Welcome!
SSILL welcomes you to our Fall 2024 semester!
We have planned a wide selection of lectures, book discussions, art programs, concerts, trips and so much more.
We know you will find the programs intellectually stimulating, sometimes entertaining, and maybe even challenging. Our growing membership attests to our success in enriching the lives of adult learners along the Shoreline.
Even in his 87th year, the great Italian renaissance artist Michelangelo, creator of such masterpieces as the Sistine Chapel and the sculpture of David, is quoted as saying:
“Ancora Imparo”
(I am still learning.)
Given the scope of his achievement in painting, sculpture, poetry and architecture, this humility is striking and strongly reminiscent of the Greek philosopher Socrates:
“The wise man knows that he knows nothing.”
About Us
At SSILL, it’s about enlightenment and community. It’s no surprise that several of our board members are retired educators as are many of our members.
SSILL is especially proud of its programs which we believe are diverse, informative, educational and entertaining. The fall semester programs run from just after Labor Day to mid-December and the spring semester begins the first week in March ending mid-June.
We offer programs that appeal to a wide variety of interests from art and music to history and science. And in a variety of formats: large and small lectures, small discussion groups, films, concerts and trips. We’re guided for the most part by members’ evaluations of existing programs, by their suggestions and by a 15-member program committee. The amazing thing is that we never run out of ideas, topics, or speakers who are all, equally amazingly, volunteers. The speakers are university professors, both active and retired, physicians, authors, scientists, musicians, documentary filmmakers, experts in the fields of economics, history, art, opera, and the natural world. AND many return to us semester after semester, telling us that they really enjoy the interaction with our intellectually curious and engaged audience. Many stay to talk with our members long after their talk is over.
Programs are presented largely at the Guilford Community Center as well as at the Madison Senior Center, St. George Church Hall and the Guilford Library with whom we have a long collaborative history. We offer some joint programs with the library each semester (most recently a zoom art history talk by the art expert, Bob Potter) and we also use their community room for some of our programs during the semester.
SSILL Weekly Spotlight
The Holocaust as it unfolded in Italy.
The Italian Jewish Community was distinct, its origin traceable over 2000 years. The Holocaust had a monumental impact in Italy as well as the Roman Catholic Church.
Trip: Bus Tour of Historic Wethersfield, CT.
A tour of the historic homes in Wethersfield, Connecticut, including the Hurlburt-Dunham Museum, the Cove Warehouse, the Comstock Ferry Seed Company and lunch at the Heirloom Cafe.
Know us before you need us: Hospice and Palliative Care 101
This Talk was about Palliative Care and Hospice Care offered by Middlesex Health. Details of the many types of wholistic support they offer to both caregivers and their ill loved ones
Acknowledgements
We want to acknowledge and express our gratitude to
our Sponsors and Partners:
Our Sponsors
The Guilford Foundation. – To view their website, click HERE
The Madison Foundation. – To view their website, click HERE
The Branford Community Foundation. – To view their website, click HERE
Guilford Parks & Recreation Department. – To view their website, click HERE
Guilford Community Center. – To view their website, click HERE
Madison Senior Center. – To view their website, click HERE
Guilford Free library. – To view their website, click HERE
Madison Scranton Library. – To view their website, click HERE
St. George Parish. – To view their website, click HERE
Our Partners and Friends
Our Speakers who are All Volunteers
Our Committee Members & Advisory Board who are All Volunteers
Our Members who Support and Energize us
Thank You All!
SSILL Mission
The Schiller Shoreline Institute for Lifelong Learning’s (SSILL) mission is to develop and provide meaningful, intellectual programs to area adults who share a love of learning and a desire to be part of a caring community.
