News & Events

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the Be Kind committee.

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Whitewater Unites Lives (WUL).

Laurie Giorno is a WUL Hometown Hero, and has been nominated by Janie Anderson “For volunteering as a leader for the Whitewater 4-H club for over 28 years, serving as the 4-H food leader for Walworth County and in charge of the House of Pork, the county’s main fundraiser at the Walworth County Fair, and coordinating the United States Postal Service food drive.”

WUL (Whitewater Unites Lives) is a locally-focused civil and human rights group that works to connect the people in our community and to create opportunities for all people to learn and support each other in our common humanity.   

 Anyone who would like to nominate a local hero of any age should send their nomination, with a short description, to whitewaterunites@gmail.com 

Who’s hungry for Toppers!? This Wednesday, October 30, from 4:00 – 9:00 pm, Whitewater Toppers will donate 20% of all sales to the WUSD Robotics Booster Club. The booster club not only supports Ferradermis at the high school, but also the Iron Dragons FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams at the middle school and the BrickLayers FIRST Lego League teams at Washington, Lincoln, and Lakeview! The robotics program is strong and growing in the WUSD!

For information on the Robotics Booster Club, contact Sue Wildermuth at wilderms@uww.edu.

Congratulations to Dante Baker, Alex Clarksen, Charlotte Hajewski, and A’lani Ross, who performed at the WSMA High School State Honors Music Project concerts in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Overture Center Thursday night, October 24.

This year, almost 1,500 student auditions were performed for the privilege of being one of the 429 students selected for membership in the five prestigious High School State Honors ensembles. This year, Whitewater High School had four musicians perform at the concert.

High School State Honors students attend an intensive four-day summer camp with the conductor of their ensemble. In addition, 32 of Wisconsin’s finest music teachers volunteer time as section coaches, coordinators, and administrators during the June summer camp and at these October concerts. Working together, they engaged in holistic lessons that incorporated several aspects of the programmed repertoire far beyond the musical, such as history, theory, style, composition, text, and culture. They connected with composers, worked with coaches and peers in daily sectionals that focused on technique and skill, and rehearsed as a full ensemble in preparation for this concert.

Music teachers, parents, administrators, and WSMA staff contribute time, expertise and encouragement for every student involved in the State Honors Music Project. Young musicians selected for these ensembles discover new levels of individual and group performance. Most importantly, the effort and dedication required of each Honors participant results in a lifelong memory of initiative, achievement and commitment to excellence as musicians and as our future leaders. Mr. Sam Averill and Ms. Mackenzie Gehrke are the proud instructors of these fine students.

Article and Photos Submitted by Greg Stewart
Whitewater High School Teacher
gstewart@wwusd.org

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club.

The Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club is selling florist-quality, red and white poinsettia plants for $20. Orders are due November 19, and the plants will be available December 6-8.

Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club Co-President Corey Davis said, “We are delighted to be able to sell florist-quality poinsettias again this year, with the funds helping children in our community and the world as well as brightening your holidays.” 

If you would like a plant, please contact any Kiwanian, contact Al Stanek at albertstanek@gmail.com, or call Jerry Grant at 262-473-2214.

Whitewater Kiwanis is a group of dedicated volunteers who help both children of the Whitewater community and the world. Over the past several years the club raised funds to make possible the recent installation of the city’s first piece of inclusive playground equipment, a We-Go-Round, in Starin Park.  Annual donations are also made to provide shoes and winter clothes for students, as well as support for organizations such as the Whitewater Food Pantry, Bethel House, The Community Space, and the Whitewater Youth Soccer Club.

If you have an interest in helping youth in Whitewater, you can check out Whitewater Kiwanis on Facebook and join our Club by contacting Corey Davis at davisc@uww.edu.

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.

Ferradermis took 17 members, including 6 freshmen, to the Roboteer Rumble FIRST Robotics offseason competition at Tremont High School in Tremont, Illinois from Friday, October 25 through Saturday, October 26. Thirty-five robots from 4 states took to the field for one last 2024 competition, the 10th of the year for Ferradermis. With so many experienced members unavailable to travel over the weekend due to athletics and family commitments, the event was a great opportunity for new students to step into new roles. This opportunity doubled, when at the last minute, Ferradermis was invited to bring its second robot to compete as well.

Chief Lee the Tangerine, the team’s regular season bot which competed in Houston earlier this year wore the team’s official 6574 bumpers. Creamsicle, the team’s summer project bot wore 9998.

Tangerine #6574 Drive Team:

• Driver: Preston Miller
• Operator: Margaret Brown
• Human Player: Zoe Olson/Emilie Bruns
• Technician: Nina Heim
• Drive Coach: Chacha Binagi/Mark Zimmermann
• Alliance Selection Reps: Rae Breisath, Cyrus Hudec, Cooper Housel

Creamsicle #9998 Drive Team

• Driver: Ace Hudec
• Operator: Carson Miller
• Human Player: Emilie Bruns
• Technician: Sam Raupp
• Drive Coach: Chacha Binagi/Mark Zimmermann
• Alliance Selection Reps: Andrew Zimmermann, Chacha Binagi, Letty Trautman
  

Videographer: Belle Cohen
Head Scouts: Rae Breisath, Andrew Zimmermann, Cyrus Hudec
Scouts: Jayden Keher, Eli Gonsior, Letty Trautman, Emilie Bruns, Sam Raupp, Cooper Houselz

Creamsicle finished the day ranked 28th and did not make it into the playoff round. However, it did achieve the goal that the team had set for it at this competition. It proved it was able to feed game pieces to other robots from across the field. The feeding strategy is something that developed over the course of the regular season as alliances learned they could be more proficient scorers if one bot was strictly providing a supply of game pieces near the two main field elements instead of having all three alliance robots run back and forth across the field.

