bulletin

FALL 2007

New Faculty p.7

Centennial Campaign Launch p.15
Multidimensional Math p.30
FA L L 2 0 0 7 1
 bulletin
FALL 2007

Editor
Don Orth
don_orth@cate.org

Design
Phillip Collier Designs

Copy Editor
Ross Robins

Photography
Mary Fish Arango, Rob Dunton '79,
Jason Jones, Don Orth, and Steve
Semple

Headmaster
Benjamin D. Williams IV

Director of Development
Meg Bradley

Leadership Gifts and

Planned Giving
Terry Eagle

Cate Fund Director

Grayson Bryant '95

Associate Alumni Director

Jana Miller

Director of Centennial Events

and Special Gifts
Leslie Benedict Turnbull '85

Director of Centennial
Campaign, Major Gifts
Rob Dunton '79

Centennial Projects
Eric Swain

Director of Admission
Charlotte Brownlee '85

The Cate Bulletin is published three

times a year by The Cate School
and is distributed free of charge to
alumni, parents, and friends of the
School. Send correspondence and
address changes to:

Editor

Mission Statement: Through commitment, scholarship,

Cate Bulletin
1960 Cate Mesa Road
Carpinteria, CA 93014-5005
www.cate.org

The Cate Bulletin is printed by

companionship, and service, each member of the Cate community
Ventura Printing on recycled,
mixed source paper.
contributes to what our founder called: “The spirit of this place...
all compounded of beauty and virtue, quiet study, vigorous play,
and hard work.”
CONTENTS
5 From the Headmaster
Ben Williams writes about critical moments that
can reveal “truths for which we are unprepared.” 6 9
6 New to the Mesa
13

Eight new faculty members from around

the world have joined us this year.

9 Experiences á la McBean
Teachers write about experiences made
possible by a faculty fund.
30 28
12 A Bridge to China by Jim Masker
A veteran history teacher reflects on his

22 Cate Celebrates Leadership Donors

D
D

experience this summer. D

On a warm October evening, the School

14 The Cate School Centennial Campaign honors Centennial leaders.

A glance at the planning behind the Centennial
Campaign.
26 Centennial Campaign Q & A
Here are the answers to some common

15 Special Initiatives Inspire Centennial Gifts questions about the Campaign.

Grassroots projects inspire extraordinary
Campaign giving.
28 Mesa Map 2010
A campus map reveals dramatic changes ahead.

16 A Steadfast Light by Benjamin D. Williams IV

An address to Centennial Campaign donors,
October 18, 2007. 30 Multidimensional Math by Don Orth
A closer look at Cate's Math Department—
100% OPACITY its program and its teachers.

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DARK SAND 100% OPACITY

Class Agents and Committee of 100 Convene

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Remembering Math
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This dedicated group met for the first time to

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discuss the goals of the Centennial Campaign. Alumni write about their experiences with
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math and its masters at Cate.

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Cover: Sunset Ceremony, September 2007 (photo by Rob Dunton '79)

44
Inside cover: Inside the Katharine Thayer Cate Memorial Chapel
(photo by Rob Dunton '79) Master Teacher Reaches Milestone by Betty Woodworth
A celebration of 25 years with Cheryl Powers.

45 Class Notes
From the Archives
Excerpt from Cate School's centennial book, currently being written.

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4 C AT E dowSnCoHr O O L B U L L E T I N
From the Headmaster
I
have the good fortune
each fall to open our
Thursday evening
convocation series with
some remarks that I usually deliver in
our chapel. Subsequent convocations
are held in the Hitchcock Theatre, but
I prefer the intimacy and atmosphere
of the chapel. It seems a place designed
to foster contemplation, and whether
the accompanying receptivity of the
audience is real or imagined, I find
myself reassured by the spirit of quiet
repose there. It's calming to a speaker
like me, and this year in particular I
wanted to be heard.
On the surface, mine was a presentation
on the nature and character of
knowledge. It begged the question
whether wisdom could be achieved
without complete and humble
commitment to its acquisition, and it
postulated that often we don't truly
know things that we believe we do, in
fact, know. I tried to stay on a high
intellectual plane, for I thought that
was appropriate for my first address, but
the genesis of that talk had little to do
with the life of the mind.
It rose out of a sunny morning in late
July when I held my mother's hand
and watched her breathe her last.
Hers is a remarkable story. One of the
most vibrant, energetic, loving people
ever to grace this planet, she lived as
though something great was always
just around the corner. And from
Mom's perspective, it always was. She
raised three enormous boys whose
collective and individual strength were
no match for hers. She walked quickly
and was fond of shouting back to her
ever-trailing sons to “pump your arms
and you'll go faster.” And she was
always right, even though we didn't
always heed her. When we were little
more than toddlers, my mother was
diagnosed with breast cancer. Only 29
years old at the time, she fought the
cancer, finding solace in the absence
of the daughter my mother had always
wanted because of the fear that she
might have passed on a vulnerability to
the very disease we all thought she
had bested.
But the cancer was not gone … just
waiting. Thirty years after the initial
bout, my mother joined the fight
again. She lasted nearly a decade, but
even her colossal spirit and vitality
were not enough. When Mom finally
succumbed, there was little but her soul
left, and she assured us cancer couldn't
take that.
I have spoken publicly only once about
my mother's passing, and I barely made
it through. I'm not sure when or if
I'll do it again. But I can write about
her, for grief at the keyboard seems
to nurture my language and lay bare
memories and emotions that are as
unexpected as they are intense. I write
for her, certainly, but also for myself—
for the closeness that I feel, for the
understanding I am struggling to find,
for the sadness that is hard to shake but
is strangely comforting. I recognize now
that until Mom's passing I didn't really
know what it is to grieve.
I think that is what I was trying to say
to our students back in September,
albeit indirectly—that we are all faced
at critical moments with occurrences
and truths for which we are wholly
unprepared, and only in the experience
itself will that fact be revealed.
My mother taught me that lesson,
unwelcome and painful as it continues
to be. But she also gave me the means
to deal with it, and to understand my
sorrow for what it is—evidence that I
have been blessed, that I have loved and
been loved, and that the byproducts of
this love are not mortal and finite as
we are.
No one listening to my remarks
during convocation heard such things,
I'm sure; but they were there, under
the surface, waiting perhaps for
someone to look closely enough and
wonder—someone who also had been
faced suddenly, inexplicably, perhaps
painfully with all he or she didn't know.
I doubt, frankly, that anyone could have
taught me to be prepared for the events
of this past summer, but that doesn't
diminish the importance of the effort.
Powerful teaching that can illuminate
timeless truths is the consequence of
relationships, the kind that are borne
of shared experience, investment, and
engagement—the kind that reveal
our need and capacity for meaningful
human connections. Such inclinations
are the foundation of all that is good
and powerful, both on this mesa and
off. My mother taught me that, too.
Benjamin D. Williams IV
FA L L 2 0 0 7 5
 New Faculty
We are happy to welcome an extraordinarily talented group of new teachers to the Mesa this year.
They come from around the globe and bring with them extensive life and school experience; all
of them hold advanced degrees and many are accomplished professionals in their chosen fields.
They have already immersed themselves in the community without reserve, bringing vitality
and a fresh perspective to their work as teachers, coaches, and dorm parents. We are fortunate
indeed to have such an exceptional crew with us.

6 C AT E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 Anna Alldredge
English/Human Development; Boys' and Girls' Volleyball; BA, Stanford University; MA, Stanford University
Originally from Florida, Anna has called both Germany and California home. Her most
recent post was at the Nelson Mandela International School of Berlin, where she taught
English, Peace Studies, and drama while coaching volleyball and establishing the school's
first Prefect program. Previously, Anna worked in California's public school system after
graduating with two degrees from Stanford. During her college years, Anna studied
Anthropology, Sociology, Peace Studies, and American Sign Language while captaining
the Stanford Volleyball team.

