Elise Tsai '26 and Ian Sheshunoff '26
From April 21 to April 24, the Cate community opened its arms to the nearly 200 parents and family members of students for one of the most anticipated weekends of the entire year: Spring Family Weekend. The event allowed students to catch their breath, spend some time with their families, and prepare themselves for the remaining weeks of the school year. Some students preferred to leave campus for the weekend, renting out rooms in Santa Barbara’s Hilton and the Holiday Inn in Carpinteria, opting for a peaceful time to get caught up with loved ones through the long three-day weekend. Others chose to stay on campus to appreciate the multitude of special events planned for the weekend. Performances of the school musical, Chicago, were on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.Throughout the entire weekend, Cate’s Rock Band, Jazz Band and Modern Band performed at lunch, along with some independent student singers. Another highlight was the Celebration of Writing and Music, where the results of a schoolwide writing competition were announced, accompanied by the Chamber Ensemble.
Overall, this weekend was one of the few chances for parents to get a peek at what life on campus is all about. In order to make the whole space as spick and span as possible, the events required a massive amount of work from the whole Cate team. But what exactly is the preparation that goes behind this much-awaited weekend, and what members of the Cate community are involved in making it come to life?
One thing that is critically important but often overlooked is the catering, organized by Director of Dining services Amy De Witt. De Witt is in charge of dining service throughout the year, but the work for family weekend was a whole other fish to fry. The menu included a wide range of dishes from a plethora of cultures—from chicken tinga tacos to their statement chocolate-chip cookies. Unlike most weeks, food was served outside in catered buffets as opposed to the normal cafeteria layout. The food was particularly well-prepared over the weekend, a testimony to the extra time and effort that went into the event. The meals were mostly classics, such as the Mediterranean bowls or tacos, but there were a couple special meals mixed in, including pizza night and barbeque chicken.
Figuring out how much food to make on such a chaotic weekend can be difficult. Families of all different sizes attend the events, while others have left campus. The amount of food consumed was much higher than usual, with the school going through over 3,500 beverages (most popularly Bublys)over the course of four days. In order to estimate the amounts needed, De Witt uses “stealth tactics” by “counting the number of plates used at each event.” This information is utilized by chefs Steve Mack and Ruben Vazquez with their extensive experience to get an estimate for how much food would be needed. The meals were the perfect choice for the occasion, described by a freshman as “the embodiment of Cate.” On Sunday, the annual Mesa Lunch with Head of School Ben Williams commenced with a delicious spread of food prepared by the dining crew, including by-order omelets, donut holes, exquisite coffee, shrimp, and so much more. Overall, feeding this many people ends up being one of the most daunting tasks of the entire weekend. This event wouldn’t have been as pleasurable as it was without the dedication and commitment of the hardworking staff in the kitchen.
On the chilly morning of April 22, the Celebration of Writing and Music took place in the chapel. The audience was composed of eager students, parents, and faculty. One by one, teachers took to the stage to read seven written pieces aloud. After every reading, the anonymous winning students would reveal themselves to the astonished crowd, making their way up to accept a plaque. It was a beautiful moment to appreciate the craft of writing, which Nicole Sintetos, Head of the English Department, describes as a “quiet, solitary process—limited, in the minds of some, to stable, words on the page.” As observed by Sintetos, “The beauty of events such as the ‘Celebration of Writing’ is to break through the quiet solitude and to show the dynamism and energy fueling these precious words in motion.” Being able to gather as a community and appreciate one’s creation of art was one of the key intentions of the English Department having this celebration in the first place. The celebration highlighted the talent of those within our student body and allowed for everyone to admire their work.
It is worth noting that the process to even get to this point was grueling. The grading process took over a month and the collaboration of the admirable English Department, “including Dr. Mari Talkin, Tracey Calhoun, Alicia Hammond, Brooks Hansen, Erin Hansen, Randy Person, Jeff Barton and our honorary member Kate Parker…” Sintetos elaborated. They whittled through 124 submissions to the Cate Writing Contest, breaking off into teams to vote on the anonymous papers. Finally, a last meeting was geared towards choosing the final seven pieces drawn from a batch of fifteen writings. It was through this rigorous and demanding process that these teachers were able to share the amazing entries of Cate students.
