Rowland Hall Stories

A familiar tradition for generations of students, the spelling bee is about more than spelling. It's a chance for students to grow, take risks, and support one another. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

This spring, the Beginning School will welcome a new play area designed with input from Rowland Hall kindergartners. Hear how the thoughtfully designed space will support child-led, imaginative, collaborative, and open-ended play. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

For the fourth time in five years, Rowland Hall Debate has been crowned Utah's 3A Speech & Debate champion. Read this story, including a full breakdown of students' top state performances, as well as view photos and links.

Get to know Rowland Hall's new director of safety and security, who's focused on keeping our students and campuses safe, welcoming, and thriving. Read this story to learn more fun facts about Cliff, as well as view photos and links.

Rowland Hall's redesigned website is live, offering a more engaging way to get to know the school. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of the redesign, from the strategic thinking that shaped it to the visual storytelling and navigation improvements that bring our Learn. Think. Do. value proposition to life. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

In this episode, we're examining Foundations, a thoughtfully designed program that helps Rowland Hall's sixth graders transition smoothly into middle school. Listen to learn why this experience is so important for new middle schoolers, including the many benefits it builds, from media literacy to strong communication and critical-thinking skills. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Upper School students at Rowland Hall are getting a head start in legal thinking through courses that offer hands-on experience with the legal system, while helping them understand their rights and the real-world impact of the law. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Congratulations to Rowland Hall junior Meg Hoglund, who has committed to play Division I lacrosse at Howard University in Washington, DC. Listen to hear how Meg turned a goal she set at age 12—playing collegiate lacrosse—into a reality. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

It's amazing what you can learn about your classmates just by asking a few simple questions. In this episode, we learn about family sharing, a new activity in Alise Anderson and Melinda Canfield's 3PreK class that's helping students build a strong sense of community, right from the start of their school journey. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

How do we ensure students are engaged, empowered, and confident? Through voice and choice, a learning approach that's woven throughout the Rowland Hall experience—often in unexpected ways. In this episode, we visit one fourth-grade classroom to see the approach in action. Read this story, as well as photos and links.

It's always a great year for Rowland Hall Debate, and 2024–2025 was no exception. Tune in to hear highlights from the most recent debate season and how the team is preparing for another exciting year. Read this story, view photos and links, and see the list of state tournament results.

This week, Mick Gee celebrated his fifth anniversary as head of school. In honor of this milestone, Mick reflected on some of his biggest projects during his first five years at Rowland Hall and what lies in the school's bright future. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

To foster a stronger, more inclusive community, teacher Hannah Ruske and her third-grade class partnered with students at the Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Learning during the 2024–2025 school year. Learn about their experience—and how you, too, can work to make the world more welcoming for every type of learner. Read this story (including the third graders' tips), as well as view photos and links. A note on the language used in this episode: While there are multiple ways to identify as Autistic, Rowland Hall has chosen to use the identity-first language that many Autistic adults advocate for. We have also chosen to capitalize Autism and Autistic in the linked story to affirm this identity.

Since 2009, Middle School aviation classes have been popular among students, offering many fun, hands-on opportunities to learn the scientific and mathematical principles behind flying. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Crates become robots. Toy ducks become cars. Fabric becomes water. When it comes to loose parts play, a child's imagination leads the way. Discover how our 3PreK classes embrace this creativity-fueled play and why it's so important for childhood development. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

The Upper School's Advanced Research program took an exciting leap forward this year with the launch of AR Computational and Mathematical Sciences, the newest opportunity for students eager to engage in self-directed, college-level research—now in the dynamic field of computer science. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Launched in spring 2024, Rowland Hall's Center for Community Impact is supporting the school's goal to be an indispensable partner in our region. Learn more about the center's work, including the many ways it provides students with opportunities to connect with local changemakers. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

This February, 16 Rowland Hall students—and 1,300 participants from around the world—gathered for this year's Model United Nations conference in New York City, an incredible simulation of international collaboration. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Imagine trying out your dream career, or practicing the skills you'll need to live abroad, all as part of your student experience. At Rowland Hall, opportunities like these come to life through Upper School independent projects. Join us to learn about three of those projects—and their many benefits. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

What do you get when you combine a transformative learning experience with the chance to work with a local composer? Ask this year's fourth graders, who recently helped create a new song advocating for the Great Salt Lake, as well as premiered that song for the community. Read this story (and see the performance!), as well as view photos and links.

Since graduating from Rowland Hall in 2012, Parker Bushnell has made a name for himself in Utah's professional sports retail world. As senior director of retail for Rank + Rally, Parker oversees the creation, distribution, and sales of merchandise for the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club, making it possible for fans to take home a piece of the action. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Since graduating in 2013, Rowmarker Breezy Johnson has made a name for herself on the US Ski Team. This month, the two-time Olympian reached a longtime goal when she was named downhill world champion at the 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships—the most important event in skiing after the Olympics. (And it wasn't her only gold event at this year's competition.) Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Award-winning director, producer, and cinematographer Danny Schmidt didn't grow up wanting to make films, but when his journey led him to that field, he fully embraced it. For Danny, filmmaking is a way to make a positive impact on the world. That's why, in addition to taking on his own projects, he's also mentoring the next generation of filmmakers. As Rowland Hall's media arts teacher, he's leading a program expansion designed to empower budding filmmakers by amplifying their voices and their ability to change the world. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. Check out Danny's portfolio.

