News & Events

The public is invited to attend the First Annual Whitewater FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenge Regional Event to be held at Whitewater High School on Sunday, December 8. The three fourth and fifth grade BrickLayer teams from Washington, Lincoln, and Lakeview Elementaries along with the sixth grade Iron Dragons FLL team from the middle school will be competing throughout the day with 19 other teams from Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, Dane, and Rock counties.

FLL Challenge is a program for fourth through eighth graders that encourages students to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills and showcase what they learned. In Whitewater, FLL Challenge is a pre-cursor to the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) program in place for seventh and eighth graders at Whitewater Middle School and the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) program in place for students at Whitewater High School.

FLL Challenge Participants work with Lego Spike Prime robots and design attachments and write programming code to make their robot interact with a series of up to fifteen “missions” on a table-top field. The robot must be preprogrammed to complete the missions, but students can interact with their robots when they return to their home area on the table to change out attachments and run different programs within a 2 minute 30 second timeframe. To learn about this year’s ocean-themed gameplay, watch the short video at https://youtu.be/J5u-2q_K3O0

Teams also complete an Innovation Project, which this year requires them to research a problem related to the oceans and propose a solution. Teams are expected to connect with experts, get feedback on their ideas, and make improvements to their plans.

On Sunday, each team will get four robot runs on the competition tables (one for practice, and three for scoring) and spend another 30 minutes presenting their project and robot to a panel of judges. Awards will be presented in a ceremony at the end of the day for overall champions, the innovation project, the robot design, the robot performance, and the team’s demonstration of the FIRST core values of teamwork, discovery, inclusion, innovation, impact, and fun. The eight top-performing teams will advance to the FLL Sectional Event in Waukesha on December 21.

Visitors are welcome to peruse the pit area where teams will set up small displays, watch teams work on their robots on the practice tables, and watch live matches. Anyone wishing to watch a judging presentation must be queued with the team and escorted to the judging room with the team. No one is allowed to enter a judging room once timing has begun. Teams will arrive beginning at 7:30 am on Sunday with the first judging sessions and robot runs scheduled for 9:00. Awards will likely start no earlier than 4:00 pm. The Whitewater FTC and FRC teams will also be doing robot demonstrations throughout the day in the cafeteria.

FIRST events are run entirely by volunteers, and an event this large will rely on approximately 75 volunteers to operate. Whitewater High School robotics team members, alumni, parents, and mentors will be joined by middle school FTC team members, WUSD Robotics Booster Club members, community members, Ferradermis sponsor representatives, and volunteers from many other high school robotics teams across southeast Wisconsin. Come join the fun!

Article Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org
Photos from the 2023 FLL Regional at Mukwonago High School

For residents who missed the leaf and yard waste collection deadline of November 22, dumpsters are available at the city garage (150 E. Starin Rd.) this week, through Friday, December 6, between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Yard waste is defined as leaves, weeds, grass clippings, and yard/garden debris. All bags, except for BioBags, are to be emptied into the dumpsters and removed. By the way, the city’s supply of BioBags has been exhausted.

Spring collection will be dependent on weather conditions.

WARM Christmas Cantata – Sunday, December 8 at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm

A Ceremony of Carols, composed by Benjamin Britton in 1942, is an eleven song work that includes solos, duets, and full choruses, all accompanied by harp. The cantata will be presented at First United Methodist Church, 145 S. Prairie St., twice on Sunday, Dec. 8. The 10 am presentation is embedded in the morning service while the 3:00 performance will also have a guest presentation by the UW-W Tuba ensemble playing Christmas carols. The full choir is comprised of singers from FUMC, Bethel UMC, LaGrange UMC, and the UCC Congregational Church.

Lauren Hayes, Chicago professional harpist, is featured in this stunning collaboration of voices and harp. The work tells the Christmas story using Middle English and Modern English and a little Latin. The musical styles range from Medieval Chant to contemporary chords and invigorating rhythms. Soloists featured are Katie Fortney, Jennifer Crone, Barb Taylor, Kay Ebert and Nathan Roley. The choir is accompanied by James Athas and conducted by Christine Hayes.

A Ceremony of Carols is a prominent work in Christian choral music and an event not to be missed. The harp accompaniment joined with the singing is wickedly exciting and not frequently heard! The addition of the UW-W Tuba Ensemble filling the sanctuary with glorious deep sounds is a wonderful bonus.

As always, these performances are free of charge and open to all. Bring your friends!

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by First United Methodist Church.

The Fort Atkinson-Eli Pierce Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has
dedicated a Liberty Tree at Evergreen Cemetery. In a brief ceremony Friday, Nov. 15, members of the DAR and guests set a marker at the elm tree, located across from the Soldiers’ Circle in the Fort Atkinson cemetery. The tree replaces a nearby pine that was felled in July 2023 by straight-line winds that damaged nearly 70 trees at the northside cemetery. The engraved marker was donated by member Christine Spangler in memory of her late mother, Virgil Blumer, a longtime member, secretary and chaplain of the John Bell Chapter of DAR in Madison.