Nathan Alldredge
Humanities/Human Development; Boys' and Girls' Water Polo; BA, Stanford University; MA, UC Berkeley
A native Californian, Nathan comes to Cate via Berlin, Germany, where he taught literature
and politics at the city's oldest Gymnasium. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in
Psychology, Nathan began his teaching career at the Bing School in Stanford before crossing
the Bay to Berkeley in pursuit of a Masters in Education. Following his graduate career, he
took a post in the Visalia public school system, in California's Central Valley, before accepting
a teaching position in Germany's capital. Nathan was a standout water polo player at
Stanford, earning a selection to the All-MPSF academic team. He helped lead the Cardinal to
an NCAA championship his senior year.

Rob Dunton '79

Director of Centennial Campaign, Major Gifts; BA, Vassar College; MBA, Keller Graduate School/DeVry University
After years in commercial real estate sales, Rob began his career in education at Learning
Forum and Jensen Learning Corporation, pioneers in accelerated/brain-based learning
and life-skills programs for students and teachers. In 1999 he was hired by SBC/AT&T as
a marketing specialist and worked there until joining Cate. In addition to his love of all
things water related (like SCUBA diving, kayaking, and surfing), Rob is a travel writer and
photographer specializing in adventure and culture. His work can be found in publications
such as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Outside. He is always excited to
work with Cate students, whether it be hiking in Yosemite, surfing at Rincon, or diving
around the Channel Islands.

Anna Fortner
English; Outdoors Program; BA, Mills College; MFA, University of Idaho
New to our English Department, Anna brings with her a formidable combination of
talents and interests. She comes to us from University of Idaho, where she received an
MFA in fiction-writing while working with accomplished poet and novelist Robert
Wrigley. A native of the San Francisco area, Anna received her BA in English and
Creative Writing from Mills College in Oakland before taking up graduate work. She
also has many years of experience in kayaking and in leading whitewater river trips,
and was named to the national surf-kayaking team in 2000. In addition to teaching
undergraduate courses in literature and creative writing at the University of Idaho, Anna
has worked as a physical education instructor at the Mills College Children's School and
as assistant varsity girls' soccer coach at Head-Royce School in Oakland.

FA L L 2 0 0 7 7
 Jamie Kellogg
Physics and Chemistry; AB Physics, Amherst College; PhD Geophysics, Harvard University
After graduating from Amherst with an AB in physics in 1994, Jamie went on to earn a
PhD in Geophysics at Harvard University. Following graduation, Jamie moved west for
postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA and later teaching positions at UCSB as a lecturer and
researcher. He took a one-year position at Lakeside School in Seattle, teaching physics and
chemistry and advising the Lakeside Cryptozoological Society (aka the Sasquatch Club) and
the Lakeside Association of Wanna-Be String Theorists (aka LAWST).

Niurka Ramirez
Spanish; BA, Universidad de La Habana, Cuba; MA, UCSB
A native of Cuba, Niurka has studied languages extensively. Since arriving in Santa Barbara
in 1998, she has worked and studied diligently, earning Masters degrees in both Spanish and
German language and literature from UCSB, to add to her Bachelors degree in German from
Universidad de La Habana. Prior to arriving at Cate, Niurka taught Spanish and German at
various local colleges, including UCSB, Westmont, and Santa Barbara City College.

Wade Ransom
Head athletic trainer; AS, BS, Fairleigh Dickinson University; MS, Seton Hall University
An Easterner of long standing, Wade comes to Cate on the heels of an ambitious course of
study in sports medicine, including an internship with the New York Jets football team.
After rigorous undergraduate preparation in various areas of physical therapy, Wade shifted
his focus to sports medicine in 2004, and while pursuing his graduate degree at Seton Hall
he completed a two-year clinical assignment at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.
He earned his Certified Athletic Trainer credentials in 2006 and then taught at Seton Hall
University's School of Graduate Medical Education; he also served as athletic trainer in
the university's Department of Sports Medicine. With his experience in a major Division-I
school, Wade ventured into the world of pro sports as an intern with the New York Jets
football team during the 2006 season. Wade is responsible for student athlete exercise
programs and the assessment and rehabilitation of athletic injuries.

Judith Lynn Stillman

Choral Director and Artist-in-Residence; Bachelor of Music (BM), Master of Music (MM), Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), The Juilliard School

Cate's artist-in-residence, Judith Lynn Stillman brings an illustrious background to the School.
While teaching classes on the Mesa, she continues to fulfill the demands of her career as a
widely admired concert pianist, with solo and collaborative engagements around the world.
Dr. Stillman's career as a performing and recording artist reflects not only her own prodigious
abilities, but also an ability to collaborate with other musicians, who have included such stars
as Wynton Marsalis, Mark O'Connor, and many others. She is herself a founding member of
several ensembles and appears on many recordings. Dr. Stillman has also maintained a parallel
career as an educator. For two decades, she has taught at the college and university level; she
has also directed younger ensembles, as she will do at Cate. Dr. Stillman is not only extensively
experienced and trained, but also positively enthusiastic about the work of choral direction, and
has a long track record of accomplishment in this role.

