Thursday, March 10th,  from 1:30-3:30 in Binkley Room 17, Kit Hill's new class "Hollywood Comedy in the Talkie Era".   Binkley will require all attendees to be masked while inside the building. We are also asking that everyone be vaccinated if you wish to attend. Room 17 is limited to lecturer, host and 28 registered peers in Covid seating pattern.  

On Friday, March 18th, at 11:00 AM Book Club will also be in-person at Flyleaf Books. FlyLeaf Books requires masking on premises.  Please RSVP to Kris Yensen if you are planning to attend.


Jim asks you to be sure you are registered for these live classes 
if you have not received an automated invitation from Peer Learning at
https://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/registration-form.html

At the same time, I am sorry to announce that the Spring Potpourri class, originally announced to begin on Tuesday afternoons, has been cancelled. 

We are now planning the fall semester. 

Please get back to us with your suggestions as soon as possible.

Sally]]>Thu, 13 Jan 2022 17:16:11 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/schedule-changeDear Peers,

Because of the tremendous surge in cases of the omicron variant, Peer Learning has decided that we must postpone our in-person classes. This will affect two classes that were due to begin next week, Hollywood Comedy, taught by Kit Hill and the Book Club, led by Kris Yensen. All other classes were already planned to be offered on Zoom and will begin next Tuesday as scheduled.

This is certainly a disappointment for me and I am sure for many of you who have yearned to meet in person and we hope to be able to resume our planned schedule as soon as it is safe to do so.
We will let you know of changes as soon as the situation warrants. Please check your email and the website at peerlearningofchapelhill.com.

Thanks for your loyalty to Peer Learning.

Keep well,
Sally]]>Tue, 04 Jan 2022 19:47:52 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/message-from-the-peer-learning-presidentDear Peer Learning Friends,

Once again, I have the privilege of announcing the Peer Learning semester, with many new offerings, as well as some familiar favorites. 

Our schedule is a bit more complicated this Spring Semester. We will have six consecutive weeks of classes starting Tuesday, January 18, take a week off from Feb 28-March 4, return for five more weeks then have no classes during Passover/Holy Week from April 11-15 before returning for a final week from April 18-22.

Monday mornings Friends will Gather Around Our Zoomed Kitchen Table and Peers will meet again in the afternoon to discuss Short Stories- make sure you register to receive the discussion topic and the title and author of the short story that will be discussed.

On Tuesdays, again on Zoom, Mir Ali will teach a new course on Russian history, “Kievan Russ to USSR” and Kathleen Snipes will expand her earlier one-time classes to present a 6-week course in Nature & Ecology, including news of attempts to reverse near extinctions. After the mid-term break, this class will be replaced by Spring Potpourri, six-weeks of guest speakers on a variety of subjects.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, Beth Timson will invite us to delve into our state’s treasures with “North Carolina Glimpses”, Michael Joseph will help us navigate Medical Myths and Matt Epstein will initiate conversation about the Human Microbiome.

On Thursday afternoon, we will venture back into in person classes at Binkley with Kit Hill, who will take us to the movies with “Hollywood Comedy in the Talkie Era”. Binkley requires participants to mask before entering the building and remain fully masked (both nose and mouth covered) throughout the class but will allow Kit to remove his mask while presenting so you will be able to hear him clearly. Please sign up for this class early, as attendance will be limited.

Book Club will be meeting in person at Flyleaf Books. Books will be supplied by the Chapel Hill library; Flyleaf will also require masks. Make sure you sign up so Kris can reach you with more details.

As always, registration will be via our webpage Peerlearningofchapelhill.com. Tuition this term will be $30. Please send your check to Peer Learning of Chapel Hill, PO Box 2821, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2821. 

And please invite your friends; our best publicity is always word of mouth so make sure others learn about Peer Learning.

Hope to see you all this Spring at Peer Learning.

​Sally]]>Tue, 26 Oct 2021 01:41:55 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/peer-learning-guest-speaker 
On November 15th the PL Short Story class will welcome a Guest Speaker, Ron Jackson, to discuss Mid-Autumn by Robert Olen Butler. We extend an invitation to the full PL membership to join us for what should be a very stimulating session!  The link to the story will be made available via the PL calendar.
​
To introduce Ron, he writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. His work has appeared in The Chattahoochee Review, North Carolina Literary Review, Tar River Poetry, and other venues. Ron was a finalist for the Doris Betts prize and Thomas Wolfe prizes in short fiction, the Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction, the Prime Number Magazine Flash Fiction Award, and the Lamar York Prize in Non-Fiction. He holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Before the pandemic, you could find him in Durham cafés, working on his short fiction collection or a Philly-based crime novel. He desperately wants to move his writing hours back out to the wider world.]]>Sat, 23 Oct 2021 00:14:56 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/peer-learning-question-for-spring-2022-semesterDear Peer Learners,

We are beginning planning for the spring semester and are not yet sure whether we will be able to meet in person or must continue on Zoom and, once again, we need your help. 

As you may know, Binkley Baptist Church has been very generous in allowing us to rent space from them for our classes but, like all organizations, Binkley is trying to balance the needs of its own congregation, service to the community, including us, and its response to the ongoing pandemic.
We would like to locate some alternative meeting places in case we are not able to fit our schedule with Binkley’s. Do you live in a development with a clubhouse or belong to a religious group that has a room and parking available? If so, could you find out if they would be willing to rent it to us and the rental cost? 

Please contact us at peerlearningofchapelhill@gmail.com.

​Thanks
Sally]]>Mon, 23 Aug 2021 00:30:14 GMThttp://peerlearningofchapelhill.com/peer-learning-news/fall-2021-message-from-the-presidentDear Peer Learners,
It is with both pleasure and regret that I announce the Fall 2021 Semester of Peer Learning of Chapel Hill. Pleasure because, once again, I am able to introduce a wonderful semester of learning and friendship to all seniors in the Chapel Hill (and beyond) area; regret that concerns about the pandemic have again caused us to limit ourselves to Zoom offerings and forgo the in-person classes we all so much long for.
​

As a consolation, Peer Learning leaders have planned a fall picnic, to be held Saturday, August 28 from 11-2 at Gold Park in Hillsborough. You should already have received your invitation; if not, please check the Peer Learning website for details. You do not have to be registered  for this semester to attend; we are hoping that some friends who have found it difficult to participate via Zoom will join us for this event. And we will be looking for some other opportunities to meet in person later in the semester so stay tuned.


Meanwhile, let me tell you about this semester’s classes: we have an amazing line up including old favorites like Kitchen Table, Short Story and Book Club, some follow-up themes, Michael Joseph’s new course on African Americans and a second course by Matt Epstein about the human brain and some new ventures into history and literature with my course on the History of the Christian Church, Beth Timson’s Women and the Bible and Gary West’s American Mythology. Finally, on Thursday afternoons we will bring you Fall Cornucopia, an overflowing mixture of short courses that anyone can join for an afternoon or two.


Please take a moment to fill out on the registration form at the webpage Peerlearningofchapelhill.com. If we don’t know you are  coming, we won’t be able to send you notices, handout-outs, etc. And, after you register, please send your semester check for $20 made out to Peer Learning of Chapel Hill to Peer Learning of Chapel Hill, Post Office Box 2821 Chapel Hill, 27515, NC. Your dues help us pay for Zoom, Great Courses and our Webpage; all our instructors and board members are volunteers who give their time and talent to bring us this valuable program and I am sure I do not thank them enough.


Happy Learning,
Sally Binkowski
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