SCANS
SENIORS' COLLEGE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA
SENIORS' COLLEGE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA
Continue your life-long learning by joining the Seniors’ College Association of Nova Scotia, a volunteer-based registered non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable non-credit academic courses to seniors (age 50+) in Nova Scotia. Courses are for your learning enjoyment, without tests or assignments. Membership entitles you to enrol in any number of the courses offered per year. It also allows you to participate in further developing this dynamic learning organization. Classes are offered in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Chester, Liverpool, Mahone Bay, and Truro.
More about SCANS
More about SCANS
NOTICE To All Members
To all Members of the Seniors’ College Association of Nova Scotia (SCANS):
Call for nominations of candidates for election to the Board (2022-2024)
The Board’s Nominating Committee for 2022-24 is constituted under a new procedure adopted by the Board on May 20, 2021: the Committee is still chaired by the Immediate Past-President (Colin Stuttard), with one member from HRM designated by the Curriculum Committee (Mimi Little), plus each of the Chapter Coordinators or their delegates - Sheila Knowlton-MacRury (Chester), Mary MacIntosh (Liverpool), Fern Jordan (Mahone Bay), Phil Warman (Truro); and two SCANS members who are not current Directors (Bob Russell and Keith Knight)
The Seniors’ College Board of Directors comprises a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 15 members, each serving a two-year term. Of the 12 members of the current Board (including the Immediate Past-President), six will be continuing into the second year of their 2-year terms, and six will be completing their terms at the end of this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in late March (date and format to be decided). Retiring VP (Anne Chisholm) has agreed to be nominated for President, and we need nominees to fill the prospective vacant positions on the Board: VP, Secretary, 3-5 Directors-at-Large.
The roles, responsibilities, and anticipated competencies of Board members are described in the Policies & Procedures Manual on our website (<www.thescans.org>) under Resources, then Documents. SCANS Bylaws are available in the same section.
WE ARE NOW CALLING FOR FURTHER NOMINATIONS.
The Board seeks as VP a person willing to serve as President-Elect. A past or current board or Curriculum Committee member might be an appropriate nominee. If there are more nominations than the minimum required for any positions, there will be an election during the AGM. Otherwise, nominees will be elected by acclamation.
Please seriously consider nominating yourself or another member to serve on the Board. As a not-for-profit organization with a part-time Office Manager and otherwise all volunteer operation, we particularly look for members with experience in group leadership, budgeting, and communications, as well as academic activities, to provide for future smooth transitions from Director-at-Large to Officer positions.
If you have any questions or nominations, or wish to put your name forward for one of the positions, please contact the Nominating Committee via the SCANS office: scansinfo@gmail.com
Colin Stuttard, SCANS Nominating Committee Chair
Call for nominations of candidates for election to the Board (2022-2024)
The Board’s Nominating Committee for 2022-24 is constituted under a new procedure adopted by the Board on May 20, 2021: the Committee is still chaired by the Immediate Past-President (Colin Stuttard), with one member from HRM designated by the Curriculum Committee (Mimi Little), plus each of the Chapter Coordinators or their delegates - Sheila Knowlton-MacRury (Chester), Mary MacIntosh (Liverpool), Fern Jordan (Mahone Bay), Phil Warman (Truro); and two SCANS members who are not current Directors (Bob Russell and Keith Knight)
The Seniors’ College Board of Directors comprises a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 15 members, each serving a two-year term. Of the 12 members of the current Board (including the Immediate Past-President), six will be continuing into the second year of their 2-year terms, and six will be completing their terms at the end of this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in late March (date and format to be decided). Retiring VP (Anne Chisholm) has agreed to be nominated for President, and we need nominees to fill the prospective vacant positions on the Board: VP, Secretary, 3-5 Directors-at-Large.
The roles, responsibilities, and anticipated competencies of Board members are described in the Policies & Procedures Manual on our website (<www.thescans.org>) under Resources, then Documents. SCANS Bylaws are available in the same section.
WE ARE NOW CALLING FOR FURTHER NOMINATIONS.
The Board seeks as VP a person willing to serve as President-Elect. A past or current board or Curriculum Committee member might be an appropriate nominee. If there are more nominations than the minimum required for any positions, there will be an election during the AGM. Otherwise, nominees will be elected by acclamation.
Please seriously consider nominating yourself or another member to serve on the Board. As a not-for-profit organization with a part-time Office Manager and otherwise all volunteer operation, we particularly look for members with experience in group leadership, budgeting, and communications, as well as academic activities, to provide for future smooth transitions from Director-at-Large to Officer positions.
