News & Events

On Wednesday, February 8, five members of Ferradermis, Whitewater High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition Team, were accompanied by mentors Dilpreet Randhawa, Brienne Brown, and Laura Masbruch as they travelled to the state capitol to raise awareness for FIRST with their state representatives during FIRST Wisconsin Advocacy Day.

Seniors Daniel (Peter) Portwine and Jazmin Cederberg, Junior Cosette Wildermuth-Breitzman, Sophomore Maddison LaHaie, and Freshman Margaret Brown spent the morning at Monona Terrace, hearing from the leadership of FIRST Wisconsin and members of other FIRST teams from middle and high schools around the state about advocacy. They also learned about SASA, the Student Association for STEM Advocacy.

Kevin Anderson from the Department of Public Instruction spoke with the students about the details of the Robotics League Participation Grant which was originally created by the state legislature in 2015 as part of Act 280. This grant is guaranteed to all Wisconsin robotics teams in grades 6-12 who apply and is meant to act as a $5000 matching grant to help offset the costs of competition. However, as the number of robotics teams in Wisconsin has grown, the pool of money allotted to the grant has not kept pace, despite an increase in a previous budget cycle. In the latest round of grant awards for the 2023 season, teams were awarded approximately $3800 each. A major goal of Advocacy Day was for students to ask their legislators to increase the pool of funds for this grant during the next budget cycle. Ferradermis has benefitted from this grant in each of their seven years of competition, so it is important to the team to see this funding continue and potentially increase.

During the morning session, students also heard from Dan Rossmiller, who is currently the Director of Government Relations for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Mr. Rossmiller helped the students understand the inner-workings of the state legislature and the budget process. The morning wrapped up with a mock meeting staged with Renee Becker-Blau, the new President of FIRST Wisconsin, and a group of students who had previously attended the National Advocacy Conference in Washington DC.

After lunch, the students headed to the State Capitol Building and held meetings with their various representatives. The crew from Ferradermis began with a joint meeting with Senator Steve Nass and Representative Ellen Schutt, who both represent the districts in which the students live. For this session, the students of Ferradermis led the nearly thirty-minute meeting but incorporated members of a FIRST LEGO League Team and a FIRST Tech Team from the Clinton and Beloit areas who are in the same districts.

The team then also joined or led separate meetings with Senator Chris Larson of Madison, Representative Francesca Hong from Madison, and Representative Kristina Shelton from Green Bay. Representatives Hong and Shelton are both members of the Assembly Committee on Education, and Senator Larson sits on the Senate Committee on Education, so the team felt it was important to help them learn about FIRST and the need for increased funding for the robotics grant.

Student reaction to the day was highly positive. The students felt the meetings went well, and they left feeling like they had successfully shared their passion for FIRST Robotics. As one student said as the crew was leaving the capitol, “this experience really humanized politics.”  

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

Each year, FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Teams may nominate two sophomores or juniors for recognition on Dean’s List. Dean’s List is named for Dean Kamen who founded FIRST, and the award is the highest recognition for an individual student in FIRST Robotics. The award is meant to recognize great examples of student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness of FIRST and its mission. These students have also achieved personal technical expertise.

This year, the mentors of Ferradermis, Whitewater High School’s FRC Team #6574, are nominating sophomores Maddison LaHaie and Emerson Dunham as Dean’s List Semi-Finalists. The mentors have submitted five short essays on behalf of each student outlining their leadership talents, technical skills, and overall contributions to the team. Each student will then participate in an interview with judges at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee in late March where two semi-finalists will be named finalists and advance to compete at the FIRST Championships in Houston in April.

Maddison LaHaie

Maddi dedicates herself to service. She actively decides to see the good in every situation. Due to a large number of new members this year, Maddi has taken it upon herself to make sure the students bond and learn to work together to achieve their goals. She has personally hosted two team socials at her home – an outdoor movie night and an ugly sweater party/game night. She is welcoming to everyone and pays special attention to making everyone feel seen. Maddi volunteers regularly with the Kiwanis as a team representative. Maddi has helped introduce an element of fun to meetings, creating FIRST Robotics themed Kahoots as friendly competitions.

FLL and working with our younger district students are Maddi’s passions. She served as a mentor to our new middle school team this year, helping them plan and organize their project. She then originated the idea for a LEGO party at our public library over winter break to celebrate the teams. After working closely with the local library to facilitate the event, Maddi’s efforts resulted in over 40 students spending an afternoon building with LEGOs and driving the FRC robot. Maddi continued to show her passion for getting kids excited about STEM by serving as a ref for our in-district FLL competition. Maddi served as our greeter/host for STEAM night at one of our elementary schools and our annual open house, in both instances working to get people excited about FIRST.

Maddi takes the lead on every issue of our monthly newsletter. She has become our resident expert on Canva as she uses it to create graphics for invitations, posters, and publications. As a freshman, Maddi learned to use WeVideo and then took charge of the (then) Chairman’s video, doing all of the editing and the voice over. Although Maddi’s focus is on the administrative side of the team, she has completed all of the training that allows her to be an extra pair of hands in the shop if needed, showing that she is willing to step outside of her comfort zone to help the team. As a freshman, she was also instrumental in bumper construction.