8 C AT E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Experiences á la McBean
The Peter McBean Faculty Enrichment Fund was created by former Cate student and Trustee Peter
McBean '30. His generous gift to Cate's endowment promotes personal adventure and professional
development for teachers every year. The experiences gained by our faculty have contributed greatly
to individual growth, to the School's classrooms, and to the entire Cate community.
Bob Bonning - aquaria tours
With funding from McBean, I was
able to tour three world-class marine
aquaria located on the West Coast: the
Aquarium and Marine Science Centre
in Vancouver, BC; the Oregon Coast
Aquarium in Newport, OR; and the
Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey,
CA. Each of the three facilities makes
outstanding use of regional habitat
diversity. The Vancouver Aquarium, a
large and sophisticated center, houses
a particularly impressive collection
of arctic and sub-arctic marine
mammals that includes the Stellar Sea
Lion, Pacific White Sided Dolphins,
Alaskan Sea Otters, and, perhaps
most noteworthy, Beluga Whales.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a fine
teaching facility that emphasizes near-
shore habitat and marine communities
along the north-central coast of
the United States. And finally, the
Monterey aquarium makes outstanding
use of the extensive resources and
habitat diversity of the Monterey
Bay and its submarine canyon. The
Monterey aquarium's collection includes
remarkable open-ocean exhibits as
well as deep-water and coastal exhibits
that are the equal of any in the world.
These visits have helped inform the
organization and emphasis for two of
my senior elective classes: “Introduction
to Oceanography” and “Marine
Biology.”
Tim Smith - SCUBA certification
This past spring, a grant from the
McBean Fund allowed me to receive
my Open-Water PADI SCUBA
certification through a five-day
course that took place here at Cate
and out at the Channel Islands. On
a professional level, this certification
made it possible for me to participate
in Cate's Spring Week SCUBA trip;
I was able to not only lead a trip but
join the diving adventures with the
instructors and students, thus working
toward my Advanced Certification.
This certification will also allow me to
organize Cate dive trips in the future,
making use of our proximity to the fine
diving of the Channel Islands and local
reefs. On a personal level, the McBean
Fund's support allowed me to renew
my interest in this sport so that I might
be able to pursue SCUBA with both
friends and family in the future.
Amy Roth - WFR certification
Over the summer I traveled to the
Yosemite Institute to earn a Wilderness
First Responder certification. The
ten-day course combined intensive
classroom training and practical
experience in one of the most
spectacular places on the planet.
Our diverse group of 30 lived at the
Institute with our two instructors
from the NOLS Wilderness Medicine
Institute, an experience which brought
us closer together and allowed us to
be supportive of each other and give
and accept feedback when reviewing
our practical scenarios. The scenarios
ranged from 30-minute, small-group
FA L L 2 0 0 7 9
rescues to a large-scale night rescue
during which we had to “respond” to a
mass casualty. This was one of the most
rewarding experiences I have ever had,
inspiring me to further my education
and outdoor experience. I feel very
confident in the outdoors now, and will
be a much better leader during Cate
trips into the wilderness.
Lauren Jared - Independent School
Gender Project - Spring Meeting
Last April, I was one of 25 women
from across the country and Canada
who attended the annual conference
of the Independent School Gender
Project. Almost all of the participants
are involved in secondary education,
many from the health and counseling
fields. The theme of this particular
conference was “Female Leadership,”
and one of the main presentations
explored cultural attitudes toward
male and female student leadership
as revealed by the most recent ISGP
survey. Nationally, both boys and girls
tended to rank boys more highly than
girls as effective leaders (with a gap
of at least 20 percentage points in the
boys' favor when boys were asked the
question), though the gap between girls'
and boys' perceptions was narrower
at Cate. Other agenda items included
a discussion of Madeline Levine's
The Price of Privilege, in which the
author looks at various case studies
to analyze some of the difficulties
affluent children face because of the
experiences, expectations, and choices
made possible by their family's wealth.
While this book focused on the ways
in which parents contributed to their
children's anxieties, participants asked
themselves what they as teachers do to
enable some of the less healthy attitudes
and activities, and what they might do
differently to better help their students.
As a member of the Cate Gender Task
Force, I hope to discuss some of these
themes as they apply to Cate life; as
someone who's interested in the impact
10 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
of gender not only on girls but also Peter Arango - Shakespeare conference
on boys, I also hope to apply what Measure for Measure is not only
I've learned in my interactions with considered to be one of Shakespeare's
students, with my colleagues, and with “problem” plays; in fact, it's considered
my own two children. the most “problematic” of all. It is rarely
performed these days, in part because
directors can't imagine how to contend
with what seem truly disturbing ethical
issues inherent in the play. It's been a
particular challenge for me; much of
the language is deeply moving. What a
rare treat it was to spend a week at the
Rex McGuin Shakespeare Conference
at Exeter, reading the play closely and
designing a production of my own!
Not only did the play come into focus,
but I found myself in rich conversation
with teachers from across the country.
I am most grateful for the opportunity
granted me by this McBean grant.
Frank Griffin and his daughters Casey and Erin walking along the canals of Venice
Emilie and Frank Griffin - Trip to Italy
We were fortunate to be able to travel
to Italy this past June, and we were
frequently amazed and impressed with
the friendliness and good nature of the
local citizens. The historic, religious,
and artistic sites were astonishing, and
we particularly enjoyed seeing living
history over a 2000-year period in and
around Rome. Visiting the hometowns
of authors, scientists, artists, and other
famous individuals left us often in awe
of our surroundings. Our travel also Kathleen Macdonell and Dimetri Konstantinidis '71 at his home on Patmos
gave us a deeper appreciation of issues
of diversity, as Cate becomes more and Kathleen Macdonell - Trip to Greece
more a community of world citizens. During my trip to Greece this summer,I
We flew into Milan, then drove south spent six days in Athens, one week on
through the central river valley and over the island of Paros, and two and a half
the mountains to see the Mediterranean weeks on the island of Patmos. Not only
Sea in Genoa. After a delightful week did I have a wonderful time, but I also
of exploring and day trips to Chianti, made significant progress in the final
Siena, Sam Gimignano, Volterra, Lucca, draft of my translation work, Ismene
and Florence, we drove north over the Kapandai's novel Of Epirots and Turks.
mountains to Lake Como for a brief
look at Lugano, Switzerland before two In addition to revisiting the sites of
days and nights in Venice. We finished Athens, I spent some time with one
with a cross-Italy train trip from Venice of the archaeologists of the American
to Rome by way of Florence. School of Athens, getting an update on
the progress of their excavation in the
Peloponnese, and making plans to visit
next year the site of a hilltop Byzantine
village that's planned for excavation. On
Paros, I stayed in the village of Naoussa
and attended a session of the Poetry and
Translation Seminar sponsored by the
“House of Translation” in the village
of Lefkes, taking some time to work
on the first draft of my translation of
another of Kapandai's novels, Seven
Times the Ring.
Ismene was very happy with my
translation of Epirots, and it was a
thrilling experience to hear her praise.
There is a possibility that the translation
will be published, perhaps by the Greek
Institute in Cambridge.
From Paros I traveled by ferry to the
island of Patmos, renowned for the
monastery founded in 1088 and the
intact Byzantine village surrounding
it, and famous in the world of Cate as
the home of Dimitris Konstantinidis
'71. Dimitris and his wife Loukia
graciously invited me to stay in a
restored little house on their property.
I had the wonderful opportunity for
long conversations with Dimitri and his
daughter Natalia, was spoiled by the
wonderful cooking of his wife Loukia at
a Saturday evening gathering of friends,
and was charmed by their youngest son
Aris.
Robert Kwalick - Tai Ji and calligraphy
I attended the two-week “Lan Ting”
(Orchid Pavillion) training in Tai Ji
and Chinese brush calligraphy through
Chungliang Huang's Living Tao
Foundation in Gold Beach, Oregon. I
was able to participate in daily sessions
on Ti Ji form as well as in informal
discussions about philosophy and the
arts; some of those discussions focused
on the ways in which a search into the
meaning and/or intent of various texts,
images, and pieces of music might
enhance one's understanding of the
Thank you
All faculty members would like to
express their deep gratitude to the
McBean Fund for the opportunities it
grants individuals and the enriching
experiences it brings to the Cate
community through these participants.
Peter McBean's vision has broadened
the horizons for everyone at Cate.
Past McBean Awards
2006
4Bill Anderson, Trip through Canada and Alaska -
Robert Kwalick and Chungliang Huang at Lan Ting Institute, Gold Beach, OR
digital imagery
4Catherine Beamer, Exeter math conference
Ti Ji form and the potential meanings 4Mike Beamer, TABS Leadership Conference
inherent in its movements and daily 4Margot Dorion, Tennis Coaching Clinic
4Gaby Edwards, Lisa Holmes, Margot Dorion; ISGP
practice. Afternoon sessions in brush Workshop at Hochkiss
calligraphy complemented the morning 4Zai Li, International Conference on East Asia
lessons in Tai Ji and helped further Calligraphy Education in Japan
4Jim Masker, Intensive Chinese Language Program
elucidate the inner workings of Chinese
at Dartmouth
thought and world view. This particular 4Curtis Musser, History of Alchemy and Chemistry in
workshop was concurrent with Philadelphia
Chungliang's 70th birthday (a big deal 4Science Department, NSTA Conference in
Anaheim for entire department
in Chinese culture, where “life begins 2005
at 70”) and the 30-year anniversary 4Ned Bowler, Yoga Retreat in Santa Barbara
of the Living Tao Foundation, and a 4Jay Dorion, EU Conference in Belgium
4Monica Garcia, Final Year of Masters program at
banquet was held to commemorate UCSB
these milestones, attended by over 200 4David Harbison, Independent Research -
people from 19 countries, many of Middle East Course development
4Molly Krill, Oxford Teacher Seminar
whom were artists who have worked
4Gary Pierce, Landmark Education - personal
with Chungliang over the years. Several growth program in Santa Barbara
of these artists stayed in Gold Beach 4Ross Robins, Teece Mini Grant - Russian Writers
beyond the banquet for the first week Seminar in Russia
4Steve Semple, Society for Photographic
of Lan Ting and helped co-create Education National Conference
the first Gold Beach Arts Festival, 2003
which featured nightly presentations, 4Paul Denison, WFR course
4Gaby Edwards, French painting workshop
book signings by Tao authors, a film 4David Mochel, Authentic Leadership, Nova Scotia
festival, panel discussions, and musical 2002
performances. Tai Ji has long been a 4Renee Mack, Lawrenceville/Princeton
practice that actors use to help focus, science program
2001
relax, and simultaneously energize 4Bill Anderson, Art trip to Italy
them. I use Tai Ji and other movement, 4Charlie Plummer, Summer physics curriculum
body-centered work with all my young 2000
Mary Arango, Ropes, Project Adventure
acting students to help bring them 1999
physical awareness. My continued 4Lauren Jared, Summer trip to France, humanities
learning enhances my ability to teach 1998
4Erin Habelt, Exeter math conference
with renewed perspective and vigor.
4Sue Valikonis, Thailand
F A L L 2 0 0 7 11
Today Chinese children begin to learn English in the third grade. At this
rate, China will soon become the largest English-speaking nation in the
world. Here, History teacher Jim Masker converses with a third grader.