Rowland Hall's kindergarten program is known for its focus on outdoor and nature-based learning, which greatly benefit young children. This year, teachers have expanded the curriculum with even more exciting nature-based activities ... complete with outdoor cooking! Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

When you see at a Rowland Hall preschooler building with blocks, you're watching a miniature architect in action. That's because this play is more than fun—it's full of big lessons in areas like math and physics, not to mention design, teamwork, and the power of imagination. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in March 2024.

Rowland Hall Director of Operations Ann Burnett has been called the hardest working person at the school—so it's only appropriate that her significant and lasting contributions have been recognized with a national Professional Achievement Award.

Rowland Hall's summer camp program, SummerWorks, has been part of alum Harper Lundquist's life since she was an undergraduate. Now, as director, she's tapping into her experience as a counselor, educator, and mentor to shape the future of the program. Read the story, as well as view photos and links. Visit the SummerWorks website. (Note: registration for summer 2025 opens on February 5.)

With a program spanning 15 grades, Rowland Hall has a unique opportunity to build community across a range of ages and stages of development. Over the years, an extra-special bond has been nourished between our kindergartners and seniors. From shared learning experiences to playful activities, discover how these students build friendships and belonging. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in March 2023.

Rowland Hall is known for our top debate program, but head debate coach Mike Shackelford knows the argumentative and highly competitive nature of the sport isn't for everyone. That's why he created a middle and upper school class that exposes more students to the benefits of debate without the pressures of high-level competition. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in June 2024.

Since 2022, the McCarthey Campus's TREC (Technology, Robotics, Engineering, and Coding) Lab has provided a flexible learning environment for exploring and building. Last year, the lab expanded its offerings with Open Lab, a time for classes, small groups, and individuals to exercise choice and voice in STEM activities. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in June 2024.

How do you build a better bug trap? That's a question Rowland Hall seventh graders tackled as they considered the best ways to capture invasive insect species impacting ecosystems across Utah. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in March 2024.

Energized by a national student gathering, a group of Upper School students spent most of 2024 designing their own conference to build belonging and grow leadership skills in Utah high schoolers. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Tree climbing is a uniquely valuable tool in the development of young children—and for good reason. This one activity builds risk tolerance, confidence, physical and social skills, and even environmental stewardship. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in June 2024.

It's never too early to learn about wise spending and saving—or to teach others about it. Discover how a recent cross-divisional collaboration built money smarts in both upper and lower schoolers, while also strengthening the school community. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

A different campus, a more complex schedule, class changes, multiple teachers, lockers, new ways of being graded—sixth grade is full of big transitions. That's why Rowland Hall kicks off each year with an intentional focus on building belonging and confidence in each new middle schooler. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Every day, Rowland Hall classrooms are abuzz with learning—both for students and teachers. Discover how one second-grade project is fostering students' independence and teamwork, while simultaneously inspiring two educators to refine their teaching methods for lasting impact. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Earlier this month, Rowland Hall's debaters participated in their first international debate tournament, held at the Taipei American School in Taiwan. Learn why our school was invited, how the students did, and what this exciting opportunity may mean for the future of the Rowland Hall program. Read this story and view a photo gallery of the trip.

Though it's only in its second year, 5-I—Rowland Hall's fifth-grade internship program—is already a campus sensation. Learn why students are so excited about this opportunity, what skills they're building, and why 5-I has quickly become a favorite experience for students and adults alike. Read this story, as well as view photos and links. This story was first published in March 2024.

No one loves a construction site more than preschoolers, so you can imagine our 4PreK students' excitement when they got to visit the Richard R. Steiner Campus building site for a new project. Discover what they're up to—and how it complements our early childhood curriculum. Read this story, as well as view photos and links.

Rowland Hall is known for debate, locally and nationally, but when the school's first Advanced Research Debate class took on a global essay competition in 2023–2024, they showed they have the chops to succeed on the international stage as well. View the story, photos, and links, and read two AR Debate essays.

In Advanced Research Humanities, students build research and writing skills by diving deeply into topics that are meaningful to them. Along the way, they learn to use their individual voices, strengthening their confidence as researchers, writers, communicators, and knowledge-makers. View the story, photos, and links, and watch a video of students sharing their research at their mini-conference.

In its first year, Rowland Hall's Advanced Research Biology class proved you're never too young to make a difference. In this episode, learn how the school's first class of AR Biology students worked to better understand, and find treatment for, an aggressive type of cancer. View the story, photos, and links, and see the poster presented by AR Biology students at the American Association of Cancer Research's annual meeting.

Welcome to Rowland Hall Stories, your place to discover what transformative learning looks like, in and out of the classroom. To kick off our school's newest podcast, we're giving listeners a glimpse of some of the most exciting classes offered in the Upper School: Advanced Research. In the first of four episodes on this topic, you'll learn about Advanced Research Chemistry and what the six seniors enrolled in the first year of this course (2023–2024) discovered about algae and its use in a more sustainable world. View the story, photos, and links, and check out a video of the students' trip to New Orleans for the American Chemical Society's spring conference.