If you have any questions or nominations, or wish to put your name forward for one of the positions, please contact the Nominating Committee via the SCANS office: scansinfo@gmail.com
Colin Stuttard, SCANS Nominating Committee Chair
WINTER TerM (February - March 2022)
The concern of SCANS has always been the health and safety of our members. The increasing large number of COVID cases and the presence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant with ensuing public health restrictions have resulted in our pivoting from in-person to virtual classes for the winter term.
Download the print-friendly brochure (pdf)
Download the print-friendly brochure (pdf)
1. How Geology Rocks Everyday Life - Marcos Zentilli
How Geology Rocks Everyday Life - Marcos Zentilli
Tuesdays 10:00 AM-12:00 PM (6 wks) Feb 01 to Mar 08
Course Description
Beyond the natural fascination for dinosaurs and volcanos, both important aspects of the field of geology, this course follows my very personal attraction to geology: as for a hammer everything looks like a nail, I see geology everywhere.
Geology is at the base of the environment, it governed the evolution of life, landscape, and climate, and it impacts most human affairs: natural and environmental disasters (earthquakes, landslides, erosion), mineral and energy resource distribution, and thus politics. From the Stone Age to space exploration, humans have relied on the Earth for survival, from safe drinking water, cave dwellings to marble cathedrals and skyscrapers, from construction materials, metals for weapons, agricultural tools and means of transportation, through brass musical instruments, cellphones to the salt for your eggs in the morning. To put it simply, if it can’t be grown it has to be mined, and the geological history determines where.
Tentative Schedule (changes are probable)
Instructor Biography
Born and educated in Chile, Marcos Zentilli completed a doctorate at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. After working as exploration geologist for industry, he joined Dalhousie University in 1973. Together with numerous students, he carried out geoscience research specializing in mineral resources and age determination of rocks, mainly in the Andes mountains, Atlantic Canada, and the Canadian Arctic. How many geologists have an Andean volcano named after them, or have studied the geology of a rock-loaded Greenland iceberg? Now retired from Dalhousie as Emeritus Professor, he remains active as researcher and international consultant.
Tuesdays 10:00 AM-12:00 PM (6 wks) Feb 01 to Mar 08
Course Description
Beyond the natural fascination for dinosaurs and volcanos, both important aspects of the field of geology, this course follows my very personal attraction to geology: as for a hammer everything looks like a nail, I see geology everywhere.
Geology is at the base of the environment, it governed the evolution of life, landscape, and climate, and it impacts most human affairs: natural and environmental disasters (earthquakes, landslides, erosion), mineral and energy resource distribution, and thus politics. From the Stone Age to space exploration, humans have relied on the Earth for survival, from safe drinking water, cave dwellings to marble cathedrals and skyscrapers, from construction materials, metals for weapons, agricultural tools and means of transportation, through brass musical instruments, cellphones to the salt for your eggs in the morning. To put it simply, if it can’t be grown it has to be mined, and the geological history determines where.
Tentative Schedule (changes are probable)
- Geologic time; geologic history; the past is the key to the future; relative age; fossils and evolution; rock dating. Ancient climates, catastrophic extinctions. Erosion; from rivers to sea; sediments and sedimentary rocks
- Plate tectonics; Earth interior; opening and closing of oceans; subduction zones; Earthquakes and tsunamis; faults and folds; metamorphism, growth of mountains; magmas: granite batholiths; Volcanos
- Minerals; crystal growth, gemstones; mineral resources and mining, metals; industrial minerals; energy minerals; fossil fuels: Coal, Oil, Gas; shale gas and fracking
- A) Volcanos and people; Geothermal energy, volcanic hazards (e.g. Pompeii 79AD) and effects on climate (e.g. Laki eruption, Iceland, 1783 and famine). B) Soils and “Medical Geology”, Geology and Health.
- Cities and geology: architecture, building materials. Limestone, the wholly organic rock; from fossils to Marble, cathedrals, and Michelangelo. Caves, sinkholes, cenotes, early humans
- Geology of water; the water cycle; deserts; drought; glaciers, thawing permafrost, rivers, floods, dams, agriculture. Groundwater. Human impacts on Earth. The Anthropocene
Instructor Biography
Born and educated in Chile, Marcos Zentilli completed a doctorate at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. After working as exploration geologist for industry, he joined Dalhousie University in 1973. Together with numerous students, he carried out geoscience research specializing in mineral resources and age determination of rocks, mainly in the Andes mountains, Atlantic Canada, and the Canadian Arctic. How many geologists have an Andean volcano named after them, or have studied the geology of a rock-loaded Greenland iceberg? Now retired from Dalhousie as Emeritus Professor, he remains active as researcher and international consultant.
