Apr 216 min read
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The Latest
Apr 213 min read
Apr 216 min read
Oct 15, 20259 min read
13 hours ago5 min read
Cate News
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
By Alpha Abulikemu '29 As spring family weekend commenced last month, the spring musical, the culmination of two trimesters' work, was performed for the Cate student body and visiting families. This year’s musical, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, was based on parts of the famous Russian epic War and Peace. The musical received great praise from members of the audience, with Eian Hernandez ‘29 and Barry Han ‘29 calling it “a marvelous work of art” and “living up
13 hours ago5 min read
Cate Class of 2026 Takes On Prom
By Naomi Chen '26 Prom Night for the Cate Class of 2026 took place on Saturday, May 2nd, at the University Club of Santa Barbara, thanks to the generous planning of a parent-led committee and a prom committee composed of senior class students. Despite minor timing complaints, the night was widely considered successful, owing to the orchestration, food, and the energy on the dance floor. Most of the planning was done by a small group of parent volunteers, co-chaired by the mo
13 hours ago2 min read
Farewell to Finals: Will They Be Missed?
By Paloma Rudnicki '27 This year, Cate School made the historic decision to change the end-of-year schedule entirely. The legendary Finals Week that Cate Students have come to both love and dread has now been replaced with the somewhat anticlimactic Math Final on Friday, May 28. Students have been left in the lurch by the novel decision and are unsure of the reasoning behind the change. The most recent Finals Week structure featured a Monday off classes for review, and then f
15 hours ago4 min read
Features
Shaping community: A Year of leadership at Cate
By Kaia Coker '29 and Olivia Micheli '29 Leadership positions consume life at Cate. They represent responsibility and collaboration, but behind every role is a Cate student shaped by the challenge that comes with the position, ultimately leading to growth. As the school year ends, President Barron Crayton ‘26, Vice President Jen Won ‘26, and Head Prefects Josh Butler ‘26 and Oyin Opawumi ‘26 reflect on the experiences that came with these positions, as well as the lessons an
13 hours ago4 min read
The End of The Beginning: Emotions Around Seniors’ Graduation
By Serena Zhang ‘28 As the summer approaches and the school year comes to an end, the atmosphere on the Mesa is beginning to change. The final weeks of the year bring a mix of emotions: for seniors preparing for the next chapter in their lives, graduation marks the culmination of years of hard work, friendships, and memories; for the rest of the student body, graduation means saying goodbye to the teammates, mentors, and role models who have gradually become a crucial part of
15 hours ago4 min read
Senior Assassin
By Jasper Shelmerdine '26 On April 16th, senior assassin kicked off for the class of 2026 as a way to bring everyone together through a light-hearted game involving goggles and water launchers. Organized by senators Jordan Ryan ‘26 and Lauren Hubbs ‘26, this high-pressure activity has turned everyday routines into calculated risks in the final stretch before graduation. At its core, the premise is that each senior is assigned a target, and they must eliminate their target by
15 hours ago2 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
Apr 212 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
Behind the Tape and Training Tables
By Tania Molina '26 Shannon Drew with a student in the ATC During the 2025-2026 school year, there had been so many electric scooters parked outside classrooms, crutches on chairs, and students recovering from major injuries became a familiar sight across Cate’s campus. What many students did not see, however, was the constant work being done behind the scenes at the Brittingham Family Athletic Training Center (ATC), where a reduced staff managed one of the busiest injury yea
13 hours ago2 min read
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
Apr 222 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
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
Apr 223 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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