Lower School: Grades 1–5

It’s not every day you get to be among a first group of performers who premiere a song, but that’s exactly what happened to this year’s fourth graders.

That song, The Great Salt Lake by local composer, and former principal oboist of the Utah Symphony, Robert Stephenson, was recently shared for the first time with the Rowland Hall community on Thursday, February 27. On that lovely late winter day, families, faculty, staff, and even two classes of beginning schoolers gathered in St. Margaret’s Chapel on the McCarthey Campus. As the afternoon light gently streamed through the stained glass windows, the accompanist began to play and the students’ voices joined together.

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“Once covered by Lake Bonneville, above the waves eleven rise,” they began. “The islands of the Great Salt Lake reaching for the skies.”

As they sang through each movement, the students led the audience on a tour of the famous lake: its islands and the many creatures that call them home, its essential role in bird migration, its conservation needs. It was an honor for those gathered to witness the piece’s first public performance, as well as to learn how this opportunity came to be.

It all started with a trip to the Great Salt Lake.

Any time we can get them out in the field, it’s huge.—Haas Pectol, fourth-grade teacher

Each September, Rowland Hall’s fourth graders, joined by 10th-grade learning buddies, travel to the Great Salt Lake for a field study of the lake’s ecosystem, history, and impact. This trip, one of many the grade takes during the year as they study Utah’s past and present, is designed to engage students’ senses as they connect their in-class learning to a local landmark.

“Any time we can get them out in the field, it’s huge,” said fourth-grade teacher Haas Pectol, as these experiential learning opportunities invite students to engage their senses, which helps them more easily grasp concepts, make connections, and care about the subject at hand.

At the lake, teachers encouraged sense engagement by having students make scientific observations through the I see, I think, I wonder lens. As they named what they saw, the students began to notice more in the environment around them. They noted their observations as they walked. We wonder, they wrote, why so many dead brine shrimp are floating around … why the sand has waves … how dead fish got out so far … why it smells so bad. 

“I looked at it with a new perspective because we were learning about it while we were there,” remembered fourth grader Jojo T.

Ryan Hoglund, director of community engagement and impact, said sensory learning approaches like I see, I think, I wonder are powerful when it comes to building lifelong learners and critical thinkers because they don’t allow learning to be siloed. As scientific observers at the lake that day, students sparked their own curiosity and wonder as they asked questions and made connections across their knowledge and interests.

“Wonder is a cue,” he said. “There’s a wow there, but you also know you need to go beyond yourself to learn more—do some research, talk to an expert, hear stories.”

These experiences can also help shape people who are empowered to find solutions to the world’s hardest problems by connecting them to a place, person, group, or cause. At the Great Salt Lake, students began to understand that they, too, can advocate for the lake they hear so much about.

“They care more and take more ownership because we’re creating a really meaningful, memorable experience and instilling that this is an awesome place,” said Haas.

So when McCarthey Campus music teacher Susan Swidnicki approached Haas about a multidisciplinary opportunity to link the students’ scientific observations from the lake to an artistic experience that would further their role as its advocates, Haas was excited to help out. Susan explained that her friend Robert Stephenson, who goes by Bob, was writing songs for the school’s children’s choruses. They wanted to include a piece about the Great Salt Lake and hoped fourth graders could contribute to its creation by sharing with the composer what about the lake most inspires them.

Did you know that collaborating with Bob Stephenson wasn’t the only way fourth graders built on their Great Salt Lake field study? The students and their 10th-grade buddies also created brochures for the lake’s 2024 intercoastal cleanup event. And the teachers shared their expertise with FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake, which creates fourth-grade curriculum for Utah schools. Their advice? Build in opportunities to engage students’ senses so they feel more connected to their lake studies.

The teachers decided to use picturing writing, a sensory engagement project in which students create a piece of art, then describe elements of that art through poem or prose. Susan led the students through the artistic process, providing photographs of the lake to inspire the class as they created crayon and watercolor paintings. Next, Haas led them through a descriptive writing exercise where they interpreted their paintings through vivid descriptive language. Thanks to their field study, they were well prepared.

“They drew on their own senses,” said Haas. “They’ve been there, saw it, smelled it.”

