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The Intermountain West's First and Finest Independent School

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First Kindergarten

In 1891, Rowland Hall’s early childhood education program began with kindergarten classes. PreK—then called nursery school—was added around 1932. Today our Beginning School enrolls approximately 150 students in 2PreK through kindergarten, and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Our youngest students are given regular opportunities for extended exploration, organized play, and outdoor learning.

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First Literary Magazine

Rowland Hall has been nurturing the creative spirits of students for decades. The first literary magazine featuring the work of Winged Lions was Flashlight, dating back to 1947. Over the years, poems, stories, and art have also appeared in volumes entitled Mosaic, Echoes, The Ember, and Medallions. Tessarae, the current upper school literary magazine, is a multiple gold-medal winner from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and has also earned distinctions from the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Scholastic Press Association.

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First Winter Sports

The winter sports program began in 1965 as an auxiliary program for all grades. In its current form, five Friday afternoons in January and February are reserved for Lower and Middle School students to learn new skills while having fun with friends and teachers. Some of the most popular activities include skiing, tennis, ice skating, and rock climbing. 

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First Color Day

Physical Education Teacher Pat Ammon’s vision for Color Day was first realized in 1983, and has been a favorite memory for students for almost 35 years. On the day before school gets out in June, Lower and Beginning School students participate in an array of fun outdoor activities, including a sponge throw and parachute lift. Each grade level wears a different color shirt, and before they rotate between activity stations, the entire Lower School performs the annual color day dance. 

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First Third Grade Biographies

This research project started in 1986 and has been part of the Lower School curriculum for over 30 years. Each spring, third graders don costumes and head to the chapel to present first-person accounts of the lives and achievements of significant figures throughout history (including some modern-day celebrities). Recent biography subjects have included Sally Ride, Ghandi, Bill Gates, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

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First All-School Convocation

The annual fall gathering of the entire school began in 2009. On the first Friday morning after school starts, students, faculty, and parents come to the Steiner Fields to enjoy welcome-back speeches and musical performances. It’s a wonderful opportunity to kick off the year with shared hopes and high fives.

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