A Bridge to
by Jim Masker, History Teacher
We were nearing the end of our visit to a model Beijing elementary school in late June when suddenly, coming
from the far end of the hallway, a familiar object bobbed up and down amid the swarm of children heading home
for the day. There, perched on a young boy's head, was a brand new Boston Red Sox hat. The boy and his buddies
seemed surprised when I showed an interest in the blue and red hat; in clear, very understandable English he
said flatly, “Boston Red Sox are the number one team in America.”

12 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 W hile I had
no sense
of the lad's
emotional
attachment to the Red Sox, we were,
for a moment, part of a fraternity
that knew no national, cultural, or
geographical boundaries. For me, it was
a poignant reminder of the scope of
globalization.
This was but one of many mind-
opening encounters that served to
shatter my stereotypes of China and its
people. Another realization I had was
how much the Chinese want to learn
about American culture and the high
value they place upon learning English.
Today, students begin to study English
in the third grade, which makes for an
interesting dynamic between parents
and children. One balmy evening as we
strolled along Harbin's Song Hua River,
families who wanted their children
to talk with us in English constantly
and politely approached us. After one
such conversation with a sixth grader,
during which we chatted about where
we were from in America, what we did
for a living, and why we were in China,
I turned to see the daughter excitedly
pump her arms up and down in
complete joy and her parents lifting her
off the ground with hugs of pride—we
were the first Americans they had ever
met and their daughter had provided
the link between our two cultures.
Another powerful realization I had was
how prevalent the pursuit of capitalism
is among the Chinese I saw in Beijing
and Harbin. In Beijing, street vendors
swarmed our delegation whenever we
disembarked from the bus in an effort
to sell purses, shirts, watches, hats and
a host of Olympic souvenir items. In
Harbin, a street was closed off in the
morning to accommodate a market
that was a quarter-mile in length, and
as I walked along I viewed hundreds
of vendors selling everything from live
fish and fresh-baked bread to kitchen
knives, jewelry, and dish soap. One
elderly woman was selling the six pairs
of stockings she had on her three-by-
three foot blanket.
Meeting Chinese students, teachers,
and administrators was one component
of the nine-day China Bridge Program
that Cate's Chinese teacher Winston
Li and I had the good fortune to
participate in this summer. The
China Bridge Program is sponsored
by the Chinese Language Council
International (Hanban) through a
partnership with the College Board in
the United States. With these study-
travel trips to China, Hanban seeks to
introduce school administrators from
countries around the globe to Chinese
culture and to the nation's educational
system. Hanban also provides native
Chinese language teachers and multi-
media curriculum materials to schools
that wish to learn about Chinese
history, culture, and language.
While nearly all of the participants in
our 800-person American delegation
had to submit an application and
be selected by the College Board,
Winston Li and I received a personal
invitation from Dong Zhixue, Consul
for Education, at the Consulate
General of the People's Republic of
China in Los Angeles. Winston and
I have been collaborating to develop
intercultural programs to bring together
students from both sides of the Pacific
Ocean, and Consul Dong believed
it was important for me to have the
opportunity for a first-hand experience
with China and its educational system,
and for Winston and me to have the
opportunity to share our programmatic
ideas with education officials in
Beijing. Our trip was unquestionably a
rousing success on both counts. We are
hoping the professional relationships
we established during our time in
China will eventually lead to unique
intercultural possibilities for Cate
students and faculty.
While the Chinese government
defrayed a little over three-quarters
of cost of the trip, the China Bridge
program required matching funds
from each participant. It would not
have been possible for us to take part
in this enormously enriching adventure
without the generous support of the
Peter McBean Fund.
F A L L 2 0 0 7 13
The Cate School
CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN
Launched! Parents Weekend, October 2008
facilities master plan—and the work
that went into their development,
represent the marriage of people and
place that has distinguished Cate
School from its beginnings.
Fittingly, our planning efforts are
teeming with aspiration and possibility.
Our performance over the last century
and the ongoing contributions of our
graduates in all walks of life have
brought Cate School to national
prominence. We seek to build on that
strength and to establish a paradigm
for teaching and learning that exceeds
in quality any other in the field of
education today. Such an ambition
requires resources, the only significant
limitation we face as a school.
Chairman George James speaks at Assembly on October 19 to announce the launch
of the Centennial Campaign.
To address this limitation, the Board
A
pproaching Cate's 2010 of Trustees voted in February 2005 to
centennial milestone, begin the groundwork for a potential
the School's trustees, capital campaign to ensure that Cate's
administration, and teachers have the tools and resources
faculty collaborated to optimize the student experience
from 2003 to 2005 in developing a and to build a comprehensive financial
long-range plan to ensure that the assistance program to support
School's future will outshine even its an economically diverse student
distinguished past. Out of this long- population. From 2005 until 2007 the
range planning grew an extensive
Board of Trustees and Headmaster
evaluation of the School's master plan,
Ben Williams invited the support of
a process in which each element of Cate's long-time supporters. Inspired
the School's operation was reviewed by the generosity of these donors, the
by master planning architects as well Board of Trustees voted to undertake
as by representatives of all School a $65,000,000 Centennial Campaign,
constituencies: faculty, staff, parents, which was formally announced at this
students, alumni, and trustees. The fall's Parents Weekend.
resulting two documents—the long-
range plan and the accompanying
14 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Endowment
In celebrating the distinguished faculty,
students, and programs of Cate's first
100 years, and in looking forward to
the exceptional people and programs
that will further distinguish Cate in its
second 100 years, we undertake this
Centennial Campaign seeking to raise
$39,000,000 for endowment. Of that,
$20,000,000 will endow improvements
in faculty salaries and benefits,
$15,000,000 will significantly strengthen
our ability to provide tuition assistance
for qualified students, and $4,000,000
will be used to preserve the Mesa. We
know that a school is its people — past,
present, and future — and it is with clear
purpose that Cate has chosen to make
our people the focus of this endowment
campaign.
Wisely invested and utilized by a
visionary administration and Board
of Trustees, Cate's endowment will do
more than ensure a secure future; it
will shape it. Yield from endowment
will help finance rightfully ambitious
programs and thereby sharpen Cate's
competitive edge in an increasingly
sophisticated independent school
market. Endowment is the bedrock of
Cate's future.
 Special Initiatives Inspire Centennial Gifts
Caldwell Fund
The passing of Joseph Ivins Caldwell
in July of 2003 marked, for many
Cate alumni, the end of an era. For
twenty years on the Mesa, Joe Caldwell
variously served as Head of the English
Department, tennis coach, El Batidor
advisor, Director of Admission,
Assistant Headmaster, College
Counselor, and Director of Activities.
Indeed, in the words of his friend and
colleague Stephen Spittler '63, “…for
many of the graduates of the last twenty
years, Joe is the School.”
To honor that legacy of service, in 2005
James Sheldon '71 created The Joseph
I. Caldwell Memorial Scholarship
Fund. Many of Jim's classmates and
schoolmates also made gifts; over time
more and more of Joe's former students
joined in. Today the Fund has reached
$103,796, with a goal of $250,000 or
more by the Centennial in 2010. Cate
has also been informed of a $1,000,000
bequest earmarked for this fund. The
Caldwell Fund will produce enough
income to enroll a Caldwell Scholar
at Cate School every four years—an
enduring tribute to a man who inspired
a generation of Cate students.
Carpinteria Valley Scholarship
For almost 100 years, “Day Boys”
and eventually “Day Girls” from
Carpinteria have been an essential
part of Cate's residential program.
Generations of local young men and
women have benefited from Cate's
academic experience and exposure
to an increasingly diverse and global
community.
In 1987, Cate trustee Wilson Bradley,
Jr. and alumnus Tim Bliss '70, both
of Carpinteria, established a named
scholarship to provide financial
assistance to deserving local students.
As part of the School's successful
endowment, and thanks to additional
gifts from thoughtful supporters of
the School, the Carpinteria Valley
Scholarship Fund has grown to
$327,070, generating approximately
$13,000 every year to help a student
from Carpinteria attend Cate.
To alumni parents and Carpinteria
residents Jim and Jean Bailard (Jill
'97 and Emily '99), the upcoming
Centennial provided a wonderful
opportunity to do even more for the
School and the hometown they love.
By bestowing their own lead gift and
actively soliciting others, they have
begun an effort to boost the value of the
CVS Fund from its present $327,070 to
$500,000, thus providing an additional
$10,000 a year in financial aid to one or
more Carpinteria Scholars.
Alumnae House
It has been twenty-six years since
female students first came to the
Mesa—twenty-six years during which
hundreds of young women have found
their path to adulthood under the
care and guidance of Cate teachers
and administrators. As the School
approached its Centennial Anniversary,
a number of alumnae including Cate
Campaign goal: $65M
$39M for Endowment
$20M for faculty salaries, $15M for scholarship, $4M for maintenance of construction
$16M for Construction
$7M FOR Cate Fund
$3M FOR operational Expenses
trustee Monique Parsons '84, began to
wonder how the women of Cate might
make their own unique contribution to
the School.
Thus was born the vision for Alumnae
House, a brand new faculty residence
on the Mesa. Cate students are best
served by direct contact with faculty
members outside of the classroom and
the academic schedule. This calls for
enough faculty housing on the Mesa to
ensure all teachers and administrators
round-the-clock access to the students
for whom they care.
Alumnae House will be a home where
Cate faculty members can raise their
families and welcome future generations
of students. Led by a gift from the
family of trustee Margaret Hyde '92
and supported by other Cate women
making (in many cases) the largest
gifts of their lives, Alumnae House
will also be a proud statement from
the women of Cate—a demonstration
of an ability, nurtured on the Mesa, to
garner resources and contribute to the
community in their name.
For more information or to make a
gift, please contact Leslie Turnbull '85
in Cate's Centennial Office: leslie_
turnbull@cate.org or 805-684-4127,
ext. 244.
F A L L 2 0 0 7 15
Leadership donors gather in the Katharine Thayer Cate Memorial Chapel

