News
Whitewater LEGO League Expands to 3 Teams in 2019
In late August, six Whitewater elementary school teachers and two Whitewater Middle School teachers launched into the world of FIRST LEGO League Robotics with 30 of their students forming three teams and following in the footsteps of Justin Stewart and Bennett Miles, who formed the original Lincoln Elementary Team in 2018. FIRST LEGO League is a program for students ages 9 – 14 with “theme-based challenges to engage children in research, problem solving, coding, and engineering. The foundation of the program is the FIRST Core Values, which emphasize teamwork, discovery, and innovation.” The 2019 theme was City Shapers, and teams worked to research a problem in the community and propose a solution as well as build a LEGO EV3 robot and program it to accomplish up to 13 missions on the game board.
Valerie Troxel and Chris Nate from Washington, Lassity Sullivan and Lynn von Huben from Lincoln, and Sara Brautigam and Lisa Meincke from Lakeview each brought students together to form two elementary teams, Whitewater Brick Layers – Team White and Whitewater Brick Layers – Team Red. Joanne Kyle and Joanie McGowan worked together to oversee the middle school team. The elementary teams met on Monday and Wednesday nights at the middle school, and the middle school team, Cranium Crows, met on Wednesdays and Thursdays from mid-September through November 20. Members of the Whitewater High School FIRST Robotics Team Ferradermis assisted throughout the season. Reilly Aschenbrener and Shane Kinson worked with the middle school students, while Carson Ellenwood, Zuri Goldsmith, Colin Chenoweth, Elijah Grall, Rosie Aschenbrener, Kasey Heizman, and Rose Fosdal worked with the elementary students with Gwynne Sahyun providing some planning and guidance behind the scenes.
On Saturday, November 23, the teams packed up and headed to Mukwonago High School for a FIRST LEGO League Regional Tournament. Close to 40 teams from southern Wisconsin rotated through three sets of judging where the teams spent 10 minutes each with the robot/programming judges, the project judges, and the core values judges during the morning. In the core values judging room, the team was given three minutes to complete a problem solving activity while the judges observed teamwork and communication skills. The judges then asked the students many questions about their season including how they made decisions as a team. In the project judging room, the teams presented their chosen projects to the judges along with their display boards; the middle school team looked at changes to the dog park, and the elementary teams looked at changes to the busing for the schools and access to a grocery store in Whitewater.
After lunch and the opening ceremony, in which two students from each team raced through the gym in front of the large crowd as their team was introduced, the competition with the robots began. Each team competed three times over the course of the afternoon. A single match was timed at two minutes and thirty seconds, and teams could use that time to complete their chosen missions in any order.
Throughout the day, teams were able to schedule time on the practice tables to test their robots and make improvements and additions to their code. By their third match, all three Whitewater teams were able to accomplish more tasks with their robots than when they arrived in Mukwonago.
Middle school team members included Margaret Brown, Emerson Dunham, Danny Fuller, Jessica Ge, Henry Gehrenbeck, Jack Hartmann, Isaiah Hoefling, Ash Holmbo, Evan Humphrey, and Daniel Norman. The Middle School Cranium Crows’ robot was able to complete all of the 6 missions that they expected to complete. Mrs. Kyle commented, “As a newbie team we were proud of our accomplishments and learned a lot about the process and the event.” Whitewater Brick Layers – Team Red consisted of fourth and fifth graders Roy Aaron, Ian Agen, Malcolm Baker, Emilie Bruns, Ben Crone, Jacob McLaughlin, Xavier Ortiz, Austin Retzlaff, Davis Staller, and Zoe Zei. Whitewater Brick Layers – Team White was made up of fourth and fifth graders Althea Reichwald, Micaiah Cartwright, James Grabinski, Cooper Housel, Eli Kuzoff, Aidan Lefel , Payton Peacock, Hailey Peterson, Jesus Ramirez, and Autumn Robb. Ferradermis member Gwynne Sahyun and multiple Ferradermis mentors also enjoyed volunteering at the event.
The teams would like to thank their sponsors Generac, The Whitewater Community Foundation, and the Whitewater Unified School District. They are looking forward to the 2020 fall season!
“We Have the Trees!”
The Whitewater Lions Club is selling FRESH Christmas Trees again this year at the Winchester True Value Hardware Store parking lot, located at 1415 West Main Street, Whitewater. The Whitewater Lions Club has been enduring the cold and snow, selling Christmas Trees for about 25 years. The profits they make are used to benefit the Whitewater community. Enjoy the holidays this year with a freshly cut tree knowing the proceeds will help fund the Lions Club’s programs.
Free Thanksgiving Meal / Holiday Week Hours for City Services
Helpful information for a free Thanksgiving meal as well as additional details for holiday week hours for city services are listed below:
Thanksgiving Dinner–Cena para el Día de Acción de Gracias
hosted by St. Patrick Catholic Church
1235 W Main St, Whitewater, WI 53190
11 am to 1 pm Thursday, November 28, 2019
Everyone is invited to come and enjoy a Thanksgiving Dinner for free, upstairs in Berry Hall. Dinner includes turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, coleslaw, dinner rolls, cranberries, lots of desserts.
Todos están invitados a venir y disfrutarse de una cena para el Día de Acción de Gracias gratis en la planta alta en el Salón Parroquial. La comida incluye pavo, aderezo, puré de papa y salsa, vegetales, ensalada de repollo, pan, arándanos y muchos postres.
