News & Events

Need a break – already? – from the quick return of bone-chilling winter weather? The perfect solution is taking in a performance (or two) of the Whitewater High School Players production of “The Little Mermaid” at the WHS auditorium on Nov. 21-23 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 24.

Your time in a tropical blue lagoon with Ariel the mermaid and her colorful friends Flounder the fish and Sebastian the crab will soon bring back your memories of perfect summer days in June and July.

Consider treating the youngins in your neighborhood to see this show.

Reserved seat tickets for the performance are $9 for adults and $5 for students, available one hour before the performance or by calling the WHS Box Office at 262-472-8178.

More than 60 cast, technical crew, and pit band members will take to the stage for this Disney classic based on one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved stories.

“The Little Mermaid” is a hauntingly beautiful love story never out of date and will capture your heart with its irresistible songs, including “Under the Sea,” “Kiss the Girl,” and “Part of Your World.”

The memorable cast includes Gio Anello, Gracia Boley, Henry Bresser, Keith Cameron, Jazmin Cederberg, Emma Clarksen, Olive Coburn, Sarah Felland, Sierra Gonzales, Jullian Harkness, Lauren Harkness, Maggie Jay, Josh Kirley, Ilana Lothes, Audrey Mayer, Sophie Mayer, Ben McCulloch, Stephanie Ordaz, Betzy Palomec, Chris Porcaro, Aldo Rodriguez, Lucas Scherer, Arianna Schroeder, Skylar Staebler, Haley Street, Madison Strickler, Evie Troxel, Anderson Waelchli, Carter Waelchli, Marco Wence, Ella Willman, and Matt Zingheim.

Putting their technical skills to the test are backstage crew members Payton Bunger, Emerson Dunham, Josie Hintz, Bailee Korf, Jordan Korf, Hailey Long, Abby Olson, Cole Schlicher, Lucy Troxel, Emma VanDaele, Sami VanDaele, and Emma Weigel.

Adding to the fun of a LIVE production are pit band musicians including Maddy Blain, Colin Chenoweth, Anne Coburn, Caroline Crowley, Colin Dugan, Liz Elliott, David Flemming, Zuri Goldsmith, Justin Kamp, Jimmy Karolek, Alex Martin, Jack Mayer, Sophie Mayer, Sophie Walton, and Caryl Whiteman.

Jim McCulloch directs this production, with musical direction by Liz Elliott, choreography by Lynn Lema, set design by Kat Dunham, sound design by Tony Hansen, and costume design by Karen McCulloch. Frankie Heurtz serves as conductor for the pit band.

Jim Shaw, Whitewater Unified School District Administrator, said, “Thanks to Whitewater High School’s staff and students for their wonderful production of ‘The Little Mermaid.’ The arts are a critical part of our students’ education. More than 80% of WHS students are engaged in the arts, music, athletics, or other extracurricular activities.”

“I am proud to be part of school district and community that values and encourages the arts and student engagement,” Shaw added. “Congratulations to students and staff for another great production.”Share This

Irvin L. Young Library Board of Trustees - Monday at 6:30 PM
Irvin L. Young Memorial Library - More Information

Whitewater School Board - Monday at 6:30 PM
Special meeting to discuss Palmyra-Eagle Area School District dissolution
Central Office of Whitewater Unified School District - More Information

City of Whitewater Common Council - Tuesday at 6:30 PM
Whitewater Municipal Building - More information

City of Whitewater Community Development Authority - Thursday at 5:30 PM
Whitewater Municipal Building - More information

Five students from Whitewater High School performed at Singing in Wisconsin, an event sponsored by the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association. The event was held on November 9th at Carroll University.

The WHS students performed along with other students from southeastern Wisconsin under the direction of Dr. Stephen Sieck, director of choirs at Lawrence University. The students rehearsed throughout the day and performed in a concert in the late afternoon. Students attending were Olivia Amundson, Lliam Stauss, Anisa Dauti, Haley Street, and Skylar Staebler.

