@CateCAParent …I started laughing when I saw you were outed. It is probably for the better…our old brains can only keep track of so much.
I was kind of excited at the idea of a single room. My daughter really wants a roommate but I think she may have a hard time not having her personal space to get away and be alone.
My kid likes the outdoors so I hope she takes advantage of all Cate offers. I did tell her she may want to work on her swimming this summer. She knows how but doesn’t love it.
@MomInSB …since it sounds like you have had a girl in the dorm can you recommend anything I can buy now for her room. I’m thinking something fun for an upcoming birthday.
Most of the rooms are not huge. Many kids have fridges and rugs, but she will want to coordinate with her roommate on that. A bean bag chair is fun. My daughter’s favorite is, I kid you not, a dog bed to nap on. There is formal dinner every few weeks (more in the second semester) so a couple nice dresses are a good purchase too. Or, you could get her some good hiking boots so she can break them in. Another idea - a surf lesson. Some kids learn to surf at Cate and a couple faculty happily take the kids down to the beach early morning before school.
So I did a little digging to figure out why the girls get doubles but not boys. Apparently there is data out there that girls perform better academically when they have roommates, boys not so much. Cate took that data and ran with it.
I know once upon a time there were girls housed in my son’s dorm. There is a tradition that everyone who lives in each room signs the inside of the desk drawer. Pretty cool to see on move in day.
@MomInSB …do the girls wear hiking boots or shoes? I’m pretty cheap so whenever I can push a must buy on a Christmas or birthday I am happy to.?
I saw they could have fridges so hopefully her roommate will want one. Are the rooms large enough for a beanbag chair? The dog bed cracks me up. I could see my child doing that. My daughter has a large lovesac in her room so I am waiting for the loan we bring it mom” question to pop up.
The surf lessons are a great idea. Maybe I will do that for a treat before move in day.
Is there laundry service or do the kids do their own laundry? What about dry cleaning?
I totally agree. Cate is a pretty substantial school that caters to a very specific group of people, but, there is a lack of representation here. This is all great stuff, guys!!!
The hiking boots are for the outdoor trips, which happen around the first week of September usually. The freshmen trip is lightest on hiking, but helpful to have boots and break them in. The junior year trip is more than 35 miles! Students mostly wear sneakers around school. California is very casual.
Students do their own laundry. There are dry cleaners in the town of Carpinteria, easily accessible on the Cate shuttle.
Short intro surf lessons are available at nearby Santa Claus Lane from a number of companies, including Surf Happens.
Hope this helps. Very excited for your family to be starting your Cate adventure.
We opted for the worn in running shoes for the 9th grade outings week, as kiddo’s feet are still growing. It was fine. Figured better to put off that investment as long ad possible. The downside is that unless he all of a sudden takes up hiking this summer, there are blisters in his future.
My child’s foot hasn’t grown since the fifth grade. She has pretty small feet which still allow some kid size purchases. Woohoo for saving money. I swear my kid has so many shoes that do not see the lights of day because she keeps wearing the same old dirty adidas.? They are definitely broken in.
Honestly, I love my boarding school, but if I could go back in time, I would seriously consider Cate just for the warm weather haha. As a Florida girl, I am not a fan of New England winters.
@learning266 That is a great question! I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer is “none”.
The California high school sports league rules are different than in New England – you can only play 4 years of high school sports. You can’t be 19 years old. I think schools can’t recruit, but I am not 100% certain on that. That would be a great revisit day question.
Cate definitely has some rock star athletes, but I don’t remember sports recruiting ever being mentioned in any visit I have ever had to the school, or seeing a coach involved with meeting applicants.