Put on thinking caps for senior college classes

We’ve almost made it through another winter. It’s now time to think spring, get out of the house and try something new. Taking a fun-filled, no-pressure class on an interesting topic might be just the ticket to chase away the last of the winter doldrums.

Fortunately, the Penobscot Valley Senior College is starting its spring session on March 3. PVSC is an affiliate of the University of Maine Center on Aging, and has a variety of classes sure to please.

Open to people 50 and older, with classes generally located on the University of Maine campuses in Orono and Bangor, Senior College is a way for older people to gain some knowledge and make new friends while having a great time. The classes are two hours long, held on Fridays, and run six weeks, with morning or afternoon sessions.

Annual membership to PVSC is $25 a person or $40 per couple. The tuition fee for each course, which includes all materials, is $30, and there are occasional free one-day programs for members. No previous college experience is required and if you have test anxiety, don’t worry as there are no grades in these classes. The objective is to have a great time while stimulating your brain.

Here is the short list of classes:

. Beginning Computing with Windows and Word. Taught by Stan Marshall, part-time executive director of PVSC. Students in this class will learn the basics of using a computer for e-mail, Internet access, word processing and much more. The afternoon classes will be held in Bangor.

. Eaa-Z Fix It Service Learning. In a class near and dear to my heart, students will learn skills needed for common home improvement tasks, such as basic carpentry, electrical, plumbing and more. The first morning class will be held at Eastern Agency on Aging conference room. Space is very limited, so call early if you are interested.

. Maine Wildlife Ecology. Students will explore the ecology, behavior and management of Maine’s wildlife, including waterfowl, island nesting birds and large raptors. Orono campus.

. The Bangor Daily News: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. See the inside of a real newsroom, talk to a reporter, an editor, a columnist, a cartoonist and a graphic designer. Learn about page layout and circulation, and view the printing presses in Hampden. The class will be held at the Bangor Daily News, Bangor, in the afternoon.

. What Did You Say? Managing Hearing Loss. Students who are hard of hearing, and who may or may not be using a hearing aid, will learn ways to improve their communication skills in a variety of settings. Practice in speech-reading, formerly called lip-reading, will be part of every class. Afternoons on the Orono campus.

. Wabanaki Culture, History, and Current Issues. This class will provide an overview of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Micmac tribes and survey the history, culture, philosophy and tribal creation stories. Morning classes on the Orono campus.

. Women of Africa. This class will look at how women’s roles have changed since precolonial times in a little-understood area of the world. Included topics will be kinship, ethnicity, marriage and the family and ritual and religion. Afternoons on the Orono campus.

Other courses include growing orchids, theater and Jane Austen. For a catalogue, call PVSC at 581-1947. Keep in mind this is a message phone only, so leave your name and phone number. Someone will call you in a day or two. Parking passes are recommended if you’re taking a class on the Orono campus.

Schedules and registration forms also are available at Eastern Agency on Aging at 450 Essex St. in Bangor.

Take your winter hats off, and put your thinking caps on – classes start soon.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865, e-mail info@eaaa.org, or log on www.eaaa.org.