Garbage/Recycling Holiday Week Pickup
Trash collection schedules are always available in our Helpful Links portion of the Banner’s homepage. This week for the City of Whitewater garbage/recycling pickup is delayed by one day due to the holiday.
Municipal Building Holiday Hours
The city municipal building is closed Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29. Find additional contact information for the City of Whitewater here.
Irvin Young Memorial Library Holiday Hours
The public library closes at 5 pm Wednesday, November 27, 2019. The library remains closed both Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29. The library opens Saturday, November 20 at 9 am. Find additional information for the library here.
Police Department
For an Emergency, visit the lobby window in the municipal building or call 911. For non-emergency assistance call (262)473-0555.
Whitewater Aquatic Center Holiday Week Hours
The Aquatic and Fitness centers are closed Thursday, November 28. The Fitness Center will be open 5:30 am to 9 pm Friday, November 29 and 7 am to 6 pm on Saturday, November 30. The Pool is open 5:30 am to 6:30 pm Friday, November 29 and 7 am to 6 pm Saturday, November 30. There are no fitness classes Friday, November 29 through Sunday, December 1. Find additional information for the Whitewater Aquatic Center here.
Warhawk Football to Host 2nd Round NCAA Playoffs
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will host Wartburg (Iowa) in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship this Saturday, Nov. 30, at 12 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.
Tickets for Saturday’s game will be available on site starting 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Cost of admission is $13 for adults and $8 for students, senior citizens and children ages 3-12. No passes will be accepted for admission. Season parking holders with spots in Lot 24 will be honored for Saturday’s game and for any other postseason contests.
The Warhawks (10-1 overall) advanced to the second round with a 35-10 victory over Midwest Conference champion Monmouth (Ill.) in the first round last Saturday at Perkins Stadium.
The Knights (10-1) posted a 41-3 victory at Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Hope (Mich.) last Saturday to punch their ticket to the second round.
Both UW-Whitewater and Wartburg were Pool C, or at-large, qualifiers to the NCAA Playoffs.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live by UWW-TV on channel 100.1 on campus, Spectrum channel 989 and online at reslife.uww.edu/stream, and on the radio on KOOL 106.5 FM WKCH and online at 940wfaw.com. Live statistics will be available through ncaa.com.
Whitewater Middle School Gym Floor to be Dedicated in Honor of Retired Coach Ken Nehring
Whitewater Unified School District will be rededicating their newly refinished middle school gym floor to long time Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Ken Nehring on December 6th, during the game against Evansville. The dedication ceremony will take place in-between the JV and Varsity games (approximately 6:45pm). These games will be played at Whitewater Middle School.
Nehring retired in 1989 and is a member of the WBCA Hall of Fame. He finished his career after 34 years as head coach with a record of 470-269 which included 8 league championships, 4 district championships, and 10 regional championships. His conference record was 306-137 and his 1969-70 team finished the regular season 18-0. Nehring was the head coach for the South All-Star Team in 1980. He is remembered best for his intense desire to develop his players’ talents as athletes and individuals and for always showing good sportsmanship. There will be a social gathering after the game. More details on the social will be provided at a later date. It is hoped Coach Nehring’s former players will attend this rededication event.
Leaf and Yard Waste Collection Extended Again – City staff making one more pass the week of Nov. 25
Due to weather conditions, the City’s street crew will make one more citywide pass for leaf collection, beginning Nov. 25. Please put your bags out a.s.a.p., lest you miss this last chance.
Yard waste must be bagged in biodegradable, clear or transparent bags only. Yard waste will not be collected if not properly bagged or placed in non-transparent or black bags.
If you have any questions please call the Department of Public Works at 473-0560.
Kelly Freeman
Superintendent of Streets/Parks/Stormwater Utility/Forestry
Whitewater Community Foundation Seeks Board Candidates
The Whitewater Community Foundation is excited to announce that they are currently seeking candidates for two open board positions.
Why join the Whitewater Community Foundation Board?
It is a great way to give back to the community. You have the opportunity to work as a team with great individuals on the board and make a difference for the Whitewater Community.
Current President, Danielle Frawley, stated “I’ve grown up in this town since birth. This community has helped raise me and helped me become the person I am today. I feel the best way for me to give back to Whitewater is by donating to the foundation and serving on the board.”
What should you do if you are interested in joining the board?
Email info@whitewatercommunityfoundation.org with a bio of yourself and why you are interested in joining the board as soon as possible!
Questions?
Please email info@whitewatercommunityfoundation.org or call us at (262) 458-4088.
Upcoming City & Community Meetings: Week of November 25 – December 1
City of Whitewater Urban Forestry Committee - Monday at 4:30 PM
Whitewater Municipal Building - More information
Whitewater School Board - Monday at 6:30 PM
Central Office of Whitewater Unified School District - More Information
City of Whitewater Community Involvement & Cable TV Commission - Tuesday at 5:00 PM
Whitewater Municipal Building - More information
City of Whitewater Finance Committee - Tuesday at 5:30 PM
Whitewater Municipal Building - More information
Thanksgiving Pie Donation to Whitewater Food Pantry
Jake, Elizabeth and Aaron Katzman – members of the Stone School 4-H Club – challenged family, friends and the Whitewater community to purchase pie certificates from the Jefferson County 4-H Pizza and Pie Fundraiser and then donate the certificates to the Whitewater Food Pantry. For every pie certificate they sold through the fundraiser, the Katzmans matched the donation. In all, the siblings, who attend Whitewater High School, donated 150 pies from the Pine Cone Restaurant in Johnson Creek to the Whitewater Food Pantry for distribution with their Thanksgiving meals.
