Tending to the Present Moment

September 2, 2026

There is a certain rhythm on the Mesa that you feel walking around campus this time of year.

You can hear the steady beat of teachers getting to know their students in classrooms. You can hear warm hellos and laughter from those reconnecting in the halls. And you can hear our athletes moving in unison – the crunch of cleats, the splash of water, the snap of a football.

These sounds are evidence that we’re answering this year’s inquiry question: How do we tend to the present moment?

That question also elicits another answer: preseason.

Our preseason at Cate sets us up for success. It’s the reason our spaces are primed and ready for students, our teachers are prepared with their lesson plans, and our fall sports are charging full speed ahead. Our eight-player football team won its season opener with a 46-0 victory! Let’s go, Rams! 💙And our girls flag football team made its season debut! Congratulations!

The positive momentum we’re feeling on the Mesa is a function of the community that helps us get here.

I’m grateful for our faculty, our coaches, and everybody else who put in the work and genuine care at the start of the year. I’m grateful to our parents and guardians who entrust us with their kids. And I’m grateful to our students who are tending to a new school year, new friendships, and a new sense of place here on the Mesa.

As Outings Week approaches and we prepare to venture into the Sierra, I find myself thinking about Katharine “Kate” Cate, partner of the school’s founder Curtis Cate.

Kate was an outdoorswoman who explored the mountains and deserts of the West. Her nickname “Cactus Kate” illuminates a picture of a woman whose resilience and connection to ecology are instructive on how to tend to the present moment.

Nearly a century has passed since Kate’s camping expeditions, and yet the spirit of what she valued lives on in our students when they step into the outdoors.

If we can continue to nurture this connection to our surroundings, our community, and even ourselves, we become active participants in tending to the present moment.

I wish everyone embarking on an Outings trip a week filled with discovery, connection, and wonder.

With gratitude,

Alex Lockett
Head of School