2. Let's Talk ABout Dementia Or Where Did I Put My Keys? - Barbara Ross
Let’s Talk About Dementia or Where Did I Put My Keys? - Barbara Ross
Wednesdays 10:00 AM-11:30 AM (6 wks) Feb 02 to Mar 9
Course Description
Have you ever walked into a room and forgot why you were there? Or forgotten a name or even a word no matter how hard you try but somehow remember 5 minutes later? Memory lapses can be frustrating, but most of the time they aren’t a cause for concern. Age-related memory changes are not the same thing as dementia. The start of the course will take a “deep dive” into what is normal aging and what is not. In the following weeks we will go on to identify the different types of dementia, the experience of people living with dementia, a caregivers guide to managing dementia behaviour, the risks and how to prevent the onset of dementia and finally, the current treatment and promising research. Henry Ford reminds us that “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Instructor Biography
Barbara is a retired RN, Midwife and Public Health Nurse but continues to provide homecare to seniors in the community, many who are living with dementia. Throughout her 40 + years of practice, she has experienced a wide range of individuals living with or caring for a loved one with different types of dementia including AIDS related dementia, Huntington’s Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Lewy Body Disease and Young Onset Dementia as well as the more common Alzheimer’s and Vascular dementia.
Barbara is trained in the Teepa Snow approach to care that focuses on understanding what is happening to the person living with dementia and how to support them in a more positive and respectful way.
Wednesdays 10:00 AM-11:30 AM (6 wks) Feb 02 to Mar 9
Course Description
Have you ever walked into a room and forgot why you were there? Or forgotten a name or even a word no matter how hard you try but somehow remember 5 minutes later? Memory lapses can be frustrating, but most of the time they aren’t a cause for concern. Age-related memory changes are not the same thing as dementia. The start of the course will take a “deep dive” into what is normal aging and what is not. In the following weeks we will go on to identify the different types of dementia, the experience of people living with dementia, a caregivers guide to managing dementia behaviour, the risks and how to prevent the onset of dementia and finally, the current treatment and promising research. Henry Ford reminds us that “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Instructor Biography
Barbara is a retired RN, Midwife and Public Health Nurse but continues to provide homecare to seniors in the community, many who are living with dementia. Throughout her 40 + years of practice, she has experienced a wide range of individuals living with or caring for a loved one with different types of dementia including AIDS related dementia, Huntington’s Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Lewy Body Disease and Young Onset Dementia as well as the more common Alzheimer’s and Vascular dementia.
Barbara is trained in the Teepa Snow approach to care that focuses on understanding what is happening to the person living with dementia and how to support them in a more positive and respectful way.
3. Six Questions - Norman Pereira
Six Questions - Norman Pereira
Thursdays 10:00 AM-12:00 AM (6 wks) Jan 27 to Mar 10 [no class on Feb 10]
Course Description
Week 1: Is American Democracy in Crisis?
Week 2: Who is Putin and What Does He Want?
Week 3: What Happened to Liberal Education at our Universities?
Week 4: What is Islamophobia?
Week 5: What is the Difference between Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism?
Week 6: Are President Xi Jinping [习近平] and His Policies Bringing China to World Dominance or Disaster?
Instructor Biography
Norman Pereira is Emeritus Professor of History and Russian Studies at Dalhousie University, where he taught for 36 years. He is the author of three monographs and dozens of articles, as well as numerous reviews and opinion pieces. His research publications have included 19th and 20th century Russian and Soviet History, historiography, and comparative politics. Since retirement from full time university teaching he has been studying the comparative histories of the Abrahamic religions, with particular emphasis on Islam.
Thursdays 10:00 AM-12:00 AM (6 wks) Jan 27 to Mar 10 [no class on Feb 10]
Course Description
Week 1: Is American Democracy in Crisis?
Week 2: Who is Putin and What Does He Want?
Week 3: What Happened to Liberal Education at our Universities?
Week 4: What is Islamophobia?
Week 5: What is the Difference between Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism?
Week 6: Are President Xi Jinping [习近平] and His Policies Bringing China to World Dominance or Disaster?
