Author: Matt McClenathen
October 11, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook
During my visits to 9th grade Humanities classes this week, I saw students simultaneously at ease and engaged as they wrestled to make meaning of a passage from Oedipus. Every time I get the opportunity to spend time in classrooms, I see the power of our inquiry method on display as students lean more into …
October 11, 2024
Round Square International Conference: Colombia
At the end of September, Cate School sent six students and two faculty members to the 56th Round Square International Conference (RSIC) in Bogotá, Colombia. This annual event, designed for students aged 16-18, rotates around the globe, with different schools hosting each year. This year’s conference was hosted by Colegio Anglo Colombiano, Colegio Gran Bretaña, …
September 27, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook
As we move into fall, I wanted to share a list of 10 highlights from the start of the year. As is true with life on the Mesa, each day contains moments of collective exuberance often followed by a quiet sliver of solitude – usually outside. I’ve learned to pay attention at every moment to …
September 12, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook
I often marvel at the spontaneous moments of magic that characterize life on the Mesa. Such as seeing a senior holding the arm of a younger student on her way to the health center or the happenstance conversation I had at the Amazon Locker Hub with sophomores minutes after their return from Yosemite, packs on …
September 9, 2024
Grading for Equity
History Instructor Clair Dahm and English & Humanities Instructor Michael Szanyi were thrilled to represent Cate at the National Association of Independent Schools’ Equity Design Lab: Grading for Equity held July 10–12, 2024 at the NAIS Headquarters in Washington, DC. Through the support of Elana Stone, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Cate, …
May 31, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook: A Look Back at 2023-2024
A Look Back at 2023-2024 Today marks the official end of the academic year and after the last student drives down the hill towards home tomorrow, the dorms, classrooms, and hallways will stand empty. With this quiet comes an invitation to look back at some of the many highlights of the year. Here’s a little …
May 10, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook: In Loco Parentis – How are the Kids?
Whenever someone asks me, “How are the kids?” I hesitate and often respond by saying, “Which ones?” I don’t know what this says about me as a mother, but my first instinct is to think about the “kids” at Cate. As we approach Mother’s Day, I’ve been reflecting on what in loco parentis means for …
April 26, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook: First and Forever
As I endeavor to learn all I can about Cate, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed examining artifacts from our archives. Each photograph, article, or set of meeting minutes lends me some clue about how who we are today was informed by our past. Most recently, I asked our archivist, Judy Savage, to help me find documents related …
March 22, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook
The vernal equinox has long been my most favorite day of the year as it marks the exact moment when the light and dark are in equal proportion and heralds the official arrival of my favorite season, spring. Of course I love the longer days, warmer weather, and flowering growth. However, what I love even …
March 21, 2024
Harvard Model UN Trip
By Tallulah Bates ’25 The Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) is among the oldest, largest, and one of the most international conferences of its kind, with student participation from over 60 countries at the most recent iteration. The size and international nature of the conference made it an opportunity for learning that extended beyond the …
March 7, 2024
Alumni Dispatch: Adrian Walsh ’12
I’m Adrian Walsh ‘12 and I currently work as a full time Family Nurse Practitioner in Steamboat Springs, Colorado! How has the Cate athletics program influenced you beyond the Mesa? If you had told my 14-year-old self that I would eventually race in the Olympic Trials for the marathon, I would have laughed. I fell …
March 1, 2024
This Week in Athletics: Winter Awards
Congratulations to all of our Winter student-athletes! Girls Water Polo CIF Div. 6 Qualifiers All-CIF Second Team – Daisy Gemberling Third Team – Kate McCoy All-League Winners First Team – Daisy Gemberling, Kate McCoy Second Team – Ani Van Lynde, Tallulah Bates, Lucy Guilbert-Neal Honorable Mention – Carmen Lack, Caroline Keohane, Karla Camacho …
February 15, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook: Joyful
A few weeks into my arrival at Cate, Frank Griffin left this note on my desk, and it has been pinned to my wall since then. I look at it as a reminder to pause and gauge my own sense of being settled and present to all the magic here. This week has felt especially …
February 2, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook: How Can We Thrive in the Face of Adversity?
My career has been driven by a quest to help our young people feel at home in themselves so they can bring their distinct expression of excellence to serve our changing world. My journey to Cate follows the same trajectory as I’ve heard so many of you express – our yearning for something healthier, more …
January 18, 2024
Head of School’s Notebook
Last year, after accepting the job at Cate, my family and I visited the Mesa during MLK weekend. We attended all of the festivities that day and I remember thinking to myself how powerful and unusual it felt to see a community collectively taking ownership of building a beloved community. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. …
December 7, 2023
The Cate Way
Athletic Director Wade Ransom’s Cate Take on Athletics My version of the Cate Way has its roots in what I consider the ethos of the school….giving students the opportunity to try and experience so many different things during their high school years in the hopes they take whatever brings them joy once they leave the …
November 10, 2023
Head of School’s Notebook
On the eve of Veterans Day, I feel compelled to reflect on the members of our Cate community who have devoted their lives to serving the United States Armed Forces. One alumna in particular, Boyden Rohner ’95, will be receiving the Cate Distinguished Alumni Award tomorrow in recognition of her service in the US Navy …
October 27, 2023
Head of School’s Notebook
I had the pleasure of meeting a former Cate parent this week who said something to me that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind: “Dream big, start small, go deep.” This resonated as I feel that this is exactly what I’ve been trying to do as I move through this first …
October 13, 2023
Head of School’s Notebook: A Home for Inquiry
Last month, the Board of Trustees visited Cate for the first Board Meeting of the year. Among the various exciting updates from all aspects of Cate life, I was able to tour the site of the ongoing construction project on campus, the Inquiry Collaborative. This new facility is a testament to our dual commitment to …
April 6, 2023
Cate Students Attend Performance of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
On March 28, students from English 11, Staging Activism, and Theatre Performance classes traveled to the Mark Taper Forum in Downtown LA to attend a performance of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Originally performed as a one-woman show by playwright and scholar Anna Deavere Smith, Twilight is a work of verbatim theatre that uses first-person accounts …