As the #10 ranked team after qualifications, Tangerine’s alliance representatives gratefully accepted an invitation from Team 3397, the Robolions from St. Louis, MO to join their #3 seeded alliance. Our alliance’s second pick was Team 112, Plus One from Arlington Heights, IL. Team 4096 CTRL-Z from Champaign, IL rounded out the 4-team alliance.

The alliance did not make it very deep into the playoffs as all of our alliance partners experienced problems with their robots during matches. Overall, the trip was a great learning experience for all of our members, and with over 100 competition matches on its record, Chief Lee the Tangerine will now retire to be used only for demonstrations.

The team submitted nominations in advance for Chacha Binagi as Outstanding Robotics Student and Head Coach Mark Zimmermann as Outstanding Robotics Mentor. Zimmermann and former Ferradermis mentor Allison Conrad, who now mentors the team from Muskego High School, were named the two Outstanding mentors for the event.

Ferradermis will now focus on training and outreach events until the kickoff of the new season on January 4. Watch for news from the FIRST Lego League teams at Washington, Lincoln, Lakeview, and the Middle School, as well as the new FIRST Tech Challenge Team at the Middle School, as they will both be competing this fall and winter.

Article and Photos Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

Editor’s note: The Whitewater Banner does not necessarily post all notices of gatherings where a quorum of council and/or committee members may be present, as long as no action will be taken.

City of Whitewater Urban Forestry Commission – Monday @ 5:30 p.m.
Agenda
Cravath Lakefront room 2nd floor 312 West Whitewater St
*In Person and Virtual
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or
telephone. Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
Topic: Urban Forestry Commission
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82948501460?pwd=l9Lndio7GYohm0mMXg9a6sFLnZ7JBa.1
Meeting ID: 829 4850 1460
Passcode: 212599
Or dial:
+1 312 626 6799 US

Whitewater Unified School District Annual Budget Hearing – Monday @ 5:45 p.m.

Whitewater High School Library
534 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, Wisconsin
5:45 p.m.
———————————————–
5:45 p.m. via Zoom Online
– URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85782823820?pwd=LL9I9ngH588YLmUWsaBt5PCrwjFR2A.1
– Passcode: 949460
———————————————–
– Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
– Webinar ID: 857 8282 3820
– Passcode: 949460

Whitewater Unified School District School Board Regular Meeting – Monday @ 6:15 p.m. (CLOSED SESSION)
Whitewater High School Library
534 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, Wisconsin
6:15 p.m.
———————————————–
6:15 p.m. via Zoom Online
– URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84566437470?pwd=JpfnoJYSdUVXk4Fv4YaZou0qzsQWmY.1
– Passcode: 511610
———————————————–
– Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
– Webinar ID: 845 6643 7470
– Passcode: 511610
———————————————–
Closed Session: Agenda – Adjourn into closed session, (Action Item) pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(f), considering financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons except where par. (b) applies which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data, or involved in such problems or investigations, specifically, to discuss contract updates and non-certified employee termination.
———————————————–
7:00 p.m. via Zoom Online (OPEN SESSION)
Agenda (Click on “meetings” in upper right corner) includes WUSD Strategic Planning & Scorecard Review, Middle School (Informational),Transfer – ADMINISTRATION – Associate Principal at the Middle School to ADMINISTRATION – Principal at the Middle School effective July 1, 2025, Approval of the 2024/2025 Whitewater Unified School District Tax Levy and 2024-25 annual budget.
– URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87107415224?pwd=TnFUaWhpMEFpNXZNajhVTDhhTE4zdz09
– Passcode: 317163
———————————————-
– Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
– Webinar ID: 871 0741 5224
– Passcode: 317163

City of Whitewater Public Test of Ballot Machines – Tuesday @ 10 a.m. – noon
Whitewater Municipal Building Cravath Lakefront Room, 2nd Floor, 312 West Whitewater St.
*In Person

City of Whitewater Special Finance Committee Meeting – Wed. @ 4:00 p.m.
Agenda includes 2025 Draft Budget Review (3 of 3), City Attorney and Code Enforcement & Zoning Contracts and Job Descriptions, Sick Leave Severance Budget & Policy, and Shared-Ride Budget
Whitewater Municipal Building Cravath Lakefront Room, 312 West Whitewater St.
*In Person and Virtual
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86803129460
Or One tap mobile :
+16469313860
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
+1 312 626 6799 US
Webinar ID: 868 0312 9460
International numbers available: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kYQp6AdD