Instructor Biography
Norman Pereira is Emeritus Professor of History and Russian Studies at Dalhousie University, where he taught for 36 years. He is the author of three monographs and dozens of articles, as well as numerous reviews and opinion pieces. His research publications have included 19th and 20th century Russian and Soviet History, historiography, and comparative politics. Since retirement from full time university teaching he has been studying the comparative histories of the Abrahamic religions, with particular emphasis on Islam.
4. HOW INSECTS CONQUERED THE EARTH - PAUL MANNING
How Insects Conquered the Earth - Paul Manning
Fridays 1:30 PM-3:30 PM (6 wks) Feb 04 to Mar 11
Course Description
Insects are a highly diverse group of organisms that can be found in all terrestrial ecosystems. They play a wide variety of crucial ecological roles that collectively support life as we know it. In this course, we will explore the various qualities of insects that underpin their success, and discuss the various ways that insects shape the world we live in.
Week 1: What are insects, and why are they so successful? [General Introduction]
Week 2: What kind of insect is this? [An Introduction to Identifying Insects]
Week 3: How do insects do what they do? [Basic Physiology]
Week 4: What makes an insect a pest? [Pest Science & Ecology]
Week 5: How do insects support healthy ecosystems? [Ecosystem Services]
Week 6: Insect Armageddon? [Insect declines and the future of insect conservation]
Instructor Biography
Dr. Manning holds a BSc Agriculture from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, and a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Oxford. He is a newly appointed Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University (Faculty of Agriculture) in the Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences. His research program is focused on understanding on the importance of insect biodiversity to the health of agricultural ecosystems and sustainable food production.
Fridays 1:30 PM-3:30 PM (6 wks) Feb 04 to Mar 11
Course Description
Insects are a highly diverse group of organisms that can be found in all terrestrial ecosystems. They play a wide variety of crucial ecological roles that collectively support life as we know it. In this course, we will explore the various qualities of insects that underpin their success, and discuss the various ways that insects shape the world we live in.
Week 1: What are insects, and why are they so successful? [General Introduction]
Week 2: What kind of insect is this? [An Introduction to Identifying Insects]
Week 3: How do insects do what they do? [Basic Physiology]
Week 4: What makes an insect a pest? [Pest Science & Ecology]
Week 5: How do insects support healthy ecosystems? [Ecosystem Services]
Week 6: Insect Armageddon? [Insect declines and the future of insect conservation]
Instructor Biography
Dr. Manning holds a BSc Agriculture from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, and a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Oxford. He is a newly appointed Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University (Faculty of Agriculture) in the Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences. His research program is focused on understanding on the importance of insect biodiversity to the health of agricultural ecosystems and sustainable food production.
FREE PUBLIC LECTURE
February 14, 2022 (Monday), 10:00 am
Zoom webinar
Zoom webinar
Why People Hate Art
My three-year-old could have done that. What's that supposed to mean? As a curator and art gallery director, Robin has certainly heard visitors express bafflement and indignation about contemporary art. In this lecture, he will consider how contemporary visual art came to be seen as weird, difficult, inaccessible, even fraudulent; how our expectations of art are shaped by commercial pop culture; and how you might have a satisfying experience with art
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ROBIN METCALFE is a Canadian writer, curator, and Queer cultural activist of Acadian and Newfoundland ancestry. His art writing, fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in over 65 magazines and 15 anthologies, and been translated into French, Japanese, Mi'kmaw, Spanish, and Swedish. He was Director/Curator of Saint Mary's University Art Gallery, 2004 to 2020, and Curator of Contemporary Art at Museum London in Ontario, 2001 to 2004. He won the 2000 Evelyn Richardson Prize for Non-Fiction and was short-listed for a Canadian National Magazine Award in 2004. Download the event poster (pdf) |
Proof of Vaccination Policy
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The Seniors’ College Association of Nova Scotia will require all members, volunteers, and instructors to show proof of full vaccination in any in-person classes, events such as Information Sessions, Public Lectures and meetings. In addition, masks must be worn in all in-person classes and events. Instructors will not be required to wear masks while they are lecturing and safely distanced from members. The Seniors’ College will also comply with all COVID related rules and regulations imposed by any venue in which in-person classes and events are held. [Policy approved by Board of Directors, October 18, 2021] |
The following information is not hosted by SCANS. No endorsement of any products or services is expressed or implied.
CBC Nova Scotia
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Check for winter class cancellations on
CBC Storm Centre Read the SCANS policy on class cancellations |
Environment Canada
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