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October 25, 2024

Head of School’s Notebook

Fall Family Weekend is an important milestone marking the halfway point between the start of school and Winter Break. Like the start to a story, this first chapter of the year holds clues and emerging themes that foreshadow what we might expect in the months to come. From my perspective, the level of engagement, high …

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 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 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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

February 2, 2022

Super Bowl-Bound Von Miller Visits Cate School

Less than 48 hours after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game and punching a ticket to Super Bowl LVI, Los Angeles Rams linebacker Von Miller made a special appearance at Cate School to kick off its celebration for Black History Month. The eight-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl 50 Most Valuable …

May 20, 2021

Introducing the Jack Ballard Recording Studio

The Cate School music department is proud to unveil the brand-new Jack Ballard Recording Studio. Located in Booth Commons, the state-of-the-art studio includes equipment used by professional musicians and features a 32-channel SSL console, Warm-Audio compressors, EQ, Shure, and Neumann microphones, and more.  “Since my arrival nine years ago, more and more students have arrived …

May 28, 2017

Cate’s 104th Commencement

May 1, 2017

Ellis Jones ’72 Headmaster’s Chair

On April 26, 2017, a newly endowed faculty chair, the Ellis Jones ’72 Headmaster’s Chair was awarded to Paul Denison ’79. Read the transcript from Head of School Ben Williams’s presentation below. We have the great good fortune at Cate to have alumni who long after their experience on the Mesa choose to invest in …