A Steadfast Light by Benjamin D. Williams IV

To mark the upcoming launch of the Centennial Campaign, Cate Headmaster Benjamin D. Williams IV
delivered the following address to members of the community in the Katharine Thayer Cate Memorial
Chapel on October 18, 2007.

I
t is my privilege to welcome
all of you here tonight. We
thought it fitting that we
kick off this celebration in
the “crown of the mesa”—
this house which was so important to our
school's founder. You probably noticed
outdoors that we had to take down the
three cypress trees that have adorned the
entrance to the chapel for nearly fifty years.
The trees were a favored playground and
hideout for faculty children, which may
16 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
have actually accelerated their decline.
They were taken down over Outings Week
and a number of students upon their return
commented on their removal. One senior
approached me with tears in her eyes,
saying, “Mr. Williams, shouldn't we have
appointed a committee to discuss this?” I
pointed out that the trees were not, in fact,
living, but that was apparently immaterial
in her eyes. We all, it seems, hold tight to
this unique place.
I spoke from this very spot just last month,
opening our Thursday evening convocation
series with some remarks that I hope will
catalyze the journey of discovery that lies
ahead. My focus this year was the nature
and character of knowledge and the
incumbent question: what distinguishes
an idea or concept or truth so that we may
call it known? It seems a rather esoteric
question. What does it matter, after all,
if we know something or not? Isn't it
enough to believe that we know it? Isn't
that what conviction is all about—the kind
of conviction that builds and perpetuates
schools like this one?
But at moments like this I don't believe it is
enough simply to be confident or forceful.
At times like this, we need wisdom—
knowledge borne of both experience and
study—for how else might we advance this
community in the century that lies ahead? I
have always believed in commitment above
all else. If we give ourselves wholly to a
task, how can we fail? Certainly the early
stage of our Centennial Campaign, which
we celebrate tonight, is confirmation of the
power of commitment—yours and ours.
We have already raised more money, even
in inflation-adjusted dollars, than at any
other time in Cate's history. Eight people
have made gifts in excess of $1 million
dollars, a staggering achievement for this
small, exceedingly loyal community.
In total, nearly $40 million has been
committed to Cate's future, a future that
grows rosier with each passing day. And
to this point such largesse has come from
a relative few individuals—you who are
arrayed here in the house that Mr. Cate
built. Certainly our founder would have
been in awe of that achievement, and
proud too, for he always believed that his
school's first calling was to produce hard-
working, service-minded citizens. He and
his colleagues did their job, and their legacy
only seems to grow more remarkable with
the passing of time.
Mr. Cate himself was equal part educator
and philanthropist. It was he who, with
his family, bought the land on which the
school rests. And it was he who left it and
his beautiful home to the school when his
time came to an end. Tennyson's words
adorn the entrance to this sanctuary. “And
year by year memory fades from all the
circle of the hills.” Not from these hills,
though, or this Mesa. The continuity of
thought, of ideology, of human endeavor
is what sustains us, even in the face of a
dramatically changing world.
But if you will indulge me, I would suggest
that especially at this time in our school's
great history, it is not enough just to be
committed. We must also be right—not
necessarily about what the future might
bring or what challenges might be placed
in our path, but about who we are and who
we will choose to be. Ours is the challenge
of identity, not because we have wavered
on that topic heretofore, but because it is
knowledge of our own nature that will
provide the momentum and the wisdom
that will carry us into our future. The small
residential school is not guaranteed a place
in the world. Its place must be earned,
fortified, made relevant and powerful
by the quality and the character of the
education we offer. That is our challenge.
Most of you who know me well recognize
that the concept of a school as solely a place
of academic endeavor galls me—that I
chafe at the modern tendency to measure
education with indices that allegedly
translate human potential and ability into
quantifiable dimensions. I have made
my peace with this dynamic, of course. I
don't really have much choice. But I find
myself wondering with some regularity
from where and by what means the greatest
lessons are evoked. The classroom may be
the place where our habits and discipline
are established, where our minds are honed
and refined, and where are sights are raised
to the illimitable ends of knowledge itself,
but it is in the marriage of all our various
human interactions and engagements that
some of the most profound learning is
evinced.
We returned a few weeks ago, for instance,
from our Outings Week trips—one of those
non-academic endeavors to which I ascribe
great significance. The program has many
goals, not the least of which is to foster
connections among classmates and teachers,
and since Mr. Cate founded the school,
establishing a connection to the out-of-
doors has been central to our mission. The
King himself said, “I considered that trips
over the mountains and into the canyons
and ranges beyond were an important part
of the boys' education; they would grow
self-reliant, ready to rough it, prompt in
emergencies, and fond of the open country.”
Sometimes, too, it is important to take on
a challenge simply because it is placed in
your way. George Mallory, the great British
climber, once said, “There is something
in man which responds to the challenge
of mountains and goes out to meet it. The
struggle is the struggle of life itself upward
and forever upward.” Perhaps many of our
students now understand what he meant,
for they too were perched not long ago on
what seemed like the roof of the world,
their legs, their lungs, and their heart
having taken them there.
Such transcendent experiences seem to have
always been the fundamental truth here at
Cate. It is why, when Mr. Cate wrote his
second book about this school, that book
included recollections of every boy in each
of the 40 classes he served as headmaster.
At 80-plus years of age, the symphony of
his school was still playing in his head, and
the music was not academic, but personal,
powerful, elemental. It spoke first and
foremost to citizenship, leadership, and
piety. It imagined graduates whose calling
was service: in William Shepard Biddle's
words, the living embodiment of a school
that remains “a steadfast light in a troubled
world.”
So now it comes to us. Nearly one hundred
years of Cate history have brought us to
this watershed moment, when we meet
our centennial with one voice and join the
symphony that was written so many years
ago and has been playing ever since. And
in so doing it probably behooves us to ask
what we know about this school. What
ultimately we will choose to do with that
knowledge, for the path ahead is not set,
and our orienteering requires a sensitivity
as much to what has been as to what might
be.
Some of the answers to those questions
are implicit in the goals of this campaign,
which is all about the people of Cate. This
is fundamentally an endowment campaign
the goal of which is to insure that the
richness of this school's past and present is
also reflected in its future—in the character
and the commitment of those who might
join Cate as teachers, and the energy and
purpose of those who might join it as
scholars, thespians, athletes, and servants of
the larger world. To invest in such people
F A L L 2 0 0 7 17

