Oct 15, 20254 min read
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The Latest
Oct 15, 20252 min read
The Cross in the Chapel: Rethinking Cate’s Traditions
By Paloma Rudnicki '27 The Katharine Thayer Cate and Curtis Wolsey Cate Chapel, built in 1961, was dedicated by Mr. Cate to his wife, who passed away in 1953. Despite popular belief, she is not buried there. The Chapel also won national awards when it was built—the architect George Russell won the AIA award for Church Architecture, Class III for his design. Its unique arches and large stained-glass windows have set it apart as what some consider the most beautiful and iconic
Oct 15, 20259 min read
13 hours ago3 min read
Cate News
Ring the Bell for the Future Rams
By Jasper Shelmerdine '26 Cate’s annual Revisit Day, a significant milestone in the admissions process, was held on March 27th this year. Prospective students gained insight and built relationships through a combination of academic exposure, social interaction, and structured programming during this event, which Cate School admissions officers spend months planning. From a student's perspective, the day followed an intricate schedule, as highlighted in assembly by Associate
1 day ago4 min read
How Does Power Work? A Look Inside Cate's Senate
By Serena Zhang '28 Every Tuesday night, students representing all grades gather in the Johnson Library, taking their seats around the table as Senate comes to order. This year, as Cate explores the school theme of "How Does Power Work?”, those meetings demonstrate how students exercise power every day. As Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) representative Andrew Peng '26 states, “The mission of Senate is to bring Cate students a better experience, whether that be in acade
1 day ago3 min read
The Spirit Leadership at Cate: A Cycle of Support
By Serena Zhang '28 and Evan Walters '28 As Cate enters the spring trimester and prepares for the closing of the school year, the prospect of applying for leadership positions for the 2026-2027 school year quickly becomes a topic of interest among students. Positions can range f rom Blue Ewe ambassador, student librarian, or Cate net master, to prefects, teaching assistant, and affinity heads, which all require a thorough selection process. Across interviews with juniors appl
1 day ago4 min read
Features
The 2026 Cate Presidential Election: Who Ran and Who Won
By Paloma Rudnicki '27 Let us Karry your voice! Any Means Necessary. Can We Be Your HIROEZ? Slogans and buzzwords have been thrown around in conversation, plastered on posters all over campus, and flashed in fancy fonts across the screen in assembly, but the Cate student body presidential elections have officially commenced. Although the winners have been revealed, read this to get to know all the candidates who ran. Aydin Barry and Tori Kim Vote Karry! Not for Karry Tan ‘27,
13 hours ago4 min read
Continuing the Community: How the Cate Admissions Team Functions
By Alpha Abulikemu '29 The admissions team creates Cate’s student body, deciding, among thousands of students applying, who will be the next members of our school community. Deciding which students to admit is a complicated, often difficult process. Each application carries many parts, including essays, grades, test scores, and interviews. Every part of the process is necessary, Mr. Joe Cordero, the associate director of admissions, noted that the admissions team is looking
24 hours ago3 min read
A Santa Barbara Excursion
By Ava Moxley '29 Spring Family Weekend has arrived, and here are some of the places to visit with families. There’s something on this list for everybody! Downtown Santa Barbara: Downtown Santa Barbara is always bustling with life. Begin your day at Alessia Patisserie on Canon Perdido just off Santa Barbara Street. They offer a great selection of pastries, as well as a creative take on classic brunch and breakfast items. Afterward, pop into Jake & Jones and browse their curat
24 hours ago5 min read
Arts & Media
The 98th Oscars: Cate Student’s Comments for the Academy
By Amelia Riepe '27 Hollywood’s biggest night for artistic achievement, better known as the Oscars, sparked everything from hushed debates over outfits in the Co-Lab to passionate, table-wide Booth discussions regarding steals and victories. With a grand champagne carpet entrance, this annual event in Los Angeles is full of grandeur and reserved for the best in the film industry. An Academy Award is recognition for excellence in cinematic achievement, determined by the Academ
24 hours ago2 min read
Winter Artist Insight Spotlight
By Ayla Sichi '28 As the liminal period between Fall Break and Winter Break came to an end, Cate’s winter art gallery was filled with an assortment of pieces from Independent art, Art Relay, and the 9th-grade PSI Day. During the time each piece is on display, it could be easy to miss the opportunity to fully observe and appreciate the pieces in relation to their artists. In this article, three Cate artists, Lisa Hasebe ‘27, Andrew Peng ‘26, and Gwen McTigue ‘26, provide their
Feb 103 min read
Art Relay: An Artist’s Perspective
