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WHS Tennis at Racine Prairie Sub-sectionals

From Coach Tim Nelson

For most of the team the season came to an end at Racine Prairie on Monday, 10/7. The number 2 doubles team of Melanie Reyes and Mariana Cano advanced with an excellent day. They opened the day with a big upset over the #3 seeded team of Kerstin Miller and Kylie Miller. The two had been beaten by the Monroe team in the first quad of the year 6-3, 7-6(4); today the Whippet pair defeated the Cheesemakers 6-1, 6-2. In their sectional qualifying match they started out slow, falling behind 5-1 to Eden Dempsey and Meghan Magner of Jefferson before rolling off 6 straight games to take the first set and then closing out the match with a 6-2 win in the second. The pair will play in tomorrow’s sectional at East Troy starting at 9 a.m. 

Community Engagement Center further expands UW-Whitewater’s reach

UW-Whitewater, one of the UW System’s premier campuses, continues to expand its impact and reach into the communities it serves in southeastern Wisconsin with the opening of its new Community Engagement Center.

The 52,000-square-foot building is located at 1260 Main St., about four blocks west of campus. The facility embodies the Wisconsin Idea – that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom by promoting and coordinating services, learning opportunities, and innovation for communities that are historically underserved. Synonymous with Wisconsin for more than a century, this “Idea” is the guiding philosophy of university outreach efforts.

“With the opening of the Community Engagement Center, UW-Whitewater builds upon its long history of service to the community,” Chancellor Dwight C. Watson said. “Every year our faculty, staff and students spend hundreds of hours providing services and volunteer hours to the Whitewater community, our region and beyond. We are recognized nationally for this work – as evidenced by our Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching – and this new endeavor will strengthen our efforts even further.”

A vibrant, modern and flexible space, the Community Engagement Center moves several university services to one location that provides easy access for clients and showcases the dynamic work carried out by the university in our community.

Some of the services that are relocating from the UW-Whitewater campus are:

The building offers ample space for co-working where students, faculty, staff and community members can work individually or together on projects. There is outdoor meeting space as well.

Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs Grace Crickette worked closely with campus and community constituents to help determine the best offerings to be located at the center.

“The Community Engagement Center is designed to be an innovative hub for collaboration and we look forward to seeing the impact it will have on our region,” Crickette said. “Community organizations and businesses can meet in this exciting new facility where experts are readily available. The Community Engagement Center will be enhanced by the future opening of the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Hotel, located on the south side of the property. The building has high-speed Internet service and a catering kitchen so that conferences and other large-scale events can be hosted there.”

The Community Engagement Center furnishings are more than 90 percent upcycled from furniture and accessories from other UW System campuses.

“We are committed not only to being great stewards of our money, but also the environment,” Crickette said. “Our staff collaborated with our sister campuses and found reusable items at little to no cost. These items add to the vibrant look and feel of the CEC. Our students expect us to be focused on sustainability, and we fully embraced that directive with this project.”

A grand opening of the Community Engagement Center will be held on Thursday, Dec. 5, in conjunction with UW-Whitewater hosting the UW System Board of Regents meeting.

Gina Elmore, who also serves as a development coordinator for the Office of Human Resources and Diversity, will manage the Community Engagement Center. She can be reached at elmoreg@uww.edu or 262-472-1219.

No. 10 Warhawk Volleyball Wins Eighth Straight

The No. 10 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team remained undefeated in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Friday night with an 18-25, 25-15, 26-24, 25-20 triumph at UW-Stout. The Warhawks (14-3 overall, 3-0 WIAC), who also extended their win streak to eight matches with the win, overcame a slow start to claim the final three sets in the match.

UW-Whitewater trailed 12-6 in the first set and was unable to recover as the Blue Devils (14-6, 0-3) jumped out to a 1-0 match lead. The Warhawks made a run early in the second set on the serve of sophomore outside hitter Emma Aske and never relinquished the advantage from there to level the match at 1-1. UW-Stout led 17-12 in the third before UW-Whitewater chipped away at the deficit and eventually take the lead at 20-19. The two teams went back and forth from there before the Warhawks claimed the final two points of the frame, with Aske posting the deciding kill on set point. UW-Whitewater held a commanding 16-9 advantage in the fourth before the Blue Devils ran off seven straight points to tie the set at 16-16. The Warhawks rallied for five of the next six points, and the two teams traded points from there, allowing UW-Whitewater to hang on for the four-set victory.

Senior middle hitter Ashton Doll, who put home the final kill of the match, led the Warhawks with 13 kills to go along with three blocks. Senior Rachel Butterfield contributed 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and added four digs and three blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Chloe Buescher totaled a double-double with 10 kills, 12 digs and four blocks. Aske finished with five kills, two service aces and 11 digs, and sophomore setter KellyAnn Sotiros collected 18 assists and five digs. Freshman setter Maggie Streckert tallied 17 assists and one block.

