Congratulations to all Whitewater Middle School students that submitted work for this year’s Southern Lakes Anthology competition. The quality of middle school entries was outstanding again this year. These 12 students have been designated as our middle school district winners:
Front Row: 6th graders – Lucy Troxel, Ava Nygren, Nola Coburn, Alex Clarksen
Middle Row: 7th graders – Leah Newmann, Iza Tovar, Andrea Alcala, Ghati Binagi, Michelle Abarca, Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman
Back Row: 8th graders – Monica Juette, Emma Weigel, Caleigh Yang, Ashlynn Prah
These selected entries will now advance to the regional competition on January 29th where they will compete against entries from approximately 35 different school districts. We wish them the best of luck at the next level.
Whitewater High School FIRST Robotics Team #6574 Ferradermis is currently fundraising as part of the Wisconsin FIRST Raffle. The Grand Prize in the raffle is $1000. Second and third prizeare a large flat screen TV and a laptop. Team members are selling tickets for $3.00 each or 4 for $10.00. If you would like to purchase tickets to help support the team on its journey to compete at the Northern Lights Regional in Duluth and the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee, please stop by First Citizens State Bank or reach out to Laura Masbruch at lmasbruch@wwusd.org, and we will send a team member your way. The ticket sales will continue until Valentines Day.
Are you interested in an exciting, challenging and highly rewarding career in public service? Consider joining our Communications Center team by becoming a Public Safety Dispatcher with the Whitewater Police Department. As the initial point of contact, our dispatchers provide 24/7 coverage to ensure emergency service needs are managed professionally and efficiently for the City of Whitewater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and surrounding townships.
The Whitewater Lions would like to thank all the hunters that donated their deer hides and tails this past hunting season. They have collected over 60 hides/tails to donate this year. All proceeds will directly benefit campers with disabilities at the Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt, WI.
The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, is hosting a monthly Memory Café for individuals who are living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), early-stage Alzheimer’s or other dementia, and their care partners. This free social event is held on the second Monday of every month in the Library Community Room at 431 W. Center St. in Whitewater, at 10:30 am.
The next meeting will be January 14th. The theme will be Lawn Games, with indoor picnic games.
The Memory Café offers participants a safe and fun way to share their stories and socialize with others who have similar experiences. Learn how staying physically, socially and mentally active is good for the brain.
Registration is required for first-time attendees. Please call 800-272-3900 to register.
Article by Jeanine Fassl of the UWW/Community Optimist Club
Shown above are some of the more than 50 volunteers who help to make the annual UWW/Community Optimist Club’s Breakfast with Santa a huge success!
For over 25 years, December has always been a very busy month for the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club. The members of this community service group love to spread Christmas cheer throughout the Holidays with their involvement in Whitewater’s Annual Holiday Parade, the club’s annual Breakfast with Santa, Toys for Kids toy drive, and Mitten Tree events!
Again this year, Frosty the snowman got a first class ride in the city’s Christmas Parade on Dec. 7th. He was also present for our Annual Breakfast with Santa the following day.
These three “characters”, John Foss, A’viand’s food service Gen. Manager of Esker Dining Hall, Santa and Frosty were major highlights of Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 8.
On December 8th, Breakfast with Santa served a total of 671 people this year; 365 adults and 306 children. Over 50 volunteers of the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club, UW-Whitewater Student Optimist Club, and Whitewater High School Octagon Club helped run this event where families could enjoy breakfast, meet and take pictures with Santa and Frosty, listen to Christmas carolers, and the music of the brass duet of Dr. Don Deal, retired Band Director of Whitewater High School, and Griffin James, who is the current band director at Baraboo High School and a WHS grad.
This year, the Toys for Kids drive helped families in the Whitewater area. Children’s names were distributed to area churches and businesses for community members to pick up and buy gifts for. A special thanks is given to the First Congregational United Church of Christ, First English Lutheran Church, First United Methodist Church, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, for hosting the Toys for Kids drive in their facilities. The UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club would also like to thank the UW-Whitewater Student Optimists, who helped our members sort and wrap more than 300 presents on Monday, December 17. The gifts were distributed through the Whitewater Food Pantry.
On Sunday, January 27 at 2:30 p.m. the Whitewater Arts Alliance will kick-off its 2019 Public Art Project- Portals to the Past: Portals to the Future of Our Community, with a special presentation by Carol Cartwright, at the Cultural Arts Center, 402 West Main Street. Cartwright is a local historian and president of Whitewater Historical Society. Cartwright will inform and inspire prospective public artists with an interesting look back at Whitewater’s history.
The portals are to be painted on plywood boards measuring 24 x 42 inches. The plywood for the boards will be provided free of charge to anyone who wishes to participate in this annual project.
The art will hang during the summer from the light poles in the downtown area. Each artist can include a story of his/her vision, and it will be included on the Whitewater Strive On app. Strive On utilizes the GPS on smartphones and will take individuals on a walking tour of the portals.
The annual public art project aims to provide a fun way for businesses, individuals, families and friends to participate in a fun and educational experience. Artists are encouraged to make their portals creative, whimsical, colorful, and fun!
The Whitewater Arts Alliance will have materials and instructions ready for pickup on January 27 at 2:30 p.m. If an artist would like to participate but can’t transport the boards, an Arts Alliance member will deliver them. Opportunities to sponsor a portal will also be available. This is one of the major fund-raisers for the WAA each year.
The boards will also be available at the Cultural Arts Center during gallery hours, Thursdays through Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. beginning February 1 during the Quilt Show.
The groups would like to thank First Citizens State Bank, American Legion, Lion’s Club, Whitewater Park & Rec, Whitewater Police Department, Casey’s General Store, SweetSpot, Walmart, Culver’s, True Value, Triebold’s, Uncle Bucks Gas Station, Dalee Water, Home Lumber and First English Lutheran Church for their support.
Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jon M. Chu, from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Nico Santos, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh. It follows a Chinese American professor who travels to meet her boyfriend’s family and is surprised to discover they are among the richest in Singapore.
***Canceled*** Whitewater School District Policy Review Committee – Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at 8:00 am at the Whitewater Unified School District Central Office (Agenda)
City of Whitewater Finance Committee – Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at 6:00 pm at the Whitewater Municipal Building, City Manager’s Conference Room (Agenda)
City of Whitewater Public Works Committee – Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at 6:00 pm at the Whitewater Municipal Building, Cravath Lakefront Room (Agenda)