First term has come and gone so very quickly. It was most pleasing to notice the bustle of activity during that time. We started the year with 193 courses promising exciting engagement and catering to a variety of interests among our members. We thank our 148 tutors for their hard work aimed at creating learning experiences that strengthen the physical, mental and social health of our members. We at U3A Manningham (U3AM) are very fortunate to be able to enjoy such wonderful learning experiences in a welcoming and inclusive environment, and in the company of supportive friends.

In addition to our regular courses, we have interesting Thursday seminars presented by our members and by external speakers. All seminars are well subscribed, with some of them extending into longer term courses by popular request. One example is Chado, the Way of Tea, a presentation by tea master Scott Rogers. We are considering developing this into a course on basic Japanese conversation, including relevant history, an appreciation of the culture, customs and etiquette, and the art of tea ceremony. Japan is a popular holiday destination among our members. We intend to set up a course that would be useful for their trips to Japan.

Membership

To date our membership stands at a healthy 1,598. The courses and activities at U3AM are certainly worth publicising to the people who are not yet aware of what we enjoy at our organisation. In addition to the new members who joined us at the start of the year, we welcomed 24 new members just after our February membership drive.

AGM 2025

My thanks to the members who attended the Annual General Meeting. There was a good turn-up. We were very pleased to welcome Mayor Deidre Diamante, Councillor Anna Chen, and Mark Chang and Melissa Lovic from Manningham Council. Also present were Fiona Berry from The Pines Learning and Activity Centre, and Christine Tomic representing U3A Network Victoria.

Presenting the Committee of Management 2025

I have included a photo of our Committee of Management (COM) for 2025 so that members can identify with them. Please approach them on occasions when you need assistance or when you would like to give feedback. Our COM members work very hard, and so quietly behind the scenes that they are often overlooked. I thank every member of our committee for contributing to the smooth running of our learning programs and social activities, as well as to the maintenance of the occupational health and safety of our members.

Water outage

We have experienced two water outages at The Pines Learning and Activity Centre this year, one in March and another in early April. For occupational health and safety reasons, we had to cancel classes on both occasions. We would like to assure our members that there is a procedure to follow for future water outages. Our Office will track the outage on the Yarra Valley Water website to see how long before water service can be restored. If outages take more than 2 hours to fix, we will have to cancel classes for the day. The COM members present at the time will advise members on the procedure when an outage occurs.

Advice for new members

Some of our new members have informed us that, by the time they joined us, there were no longer vacancies in the courses of their choice. We already have an arrangement in place for accommodating new members. By having our existing members enrol into a limit of 3 courses on their initial enrolment, this ensures that there are more spots spread around for new members. May I suggest to new members, for a start, to enrol in classes where there are vacancies. If you then take on a volunteer role in your first year, you will be added to a priority list that gives you a better chance of getting into courses of your choice in the next year.

I wish all our members a productive and enjoyable time in Term 2.

Shirley Fung
President