Freshman defensive specialist Morgan Jensen led the back row with 23 digs and added two assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Hailey Mackenthun registered 10 digs and two service aces.

UW-Whitewater resumes WIAC play Wednesday, 10/9, against UW-Platteville. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at Russell Arena.

Ferradermis Wins Third 2019 Off-Season Competition

Eight female members of Ferradermis traveled to Indianapolis on September 27 and 28 to participate in IndyRAGE (Raising Awareness for Girls in Engineering), an event sponsored by team #234 Cyber Blue at Perry Meridian High School. The event featured 22 teams from Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Tennessee. By the rules of the event, the drive team had to be entirely female, and the pit crew was strongly encouraged to be all female. Seniors Jenna Lee, Rosie Aschenbrener, and Gwynne Sahyun, and sophomore Zuri Goldsmith led the robot onto the field for competition. They were joined in the pit by senior Morgan Stillwagon, sophomore Morgan Hartwell, and freshmen Kasey Heizman and Katlyn Maize and their female mentors Carissa Petzinger, an engineer from Generac, Allison Conrad, an engineering student and member of Wisconsin Robotics from UW-Madison, and Laura Masbruch, WHS Computer Science teacher.

With a new drive team and a robot that still wasn’t fully functional after an issue that arose at Robofest two weeks before, the team did not fare well in the morning qualification matches. By the time they returned to the field after lunch, the robot was back to full form, and the drive team had found their confidence. The team finished strong, but was still ranked 19th at the end of qualifications, and was asked to join the 5th seeded alliance by two teams out of Indiana, #6956 SHAM-ROCK-BOTICS and #4926 GalacTech. The three alliance members played extremely well together, complementing each other’s strengths, and went on to win the competition, defeating the #1 alliance in the semi-finals.

  • Discussing the Robots with some of our Brownies
    Discussing the Robots with some of our Brownies
  • Drive Team ready to take the field
    Drive Team ready to take the field
  • Hanging our banner
    Hanging our banner
  • Making repairs
    Making repairs
  • On the bus
    On the bus
  • Our cheering section
    Our cheering section
  • Planning a match with one of our alliances
    Planning a match with one of our alliances
  • Talking with a Judge
    Talking with a Judge
  • Team meeting in the pit
    Team meeting in the pit
  • Tour of AndyMark from Andy
    Tour of AndyMark from Andy
  • Winning alliance
    Winning alliance
  • Wisconsin teams
    Wisconsin teams
  • Discussing the Robots with some of our Brownies
    Discussing the Robots with some of our Brownies
  • Drive Team ready to take the field
    Drive Team ready to take the field
  • Hanging our banner
    Hanging our banner
  • Making repairs
    Making repairs
  • On the bus
    On the bus
  • Our cheering section
    Our cheering section
  • Planning a match with one of our alliances
    Planning a match with one of our alliances
  • Talking with a Judge
    Talking with a Judge
  • Team meeting in the pit
    Team meeting in the pit
  • Tour of AndyMark from Andy
    Tour of AndyMark from Andy
  • Winning alliance
    Winning alliance
  • Wisconsin teams
    Wisconsin teams

Girls Scouts from around the Indianapolis area were invited to join the teams for two hours of activities, and each team was asked to rotate through a series of activities with the girls they were responsible for. Ferradermis members hosted four Brownies, helping them navigate an obstacle course with a small robot, eating lunch with them, giving them a tour of the pits and the competition field, and showing them the Cyber Blue workspace. Two of our Brownies were able to stay and watch some afternoon matches with us. The scouts earned a robotics badge by participating in the days’ activities.

Ferradermis shared the bus to Indy with Round Table Robotics from Oak Creek High School, and the teams enjoyed a tour of AndyMark in Kokomo, Indiana, on the way down. AndyMark is a major source of educational robotics supplies and caters heavily to FIRST Robotics teams.

Ferradermis thanks their transportation sponsors for the trip, DLK Enterprises, Generac Power Systems, and Lavelle Industries.  They also appreciate the free robot transportation provided to all three Wisconsin teams competing at the event by AIM Transport.

Ferradermis will now take a break from competition until the new season begins in 2020. They already know that they have been admitted to the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee from March 18 – 21 and are awaiting confirmation of their destination for their second regional event with options for Chicago, Duluth, Grand Forks, Dayton, and LaCrosse.

“Rocketman” — Tuesday, October 8 at 12:30 p.m., Seniors in the Park

“Rocketman”(Biography/Drama/Musical) – Tuesday, October 8, 12:30 p.m. Rated R (Language, sexual content); 2 hours, 1 min. Step inside the story of Sir Elton John (Taron Egerton) and see his rise to the superstar showman he is today. This is a film that is more a musical than a biopic. It IS Rated R, but Elton hasn’t lived a PG-13 life. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1998.  Elton John will be at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on October 19. His concert is sold out. 