“Cate's future depends on even more than the assemblage of
talented, committed, forward-thinking teachers, scholars, and
citizens. It depends on a culture, an ideology of character and
aspiration that we must continue to build.”
is to honor the very ethos that gave rise to
this community in the first place, and to
celebrate the ability of a single inspiring
teacher or a hopefully awakened student to
change the world.
But Cate's future depends on even
more than the assemblage of talented,
committed, forward-thinking teachers,
scholars, and citizens. It depends on a
culture, an ideology of character and
aspiration that we must continue to build.
For the best institutions inform the work
of their constituents and make clear at
all times their fundamental objectives.
Our mission statement presents those
guiding principles in crystal clear relief:
commitment, scholarship, companionship,
and service—all timeless applications that
have been here far longer than any of us,
and will be here long after we are gone.
If, however, we subscribe to the idea that
the residential school's standing on this
earth is not assured, then we must commit
ourselves all the more to both our principles
and their application. There are a great
many schools out there, public and private,
who lay claim to the very principles that
we espouse, and would contend that they
too build the kinds of citizens and scholars
and artists who will bring distinction to
18 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
this world. We cannot treat such claims
as specious or arrogant, for we live and
work in a competitive marketplace. Our
vitality and our power as an educational
community depends in large part on
our humility and the corresponding
understanding that we can and should
always get better at what we do. This
campaign will allow us greater opportunity
to develop the membership of this
community. But there is a corresponding
need to insure that that very membership
is infused with the understanding that we
will forever seek the very best, the most
comprehensive, and the most personal
educational experience for our kids.
For me, that suggests a program that
is always growing and evolving—not
according to the fads or fashions of the day,
but with attention to the appropriate and
complementary application of our timeless
principles in a world that is changing at
an alarming pace. We are even as I speak
deeply involved in two initiatives related
to that very ambition, the one devoted to
reordering our days and weeks here on
the Mesa so that our schedule reflects our
central programmatic aspiration to deliver
a rich, multi-faceted, and interdependent
curriculum. The other is designed to help
us understand ourselves better and in so
doing prepare a comprehensive action plan
for the next six years. While the ultimate
conclusions of those task forces are still
ahead, the work is well underway, and
the opportunities those efforts are already
producing for the school are intriguing.
We can, after all, expect more—of
ourselves, of our school, of our
collaboration—especially at Cate where the
diversity of endeavor is so widely embraced.
Jim Durham, one of the legendary Cate
educators, wrote not long before he
died, “Life should not be relentlessly
anything, and Cate should not contribute
to the impression that it is.” His observation
reveals a significant truth about Cate—that
it is built on the many and not the few,
that our collective endeavors generate
power and meaning through confluence
rather than isolation, and that the power
of great teaching expands in proximity to
complementary masters. We are not about
the few great scholars or gifted students or
extraordinary achievements. We are about
the many who labor in search of the kind
of eternal meaning that only a rich and full
education can evoke. Even this campaign
reflects that very truth, for our success at
this point depends far more on the breadth
of our support than it does on the scale of
a few gifts. Cate's success is communal,
programmatically and otherwise. And as we
enter shortly into the public phase of this
effort, that very dynamic will ensure our
success, just as it has through the ages.
One of the great artists of our time spoke
once about this phenomenon. And while
Ansel Adams was not speaking directly advance some bold direction that may or us to answer those questions, at least not
about Cate, his observations have resonance may not be consistent with traditional immediately; it is simply to support and
and relevance here, for they refer to an practice. But such ambitions and ours are enable those who can and will in the years
artistry that is not conceived on a canvas not mutually exclusive. The concept of to come.
but in a community. Adams explained, a contextual education may not be new, In so doing, we join the chorus of
“Art is both love and friendship, and but the practice of its implementation, the affirmation which confirms that ours is
understanding; the desire to give. It is not expertise of the educators who give it life, a school that has always and will always
charity, which is the giving of things, it is and the preparation of the students who believe in the multiplicity of human
more than kindness which is the giving of will experience it are quite distinct from endeavor and the power of an education
self. It is both the taking and the giving our predecessors. The how, therefore, is designed to build earnest, principled, hard-
of beauty, the turning out to the light the evolving with each passing day, and the working men and women. In their care
inner folds of the awareness of the spirit. vitality and impact of the program grow we will ultimately leave our world and our
It is the recreation on another plane of with it. But this is a campaign about the school. Thanks to your commitment and
the realities of the world; the tragic and who. Who will those teachers be whose generosity, they will have the resources to
wonderful realities of earth and men, and mastery of and respect for so many areas build on all that a century of wisdom and
of all the inter-relations of these.” of human endeavor will enable them to commitment have wrought.
carry these enduring principles forward?
In this campaign and at this time in our Who will the students be who will gain Servons, indeed.
history we celebrate all those virtues that access to this opportunity and in so doing
Adams notes: charity, kindness, and beauty. advance the school and the world with
And we connect them in a context where their scholarship, their character, and
their transformative power relies on the their commitment to service? It is not for
very inter-relations he reveres, and on the
application of those very principles to the
lives we lead. At such times life and work at
Cate rise to the level of art.
Anthony Kronman, another artist—albeit
of words and ideas—wrote recently,
in Education's End: How Colleges and
Universities Have Given Up on the
Meaning of Life, that higher education
has moved dramatically away from the
fundamental questions of humanity. His
perspective is compelling here at Cate, for
the paradigm he espouses, the one that
distinguished education in this country
for centuries, was based on a collaborative,
interdisciplinary approach. All endeavors,
academic or otherwise, were connected
by ideological and topical threads, so
that education became an amalgamation
of complementary pursuits wherein the
student learned to search not for right
answers but rather for the compelling
questions.

