SUNY Orange announces classes for seniors

SUNY Orange recently announced its roster of Encore classes available for the Spring 2023 semester. Encore is a program for adult learners, ages 55 and older.

Course offerings are in varying disciplines such as health and wellness, finance, art, history, and literature. Classes are held at the College’s Middletown, N.Y., campus on varying days throughout the months of March, April and May.

Encore classes are available to senior residents of the tri-state area, and are generally short-run offerings with one to four classes per course. The first class is scheduled to begin on March 7.

The roster of classes includes: “Mahjong; “How Birds Came to Be: The Dinosaur-Bird Connection; “Birding in Fancher Davidge Park;” “Beginning Watercolor;” “A Deeper Dive into Orange County;” “Investments;” “Color Pencil Drawing;” “Preserving Democracy in Perilous Times;” “Hollywood Noir;” “Book Club;” “Westward Expansion and the Plains Wars;” “Narcan Rescue for Seniors;” “Hiking; “Living Healthier;” “Beginning/Continuing Yoga;” “Decorative Mosaics for the Home or Garden;” “Journey Along the Basha Kill;” “Films for Everyone; and “Aquasize.”

Classes are taught by topical experts who have a professional background in the subject or have spent many years studying and/or teaching the topic. They are professors, professors emeriti, lawyers, businessmen, artists, musicians, bridge masters, and specialists in the various modes of spiritual and physical well-being. Class sizes are determined by available facilities, course content (lecture/hands-on) and effective learning strategy requirements.

Prospective participants in the two-session hiking class should be prepared and able to walk for at least two hours on sometimes rocky terrain with some uphill areas. The “Book Club” class will discuss “Apeirogon” by Colum McCann and “Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?” by Frans DeWaal. The six-session “Films for Everyone” course will focus on overlooked and/or underrated films of the 1980s, including: “Blow Out;” “The King of Comedy;” “Midnight Run;” “True Stories;” “Howard and Melvin;” and “Broadcast News.”

Membership in Encore is required in order to register for the upcoming courses, and membership must be paid before registration for classes will be accepted. Membership dues are $35 per year. For more information, call 845-341-4896 or visit www.sunyorange.edu/encore.