When: Tuesday, October 8, 12:30 p.m.

Where: Seniors in the Park

Movie Information: Rated R (Biography/Musical/Drama); 2 hours, 1 minute (2019)

WI School Board Appreciation Week – Oct. 6-12

School Board Appreciation Week set for Oct. 6-12 The Wisconsin Association of School Boards has set Oct. 6-12 as Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week as a time to build awareness and understanding of the vital function an elected board of education plays in our communities. The Superintendents from
Cambridge, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills, and Whitewater are joining together to celebrate Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week to honor local board members for their commitment to our area school districts and the children and families they serve. The six area superintendents share the sentiment that it takes strong schools to build strong communities, and the men and women of our school boards devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level. Our school boards make tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our communities expect.

The key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by: ● Creating a vision for what the
community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
● Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do; ● Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels; ● Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results; ● Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach; ● Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and ● Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement. All six superintendents further state, “School board members give the Cambridge, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills, and Whitewater community members a voice in education decision making. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in October, their contribution is a year-round commitment.” The members serving the Whitewater Unified School District and their years of service are as follows:
Casey Judd, President (10 years); Kelly Davis, Vice President (5 years); Steve Ryan, Clerk (9 years); Jim Stewart, Treasurer (25 years); Tom Ganser (3 years); Jennifer Kienbaum (1 year); Miguel Aranda (1 year)

J-Hawks Tournament Fundraiser October 20

The J-Hawks are super excited to be offering a fun cornhole toss tournament at Williams Center on Sunday, October 20th.
Registration is $30 per team (2 player teams).  This tournament is double elimination. 50% of Registration fees will be paid out: payout goes to 10% of all teams registered (i.e. if 30 teams register, top 3 teams receive payout)

CORPORATE – ORGANIZATION – CLUB – TEAM CHALLENGE:
The company or organization that has the highest participation will receive a Jimmy John’s lunch for 10 people.

The proceeds from this tournament benefit the J-Hawk Aquatic Club.  We are a 501(c)3 organization which provides both swim lessons and competitive swimming.  We do not turn any family away due to lack of funds.
Food and Beverages will be available for purchase throughout the event.  We will be hosting a raffle with fun baskets of all kinds.  Plus, you will be able to ‘get down’ to some fun music throughout the tournament.

Current Items (still receiving donations to auction off or create baskets with):
 100th Anniversary Autographed Packers Football
Tickets to the Milwaukee Admirals
Beer Baskets (must be 21 to enter & receive)
Wine Baskets (must be 21 to enter & receive)
I’ve Got a Sweet Tooth Basket
Fanatico’s Basket (check out this beautiful basket) =>

Handcrafted Signs
Handcrafted Christmas Cards
Gift Certificates to Culvers
Gift Certificates to Domino’s Pizza
Gift Certificate to Jessica’s Restaurant
See more on runsignup!

Event Day Registration is $35 …register your team early for only $30
     On-site registration starts at 10am – games start after seeding is completed.  
     Pre-registered teams will be emailed the time to be at the event.
Please feel free to contact Rita at 920-344-0573 with any questions.

UW-Whitewater Hosting Fall Continuing Ed Programs in Whitewater and Janesville

UW-Whitewater Continuing Education is pleased to announce fall events for youth and adults. Dates and descriptions for select events on the Whitewater and Rock County campuses are as follows:

Bringing Pollinators Home: 5 Ways You Can Help

Saturday, October 19, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Whitewater Campus

In this interactive workshop, we will learn more about what exactly pollination is and the ecological, agricultural and economic impacts around pollinator decline and will explore ways you can help at your home.

Super Science Saturday

Saturday, October 19, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Rock County Campus

Join us for a fair-style, hands on, open house event featuring science activities and exhibits that highlight the wonders of our scientific world. All ages are welcome to attend and learn about youth science and STEM programs.

Seeking Light in the Darkness

Friday, November 8, 8:00 a.m. – noon

Rock County Campus

We invite all who have experienced a suicide loss, and anyone who wants to bring awareness to suicide prevention, to attend this educational program and healing gathering of support. All are welcome – please join us. You are not alone.

Painting Experimentation: Watercolor and Acrylic

Saturday, November 23, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Rock County Campus

Kelly Hausknecht is back in this hands-on painting class that will have you experimenting with a variety of painting techniques and achieving interesting results.

Information on dates, fees, age levels, and additional programs for youth and families, adults and professionals can be found at our website https://www.uww.edu/ce/workshops. Register online — space is limited.

If you have a disability and desire accommodations, please advise us as early as possible. Requests are confidential. UW-Whitewater provides equal opportunities in employment and programming including Title IX and ADA requirements. Please contact Continuing Education Services at cesevents@uww.edu or 262-472-3165 for more information.