There was a school board meeting held at Whitewater High School Monday, Oct. 28. Ferradermis, the FIRST Robotics Competition Team, requested permission to be involved in up to five overnight trips this winter and spring. As of right now, three overnight trips are for sure happening. The first of the newly requested trips is multiple days, but it is not an overnight trip. The other requested trip only happens depending on the FIRST Regional scheduling process. Their sixth trip would be to Houston, Texas, which would happen if the team qualifies at the regional event to make it to nationals.

There was also talks about how the i-Ready program is going at the schools. I-Ready is a program used in schools to help teachers personalize learning for students, and it’s been seen to be beneficial towards students within recent years.

Stephanie Hicks characterized it as “a good idea.”

A debriefing on homecoming was also part of the agenda during the meeting. The homecoming festivities took place during the week of Sept. 30. There were a variety of events that were held during the week district wide, including the homecoming varsity football game against Jefferson High School on Friday, Oct. 4. Members within the community were also invited to participate in a lip-syncing competition and the tradition of “Burning the W” at Whitewater High School as part of their homecoming events.

“A lot of times people say ‘why do we burn our own W?’” Dr. Caroline Pale-Hefty said. “Well, this process started in the 1960s, and this history courtesy of Jim Stewart, in the 1960s and when they started this process, they were actually burning the material of the floats from the parades.”