Day in the life.

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Day in the Life

Your days at Cate will be action-packed, but include some breathing room too.

Living and learning together means you’ll have engaging discussions fueled by a demanding curriculum, time to explore what Cate offers, and deepen your interest in athletics, the arts, and the outdoors. From sunrise to sunset, you’ll be getting the most out of your high school experience.

Woven throughout chemistry, dance recitals, and philosophical debates, you’ll find myriad ways to connect to your friends, teachers, and coaches. But you’ll stay in touch with your parents too, filling them in on your day, from triumphs to disappointments.

The two “Family Weekends” each year allow a chance to show off everything you’re working on, take your parents and siblings to your classes, share meals, and introduce them to your friends.

Take a glimpse into a day in the life of our current students:

Freshman Timeline

7:00	Wake up in ’25 House to my roommate still asleep
7:15	Quickly head to the Old Gym for a 15-minute yoga session
7:35	Shower and get dressed
7:50	Make a waffle for breakfast and chat with friends before class
8:00	Take a seat in Humanities class to talk about our semester-long research project
9:20	Japanese I with Mr. Wood
10:10	Walk to assembly and sit with my advisee group for announcements and funny skits
10:35	Freshman Seminar where we play a team-building game and talk about the results afterward
11:25	Lunch time! They have crispitos today!
11:50	Foundation Arts in the Art Loft where we learn about color theory
12:40	Head to Physics class to learn (play) with pendulums
1:30	Study Period where I study for my Physics test next week
2:00	Geometry class to finish out the day
3:15	Volleyball with Coach KC — time for Queen of the Court
4:30	Shower and put on some comfy clothes
5:00	Spend some time with friend in the library, being very quiet of course
5:30	Kitchen Crew duty tonight so I eat and then serve my classmates in the Raymond Commons
6:30	Hang out with the Senior Prefects overseeing Kitchen Crew
7:30	Call mom and dad to check in
8:00	Get some studying and homework done
10:00	Print humanities homework for tomorrow, get ready for bed
10:30	In bed and lights out!

Sophomore Timeline

7:10	Slowly get out of bed, wake up to a Long House seaside view
7:16	Make bed, check email, and print history paper
7:20	Shower, brush teeth, wash face, and get dressed
7:40	Walk to breakfast with friends, say “Good Morning!” to Ms. Zohara on the way
7:42	Grab some eggs, bacon, and pancakes with milk for breakfast
8:00	French II – Class with Mr. Pouye on Senior Lawn, performing skits in French
9:20	Asian History – Read history paper about China aloud for feedback
10:10	Assembly – My favorite part of the day. Sit with advisor, Mr. Denison and laugh at faculty/student Dress-up Day announcements
10:35	Free Period! – Go to the library to start math homework and help friends study for a chem test
11:25	Lunch – Wait in line to make a panini while chatting with friends
11:50	English – Recite poem for Poetry Slam class
12:40	Chemistry – Take test, feel pretty confident after studying during free period
1:30	Study Period – I stay in Chemistry to finish my test, then start on Chemistry reading
2:00	Algebra II – Learn about radians and the unit circle from T-Smith with help from his bike
3:15	Tennis – Play a doubles match. Do some strength and conditioning with Mr. Hansen
4:30	Shower after sports, get ready for Jazz Band
5:00	Jazz Band – Take out trombone, play and practice songs for Family Weekend
6:00	Dinner – Pasta night! Ice cream bar for dessert
6:30	Watch the sunset on Sunset Bench
7:00	Hang out with friends on Senior Lawn
8:00	Call mom and dad
8:30	Study hours – Finish math homework, study for grammar/vocab quiz, and translate a French paragraph into English
10:30	Brush teeth, get ready for bed, and set alarm clock
11:00	Lights out – Coach Soto checks my room and says goodnight