Unless I am grossly mistaken, the model

Kronman espouses is the one we at
Cate continue to embrace. Our success
in its implementation depends on the
collaborative model that began with Mr.
Cate and continues to this day. There is
perhaps, in some, a sense that we should be
turning the clock dramatically forward—
that we should, with any campaign,

F A L L 2 0 0 7 19
Class Agents and Committee of 100
Members Convene

Cate alumni know and appreciate their class agents — those enthusiastic men and women who
volunteer their time and energy to help their classmates stay connected with each other and the
School. In anticipation of the Centennial Celebration and Campaign, Cate class agents are joining and
being joined by an even larger group of volunteers: The Committee of 100.

T
he Committee of 100 (or
C100, as it has become
known) consists of
Cate alumni, parents,
former and current trustees, and friends
of the School who are committed to
helping Cate celebrate its centennial
anniversary through a variety of events,
communications, and special-gifts
fundraising on behalf of the Centennial
Campaign. Led by co-chairs Rick
Baum '64 and John Luce '59, the
committee convened as a group for the
first time in October 2007. Following
a joint dinner with the Cate Board of
Trustees, the C100 and several class
agents spent an exciting morning on the
Mesa soaking up the “Cate-mosphere”
and learning about the goals of the
campaign. A practical working session
with Cate Campaign Counsel Charles
Howland of Marts and Lundy inspired
one C100 member, Betty Woodworth,
to announce her readiness to “do
whatever is needed for Cate!” in the
three years leading up to the School's
100th anniversary in 2010. In the
meantime, C100 members and class
agents can look forward to their next
exciting convention in October 2008.
Servons.

20 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
CATE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE OF 100

Rick Baum '64, Co-Chair Charlotte Brownlee '85 John Hotchkiss '77 Rod Reynolds '46
John Luce '59, Co-Chair Linda Bucklin Adam Horowitz '99 Boyden Rohner '95
Jake Butts '59 Emily Horowitz '02 Paul Rubinstein '51
TEAM LEADERS Dinah Moore Calderon '90 Frank Huerta '85 John Sauter '84
Chris Breunig '82, Special Gifts Jim Caldwell '60 Gretchen Huntsinger '88 Avery Sheffield '93
Lara Brown '87, Special Gifts Jim Chapman '85 Phil Irwin '68 Clay Shevlin '79
Ted Simpson '88, Special Gifts Stan Cochran '51 Palmer Jackson, Jr. '82 Monte Schulz '70
Hilary Johnston-Barton Doubleday '84, Josh Conviser '92 John Kearney '00 Sanderson Smith
Communications Graham Covington '60 John Kinnear '60 Bonnie Carlson Solmssen '88
Lex Passaris '75, Communications David Cury '71 Sten Kramer '81 Cheever Tyler '55
Perri Harcourt, Events Betsy Denison Conan Laughlin '91 Paul Wilkes '85
Marianne Sprague, Events Jolly Denison Solomon '88 Philip Lun '79 Betty Woodworth
Lisa Browne Stanson '92, Events Michael Dewberry '71 Ryan MacDonnell '90 Gretchen Huntsinger Wyatt '88
Adam Firestone '79 Tommy Martin '93 Brian Yager '86
Bill (Kevin) Anderson '74 Barron Fletcher '85 Pam Massar Wendy Yager
Bill Andrews '71 John Free '52 Casey McCann '97 Jim Zanze '85
Michael Avenali '73 Catherine Froman '84 Andy Meyer '81 Kristin Zwart Waters '85
Linda Badell and Harry Dean Nancy Garrett Jamie Miles '71
Jim Bailard Jane Goodall Ken Miller '66 The Committee of 100 is growing rapidly,
George Barrett '45 Christopher Gough '99 Matt Morphy '84 and you are invited to join! Please
Baret Bertea-Walker '84 Kevin Gough '97 Tom Nelson '89 contact Leslie Benedict Turnbull '85 at
Maurice Blanks '83 Wyatt Gruber '93 Bill New '59
leslie_turnbull@cate.org or (805) 684-4127,
Henry Bowles '62 Brad Hackleman '01 Denise Petitfils
Martin Hale '58 John Ratteree '73
ext. 244.
Michael Brown '81
Anne Hollis-Flesher '97 Wendy Read

Above: Peter Paulson '59, Edwin Wood '59, Thayer Bigelow '59, Judd Hanna '59 lounge in a dorm room back in the day.

Left: The Centennial Campaign Committee of 100 and Class Agents. Back Row: Jim Munroe '61, Hilary Johnston-Barton Doubleday '84, Dinah Moore Calderon '90, Ted Simpson '86, Sanderson Smith, Maurice Blanks '83, Matthew Morphy '84, Bill Andrews '71, John
Ratterree '73, Clay Shevlin '79, Frank Huerta '85; Middle Row: Emily Horowitz '02, Nancy Garrett, Betty Woodworth, Marne Evans Crowley '90, Will Kevin Anderson '74; Front Row: Casey McCann '97, John Kearney '00, Joe Russell '95, Seth Schorr '95

F A L L 2 0 0 7 21
Cate Celebrates Leadership Donors

It may have been only mid-October, but Thanksgiving was already

in the air as over fifty of Cate School's closest friends and
benefactors joined Ben and Ginger Williams and the Cate Board of
Trustees for a celebratory evening in anticipation of the launch of
the Centennial Campaign on the following day.

T
he gathering honored the
leadership of the quiet phase of the
campaign: those 115 members of
the community whose combined
gifts totaled over $36 million of the $38 million
raised for the Centennial to date. Those present
included alumni, parents, past parents, and
friends, representing a generational cross-section of
the Cate community—a cross-section that shares a
deep love for education and for the School.

After listening to an address by Headmaster

Williams in the Katharine Thayer Cate Memorial
Chapel, the group moved down the Robert A. Day
'37 Walkway—itself one of the focal points of the
master plan being funded by the campaign—to
the grassy expanse at the entrance to the Mesa.
They were invited, along the way, to contemplate
the impact their generosity will have upon the
School.

Over dinner and under the oak trees and stars, the
guests were honored by Centennial Chair George
James and Vice Chair Sean McAvoy '82, who
recognized individuals and all present for their
vision and generosity to Cate.