When the class was done, they had a gallery showcasing a range of subjects, from the lake itself to the landscape that surrounds it. Salty banks. Invasive phragmites grass encroaching on nesting areas. Mountains. Bird nests. The lake’s animals were there, too, from brine shrimp and antelope to the snowy plover. Even Pink Floyd, the legendary Chilean flamingo who wintered at the lake from 1988 to 2005, was represented. Below each image, the students’ words brought the lake to life, waking the reader’s own senses as they described the colors of sunset, the grit of a shoreline, the prickle in your nose as you catch a whiff of the lake’s signature scent.

The class then invited Bob to campus to view the gallery and gather inspiration for the subjects that would shape his songwriting. Bob said it was important to him to incorporate as many aspects of the lake as possible to illustrate its vital, multifaceted role, and its importance to the community and environment. Over time, this took shape as three separate movements: “Above the Waves,” which describes the lake’s landscape through the lens of its 11 islands; “Brine Shrimp, Brine Flies,” which playfully highlights the lake’s role in bird migration; and “Nowhere to Go,” which addresses the crisis of the shrinking lake. The goal, Bob explained, was to inspire listeners to aid in Great Salt Lake’s preservation.

“I hope somebody listening to the piece realizes the lake’s relevance, and that if we put our minds together and we collaborate, and we’re careful, it’ll be something that lasts,” he said.

It’s a perspective that fits beautifully with Rowland Hall’s approach to shaping empathetic, ethical citizens through our curriculum. In music class, this happens through discussions of musical changemaking. “We’ve been trying to teach them that music can sometimes get a message through to people when other things can’t,” explained Susan.

This role as musical changemakers, coupled with their own experiences from the field study, inspired and energized the entire fourth grade, which agreed to perform the song’s world premiere. Over the months they prepared and practiced, Bob visited rehearsals several times to collaborate with the students, gathering feedback and making adjustments in real time. The teachers hoped these experiences were memorable not only because they gave students a peek into how a professional musician works, but also because they proved that others are invested in and available to them as they work to make change.

“We want students to be exposed to all these different people in our community—it makes them feel having access to community partners is normal and within the realm of feasible things that can happen,” said Haas. And the chance to work with Bob, like the chance to visit the lake, more deeply connected them to the learning experience.

“They feel so lucky to have a composer work with them and really honored to be part of the process,” said Haas, “and they really took it seriously,” even and especially as they were challenged to learn three complicated movements, stretch their singing abilities, and master new vocabulary. Fourth grader Noelle B. explained that learning the song could be challenging (like when she was trying to hit the high notes!) but it was fun to be part of the process. It’s clear that the confidence built through the experience helped students like Noelle feel real ownership of the collaboration.

“It’s exciting that we get to have our own song,” she said with a smile.

And the students are excited about the song’s potential impact. After the February premiere, Bob began the process of searching for a publisher, with the goal of making the piece available to more schools so it can, hopefully, inspire greater advocacy.

Our goal is for children to awaken all senses and know they can use their whole self to learn.—Susan Swidnicki, McCarthey Campus music teacher

As for the song’s first, and perhaps most passionate, singers, the teachers hope the multidisciplinary process behind this experience has a long-term impact on how they view themselves. After all, this kind of learning, explained Susan, is one of the best ways to help students see themselves as multifaceted people: scientists and musicians and writers and painters, as well as people who can make a difference, all at the same time.

“Our goal is for children to awaken all senses and know they can use their whole self to learn,” she said. “We want to grow and encourage the whole person, and help them understand they can come at challenges from many ways to make their lives, and others’ lives, more beautiful, worthwhile, and better.”

Experiential Learning

This year, Rowland Hall’s celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. focused on the theme Justice & Joy: Cultivating the Beloved Community. Designed to prompt reflection and foster solidarity towards action, the event allowed the community to imagine a beloved future where everyone can be themselves in multifaceted ways.

The celebration kicked off on Wednesday, January 15, with a community event featuring actor, writer, and singer Carleton Bluford, and a performance by Trash Panda Drum Group. Carleton spoke about how his work connects to this year’s theme, and how joy is the energy that allows justice to emerge, as well as sang a song from Ragtime, his favorite musical.

Dr. King’s articulation of the beloved community emphasizes the necessity of individuals uniting across differences to build a trusting, loving, and better world for all.

