Written by: Gavin Esterholm
Gavin Esterholm, the school board's student liaison for Phillips High School, reported updates regarding various sports, groups, and events at the high school as of December 14, 2025. Gavin interviewed students about their high school experience with these activities.
BAND
The band had their Christmas Concert in early December, featuring the 6th grade band, the 7th and 8th grade band, and the high school band. They each performed various pieces and there were extremely good comments from members of the audience following the concert. The ban also performed some Christmas songs in the commons and for the elementary school in the mornings before
school.
CHOIR
The choir members were working hard at perfecting the music since early fall and held their holiday concert earlier this month. Along with the band, choir members had their fruit sale fundraiser, which was a great success this year, practically filling the band room with fruit boxes.
FBLA
FBLA has been fundraising with their one dollar chocolate bar fundraiser, and it seems as if almost every student sells very well. Emmet Knudson said, "FBLA co-organized a food drive with the Sources of Strength. Together, they helped raise over 400 pounds of food for the Phillips Food Bank. They say thank you to everyone who helped and donated! FBLA had its members (who wished to compete) pick a competitive event. Those who were interested were registered. Some members will have the chance to present their work on February 7th at the Regional Leadership Conference in Loyal, and others may have the opportunity to take a test for their event before that date. All members are invited to this conference, and there will be more details as we get closer to it!”
HOCKEY
I was fortunate enough to make my way up to Park Falls for two of the hockey games this season, and I didn’t realize how exciting and fun hockey was to watch, with players competing on the co-op team with the Chequamegon and Butternut school districts. Players from Phillips include Senior Kalan Chuzles, Junior Audrey Hueckman, and Sophomores Nick Pesko and Finn McCardle. They are
on a three-game winning streak, putting them 3-3 on the year. Last Saturday, they played Green Bay United and won 6-0 with a notable goal by Finn McCardle, earning him the team's hard hat, which recognizes the team's pick of player of the game.
STUDENT COUNCIL
The student council planned and put on a the talent show.
MOCK TRIAL
Mock Trial has been meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays. They have been working through their direct and cross-examination questions in preparation for the first trial at the Price County Courthouse on Monday, December 29. They posted many posters around the school looking for fellow students to act as a “mock jury.”
TEEN COURT
The teen court is part of the deferred prosecution agreement, where kids who face consequences with the law at the age of 16 or younger get the decision to go to a group of their peers from the surrounding schools, including Chequamegon, Prentice, and Phillips, where the teen members question and determine the consequences of their actions. They have had a few cases this year. Last month, they had the chance to hear from Callie Podmolik, who gave a good rundown of what her role as the Juvenile Justice
Intake Worker is and what she does for the kids they don’t see as they end up her way, not at the Teen Court.
BOYS' BASKETBALL
The boys' basketball season is now in full swing, with three games thus far, playing Auburndale, Washburn, and Newman Catholic. During the first home game against Auburndale, Senior Jeffrey Heikkinen had a notable 39 points and tied the most completed 3-point shots by a Logger. Jeffrey said, "Everyone is very young, and it's a completely different team from last year, with
me being the only returning varsity starter. It will be a fun learning experience for everyone, but things will start working themselves out through the season. It's a very big change from last year.”
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
The girls' basketball team has played five games this season. Leah Harper said, “We have been adjusting well to the new coach and are improving every day. We have been enjoying doing some new team bonding experiences and are hoping to get a win soon. We think that the rest of the season will go well, and we will keep getting better.”