Lower School: Grades 1–5

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

When families are looking for a new school, there are lots of areas to consider. What’s the community like? Is it easy to make friends? How do the students feel about their teachers?

While parents and caregivers often lead the way when it comes to a school search, kids also have a say in school choice, which is why three fifth-grade interns decide to create a resource just for them.

Nicky C., Kyeran G., and Nora S. are three of the 50 interns participating in this year’s 5-I Fifth-Grade Internship Program. These three students, assigned to the school’s marketing and communications team, expressed interest in writing opportunities. So when they were asked if they wanted to create a blog post that would help Lower School–aged kids and their families as they navigated the admission process, they jumped at the chance.

When the interns were asked if they wanted to create a blog post that would help Lower School–aged kids and their families as they navigated the admission process, they jumped at the chance.

To kick off the project, the group first brainstormed the things they think make Rowland Hall special. All three have attended the school for years (Nicky started in kindergarten, Kyeran in 4PreK, and Nora in 3PreK), so they have firsthand knowledge of the Lower School experience. The kids then narrowed their list down to the areas they thought prospective students would be most interested in, like making friends, recess, and activities. Each wrote a first draft on a handful of topics, then combined their contributions in a single post, which they edited together.

“I thought it was awesome,” said Nicky about the writing process. Kyeran agreed, noting, “It was really cool to collaborate and share our ideas.”

The group also enjoyed the chance to learn more about writing for a specific audience, self-editing, and the best ways to structure a post for search engine optimization (which is important so that even more people can find your school). They said they enjoyed the entire experience.

“It’s fun that it was step by step, not a rushed process,” said Nora. “It was something to look forward to.”

And with their first project under their belts, the marketing interns are excited for a new challenge. This week, they began thinking about what they can share with the community next.

Read the students’ blog post, “7 Reasons to Choose Rowland Hall, as Shared by Three Fifth Graders,” now available on the admission page. (And be sure to share it with anyone you know who’s considering Rowland Hall.)

Student Voices

When it comes to learning about wise spending and saving, you can never start too young.

“It’s important to make sure kids are growing up with financial knowledge,” said Samantha Hill, the Upper School’s entrepreneurship and innovation teacher.
 

Listen to this story | Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

It’s also important to start building that financial knowledge early, which is why, in late October, upper schoolers spent two days teaching first and third graders about smart money choices.

Teaching something to someone else—especially to younger kids, because you have to put it in a language they will understand—helped me to reinforce my own knowledge.—Jane Borst, class of 2026

This project—assigned to students in both Samantha’s Business & Finance and Entrepreneurship classes—ties into the Jump$tart Teen Teach-In program, which brings high school students into elementary classrooms to teach personal finance lessons. It’s a win-win opportunity: not only do the older students engage with their class lessons in fresh ways as they prepare to teach, but it also introduces the younger students to important financial concepts.

To prepare for teaching, the students tapped into the knowledge they’ve been building in class this fall, as well as reviewed Jump$tart materials on the topics they’d be presenting: “Needs and Wants” for first graders and “Saving, Spending, Borrowing, and Lending” for third graders. They split into pairs or groups, depending on how many students they’d be working with, and each team chose how they wanted to present the information to the students. It was a valuable exercise.

“Teaching something to someone else—especially to younger kids, because you have to put it in a language they will understand—helped me to reinforce my own knowledge,” said junior Jane Borst. “I also had to be prepared for any questions they would ask, so I had to go more in depth than normal.”

Students chose to present their topics in several ways, from presentations to a variety of games (for example, one group asked first graders to sort pictures of items—such as clothing, a teddy bear, water, and a puppy—into “wants” and “needs” columns). Whatever the approach, the younger students were engaged, active, and thrilled to interact with the big kids.

“They were all so sweet and funny. They seemed to enjoy themselves the whole time too,” said junior Eliana Jansen, who also found the experience beneficial. “It helped me solidify my knowledge by helping others learn, as well as made it more memorable by having a fun experience associated with the information.”

For Samantha and the Lower School teachers, it also served as a reminder of the real benefits of cross-divisional collaborations, including deeper learning, increased student confidence, and even joyful moments. The latter was certainly true for junior Duke O'Neil, who was assigned to a group of Ms. April’s first graders—10 years after being one of her students.

“It was super cool to come full circle and teach some of her class,” said Duke. “My personal favorite part was watching the kids really grasp onto the ideas. We spent a lot of time and effort composing a fun lesson for them, and seeing them really have fun with it and learn something gave the assignment purpose.”

Perhaps most importantly, these opportunities also strengthen bonds between age groups, reminding all students that they’re valued and important to their school community.

“They’re all connected,” said Samantha. “They’re all Winged Lions.”

Experiential Learning