Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The district proposed a remodeling of the current main entrance configuration, one that would funnel all those who come into the building into one location.
The Whitnall School District is prepared to spend more than $100,000 to improve school safety at Whitnall High School. That’s the price tag to make the main entrance to the school far more secure than it is now. Currently, someone wishing to enter the building must be buzzed in, but once inside the school, that person can head in many different directions. “Right now, you do have to get buzzed in through the outer doors, but you don’t know what the person wants and why they’re there,” Whitnall Superintendent Lowell Holtz said. “Once they are in, they can go through as many as six to eight different doors without even talking to someone in the high school office. “This funnels them into the sign-in room. It’s very important.” The current …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Brittany Barnstable, a 15-year-old Whitnall High School freshman, died Sunday from injuries sustained in an accident over the weekend.
Brittany Barnstable was a talented artist and a soccer player with a rambunctious side that made her stand out in a crowd. Her teachers say she pushed the limits with her creativity and that she had a bright future. But on Sunday, Brittany died of injuries sustained when the bicycle she was riding in Saturday was struck by an SUV as the 15-year-old Whitnall High School freshman crossed Sunnyslope Road in New Berlin. Students and staff wore red shirts in honor of Brittany on Monday, and Monday evening, her soccer teammates wore her number “15” on their shin guards during the junior varsity and varsity games at South Milwaukee. The Whitnall community also took to social media to show their support for the Barnstable family. On Twitter, …
The district's focus is to make the Nature Pod more useable for science students, and then possibly installing the nine-hole disc golf course.
Disc golf fans hoping to see a new course built in the Nature Pod on the Whitnall School District grounds near the middle and high schools will have to stem their enthusiasm a bit, at least for now. The Whitnall School Board wants to explore partnerships with other school groups before committing to installing a nine-hole course as proposed by Whitnall senior Clayton Anderson with the help of the district’s Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Matt Karshna. Superindent Lowell Holtz said the district's science department has shown an interest in turning the Nature Pod into a school forest. “That’s the focus now, getting it cleared out of the invasive species and making it easier for the science students to use it,” Holtz said. “And then it …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Amy Kohl, who has been in the Fox Point-Bayside School District the last two years, was with Whitnall from 2007-11. She was hired by the Greenfield School District on Monday, May 20.
The former Whitnall School District business manager has been hired to a similar position with Greenfield. Amy Kohl was chosen from a pool of 16 applicants to replace Kristin Kollath as the Greenfield School District’s new Director of Business Services. Her appointment was approved by the Greenfield School Board on Monday. Kohl was Whitnall’s business manager from 2007-2011 before taking a similar role in the Fox Point-Bayside School District, which she has performed for almost two years. During her tenure with the Whitnall and Fox Point–Bayside school districts, Kohl was responsible for all business operations, including finance, buildings and grounds, food service and transportation. She will perform similar duties with Greenfield and …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The annual Whitnall Falcon Booster Club fundraiser will be at Finn McGuire's Irish Pub and Grill in Hales Corners from 4-10 p.m. Saturday, May 18.
Not interested in doing yard work this fall but still in need of someone to come over and rake your leaves? Saturday’s Falcon Fest 2013, a Whitnall Falcon Booster Club fundraiser, could offer a solution. In an effort to get high school athletes and club members more involved in the fundraiser, each team and club was asked to pull together baskets to raffle or for the silent auction. The football team, for example, decided its silent auction baskets would include four players donating two hours of their time to come do yard work or similar chore at the winner’s home. A cash prize will be rewarded to the group’s basket that pulls in the most money. The 15th annual Falcon Fest will be from 4-10 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Finn McGuire’s Irish …
Monday, May 13, 2013
The board's clerk and treasurer are also different.
Monday's special Whitnall School Board workshop marks just the second time its new officers are in place in their new roles. Bernard Shaw was voted in as the board’s president April 29, beating Elieen Valaitis, 5-2, in a secret ballot. Shaw replaced Nancy Zaborowski, who declined Shaw’s nomination to return to that role. Shaw has been on the board since 2008 and was most recently its vice president. Valaitis, who has been on the board since last April, won a 4-3 vote over Zaborowski to serve as vice president. T.J. Anderson was the unanimous choice for treasurer and Stephanie Richter, who was reelected to the board in April, was the unanimous choice for clerk. The newly shaped board will tackle a handful of discussion items Monday, …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Elertson was a high school associate principal and handled the school's athletics for nearly two years. He and his family are moving to Colorado.
In his two years as the Whitnall High School athletic director and associate principal, Rick Elertson has seen the opening of state-of-the-art Falcon Field and helped the school launch seven new clubs, all while Whitnall has remained near the top of the heap academically. And while he’s quick to point out he’s not necessarily directly responsible for any of those things, he’s happy to have been a part of them. “There’s a sense of pride at Whitnall,” Elertson said. “There’s a stadium we can be proud of, the community has rallied around athletics and the district’s academics. Things tend to snowball from there in a positive way. “It’s a big deal for me to feel like I’ve been a part of that renewal.” To see what happens next, however, …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Despite changes in benchmarks for Wisconsin statewide reading and math tests, Whitnall students continue to perform higher than statewide norms. Greenfield school officials, however, say improvement is needed.
Use Patch's interactive database to see the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations scores in Greenfield, Whitnall and other area districts for the last three years. Students in the Greenfield and Whitnall school districts saw lower scores in statewide math and reading tests this year, but those changes are almost entirely due to tough new standards that kicked in this year. In Whitnall, 39 percent of the students who took the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE) in November 2012 scored at proficient or advanced in reading. That's compared to 89.3 percent who hit that mark in 2011. The 2012-13 results were released last week. In math, 61.3 percent of the Whitnall students were proficient or better this year, compared …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
See Greenfield and Whitnall's most recent graduation and drop-out rates, and how they compare to the rest of the state and surrounding districts.
Graduation rates in both the Greenfield and Whitnall school districts are above the state average, but so is Greenfield's drop-out rate, according to data from the state Department of Public Instruction. Statewide in 2011-12, 88.6 percent of enrolled high school seniors received diplomas, and 5.5 percent of students dropped out of school. That year in Greenfield, 89.4 percent of students received diplomas, according to DPI data, and 7.4 percent dropped out of GHS. Meanwhile, at Whitnall High School, the graduation rate was 96.8 percent, with 1.4 percent dropping out. Search above to see information about graduation rates in Greenfield, Whitnall and other districts throughout the state. The search function is not available on mobile …
Monday, April 15, 2013
The letter went out Friday, one day after Greenfield firefighters found the victims - three children ages 5 and under - who died in a house fire in West Allis.
In an effort to prevent the recent house fire tragedies that occurred in West Allis over the last few weeks, the Greenfield Fire Department, in conjunction with other local fire departments and the Whitnall and Greenfield school districts, issued this letter to all students last week: Each year over 3,500 people are killed in fires. On average 10 people are dying every day in fires. With several recent fire deaths in neighboring communities; the Hales Corners, Greenfield, Franklin Fire Departments and the Whitnall School District want to ensure your family does not become a fire statistic. Therefore, each family should consider and discuss the following: Make a promise to your family to stay safe. If you need more information or do not …
Steve Rogers
5:53 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
we grieve with the Barnstable family - there has been much prayer and concern from our church family at elim - these are great people and very deserving of our communities support. Brittany was a part of a very loving & strong beautiful family - we will continue to pray for great strength to carry the family through these very difficult times... slr more ›