Rowland Hall Stories

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 link...

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 p...

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 lead...

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...

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 fi...

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 publish...

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...