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February 16, 2024

This Week in Athletics

Winter CIF Playoff Recap and Spring Season Kickoff at Cate School As the winter sports season concludes on the Mesa at Cate School, our teams battled fiercely in the CIF playoffs, leaving an unforgettable mark of resilience and determination. From thrilling victories to disappointing exits, each squad demonstrated the true spirit of Cate athletics, embodying …


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 8, 2023

This Week in Athletics

2023 Fall Athletic Highlights This Week in Athletics, we want to highlight teams and individuals that stood out in the Fall Season and were recognized at the League, CIF, and State level. Go Rams! League Champions Girls Tennis (Tri-Valley League) Football (Tri-Valley League) Postseason Qualifiers Girls Tennis – CIF-SS Division 3 (Champions) Football – CIF-SS …


November 10, 2023

This Week in Athletics

Embracing the spirit of competition, our student-athletes have ignited a flame that dispels any doubts, delivering remarkable performances that have left an indelible mark. While these brief summaries capture the essence, the excitement continues. Please have a look at the link provided for more detailed accounts, headlines, highlights, and captivating photos. As the Winter Season …


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 27, 2023

This Week in Athletics

It has been an exciting couple weeks on the Mesa with our varsity teams finishing their fall regular season schedule and many already competing in the playoffs. Enjoy these brief summaries, and remember you can read more details on every game here.  Strong Performances Propel Boys Water Polo to 2nd place in Tri-Valley League and …


October 13, 2023

This Week in Athletics

Competition is heating up for fall sports on the Mesa with the Rams in the thick of league play and playoffs right around the corner. Continue reading for the latest on Cate Athletics. Cate Boys Water Polo Competes in Buena/Ventura Tournament and Improves Div. 5 Ranking The boys water polo team participated in a 2-day …


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 …


September 15, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Beginnings

After the excitement of the start of the year, we are more fully back into the routine of the school and students are settling into the rhythm of their lives on the Mesa. Part of what makes this transition into regularity so seamless is that last week, we all spent time away from Cate in …


May 24, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Sunset

Poet Dean Young writes, “The sea seemingly a constant to the naked eye is one long goodbye, perpetually the tide recedes, beaches dotted with debris.” But the tide surges too, brings with it force and energy, a long reach ever farther up the beach.  The surging tide is full of hope, driving in a series …


May 12, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Endings

I asked the students at my Formal Dinner table on Monday what they are looking forward to in the remaining small portion of the school year. “The Sunset Ceremony,” said one. “I just love that time together with everyone, even though it makes me kind of sad, too.” “I like the video yearbook,” said another. …


April 28, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Chicago

I have been speaking a good deal this week with the members of the cast of our musical, Chicago. Of several I asked, how does it feel to be done? “Strange,” said many. “I don’t know what to do with all the time that used to be taken up with rehearsals.” “Sad,” said another. “I …


April 7, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Snow Days and Free Days

There is an unwritten understanding at Cate that if snow falls on the Mesa and an enterprising student (or students) can fashion a snowball from that snowfall and then strike the Head of School with it … then everybody gets a Free Day. Every Cate student knows this rule. It may be the most universally …


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 …


March 24, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Balance

My father passed away over the Break, finishing his life on the 7th of March, the day before he was to celebrate his 87th birthday. Leave it to Dad to complete the circle of the year before quietly bowing out. He was my hero and always will be. As news of his death has spread, …


February 17, 2023

This Week in Athletics

Although we are fully underway with spring sports, games have yet to begin. However, it was our winter sports teams that were keeping us entertained with some exciting postseason accomplishments.  The girls basketball team hosted the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs after winning the Frontier League, and their first round opponent came from Pacifica/Garden …


February 17, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: Sport

It is funny how the very things that can bring out the best in us can also bring out the worst. The most recent iteration of that lesson came amidst a flurry of CIF postseason competition. Our teams competed admirably, as they always do, winning and losing with grace and poise despite behaviors by opponents …


February 3, 2023

Head of School’s Notebook: What is History?

February 1st marks the beginning of Black History month, the origins of which date back to 1915 and historian Carter Woodson. It was a week at first – so designated by Woodson’s Association for the Study of Negro Life and History – and scheduled in mid-February to coincide with the birthdates of Frederick Douglass and …