“An ‘America 250!’ grant offered by the National Society Daughters of the American
Revolution was applied for and granted to our local DAR Chapter: Fort Atkinson-Eli Pierce,” DAR Chapter Regent Nancy Olson said. “We chose to have an elm planted, not only to help ‘reforest’ the cemetery, but to provide a lasting tribute to our patriot ancestors.” She pointed out that in early America and Europe, trees were used as meeting places. They often served as the community’s bulletin board. “In New England and other colonies, holding an unauthorized meeting was dangerous and could be life threatening. But chatting under a tree appeared innocuous, therefore safer,” Olson said. Leading up to the American Revolution, a stately elm on the Boston Common served as a place to demonstrate dissatisfaction with British rule. Planted near the intersection of what today are Washington and Essex streets, the elm was nearly 120 years old when, on Aug.14, 1765, a band of discontented merchants and artisans calling themselves the Loyal Nine hung in the tree a straw-stuffed effigy of Andrew Oliver, the lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts. They were protesting the Stamp Act, which required required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. When the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, townspeople decorated the large elm with flags, streamers and lanterns. A copper sign fastened to the trunk read, “This tree was planted in the year 1646, and pruned by order of the Sons of Liberty, Feb. 14th, 1766.” “Bostonians called it ‘The Tree of Liberty.’ The tree was a safe place to foment a rebellion,” Olson said. “This elm tree provides a nod to our patriot ancestors, who were willing to act for a more just future. Here, in the Soldier’s Circle, we honor the patriots who have gone before … including two Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Jefferson County.”

As a side note, Olson shared that loyalists to King George III cut down the original Liberty Tree in Boston Common in 1775, and British soldiers used the resulting 14 cords of wood for heat. After the British evacuated Boston the following year, patriots returning to the city erected a liberty pole at the site. Standing there during an 1825 tour of Boston, the Marquis de Lafayette declared, “The world should never forget the spot where once stood Liberty Tree, so famous in your annals.”

After the dedication, Evergreen Cemetery Association President Brad Wilcox thanked the DAR for its tree donation. “The Liberty Tree stands in a spot where we hold the city’s Memorial Day services every year, so when they come to the observance, (attendees) will stand under and by this Liberty Tree,” he said. Wilcox noted that the Liberty Tree is located across the road from the cemetery’s new flagpole. It fills a void left by the loss of a bur oak, white pine and cedar tree. He said that the 32 fully healthy trees lost in the storm included those three, as well as many planted toward North Main Street near the grave of Dwight Foster, the community’s first settler of European descent. Wilcox added that his granddaughter counted the rings on stumps of the felled trees and found 10 to have been more than 150 years old.

DAR members attending the dedication were Cheryl Hoeth, Regent Nancy Olson, Chaplain Val Cole, Registrar Jessica Punzel, Vice Regent Janet Stehling, Gayle Beck, Vicki Schicker, Mary Narkis, Jane Fary and Christine Spangler. In addition to Wilcox, guests included cemetery grounds supervisor Raughn Ferrell; cemetery head sexton Neal Traeder; Fort Atkinson City Council President Davin Lescohier; American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars member Dan Juday; and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 409 member Larry Narkis.

Organized in 1899, the Fort Atkinson Chapter of DAR was one of the earliest and largest chapters in Wisconsin for many years. In 1992, it merged with the Eli Pierce Chapter, which was founded in Whitewater in 1941. Today, chapter members reside in Fort Atkinson, Watertown, Lake Mills, Jefferson, Whitewater, Milton, Janesville and surrounding communities, as well as in several other states.

Computer science students at Whitewater High School have been testing their skills against other students from the region as well as across the country by competing in two recent problem-solving challenges.

All computer science students took part in the annual Bebra’s Computational Thinking Challenge in early November. This online competition challenged students to tackle visual problems within the areas of informatics and computational thinking. Students were divided into two divisions based on grade level, with freshmen and sophomores competing in the Junior Division and juniors and seniors facing off in the Senior Division. The challenge was available nationally.

Sophomore Josh Nygren was the top scoring Whitewater student in the Junior Division. Finishing in a tie for second in the Junior Division were sophomore Carson Miller and freshman Jayden Kehrer.

In the Senior Division, top honors went to senior Andrew O’Toole, who was one question shy of matching the top score in the state with a score that ranked in the 98.4th percentile nationally. Second place in the Senior Division went to junior Ace Hudec, with senior Zoe Olson finishing third. Also receiving distinctions in the Senior Division were junior Margaret Brown and senior Quinlan McCarthy.

On Friday, November 22, thirteen programming students traveled to the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) for the annual Opportunity Conference Computer Competition. Whitewater students divided into four teams, with the newest programmers competing in Python and the more advanced students competing in Java. 50 teams from 13 schools from Wisconsin and Illinois competed throughout the morning to solve up to 9 problems of varying difficulty. The Whitewater team of Andrew O’Toole, Ace Hudec, Margaret Brown, and Zoe Olson placed 8th overall, finishing just one problem solution behind the winning team from Crystal Lake Central High School in Illinois. Other Whitewater programmers who accepted this challenge included sophomore Silas Long, sophomore Colby Long, senior Rae Breisath, junior Izzy Lavertu, Carson Miller, freshman Mason Schwartz, junior Narek Keshishyan, senior Alexis Amaya-Tizapa, and freshman James Pinzino.