Maddi serves as the co-lead for the administrative subteam, focusing mainly on outreach activities. As both a freshman and a sophomore, Maddi wrote a large portion of the submission for the Impact Award and also took on the role of presenter. She has been a part of every sponsor presentation the team has done in the last year. Maddi serves as our main contact with the Kiwanis, helping with their pancake breakfasts and the fundraising and grand opening for the We-Go-Round accessible merry-go-round. Maddi’s creativity shined through as she came up with the story idea for our team’s first ever submission for the Digital Animation Award. She is always trying to think outside the box with fundraising, and is currently planning our team’s first attempt at raffle baskets for our open house.

Maddi’s energy and enthusiasm for everything FIRST is motivating in itself; she always finds a way to inspire enthusiasm in her peers and mentors. She is a fantastic listener, and she is very much in tune with the needs of her administrative team members. She truly leads by example, especially with her heavy involvement in outreach events. Maddi is always willing to step up and pitch in. If a scouting shift needs to be covered at an event or help is needed cleaning up, Maddi will be there. At the recent Advocacy Day at the state capitol, Maddi took her leadership to the next level by lobbying her state representatives for increased funding for robotics in the state.

Emerson Dunham

As Competition Logistics Subteam Lead in 2023 and head scout in 2022, Em has headed up our collaborative scouting efforts with 6421 Warriorbot’s WarriorWatch, a system which provides scouting data to all teams at any event. In doing so, Em often participates in in-person and virtual meetings with representatives from other teams to plan and organize scouting for an event. Em always makes sure that a new member is engaged with her when completing her tasks, making them feel included and helping build future leadership. Em is our rules expert, carefully color coding a printed copy of the game manual, so that she can support any subteam at any time. By always being there to answer questions and provide advice on projects, Em makes every member of Ferradermis feel welcome and successful.

Recruited by a member who mentored her on our middle school FLL team, Em champions recruiting efforts. Em led the drive to present to the Rock Valley Conference Student Councils as well as in-house recruiting efforts during lunch and homeroom periods which resulted in three new high school students joining before summer. Em led the recruitment efforts at the freshman activities fair this fall, resulting in nine new freshman members. Em is always working to raise awareness of FIRST in the community, most recently by designing a piece of artwork featuring a large Ferradermis logo for display in the Chamber of Commerce spirit corner. During Robotics Week 2022, Em wrote daily announcements and led the charge on a robot coloring contest with handmade robot crayons.

As a freshman, Em quickly became a bumper expert, and her role in that area has continued in 2023. Her expertise with both heat transfer and adhesive vinyl shines whether she is operating the cricut or the full-size vinyl cutter. Although she chooses to work mainly on non-robot aspects, Em is comfortable around power tools and will step in at a moment’s notice to help with anything as she did this year with construction of field elements. Em is quick with math and analytics as demonstrated by her assistance with interpreting CAD drawings for the field layout and her statistical analysis of match data. During Tech Savvy 2022, Em assisted with the CAD station, stretching herself outside of her comfort zone. When new scouting tablets were purchased, Em took charge of configuring them.

Em’s artistic abilities and creativity shine, as she has taken charge of the ambience in our workspace, planning for LED lighting, creating posters, and making the room a welcoming place. Her efforts have led to a team logo on the door, and decorative signage around the room that help members navigate the workspace. Em produces our sponsor display for the robot and pit each year. She is often the one to come up with a lower cost solution that will fit our needs. As the first stop for visitors at our community open house, Em is critical in helping them understand the game and season. She is also a regular attendee at our monthly meetings with a school alumni who is helping create an endowment fund for the team and helping to secure the team’s financial future.

In 2022, Em stepped up as a leader in the stands at each of our three regionals taking on the role of head scout, producing a scouting schedule, and making sure all shifts were covered. Em leads by example. She is always the one to ask, “How can I help?” or “What needs to be done?” No task is too small, and she ensures everyone feels supported. When we laid carpet in our workspace, Em was the first one there, helping others learn the process. Em is the one to get us back on track at leadership meetings with a friendly reminder when conversations go astray. When a teammate is taking on a new task, Em keeps a watchful eye, but lets them find their way, assisting only when needed, as she recently did when a rookie student was doing calculations for building a safety glass station for our room.

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

“Ta’r”

Tuesday, February 14, 1 p.m.

(Biography/Drama/Music) 

Rated R (Language, brief nudity); 2 hours, 38 minutes (2022)

Lydia Ta’r (Cate Blanchett), the principal conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic, is one of the most respected artists in the world. She has composed music for stage, film and television. What happens when a world renowned artist becomes overwhelmed by fame, responsibilities, society, and her own personal expectations? 

Nominated for Golden Globe Best Film, Screenplay, and Actress.

Please consider stopping by Whitewater High School for a short time between 10:00 and 2:00 on Saturday, February 11, to check out the Whitewater Unified School District robotics programs at our annual Robotics Open House. Representatives of the FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams from the elementary schools and the middle school will be there as well as the high school FIRST Robotics Competition Team Ferradermis. Enter through Door #38 behind the auditorium. 

Submitted by Laura Masbruch
Whitewater High School Robotics Advisor and Banner Volunteer
lmasbruch@wwusd.org

Editor’s note:

Races on the primary ballot are Justice of the Supreme Court and three Whitewater Unified School District School Board Member seats. All eleven active candidates for the school board responded to a questionnaire from the Whitewater Banner. Their responses may be read here. The League of Women Voters – Whitewater Area held a school board forum on January 28. Ten of the eleven candidates participated in this two hour event. The video may be viewed here.