RHS students ask school board to reconsider cellphone policy

Two Rhinelander High School juniors urged the School District of Rhinelander Board of Education Monday night to reconsider a new cellphone policy set to take effect in the fall — one they say overreaches its intent by restricting phone use beyond classroom instruction.
Hayley Schiek and Ella Miljevich told board members they have no objection to keeping phones out of class. “That’s already state law,” Schiek said. “Class time should be focused on learning.” But the students argued the new policy goes too far by extending the ban to passing periods and lunch — times when no instruction is taking place.
“Those are not instructional periods, and they are built-in breaks,” Miljevich said. “Taking phones away during those times doesn’t protect learning, because learning isn’t happening in those moments in the first place.”
The students said the current policy already strikes a workable balance — phones stay out of classrooms but remain accessible during breaks. Eliminating that access, they said, would make it harder for students to stay organized, since many use their phones between classes to check schedules and look up assignments.
They also raised practical concerns about communication. Students sometimes need to reach parents, coaches or employers during the school day, and passing time and lunch are the only windows to do so without disrupting class. Miljevich added that the mental health case for short breaks shouldn’t be dismissed. School days are long, she said, and a few minutes to decompress can actually help students return to class more focused.

The pair’s sharpest argument centered on responsibility. As upperclassmen preparing for college or the workforce, Schiek said, students need practice managing distractions on their own — not a policy that makes those decisions for them.
The students said they also consulted state Representative Rob Swearingen, who told them the intent of the state law is to limit phone use during instructional time — not to eliminate access for the full school day. Swearingen, they said, agreed with their position.
“At the end of the day, it is your decision,” Miljevich told the board, “but we are asking you to reconsider and keep a policy that builds focus with responsibility — allow phones during passing time and lunch, while continuing to enforce no use during class.”
Spring break trips to Belize, Spain deliver lessons beyond the classroom
Rhinelander High School students and staff also shared reports on two spring break educational trips — one to Belize and one to Spain — that both drew the same takeaway: the most meaningful learning happened far from a classroom.
Science teacher Megan Cihla led a group of 20 students and three other chaperones to Belize for seven days over spring break, a trip she first proposed to the board more than two years ago.
The itinerary was dense with hands-on experiences. Students worked with researchers on sea turtle and bat conservation, dissected invasive lionfish, identified river invertebrates, and toured a local farm to sample dozens of native fruits and vegetables — including, for a brave few, live termites. They harvested cocoa beans alongside a local farmer, learned traditional tortilla-making in a Mayan women’s village, took part in a native drum ceremony, planted trees, and collected garbage from a beach as part of a pollution cleanup effort.
Perhaps the most affecting stop was a visit to a local elementary school, where students donated school supplies — pencils, crayons, markers — to a community facing significant poverty.
“It was overall a great experience,” Cihla told the board. “The students were wonderful to work with, and we were told we were one of the best groups they’d had.”
Students echoed that sentiment. Vivian Lamers said the trip reshaped her sense of perspective. “I thought it was really cool how we went into all the villages and they showed us their daily life,” she said. “You kind of just take it for granted — going to visit those schools made me realize how fortunate we are.”
Ella Heck described the bat mist-netting experience at a research station called Trees as among the most educational moments of the trip. Researchers set up near-invisible nets, checked them every 20 minutes, and brought captured bats back to measure their wings and identify the species. “I learned a lot that day,” she said, “stuff that I can’t really learn here at school.”
Kiley Pooch said the science dimension of the trip — from studying the ocean to learning how Belizean farmers manage their resources — was a highlight. “I thought seeing how their resources are different from ours was really interesting,” she said.
Spanish teacher Nicole Losch brought 14 students to Spain, capping a trip she said was life-changing. The group visited Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Málaga, touring cathedrals, historic sites and cultural landmarks — including a building constructed for the 1932 World’s Fair in Seville and a 34-story tower students climbed to the top. About half the group attended Sunday mass at a cathedral in Málaga. For some students, it was their first time on an airplane; one told Losch the largest city they’d ever visited before the trip was Minneapolis.
But for Losch, the defining memory was simpler. “My students were walking down the streets of Madrid and trying to speak Spanish to me,” she said, “because you don’t do that all the time in the classroom.” A month later, she said, students are still coming to class saying they dreamed of Spain the night before.
Student Kamden Kostrova surveyed the group after returning. Every respondent said they enjoyed the trip. Nearly 92 percent said the experience changed their perspective on learning. Most said their views on other cultures had shifted, and three-quarters reported increased participation in Spanish class since returning.
One survey response stood out to Kostrova: “I genuinely want to learn Spanish now, instead of just being present in class. I want to start traveling and seeing things. The trip drastically changed my view on how to treat others because of the culture I was surrounded by in Spain. It was the best and most influential trip of my life.”
Kostrova said the trip left a lasting mark on him personally. “I really loved it there so much,” he said. “I’m genuinely looking at studying abroad and colleges in Spain.”
Student Emily Schiek said the challenge of navigating real situations in Spanish — ordering food, talking with a tour guide — was among her favorite parts. “I learned a lot just by being exposed to that environment,” she said.
Another student called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I learned so much, and it was so cool to just be immersed in such a different culture,” she said.