News

Twenty-nine high school FIRST Robotics Competition teams from across Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan came together at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School (DSHA) in Milwaukee on Saturday, October 17, for the SHOUT Robotics Competition. This off-season competition has one twist from all others – the drive team that takes the robot onto the field must be entirely female. The name of the competition outlines its goal: SHOUT – Amplifying the Voices of Women in STEM.

The Ferradermis robot, Chief Excavation Officer (CEO), was led onto the field by Driver Sam Raupp, Operator Mily Zeferino-Hernandez, Drive Coach Vivian Harris, and two freshmen – Human Player Amelia Lefaive and Technician Alejandra Escobar. Many teams struggle to fulfill the requirement of an all-girls drive team, so Ferradermis is always at the ready to loan out girls to other teams for the day. Charlotte Trautman spent the day serving as Technician for Team 2062 CORE from Waukesha, a role that she also held for them during last year’s TWIST off-season competition. New senior member Jordyn Weeden spent the day serving as Technician for Team 4143 MARS/WARS, a highly successful team from Metamora, Illinois. Trautman and Weeden eventually ended up on the same playoff alliance, the alliance that finished in third place.

Ranked #5 out of 29 teams after qualifications, Ferradermis became the captain of the #3 seeded playoff alliance. They invited Team 3061 Huskie Robotics from Naperville, Illinois as their first pick, and then the two teams asked Team 3602 RoboMos from Escanaba, Michigan to join them for the playoffs.

The Ferradermis led alliance ruled the top half of the double-elimination bracket, defeating the #6 seed by a score of 308-210 and then defeating the #2 seed by a score of 252-174 despite the Ferradermis robot struggling with a brown-out throughout the match. The next match saw the Ferradermis alliance take down the #1 seed led by Team 2194 Fondy Fire from Fond du Lac by a score of 381-349. The 381 points in this match set the high score mark for the entire tournament as all three of the Ferradermis alliance robots were playing their best. The win secured a spot for the alliance in the finals. The #1 seed then played its way back through the lower bracket to set up a rematch in the finals. Due to the event running late, the officials made the call to change the normal best of three finals structure to a one-match, winner takes all final. The #1 alliance came out on top by a score of 315-295, leaving the Ferradermis alliance to finish as the Finalists (second place). Ferradermis finished the day with a 7-3 record.

Ferradermis was also honored to win the Lillian Moller Gilbreth Award at the SHOUT Robotics Program event! An early pioneer in industrial engineering, Lillian Moller Gilbreth studied how thoughtful systems and processes could help people perform at their best, applying engineering principles to improve both workplaces and everyday life. This award celebrates a team that applies these principles to prepare and train students in technical skills and robot operation to ensure they are ready to succeed. Ferradermis Administrative Team Caption Alex Nelson and others were able to clearly outline for the judges the data driven approach the team had taken for selecting the drive team for the event and for preparing the new members for their first competition.

In addition to competing, the event offered the opportunity for several Ferradermis members to volunteer. Carson Miller and Paxton Wilson worked as field resetters for the entire day, and Mason Genung served as a FIRST Lego League referee for the first time during the FLL scrimmage that was happening in the same location. This will serve as Genung’s training to be an FLL Ref for the Whitewater FLL Regional hosted by Ferradermis on November 14.

Technical Team Captain Preston Miller and Design and Assembly Sub-team Co-Lead Owen Taylor anchored the pit crew with new members rotating through the pit throughout the day. Programming Sub-team Co-Lead Emilie Bruns oversaw the robot code while Business Sub-team Lead Cooper Housel took on the role of media person and Safety Specialist Asher Downs oversaw team safety and distributed safety gifts to the other pits. Rotating through the pits and cheering the team on from the stands were Luis Santiago Avila, Jayden Kehrer, Cristian Lopez Bamaca, Horatio Nelson, Jullian Rennells, and Arlo Zotti.

Teams had been invited to donate new and gently used children’s books for the Next Door MKE Foundation. The teams with the largest stacks of book donations were invited to have one mentor participate in a charity match…while dressed in an inflatable minion costume! Thank you to Head Coach Mark Zimmermann for being a good sport and representing Ferradermis!

This is the last competition for Ferradermis with their 2026 season robot. Team members will continue to train and plan for the kickoff of the new 2027 season in January. Next Saturday, the team will host 47 Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts from Whitewater and other area towns at Whitewater High School to help them earn their programming and robotics badges.

Ferradermis continues its annual sponsorship campaign. If you are interested in becoming a team sponsor, please reach out to Laura Masbruch at lmasbruch@wwusd.org.

Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
Photos Courtesy of Cooper Housel and various Ferradermis mentors

2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the BoDeans’ critically acclaimed debut album, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams. In honor of the 40th anniversary, BoDeans will perform two-and-a-half-hour shows featuring a video retrospective that will include songs from their 14 studio records covering five decades of music – 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and the 2020s. Founded and led by original front man, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Kurt Neumann, the band’s catalog consists of generational anthems such as “Good Things,” “You Don’t Get Much,” “Idaho,” and “Closer to Free,” to name a few. BoDeans emerged out of Waukesha, WI in 1986 with the seminal debut, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, produced by T Bone Burnett. Followed by Outside Looking In [1987], Home [1989], and Black and White [1991], Go Slow Down [1993] yielded “Closer to Free,” which famously served as the theme song for the smash-hit television series Party of Five. Meanwhile, they transformed into a proven live phenomenon by supporting the likes of U2, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, The Pretenders and David Bowie, in addition to gracing the bills of Farm Aid, Summerfest, and ACL.

Saturday, October 24 @ 7:00 p.m. The Young Performing Arts Center, 930 W. Main Street, Whitewater. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the Ticket Office at 262-472-2222, or in person at 950 W. Main Street. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Tickets are also available at the door. Admission ranges from $29-77. There is no charge for parking in lots 1 and 2 off Prince Street.

 
Community members are invited visit the library and join returning instructor Terri Dellamaria for a dance class that will engage the brain and body.

This event will be held in Meeting Room 1 of Whitewater Public Library at 431 W. Center St. in Whitewater on Thursday, October 22 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM.

This program is for adults. Registration is required. Visit whitewaterlibrary.org/events to
register in advance. You may also email hswanson@whitewater-wi.gov or call 262-473-
0113 to register, or with any questions.

Editor’s note: There was a waitlist for this program the last time, so early registration would be recommended.

Editor’s note: As The Whitewater Banner previously announced, the Masonic dinner had been scheduled for October 22. The lodge announced on October 19 that the dinner has been postponed to November 5.

Editor’s note: The Banner appreciates having permission to use the image on the homepage by neotam on pixabay.

Whitewater Lions Club will be holding our annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, October 25 from 7 am – 11:30 am at the clubhouse at N7462 Kettle Moraine Dr. in Whitewater.  Your Free Will donation gets a hearty breakfast featuring Pancakes, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Coffee and Orange Juice.  All proceeds benefit the Whitewater Food Pantry.

The following students will represent the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as student teachers during the fall 2026 semester:

53190 Whitewater, WI: Alex Darling, who is majoring in Early Childhood Education.

53190 Whitewater, WI: Allison Lavin, who is majoring in Biology Science Education.

53190 Whitewater, WI: Sam Morton, who is majoring in History Education.

53190 Whitewater, WI: Jimmy Myer, who is majoring in Elementary Middle Education.

Students from the university’s College of Education and Professional Studies will serve as student teachers through January 2027.

A total of 169 UW-Whitewater students were placed in school districts around the region starting in August. Student teaching is the final activity before teacher candidates earn their degree and license.

UW-Whitewater will partner with 213 cooperating teachers across 148 schools in 99 districts over the course of the semester.

Student teachers assist cooperating teachers with lesson planning, instruction and assessment. This fall, 32 UW-Whitewater teacher candidates were hired by school districts as student teaching interns as part of the Department of Public Instruction’s Wisconsin Improvement Program (WIP). Interns are licensed by the DPI to teach up to 50 percent of each day on their own and receive a stipend for the semester.

UW-Whitewater licenses the most teachers in the state of Wisconsin. Educating teachers was the university’s original mission during its founding in 1868. To learn more about the College of Education and Professional Studies at UW-Whitewater, visit uww.edu/coeps.

Editor’s note: Some of the above students may not have resided in Whitewater prior to enrollment in the university. UW-Whitewater lists students who are registered with a Whitewater address.

Community members are invited visit the library and join folklorist and author Zelia Edgar for a presentation on what makes Wisconsin America’s Scaryland.

This event will be held in Meeting Room 1 of Whitewater Public Library at 431 W. Center St. in Whitewater on Wednesday, October 21 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM

This program is for adults, but younger patrons are welcome to attend with a parent or guardian. No registration is required for this event. Visit whitewaterlibrary.org/events for further details. You may also email hswanson@whitewater-wi.gov or call 262-473-0113 with any questions. 

Whitewater Historical Society to Present “Bewitching Tale”

You may have heard of the “witches of Whitewater,” now hear a real story about the witches of Salem, Massachusetts. On Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. the Whitewater Historical Society is presenting a “bewitching tale” by Janesville historian and preservationist Tom Skinner, who is a descendent of an accused Salem witch. Skinner will present the Salem witchcraft story as seen through his ancestor’s eyes.

This presentation will be held at the Cravath Lakefront Community Center, 341 S. Fremont Street (go under the arch off of Whitewater Street) in Whitewater. The program is free to the public and everyone is welcome.

Tom Skinner and his wife live in a mid-19th century stone house in Janesville that they have preserved and Skinner is a historian who offers presentations about the Pilgrims of Massachusetts, the Lewis and Clark expedition and other historic events. Skinner’s program is the first event of the 2026-2027 historical society season.

On Tuesday, October 20^th from 4:00-7:00 pm at the Whitewater Culver’s location, there will be a Donate while you Dine Night to raise funds for an upcoming renovation project at Hearthstone Memory Care of Fairhaven Senior Services.  We hope to see you there inside or through the drive-thru.