From the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association website:
Singing in Wisconsin is a perfect place for those students who just love to sing regardless of ability. This event, which takes place at four sites throughout Wisconsin on the same day, is for any choir student who loves to sing and wants to be a part of this day. For some students it is the one time a year where they can sing with a large group of students and truly feel the power of singing with many voices. For other students it is a day to connect with new friends and work together to create a significant musical moment.

The National Honor Society hosted the 8th Annual International Student Exchange Weekend at Whitewater High School November 8 – 10! The festivities began with introductions, pizza party & pictures on Friday night, baking, shopping, movies, supper & Cosmic bowling in Fort Atkinson Saturday night, and a trip to Madison Sunday morning before the students had to leave Sunday afternoon. This year, the international students were from Peru, Brazil, Japan, Hungary, Sweden, Croatia, Ecuador, Thailand & Turkey. Thank you to Jim & Julie Caldwell (Jenna), John & Shannon Frye (Broderick), Alex & Holly Crowley (Caroline) and Brad & Patty Ceranske (Allison) for hosting the students in their homes! Another special thank you to Jim & Julie Caldwell for sponsoring supper on Saturday night, to the Whitewater Rotary Club for sponsoring the pizza party & bowling activities, and to Ron Binning for being the guest speaker when the students arrived!

Participating National Honor Society members were Broderick Frye, Caroline Crowley, Allison Ceranske, Jenna Caldwell, Abby Grosinske, Gwynne Sahyun, Madalynn Arnett, Colin Chenoweth, Jenna Lee, Hailey Murphy, Alyssa Schumacher, Mina Truesdale, Andy Vo, Cooper Pease and Bryce Hibbs.

The international students shared the following reflections about the weekend:

Laura Samardzija from Croatia said, “This was the best weekend yet. I saw more things in three days here than three months in Racine. Met people that I feel like they’re my best friends. Had an awesome time!”

Lisa Gornert from Sweden shared, “I had an awesome weekend with Maddie, Caroline, Abby & Alyssa. Thank you for taking us everywhere and thank you for being so welcoming!”

Alejandra Quecedo Cepeda from Ecuador said, “It was a good experience. The best part of the weekend was that I met wonderful people, especially Allison.”

Flora Banki from Hungary reflected, “Jenna & Caroline are definitely the best people I’ve ever met. Of course with everyone else from their school, including Ms. Sonmor-Wintz, the National Honor Society Advisor, who did an amazing job to organize this weekend for us. We participated in fun programs like bowling together, and I felt like I met new friends forever! Thank you so much for everything!”

Bartu Karabulut from Turkey shared, “This weekend was really fun. Everybody was nice to us. We had really good time on both Friday & Saturday. The pizza party was really good. We had the chance to meet everybody. After that we had really good time playing bowling.”

Pun Workakulpisut from Thailand said, “Thank you for making this an awesome weekend! I really enjoyed spending time with all the students from WHS. They are all nice & friendly.”

Fuka Sunagawa from Japan shared, “I had a good time! Thank you so much!”

Natalia Salinas from Peru said, “Thank you for spending your weekend with us. We had fun sharing our cultures and laughing!”

Marina Rangel from Brazil shared, “Thank you for this awesome weekend! It was really nice to meet new people and learn more about America’s culture. P.S. I had no idea I was good at bowling!”

NHS members shared the following reflections about the weekend:

Jenna Caldwell said, “Meeting & talking with all of the Foreign-Exchange students was a truly unforgettable experience. Combining all of our cultures together made for a great time. Through our conversations, I learned so much about the different countries that the students were from. This instilled so much knowledge into myself and my peers. I cannot wait for next year’s exchange and everything it has to hold.”

Broderick Frye shared, “It was great to get to know the people from Turkey & Thailand. Hearing about their culture back in their home country was interesting. Even just hearing about the place they are staying here in the United States was incredible too. Some people have stereotypes about people from different cultures and I believe the only way to diminish that is to get to know the people. I was able to get to know them and it was a great experience.”

Madalynn Arnett shared, “It was fun to show the two girls different parts of Wisconsin. They enjoyed shopping, going to Culver’s to eat cheese curds, and even stopping at Dunkin’ Donuts twice. Instantly on Friday night, all of our personalities clicked and saying goodbye on Sunday was very hard. We all are already planning on when to meet next and are so grateful that this weekend brought us all two new best friends.”

