On November 11, students currently enrolled in computer science courses participated in Bebra’s International Computational Thinking Challenge, and the results were just released. This online problem-solving competition challenged participants to break down puzzles into smaller steps to solve them, just as you would need to approach a problem when writing a computer program. Freshmen and sophomores competed in the junior division, while juniors and seniors were part of the senior division. The problem set consisted of 15 problems worth varying point values depending on difficulty, and the competition was timed at 45 minutes. Penalty points were charged for incorrect solutions, so students had to decide whether they were confident enough in a problem’s solution to submit it for scoring.

In the junior division, freshman Andrew O’Toole came out with the top score for all WHS participants, scoring a school-best 132 out of 180 points. Andrew is currently in enrolled in Computer Programming I, studying Python programming. Second place in the junior division went to Atreyu Blahnik, who is currently studying Digital Electronics, and third place went to Computer Concepts student Viktor Goldsmith.

In the senior division, Digital Electronics senior Jon Chan came out on top, earning 128 out of 180 possible points. Arno Crowley, currently working on an independent Senior Project, placed second. There was a three-way tie for third between Digital Electronics student Tyjai Geoghan, AP Computer Science student Andrew Swartz, and Cisco Networking Academy student Nicholas Weirich.

In November of 2020, freshman and sophomore computer science students competed in the junior division of Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge, with Jazmin Cederberg scoring 103 points to finish first, followed by Tyler Wright in second with 88 points, and Dayna Carlson in third with 84 points. Junior and senior CS students competed in the senior division. Arno Crowley placed first with 111 points, followed by David Cushman with 100, Elijah Grall with 95, and a tie between Guin Yeager and Jon Chan with 80.

On November 8, Whitewater High School students currently or formerly enrolled in computer science courses participated in Bebra’s International Computational Thinking Challenge. Bebras is an online competition where students are presented with 15 puzzles/questions that they are challenged to solve in 45 minutes or less.

The questions typically involve some sort of picture or graphical element that challenges students to think like a computer. For example, one of the questions this year asked students to find at most how many shoes someone had to try on to find the perfect size if all of the shoes in the store were arranged by size and width.

Freshmen and sophomores competed in the “junior” division while juniors and seniors competed in the “senior” division. Pictured are the top three finishers. Freshman Tyjai Geoghan finished with the highest score in the junior division, which was also the third highest score in the school. Senior Brian Apgar scored the highest in the senior division, missing only one question, followed closely by senior Colin Chenoweth.

Junior Division Results: 1st: Tyjai Geoghan, 2nd: Jon Chan, 3rd: Elijah Grall, 4th: Blake Wegner. Distinction: Arno Crowley, Nicholas Weirich

Senior Division Results:1st: Brian Apgar, 2nd: Colin Chenoweth, 3rd (TIE): Broderick Frye, Thomas Utynek, Andy Vo, Distinction: Shawn Chan, Nathan Wood, Peter Zimdars

In early November, 48 Whitewater High School computer science students participated in the online Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. The challenge gave students 45 minutes to solve 15 problems of varying difficulties meant to challenge students’ logic and computational thinking skills. Each problem was worth either 6, 9, or 12 points depending on difficulty, with a total of 200 points available. Freshmen and sophomores competed in the junior division while juniors and seniors competed in the senior division. Freshman Andrew Rollette finished with 156 points, achieving the high score in the junior division. Also scoring high in the junior division were Crystal Chan, Anthony Cano, and Kevin Dieter. Junior Colin Chenoweth scored 192 points in the senior division, achieving the high score for the school and matching the high score in the state of Wisconsin. Also scoring high in the senior division were Zach Brantmeier, Nick Kuzoff, and Brian Apgar.

On Monday, November 6, 35 current computer programming students at Whitewater High School competed in the national online Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. Students were given 45 minutes to solve 15 problems using pattern recognition, algorithm design, data analysis, and abstraction. These skills represent a set of problem-solving skills that software engineers use to write programs and apps. Freshmen and sophomores competed in the junior division while juniors and seniors competed in the senior division with a total of 180 points available in each. In the junior division, the average WHS score was 75.6, above the state average of 65.8 and the national average of 72.0. In the senior division, the average WHS score was 84.4, above the state average of 69.7 and the national average of 72.6. In the junior division, Jaxson Amos and Mariana Cano received honorable mentions, Hailey Murphy placed fourth, Jaelyn Hunt was third, Broderick Frye placed second, and Cody Rupke earned the top school score of 124 points. In the senior division, Zach Brantmeier and Jacob Korf earned honorable mentions while Declin Anderson, Zach Gross, and Nicole Sedmak tied for second, and Lydia Wiley-Deal earned the top school score of 140 points.

In November of 2016, with 180 points possible in the junior division, Zach Brantmeier had the top school score of 124, followed by Hailey Murphy with 100, and Tyler Rabenhorst-Malone with 88. Jacob Korf topped the senior division with 116 with a second place tie between Zach Gross and Steven Blija with 112.

On Monday, November 16, students in Ms. Laura Masbruch’s computer science courses competed in the international Bebra’s Computational Thinking Challenge. Each student had 45 minutes to answer 15 questions of three levels of difficulty that focused on computational and logical thinking. Points were awarded for correct answers and deducted for incorrect answers. Freshmen and sophomores competed in the junior division and juniors and seniors competed in the senior division.

371 Wisconsin students participated in the junior division. WHS sophomore Jacob Korf earned the high score in the state with 168 out of 180 points. In placing at WHS, Nicole Sedmak and Luke Rule tied for second, and Aspen Cook finished fourth.

In the senior division, Leif Sahyun scored 172 out of 180 possible points, placing first at WHS and finishing in the top 2-3% of students in the state. Mia Bentel and Devin Samaranayake finished tied for second, and Callista Hoxie finished fourth.

Students also competed within their specific course at WHS. Jacob Korf had the top score in AP Computer Science, Luke Rule and Nicole Sedmak tied for the highest score in Computer Programming I, and Marino Cano earned the top score in Computer Concepts.