By Ava Moxley '29 While many people on the Mesa were preparing for break and stressing about essential deadlines, seven students kicked off Art Relay on December 3rd at 8 a.m. The day excused students from all school commitments for 24 hours, allowing art to guide them. With a mix of excitement and uncertainty, the first participants in each group were ready to dive into the relay, using seven different prompt words. The following artists were required to respond solely to th
Feb 93 min read
Athletics
Inside Cate’s Winter Athletics: Basketball, Climbing, Soccer, and More
By Josie Song '28 As the spring season jumped into full swing this past March, with track, lacrosse, and swimming among other examples, it also marked the end of winter sports. With both women's and men’s soccer teams going on CIF runs, and a memorable boys basketball senior night crushing Thacher at home, there is much to recap over these last few cold months. Each team faced trials and tribulations this year, with many athletes facing injuries on the field, but that didn’t
13 hours ago2 min read
More Than a Soccer Jersey
By Devon Liang '27 For soccer players, collegiate-level soccer requires years of dedication, early mornings, late nights, and an enormous amount of time spent on the field. There is a difficult, often stressful recruiting process that tests athletes mentally and physically and takes place behind the scenes for every commitment. For Cate players, recruitment is understandably challenging given the many unknowns. George Marin ‘26, who committed to UChicago, says the early stage
Feb 52 min read
The Pool, Dorm, and School: Captain’s Captain Jesse Morrison
By Devon Liang '27 As a water polo coach, dorm parent, and newly-appointed Assistant Director of Athletics, Jesse Morrison wears many hats. Joining Cate in 2021 as a water polo coach, becoming a Long House dorm parent in 2023, and becoming Assistant Director of Athletics in 2025, Jesse has brought his expertise to the Cate community in a multitude of different ways. As a relatively new addition to the community, an in-depth look into Jesse’s involvement offers valuable insig
Oct 15, 20254 min read
Current Events
Heat on the Mesa: March's Record-Breaking Heat Wave and Cate Athletes
By Maree Hawkins '28 With spring break ending, students returned to the Mesa and brought the heat with them. From Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 20, 2026, the National Weather Service forecasted a long-duration heat wave throughout Santa Barbara County. Temperatures were 20–35 degrees above normal, reaching the 90s in some areas and breaking daily and monthly records for March. For a community like Cate, built around an outdoor campus culture, the timing couldn't hav
13 hours ago3 min read
Gavin Christopher Newsom, POTUS?
By Maree Hawkins '28 After persistently denying any ambitions of a presidential run, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has finally publicly revealed that he could see himself in the Oval Office. In June, he told the Wall Street Journal, “I’m not thinking about running, but it’s a path that I could see unfold.” Before becoming the governor of the most populous U.S. state, Gavin Newsom was the owner of a winery in his hometown of San Francisco. His father worked as a state court
Feb 54 min read
Southern California: A Deep Dive into the January Wildfires
By Violet Monda '27 In January of 2025, a series of wildfires erupted throughout Southern California. Over 55 wildfires affected people's lives in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, San Diego County, and the Palisades area. These fires separated into the larger groups called the Palisades, Eaton Canyon, Kenneth, Hughes, Hurst, Border 2, Gap, and Green Fires. Over 48,268 acres of inhabited land across Southern California were burned. While this burn area is not unprecedented,
Oct 15, 20253 min read
Others
1984 Reflections
By Kaitlyn Dai ‘27, Maree Hawkins ‘28, Claire Tang ‘27, Rosita Power ‘26, Jae Wykoff ‘26, and Jen Won ‘26 Kaitlyn Dai ‘27 “Redefining” Truth: How Education Alters Perceptions What do we define as the truth? I use my senses to examine and identify my surroundings. Through my eyes, I see the pink hue of my laptop and the colorful patterns on my AirPods. Through my ears, I hear the incessant clacking of the computer keyboards and murmurs in the stalls next to me. I feel the coo
Oct 17, 202515 min read
How Cate Students Take Lessons Beyond the Mesa
By Amelia Riepe '27 At some point, every Cate student wonders, “Why am I learning this? Will I even remember this after high school?” This thought usually occurs during a never-ending last-period class or Saturday school, when the content and material seem extremely removed from real life. However, truth be told, many classroom experiences leave a lasting impression on Cate students, regardless of the subject. Certain moments, such as a memorable Harkness or an extremely tou
Oct 16, 20253 min read
Linden Square: Change on the Corner
By Harper Halbardier '26 and Fallon Erickson '26 The start of the fall trimester on the Mesa has been nothing short of magical. From seniors bleeding blue on move-in day to peaceful moments captured in the backcountry, there’s nothing quite like the first few weeks of September at Cate. As the Cate community has made their way back home to Carpinteria, there’s been quite the buzz about the newest addition to Carpinteria - the infamous “Linden Square.” Linden Square has bec
Oct 15, 20253 min read
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