Newsletter July 2020

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From the Chair

Our AGM was held on Wednesday 24 June and the attendance was amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people at an AGM before and it was wonderful to catch up with everyone after our months of enforced separation. It’s clear to me that our Learning Centre is in good heart and everyone is eagerly awaiting the recommencement of formal Courses and Workshops at the end of this month. We have a full programme and I’m reliably informed that several offerings are already fully booked. My special thanks to Elaine who masterfully keeps tabs on all the requests, changes and cancellations for Courses & Workshops and does all the juggling for us to make sure our Tutors aren’t over or underloaded.

My thanks also to Heather Newell who “Zoomed” into our AGM as Guest Speaker and gave us a very enlightening talk on the goings-on in the SeniorNet Federation as well as some poignant insights into the issues being faced by other Learning Centres. It left me feeling energised by the level of enthusiasm we are seeing for SeniorNet here in Kapiti.

I’d like to formally welcome Ian McLuckie and Bob Butler back onto the Committee this year. Bob’s new to the role at SeniorNet but after a few months “trying us out”, he’s willingly agreed to continue as a Committee Member. Ian McLuckie is well known to most of you and while these days he’s one of our Apple Portable Device gurus, almost all of our Windows Courses have his attention to detail deeply ingrained in their content and structure. I’m very pleased that he has again agreed to bring his deep knowledge of teaching to the Committee table.

Most of the key Committee roles are unchanged this year. Sue Connor remains as my Deputy and Teresa has agreed to continue on as Treasurer. Sue is also our Secretary and Tutor Coordinator. Veronica has agreed to continue wrangling Membership as well as looking after the Office and our Safety. Elaine, as I mentioned above, continues with managing enrolments and Val, ably assisted by Bob, continues working on Marketing and Promotion. Barry has the unenviable task of looking after The Learning Centre itself  (aka KCDC liaison!) and Peter Jones continues as our Technical Officer making sure everything is technically up to date and working for you when you arrive. Ian is in charge of things Apple (mobile) and Patrick looks after things Android from outside the Committee. The full breakdown of roles is published elsewhere on the website (click here).

Thank you once again for your continued support of SeniorNet Kapiti. If you haven’t paid your annual subscription yet I would encourage to do so. Someone recently told me their membership was the best IT Insurance Policy money could buy – a sentiment we both understand and appreciate hearing expressed.

Peter Bunkall
Chair, SeniorNet Kapiti Inc.

New Honorary Member

At the AGM it was announced that Patrick Stephens will join our esteemed group of Honorary Members. Patrick joined SeniorNet Kapiti in 2004 and served 12 years on the Committee. Throughout his time he has been a very active Tutor as well as instrumental in writing many of the manuals and other training material we have used and still use today. His most recent new course (Smartphone Photography) has proven very popular with members and we look forward to seeing him “up front” for many years to come.

A full list of our Honorary Members is here on our website

CERT Webinar Invitation

We have all been invited to join CERT for a 45 minute webinar on the topic of Keeping Yourself Safe Online.

CERT is an organisation within MBIE charged with monitoring and educating New Zealanders about Cyber  Security. The Cert website is a place for you to keep in touch with alerts and notices.

Webinar Content

  • Introduction to CERT NZ. Why we are here, who we are here to help
  • How you can report to CERT NZ
  • Examples of how we have helped people who’ve reported
  • Why using strong, unique passwords are a great way to empower yourself online

Webinar Details

When: Jul 20, 2020 11:00am

Topic: Protecting Yourself Online – CERT NZ

Description: A presentation to the SeniorNet community to introduce CERT NZ and provide quick, actionable tips to protect yourself and your information online.

For more joining details you must register in advance: Click here

Onsite Courses and Workshops Restart in Term 3

Our Term 3 Timetables have been published on our website here (courses) and here (workshops). If you’re interested in attending any of our regular courses or workshops, please contact Elaine on 021 169 6256 and she will put you on the list.

Coastlands Day & Open Day

We will be holding a Coastlands Day on Tuesday 21 July to promote ourselves to prospective new members, so if you know someone interested in joining SeniorNet, please send them to see us at the mall.

Alternatively, we will be holding an Open Day at The Learning Centre on Saturday 25 July. Why not drop by and say “hello” and book a class for yourself or just bring along that friend who’s always asking for your help!

 

Annual Membership Renewal

The majority of our members have already renewed their membership for the 2020-21 Year and we thank you for your ongoing support. If you haven’t yet got around to doing so, you can use Internet Banking to pay directly to our bank account ($30 individuals and $50 couples) – ANZ Bank a/c 06-0501-0746900-00. Please remember to put your membership number in the Reference Field so we know who’s paying us.

Of course, if you’re not comfortable using Internet Banking yet you can mail us a cheque, and while you’re at it, why not contact Elaine on 021 169 6256 and book in for the next Introduction to Internet Banking Workshop on 30 July at 1:30pm.

COVID-19 Helpdesk is Closed

Our COVID-19 Helpdesk has now closed. Our Tutors handled 141 calls during LockDown (44 Zoom and the rest were of a more general nature). We also received 8 calls specifically to compliment us on the service provided and we thank you for that feedback – it’s always appreciated

We now revert to How Do I…? Workshops where you can come along and discuss your problems in person with one of our Tutors.

The first How Do I…? Workshop is on Tuesday 28 July at 9:30am.

Electra Page – Kapiti Observer

Watch out for an article about SeniorNet Kapiti in the August Kapiti Observer. This article has been sponsored by Electra.

Our thanks to Val Jeal for all her work getting this prepared and into the newspaper

Fibre….at last!

After several delays we’ve finally managed to get Fibre Broadband installed at The Learning Centre. You should see a huge improvement in internet speed when using your device(s) or any of the Learning Centre PCs. Your existing connection should still work as the internal wifi hasn’t been changed for Members.

A special award goes out to Peter Jones who has battled bureaucracy (and more than a little stupidity!) for over 12 months to get this important technical upgrade completed.

Invite your Friends to SeniorNet Kapiti

Do you have a friend who you think would like to know more about SeniorNet? Why not invite them along to a Q&A workshop?

The Committee has agreed that non-members can attend up to two Q&A Sessions prior to joining to find out what we’re all about. Like members, non-member attendees are also required to contribute a large gold coin and sign in.

Please make any non-members welcome and take the opportunity to tell them why you  choose to belong to SeniorNet Kapiti.  

Our Sponsors

Google is now a sponsor of SeniorNet in New Zealand. There is an interesting article here regarding the nature of their sponsorship.

Please don’t forget our National sponsors – they’re important to SeniorNet and help us in many ways, including offering discounts to our members. They will all appreciate your support to help rebuild their businesses. Always show your membership card and ask if there’s a discount – you might be rather surprised! The best example is Noel Leeming where the SeniorNet discount extends well beyond computers to everything in their store!