The writing competition was accompanied by the distinguished Chamber ensemble. However, that wasn’t the only musical performance of the weekend. On Sunday morning, April 23, parents, faculty and students attended the long-awaited Spring Concert that presented both the orchestra and vocal groups. To silence the buzzing chatter in the audience, the orchestra kicked off by playing Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms, a massive symphonic extravaganza featuring uproarious string melodies and brass rhythms. The orchestra continued by playing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, which provided a great contrast to the usual rock song by implementing a more classical interpretation. After these two, Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg and The Magnificent Seven by Elmer Bernstein, chosen as a dedication to Headmaster Ben Williams, followed. The orchestra finished up with An American in Paris Suite, the audience roaring into applause after each piece.
What does it take to pull off a concert? According to John Knecht, the Chair of the Performing Arts Department at Cate, “The Sunday concert with Orchestra begins rehearsing early in January, after we return from the winter holiday break. The pieces are selected beforehand and we regularly utilize student suggestions as a starting point.” From this point onwards, the full group meets once a week while other sections, which include winds, horns and percussion, and strings and piano, meet for another day to practice. Knecht also notes how Orchestra is incredibly student-oriented; in fact, a portion of the spring pieces were student suggestions, while the rest were chosen by him. Additionally, this spring, two students—Nikita Nautiyal ‘23 and Cathleen Chow '23—took up the chance to conduct pieces as well. In reality, despite the orchestra appearing effortless, it takes months to prepare for the final show. Still, Knect emphasizes that the final product is worth it, claiming, “It's a rewarding opportunity to demonstrate all of the hard work and effort that goes into making that Sunday performance magical for all of the families, classmates and faculty in attendance.”
In addition to the pieces by the orchestra, there were also several performances by the various choir and a cappella groups. All vocal ensembles, accompanied by the chamber ensemble, performed Lacrimosa, a sad song that built in energy and intensity until it reached a powerful climax. Another highlight, of course, was chorale’s a cappella cover of Umbrella by Rihanna. Vocal music director Gabriel Di Gennaro uses a very scrupulous and methodical approach to teaching chorale. ”I break down each song into manageable sections before focusing on each one for a few classes,” he explained in a brief interview. “The first class is always intonation and rhythm (and sometimes diction), and the following classes integrate tone, musicianship, and other performance factors like facial expression and emotional investment.” Di Gennaro (or “Deeg,” for short), is only in his first year at Cate, but has already transformed the vocal music program, with classes in sight reading and singing methods and in technical music theory. His in-depth teaching method has paid off time and time again with a series of triumphant performances throughout the year, culminating in the masterful recital performed on Sunday.
Though every member of the Cate community contributes to the festivities, the most significant organizers of Spring Family Weekend would definitely have to be the staff at the Advancement Office. Alumni Engagement Manager Emily Sosrodjojo offered some valuable perspective about Cate’s annual fund. Sosrodjojo has only a couple of chances a year, one of which was family weekend, to speak to parents in person and ask for contributions. The fund makes up about ten percent of Cate’s annual income. It is used for much of the day to day upkeep of the school such as classroom supplies, outdoor trips and yukon gas.
Sosrodjojo is one of the few people with the unique experience of being a member of the Cate as well as being an alumna. Her experience from both sides gives her a unique view of the way Family Weekend has been run over time. Families who arrived in the last couple of years might not know that all of the parent teacher conferences took place within that two day span; that was, of course, before Zoom. Teachers talked about having end to end conferences all day every day and no time to relax. “It was exhausting,” said one, “but now the weekend is much more pleasant and we have time to enjoy the occasion.” Indeed, Ms. Sosrodjojo emphasized the improvements on the weekend: “We also did not have built-in social time, such as the grade & language based gatherings or the People of Color reception. The varying conference schedules and the lack of structured social time made it more difficult for my friends and I to introduce our families to one another.” The new language based luncheons, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish, were a great success, creating an environment for families to connect with people with similar backgrounds. In a place where it was difficult for some parents to make connections due to the unusual circumstances, it provided an opportunity to bond with other families of a shared culture on the fact that they all have children at school in a different part of the world. As well as being a chance to see one’s own family, one thing that sets family weekend apart is the way it facilitates meeting new people from all over the world.
Ultimately, Cate’s Spring Family Weekend was a success; students were able to recharge for the home stretch, parents were given multitudes of opportunities to engage with the community and spend time with their children, and teachers could connect with families. At the same time, there is still room for improvement. For instance, Sosrodjojo noticed that “students weren't aware of all the activities that were taking place over Family Weekend.” In the future, a better system of communication or a clearer schedule could make the events run smoother and with higher turnout. All in all, the events we see during this weekend usually take up to months of planning in advance, with hours of work and effort being poured from all the faculty behind the scenes. So the next time you see De Witt running around in the dining hall or catch Sosrodjojo in the Advancement Office, make sure you show your love and appreciation!
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