Junior Timeline

7:00	Wake up and take a shower
7:40	Breakfast = a muffin, yogurt & a waffle
8:00	French (double block): Dr. Park made the class a worksheet so that we could better practice sentence construction
9:20	Ms. Fortner’s AP English class: We developed our own discussion questions related to Sherman Alexie’s short stories in order to analyze satire and issues in Native American society
10:10	Assembly: I enjoyed watching a very entertaining birthday video!
10:35	AP Chemistry: learned about kinetic energy
11:25	Double lunch = quesadilla with rice and beans then French homework
12:40	Precalculus: Mrs. Salcedo answered questions and gave our class practice problems to prepare us for our quiz tomorrow
1:30	AP U.S. history: Mr. Weis supervised our class discussion about the causes of World War I
2:00	Free period: finish math homework, Meet with Dr. Park for help with French homework
3:15	Sports: JV lacrosse practice: Mrs. Mack worked with the defense (me!) to prepare us for our game tomorrow. At the end of the drill we had a milkshake competition: whoever could cradle while lying down won a milkshake!
6:30	Dinner and time with friends. I got extra help for chemistry, had a conversation with one of my dorm parents, and helped my friend rearrange her room
7:00	El Batidor (the School newspaper) meeting. Discussed lead story for the Commencement issue
8:30	Study hours: worked in the library for part of the time, peer reviewed an English essay, and went to an extra help math session for my quiz tomorrow
10:30	Get ready for bed and chat with friends in the common room
11:00	Bed!

Senior Timeline

6:55	The surprisingly loud alarm of my cell phone wakes me from my slumber.
7:00	Stumble half asleep into the bathroom to have a hot shower fully wake me up.
7:15	Head up to the dining hall to have a light breakfast of cheerios in soy milk.
7:45	Attempt to read the newspaper in the library, but end up chatting with my friends before class.
8:00	Comparative Revolutions class. Today we discuss how the politics can seem strange because of our American upbringing.
9:20	The Modern Presidency with Mr. Weis. I’m really into the humanities, so I decided to double up on history my senior year. We have a lively class discussion on health care reform, and I’m amused by how interested we are in an issue we won’t actually have to deal with until middle age.
10:10	Assembly. Byoung, who is a close friend of mine, made a birthday announcement for his little brother (freshman mentee) to the tune of Anyone Else but You. Quite funny.
10:35	An open block. I head up to the library to get some homework done early, but also spend some time just relaxing and spending some time catching up with friends.
11:25	Marine Ecosystems with Mr. Caditz. Today we do a lab which involves fishing M&M’s out of a bowl. Our team fishes out all the M&M’s from the bowl the first round, effectively starving us for the next three rounds. It effectively demonstrates the plague of overfishing.
12:10	Made a turkey pesto panini for lunch today. I sit outside at the senior eating area (a privilege extended to seniors). I discuss the lab we did with Rohit, Clara, Paul, and Kara. We joke about how we effectively starved ourselves, and how we would be pathetic fishers in real life.
12:40	Senior English with Ms. Fortner. We’re in Schoolhouse 2, which has a long conference table, perfect for class discussions. We discuss the reading we did last night, and I discover some parts of the story that completely flew over my head. Sarah brings up a great point about the imagery present in Black Swans.
2:00	Another free period! I take the time to do a little homework and then get ready for cross country.
3:15	Athletics time. Since it is the fall season, I do cross country. It may be hard, but the payoff at the end of the season is great.
3:15	Athletics time. Since it is the fall season, I do cross country. It may be hard, but the payoff at the end of the season is great.
4:45	Another shower, but cold this time, which feels amazing after a long run.
5:30	Pasta for dinner tonight. I join my friends at one of the tables in the dining hall that overlooks the Pacific.
6:00	I get dragged into a pickup game of Ultimate. I pretend like I’m not interested, but I get really into it. Our team wins (always a plus).
7:00	Visit my friends up in High House. Get completely slaughtered in a game of old school Super Smash Bros.
8:00	I’m on Duty with Ms. Salcedo tonight. It’s pretty quiet, so I’m able to get my homework done quickly. It’s just one of multiple duties I perform as a prefect. I plan on baking cookies for the whole dorm when my baking skills are up to par.
10:00	I catch up with Edgar, my friend who is also a prefect in the room next to me. I ask him for some help with calculus.
11:15	I climb into my bed, and I eventually succumb to the clutches of the dream world.