On Thursday, January 16, students engaged in activities around storytelling, dance, and music, led by Carleton Bluford and Salt Lake Capoeira. Students deepened their understanding of joy and connection through shared movement and music, and explored how they can envision and shape more inclusive futures.

Faculty workshops were also held on Wednesday and Thursday to deepen learning around the theme.

On Monday, January 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, students and families engaged in community-based service projects at Tracy Aviary’s Nature Center at Pia Okwai and Crossroads Urban Center’s downtown food pantry, and joined the University of Utah’s MLK Day March & Rally.

Thanks to all who participated in this important work around Dr. King’s vision of becoming the beloved community through love, understanding, and solidarity. We encourage each person to carry forward the spirit of these gatherings, remembering that our dreams of and for the future necessitate listening to one another’s stories, being in relationship with each other, and working toward a shared future.

Community

Ask any parent: if your child is sleeping well, life just seems to run smoother.

After all, when kids are sleeping well, parents can sleep well too. And when the whole family feels rested, everyday routines and challenges feel a lot easier.

Of course, every family also experiences moments where good sleep feels out of reach. Whether that’s waking with a young infant who doesn’t yet sleep through the night or dealing with a sleep regression, parents and caregivers are very familiar with the frustrations and worries that accompany moments of poor sleep. And because they’re also well aware of sleep’s essential role in children’s health, growth, and learning, they often feel even more pressure to fix things fast. It can be a rough cycle.

That’s why Rowland Hall’s princiPALS are focusing on sleep in the first of their newest batch of episodes that go back to basics when it comes to raising children who thrive.

Leaning on their own experiences as parents and educators, as well as a bit of sleep science, the pals talk about building healthy sleep routines that work for your child, dealing with inevitable bumps or pushback, and knowing if your child is getting enough sleep. Using their positive, no-pressure approach, the pals will help you remember you’re not alone in tough sleep moments—and you will get through it.

Listen to “Back to Basics: Let’s Talk About Sleep,” as well as other episodes of The PrinciPALS Podcast, on Rowland Hall's website and Apple Podcasts.

Podcast

As we kick off a new year, we want to take just a moment to look back on some of the incredible Rowland Hall happenings in 2024.

Below, we’re sharing five of the most exciting stories we published in Fine Print last year—examples of the incredible students, teachers, and moments of learning that exemplify the Rowland Hall experience. Check them out, if you haven’t already, or revisit them for a feel-good reminder of what makes Rowland Hall such an exceptional place.

Advanced Research Classes Immerse Students in Real-World Questions, Further Rowland Hall’s Strategic Vision

Ever since the Upper School rolled out Advanced Research classes, our community has been buzzing. These exciting classes allow students to dive deeply into subjects, develop theses, and conduct research alongside experts. They also prove that students of any age can find solutions to real-world problems. (Bonus: be sure to check out the follow-up to this story, AR Biology Students Published in ‘Cancers’ Scientific Journal, to see how far one class’s work has gone.)

Rowland Hall Debate, One Step Closer to World Domination

For years, Rowland Hall debaters have shined locally (they currently hold their fourth consecutive state title) and nationally. Now, they’re making a name for themselves on the global stage. In October, top teams traveled to Taiwan for their first-ever international tournament, held at the Taipei American School.

Student-Created Wings of Inclusion Conference Brings Together Utah High Schoolers, Inspires Leadership

After being energized at the national Student Diversity Leadership Conference in 2023, a group of Upper School students chose to dedicate much of 2024 to organizing their own conference for Utah high schoolers. Held at the Lincoln Street Campus in September, our students’ Wings of Inclusion Conference aimed to create belonging for all Utah students, and to develop tomorrow’s leaders. 

2024 Convocation Speakers Share Joyful Moments, Encourage Community to Create and Spread Joy

Rowland Hall’s 2024–2025 theme, Joy, was unveiled to the community at Convocation in August. As part of that annual gathering, three students and one alum shared their own reflections on joy with their peers and the larger Rowland Hall community. They discussed what joy means, the forms joy takes, how to look for joy in your life, and how to create joy for others.

Upper Schoolers Teach Money Smarts to Lower Schoolers

It’s always an exciting day when cross-divisional learning happens! One especially joyful collaboration took place this fall, when students from the Upper School’s Business & Finance and Entrepreneurship classes came to the McCarthey Campus to teach personal finance lessons to first and third graders.

Community