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 Director of Admissions Carter Ford and as stated on poster boards scattered throughout campus. 

Visiting students attended a class and lunch with their host, a special assembly, a panel with current students, and culminated their day with ice cream and closing remarks on the Kirby Quad. In more detail, Violette Hogan ‘28 described guiding her revisiting student throughout the day: “We went to class, we did a bonding activity to get to know each other, then I walked her down to the panel for new boarding students and their families.” 

A highlight for Violette was connection. “I think when she got to connect with these girls at Cate… just talking about the future activities that she would be doing here, I think she definitely seemed pretty excited.” An incoming student and sibling of Sienna Charvel ‘25 and Oliver Charvel ‘26, Patrick Charvel ‘30 shared his favorite moment as well: “I thought that the all-school assembly was a very exciting and lively activity. Not at all like it is at my school, where you have to be dead silent the whole time.” 

Head Tour Guide Wil Rivera ‘27 delves deeper into how valuable it is for these students, expressing, “You have the established relationships from the day, and I think the admissions team does a really good job of making sure you meet as many people as possible.” In fact, Ms. Ford noted in assembly that there would be 215 guests, providing ample opportunities to meet a wide range of students. 

A key observation about the composition of the future Rams was made by incoming student Patrick, who noted, “Seeing my incoming class made me realize firsthand how hard the admissions team works to make a balanced class.” 

The admissions team has also worked hard to coordinate all the logistics of the day. The Cate tradition of featuring student work on a t-shirt for all revisiting students came to life this year. Maude Bond, who was recently appointed as Head of Admission and College Counseling, wrote, “Maeve Whelan [‘28] designed a dope RVD T-Shirt.” Ms. Ford went into further detail when announcing that her drawing was chosen, emphasizing the thoughtfulness evident in her artwork. 

Head Tour Guides also played an instrumental role in making Revisit Day possible. Wil described their contributions: “We made the boxes students get, and then we helped fold a bunch of the t-shirts that were given away on the day, and then, just during the day, we were kind of doing the behind-the-scenes stuff: setting up and taking things down.”

Ms. Bond requested that students clean their common rooms, warning in advance that “Families will pass through your dorm on Friday.” Requests like these raised questions about whether Revisit Day is an honest reflection of Cate. Wil said, “The day felt pretty authentic to me,” explaining that the authenticity is dependent on the transparency of the class host. He also added, “I think there are certain aspects we leave out. I think the food is better [on Revisit Day].” 

Attending a school is a different experience once admitted, so being immersed in student life allows these prospective students to begin visualizing themselves on the Mesa. As Wil put it, “When you really think about it, the day was like the first true and honest experience a lot of these kids are having.”

One way students and families could gain insight into the reality of the Cate experience was through the structured panels for both boarding and day students. These panels were run by adult members of the admissions committee and also included student panelists. In addition to serving as a class host, Violette served on the boarding student panel. She enthusiastically described her experience, serving in both 2025 and 2026: “I got to just like truly talk to the parents about what they were interested in.” 

When asked about what questions were answered transparently, Violette shared, “One of them was about integrating as a new sophomore, and I do think [Maree] was quite honest, which is great.” Acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects of life at Cate helps students get a realistic picture of what their educational investment will entail. 

One tradition that began at Revisit Day 2026 was ringing the bell as students enrolled. Wil was asked if Revisit Day correlated with student enrollment at Cate, and he gave the data: “I think we had about 18 students enrolled going into the day, and coming out of it, I think we had upwards of like 30.” 

As future rams made friends, ate ice cream, and decided on the course of the next four years of their lives, current rams were on their respective sports fields, listening to the bell ring in celebration of those who are going to join the Cate community in the fall.