Head of School’s Notebook
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 …
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 …
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
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 …
January 20, 2023
Head of School’s Notebook: Circles
On an old Harry Chapin album I used to own – don’t we all wish we hadn’t gotten rid of all our vinyl – there’s a song with the lyric: All my life’s a circle Sunrise and sundown The moon rose through the night time Till the daybreak comes around All my life’s a circle …
December 7, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Free Days
I have worked at three different schools in my lifetime and attended three others from elementary school through high school. Each one had its own unique character, but all had a single similar tradition: free days. They weren’t called the same things in each place. At St. John’s in Houston, Texas, where I worked prior …
December 5, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Chester
Chester was a birthday present. We picked him up on a cold December day in Belgrade, Montana in 2013, 8 weeks old, round and cuddly, with the soft coat and brown eyes so typical of yellow labs. We spent much of the holiday break that year sleeping on various couches and chairs with Chester by …
November 17, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Enough
A friend of mine sent me a poem recently by Naomi Shihab Nye called “So Much Happiness.” It begins: It is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness. With sadness there is something to rub against, a wound to tend with lotion and cloth. When the world falls in around you, you …
November 2, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Fortunate Moments
We all tend to accumulate a lot of stuff over the course of our lives, far more than we need. Maybe that is why there is such a proliferation of storage facilities around the country. We need more space for the things that we can’t use or don’t really need. A friend of mine in …
October 14, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: What is Cate?
I’ve spent the last week re-connecting with Cate alumni in various spots around the country. It has been several years since we have done such things, and it was wonderful to see so many thriving young people. They all had questions: What’s happening on the Mesa right now? How’s the volleyball team? Did we beat …
September 30, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Reading on the Road
I flew to the East Coast last week. When I was a boy, airplane travel was a relatively infrequent occurrence. My family took the train or drove most places. My grandparents lived in South Carolina, so at least once a year we would drive from our home in Massachusetts to my cousins’ home in Washington …
September 16, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Outings
Many years ago, I read a piece at our Sunset Ceremony that I had prepared about Outings Week. “Almost before we go to School on the Mesa, we go into the woods,” I said. “Not so that we might escape the work ahead, but so that we might prepare for it, understand its relevance, remember …
June 19, 2022
Head of School’s Notebook: Juneteenth
Dear Friends, The sounds of the Mesa are a bit different as I write today. The cacophony of machinery and hammering associated with the renovation of Raymond Commons – which will ultimately be our Inquiry Center – is most conspicuous. Preparations for the Cate Summer Institutes are also underway, as we anticipate the arrival of …