Abby Grosinske said, “I loved this past weekend and everything we did. From meeting everyone on Friday night to watching the sectional meet with our students Saturday, it was truly a great time. I made life-long friends with the two girls I spent the weekend with and I hope more students are encouraged to participate in this weekend next year. All the students were so respectful when they met new people and loved sharing some of their favorite things from the exchange so far!”

Alyssa Schumacher reflected, “I absolutely loved getting to know all of the foreign exchange students. They were very talkative and were willing to answer all of our questions about their home countries. It was really cool to be able to learn about their cultures and the biggest differences between here and there. I have definitely made some great new friendships and will have some great travel buddies when I travel to different countries!!!”

Submitted by:
Pamela Sonmor-Wintz, School Counselor (M-Z)
Coordinator of School Counseling Services/National Honor Society Advisor/International Student Exchange Advisor/Scholarship Coordinator

The UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club will be hosting a series of fun-filled events for Youth Appreciation Week. Wednesday, November 13 from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. there will be free bowling at Hawk Bowl, sponsored by Hawk Bowl. Saturday, November 16 the club will host a free screening of the movie Secret Life of Pets 2 at Whitewater Cinemas starting at 10:30 a.m. Food and beverages will be available for purchase at both events.

The UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club has been committed to serving the youth of the Whitewater community since 1981. On December 7, 2019 the Optimist Club will be hosting its annual Breakfast With Santa.

If you are interested in joining the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club, please visit our blog (http://blogs.uww.edu/uwwcommunityoptimist/) for more information.

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 November 11th. The theme will be Gratitude.

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.

If you are attending for the first time please call 800-272-3900.

LEAF AND YARD WASTE COLLECTION:

The City of Whitewater Department of Public Works will conduct a leaf and yard waste collection the:

• Week of November 4 – November 8
• Week of November 11 – November 15

Yard waste is defined as leaves, grass clippings, small branches, and yard and garden debris.  Yard waste must be bagged in clear, transparent, or biodegradable bags only.  The City offers Bio-Bags in the fall at the Finance Department free of charge while supplies last.  Yard waste will not be collected if not properly bagged or placed in non-transparent or black bags.

The compost site is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.  The compost site will close for the season at 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 20, 2019. 

Residents requesting brush collection should call 473-0560 to make an appointment for pick up on Tuesdays.

On Monday, October 28, the Whitewater Unified School District unanimously approved Dr. Jim Shaw as the District Administrator for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. 

The Whitewater Unified School District School Board held interviews with candidates and was impressed by Dr. Shaw’s extensive experience, commitment to public education and proven track record of strong leadership.  After Dr. Shaw’s appointment was approved he said, “I am honored to serve the Whitewater Unified School District and community.”     

Dr. Jim Shaw is the former Superintendent of the Menomonee Falls and Racine Unified School Districts. He also served as Clinical Professor and Director of the Wisconsin Idea Executive PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He started his career as a social studies teacher. He is also a school psychologist, and worked as director of pupil services, director of curriculum and instruction, and school business manager in the Kettle Moraine School District. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University, a master’s degree from UW-Milwaukee and a PhD from UW-Madison.

Dr. Shaw is a former Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year, and was recognized by the Wisconsin and National Education Associations, the Public Policy Forum in Milwaukee, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his leadership and contributions to public education.

Casey Judd, Whitewater Unified School District School Board President, said, “We are excited to have Dr. Shaw lead our District for this school year. I hope our staff, teachers, parents, and the broader community will join me in welcoming Dr. Shaw to our exceptional school district.”

Dr. Shaw’s first day as District Administrator is Tuesday, October 29. There will be an event held in the coming weeks where all staff, parents and community members will be invited to meet him. 

Judd indicated, “The School Board will conduct a full search for a permanent District Administrator to lead our District as we work to fulfill our mission of inspiring and empowering students to achieve excellence in a safe, innovative and educational environment.”