WHS Families: Spring Break edition

Whitewater High School Math Teacher Jason Bleck has been honored with a 2024 Herb Kohl Teacher Fellowship award for his outstanding contributions to education and his positive influence on students.

The Herb Kohl Teacher Fellowship program celebrates and supports teachers and innovation in education across Wisconsin. It empowers educators to pursue their aspirations for enriching classroom experiences and professional development opportunities.

Jason and the 99 other teacher recipients will each receive a $6,000 grant to support their educational initiatives.

“Jason fosters an especially engaging learning environment for students and inspires them to achieve and challenge themselves,” said Dr. Caroline Pate-Hefty, Superintendent of the Whitewater Unified School District. “We are so proud to celebrate this recognition of one of our amazing educators. He deserves this recognition and is a great role model for all students and colleagues in WUSD.”

In a broader celebration of educational excellence, the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation has announced 304 distinguished individuals—including students, teachers, and administrators—as recipients of its 2024 Student Excellence and Initiative, Teacher Fellowship, and Principal Leadership awards.

Established by the late Herb Kohl, former U.S. senator, philanthropist, and businessman, the Kohl Foundation award program has supported Wisconsin's educational community since its inception in 1990. With nearly $38 million awarded to date, the foundation remains steadfast in its mission to recognize and uplift the invaluable contributions of educators, principals, students, and schools throughout the state.

For more information about the awards program, visit www.kohleducation.org

The Whitewater High School Forensics Team had amazing performances at last night’s District competition hosted by Stoughton High School. This is part of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech and Dramatic Arts Association (WISDAA) State Series.

Five students will advance to the State Tournament, which will be hosted by DeForest High School in April:

Carley Boudreau (11) - Informative/Demonstration Speech

Emerson Ellenwood (12) - Expository Speech

Emilia Houwers (12) - Expository Speech

Marina Linos (12) - Informative/Demonstration Speech

Lauren Rollette (12) - Solo Serious Acting

WHS Student Council is proud to announce that Mr. Jim McCulloch has been selected as Whitewater High School's Staff Member of the Month!

Mr. McCulloch is the Drama and Theater Teacher at WHS. He was chosen because of his enthusiasm in class, the extracurriculars he brings to the Middle School and High School regarding the musicals, plays, and Forensics, and the positive way he treats his students and colleagues. Please congratulate him and offer a high five/fist bump. Mr. McCulloch was treated to a Sweet Spot gift card. Thank you and congrats, Mr. McCulloch!

Whitewater High School held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of their Certified Nursing Assistant Lab on March 20th.

WHS is the 9th high school that has opened a Nursing Assistant lab in partnership with Gateway Technical College. Other high schools include: Burlington, East Troy, Brookfield, KUSD-Indian Trail, Muskego, Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, and Wilmot.

Whitewater High School’s first ten student cohort is scheduled to begin Gateway’s two credit Nursing Assistant program on April 17th. Upon successful completion of the program, the students are eligible to take the Wisconsin Nursing Assistant competency evaluation for inclusion on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry and employment in nursing homes, hospitals, home health agencies, hospices, assisted living centers and homes for the developmentally disabled.

WHS now offers 19 different Gateway transcripted credit courses that are taught by Whitewater High school teachers, which will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars saved for our students. This is in addition to the Start College Now courses, Vanguard Distant Learning, and HS Academy courses that WHS students can take at Gateway Technical College.

A special thank you goes out to Fairhaven Senior Services. We are profoundly grateful for their partnership and dedication to helping to make this lab a reality. The beds, side tables, and linens were all a donation from Fairhaven. Simply stated, without their generous donation, we would not have been able to make this lab a reality. Thank you!

Ferradermis, the Whitewater High School robotics team, is busy preparing for its upcoming trip to Houston to compete in the 2024 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Championship in April.

Ferradermis earned the prestigious FIRST Impact Award at the Northern Lights Regional in Duluth, Minnesota, earlier this month. This achievement secured the team’s spot in the championship competition.

The FIRST Championship is a global competition for youth robotics teams, providing a platform for collaboration and creativity. Ferradermis will face off against 83 other Impact Award winners, vying for the opportunity to join the FIRST Hall of Fame.

The team’s trip to Houston was made possible by generous donations from several community members, organizations, and supporting businesses that covered the entire cost.

“I cannot express enough gratitude for the incredible support our program continues to receive from our community,” said Laura Masbruch, the team’s advisor. “I’m confident the team will represent WUSD well in Houston and do their best to bring home another title for our booming program!”

Special regard goes to an anonymous donor, Applied Material Solutions, the Weber family, anonymous WUSD staff, NAES, The Coburn Company, Streib Construction, and Keystone Real Estate Investments LLC for their considerable contributions of $1,000 or more to the Ferradermis program for this trip. The team also received donations from others across the community.

For more information about Ferradermis and the team’s journey to the FIRST Championship, visit www.ferradermis.org.

The Back to School Safety letter can be viewed HERE.

The 2023-2024 Student Handbook can be viewed HERE.

The Athletic/Activity handbook can be reviewed HERE