Whitewater High School offers ten different computer science courses including Python Programming, AP Computer Science A, Microcontroller Programming, Digital Electronics, Networking, Web Programming, Computer Concepts, App Development, Game Development, and a Senior Project Studio. Five of these courses are transcripted with Gateway Technical College so that students can earn both credit at WHS and at Gateway. Computer Programming Team members will have the opportunity to compete one more time this school year at the Marquette University Programming Contest in April.

Article submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Computer Science Teacher
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

Editor’s Note:  The following was provided by the Be Kind Committee (photos by Josh Stoughton and Sara Kuhl).

More than 60 people walked in unity at the CommUnity Walk on Saturday, November 16 in Whitewater.  The purpose of the walk was to support unity and encourage kindness. 

City Manager John Weidl welcomed everyone at the Armory with snacks and a warm welcome.  Walkers enjoyed learning more from various vendors in attendance and then the group headed down Main Street to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where they were welcomed by Dr. Dwight Watson, a member of the Be Kind Committee and former chancellor at UW-W.

Following are comments from John Weidl:

“As City Manager of Whitewater, I am honored to serve a community that recognizes the transformative power of kindness. In a city as diverse and dynamic as ours, kindness is not just an ideal—it’s the foundation upon which we build connections, foster understanding, and create opportunities for all.

Our mission is to embrace the cultural and educational opportunities of an increasingly diverse population. This commitment shines through in initiatives like The Community Space, where volunteers work tirelessly to ensure that no one in Whitewater goes without basic necessities. Whether it’s a warm coat, furniture, or a bag of groceries, these resources are given freely, reflecting the heart of our community: generosity without barriers.

Equally inspiring is the Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) program, a cornerstone of inclusivity in Whitewater for over 25 years. These classes do more than teach English; they provide a pathway to greater independence and participation in community life. They empower parents to communicate with teachers, workers to advance in their careers, and neighbors to connect across cultures. By offering childcare during classes staffed by bilingual adults from our own community, we further demonstrate our commitment to removing barriers and fostering growth.

As a Kindness Ambassador and city, our mission is clear: to lead by example. Kindness is not just in programs and initiatives—it’s in the daily interactions that build trust and understanding. It’s in the respect we show one another, the support we extend to those in need, and the spaces we create where everyone belongs.

This is how we grow stronger as a community—through kindness, patience, and a shared commitment to equity and opportunity. Together, we can ensure that Whitewater remains a place where all individuals can thrive, regardless of their background. Let us continue to embrace kindness as a guiding principle, shaping the future of our city and the lives of all who call it home.”

For updates about other kindness-related events visit the Be Kind Whitewater page on Facebook or search by #BeKindWhitewater.

Update 12/2 @ 4:45 p.m. Lisa Dawsey Smith, who currently serves in the at=large seat that will be up for election, contacted the Banner to indicate that she filed a declaration of noncandidacy in early November and she supports Patrick Singer’s candidacy.

Current Whitewater Common Councilmember for Aldermanic District 1 and Council President Patrick Singer announced today that he will seek election to the At-Large Council seat in the upcoming April 1st election.

“During my last year of service on the Whitewater Common Council representing District 1, and in past opportunities to serve, I have been deeply committed to advancing our community’s interests. Through collaborative leadership, I have worked diligently to drive meaningful progress for our residents. Whitewater has experienced substantial economic and community development in recent years, and I am dedicated to sustaining and accelerating this positive trajectory.”

“Good local government starts with listening. As a member of the Council and in my service as its President, I’ve worked hard to ensure every voice is heard. Our Council has been committed to making real progress for Whitewater, and I want to continue that work. We’re not just talking about improving our community—we’re making it happen.”

“Investment in housing is critical to Whitewater’s economic development. By creating attractive, affordable single-family housing options, we will not only provide opportunities for families but also support local job growth and business retention.”

“Investing in public safety is fundamental to our community’s well- being. I have actively worked to provide our fire and police departments with the resources, training, and support needed to protect every Whitewater resident. I led the most recent personnel additions to our police department in 2008 and again in 2024, all within the constraints of those budgets.”

“In the months ahead, I look forward to knocking on doors across our community to listen to residents’ ideas and concerns for moving our city forward.”

Patrick was first elected to the Whitewater Common Council in 2007 and served until 2021 before being reappointed in 2024. He has served as Council President from 2008 to 2020 and again in 2024. He has participated on numerous boards and commissions, including the Community Development Authority, Library Board, and Landmarks Commission. Patrick, his wife Jenna, and their sons Lincoln and Holden live on the south side of Whitewater.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by Friends of Patrick Singer.