22 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 Honor RolL
Recognizing Centennial Campaign Leadership Donors whose gifts of $25,000 and
more as of October 18, 2007 have set the stage for 2010.
CATE NOW: GIFTS & PLEDGES
$2.5 Million plus
Rae and Dan Emmett '99
Marvel and Robert Kirby
$1 Million plus
Viola and David Chan '68
Kelly and Lou Gonda —
The Gonda Family Foundation,
Betsy and Greg Kubicek '74
Pam and J.C. Massar
Laura and Chris Maloney '80
Estate of Paula and Paul Tobias '50
$500,000 plus
The Ahmanson Foundation
Andrea and Hal Burroughs '68 —
The H.F. Burroughs Family Foundation
The David L. Horowitz Family
Beverly and George James
Lisa and Ellis Jones '72
Marianne and Norman Sprague
J. Wyatt Gruber '93 —
The Gruber Family Foundation
$250,000 plus
Anonymous
Rosemary and Gerald Barth
Yu-Lon and Anny Lee Chiao
Catherine Kennedy and Dan Grossman
Perri Harcourt
The William G. Irwin Charity Foundation
Lilian Woo and Philip Lun '79
Christina and Sebastian Man '76
Melissa and Sean McAvoy '82
Mike Meldman, Christy Nichols
E.L. Wiegand Foundation
$100,000 plus
Anonymous
Joan and Peter Avenali
Amy Brown '92 and Alp Ercil
Nori and Ed Brown
Larry Browne
Cynthia Chan and Shin-Chu Chen
Carrie and Tom Cusack
Janet Davis
Barbara and John DeGroot
Anki and Larry Gelb
Phyllis Gelb
Susan and Steve Giusto '80
Sandra Glass
HSBC Education Trust
Joseph R. Hyde III — Patti Higgins and Thayer Bigelow '59
Joseph R. Hyde III Family Foundation Justine and Robert Bloomingdale
Jenny Jones Ed Callan
Sally and James Klingbeil Karen and David Cathcart
Emily and Blake Jones '81 John Coghlan '68
Nelson Jones '48 The Board of Trustees of the Roy E. Crummer Foundation
Joseph B. Koepfli Trust Willametta Keck Day Foundation
Sandi and Jacques Littlefield '67 The Denison Family
Jeannik Littlefield Jane and Steve Goodall
Susan and J.B. McIntosh '58 Eunice Goodan
Susan and Richard Olness Margaret Hyde '92
Denise Petitfils — Adrienne Colgate Jones '84 and Hugh Jones
Lorraine F. Petitfils Educational Foundation Hilary Colgate McInerney '84 and Mark McInerney
Sheldon Ramsay '65 — Ramsay Family Foundation Estate of Carol A. Johnson
Nini and Miller Ream McBean Family Foundation
Janet and James “Walkie” Ray George H. Mayr Foundation
Kimberly Simpson-Querrey and Lou Simpson Nick Muir '01
Carter Thacher — The Argosy Foundation Dailey and Gordon Pattee '66 — Pattee Foundation
Geneva and Charles Thornton '60 — Cathy and Jim Perry
The Thornton Foundation Tia Palerno and Jess Ravich
Kristen and Karl Weis Kim and Toby Scott '79
Sara and James Sheldon '71
$50,000 plus Tony Sheldon '74
Anonymous (2) Stephen Spittler '63
Rickie Ann and Rick Baum '64 Leigh and David Teece — The Teece Family Foundation,
Gretchen and Christopher Breunig '82 Diana and Keeler Thompson — Helen Keeler Burke Charitable
Karen Sketch and John Caldwell '59 Foundation
Capital Group Charitable Foundation The Ueberroth Family Foundation
Pat and Jim Crafts Jane Walker
Kelly and Robert Day — W.M. Keck Foundation WWW Foundation
Astrid and James Flood '57
Katrina Froman '84 and Steve Stuart CATE IN THE FUTURE: GIFTS & PLEDGES
Daisy and Simon Ho '79
To date, gift intentions for Cate in the Future total
Kylie Schulyer and Douglas Hodge
Jessica and Bill Keneally $8,590,000.
Karen and Paul Kurth
Lori and Peter King '80 Anonymous
Bobbie and John Kinnear '60, John Caldwell '59
Hae-Kyung Han and Soo-Yong Lee Mary and Stan Cochran '51
Microsoft Corporation Janet Davis
Sylvia Fergus and Scott Miller Rae and Dan Emmett '99
The Mildred E. and Harvey S. Mudd Foundation, Elaine and Fred Fisher '68
Monique Parsons '84 and David Wecker Susan and Steve Giusto '80
Connie and Julian Peabody David Horowitz
Perkins Charitable Foundation Elaine and Bill Ince '63
Susan Firestone Semegen and Dan Semegen — Beverly and George James
Roger S. Firestone Foundation and Susan C. Firestone Foundation Lori and Peter King '80
Eleanor Sheldon Marvel and Robert Kirby
Lacey and John Williams Sally and Jim Klingbeil
Betsy and Greg Kubicek '74
Laura and Christopher Maloney '80
$25,000 plus Gail and Ed Miller
Anonymous
Nini and Miller Ream
Jean and Jim Bailard
F A L L 2 0 0 7 23
 “As I look upon those of you gathered here tonight, I see a reflection of all that is best about
Cate. You are alumni, parents, past parents, and friends of education and this School...What
you have done to set the stage for the Centennial Campaign we will publicly launch tomorrow
is indeed grand...It is also humbling...Many of you here tonight have placed Cate and its
future as a hallmark residential school above other considerations in your lives...for your
generous support and from the bottom of my heart, I thank and honor you all.”
- Remarks made by George James at the Leadership Dinner

TELL YOUR CATE STORY ON THE WEB: www.cate100.org

Check out our School's newest interactive web-based community! Cate's Centennial website is a place to share
stories and comments, trivia, music, videos, and more with other Caties around the world as we approach our 100th
anniversary in 2010. Cate100.org will also be your window to Cate's Centennial Campaign, which aims to raise $65
million dollars to fund visionary improvements to the Mesa and bring our School's endowment to $100 million by
our Centennial year. Please enjoy navigating cate100.org and our sister sites, cate.org and catelaumni.org.

24 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
F A L L 2 0 0 7 25
Centennial Campaign Q&A
Q: What is a comprehensive capital
campaign, and how does it differ from the
Cate Fund and the Class Funds?
A: This is a campaign in which
all gifts count toward making our
comprehensive $65M goal including
Cate Fund gifts (for operations), Class
Funds and all gifts made to support
endowment goals, and capital gifts to
fund construction.
Good schools invest prudently in their
future even as they spend wisely on
their current people and programs.
Capital and Annual gifts therefore
have distinct, but equally important,
purposes in ensuring Cate School's
mission now and in the future.
The Cate Fund is an operating annual
fund, seeking unrestricted gifts each
year to support the general purposes of
the School. A strong Cate Fund allows
the School to limit tuition increases and
to pay the bills. Tuition pays for 69%
of the costs incurred by each student on
the Mesa; the balance is largely covered
by a combination of Cate Fund and
endowment income.
26 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Gifts to the Endowment support Cate
Q: Which should I support? The Cate Fund,
faculty and students. Our Centennial
goal is to raise $15 million in financial
my Class Fund, or the Centennial Campaign?
aid endowment, which when combined
A: If you have one gift to give to Cate,
with current endowment will provide
please support the Cate Fund or your
for 90% of scholarship needs, and
Class Fund. Every Cate student, past
$20 million in endowment dollars
and present, has relied on annual
for faculty salaries. Meeting these
donations to pay for a portion of his
Centennial endowment goals will
or her schooling. A robust Cate Fund
place Cate in a position to hire the best
supports Cate today and healthy Class
teachers and attract the best students
Funds provide ongoing income for
from all over the world.
Cate's future. Please keep in mind that
because the Centennial Campaign is
• The Class Fund sponsored
a comprehensive campaign, any gift
each year by the parents of each
you make to the Cate Fund or Class
graduating class is an endowment
Funds will contribute to our overall $65
fund that generates income
million goal.
for faculty salaries and various
programs on the Mesa. Class
If you are in a position to make another
Funds are a powerful way for the
contribution, please consider the many
families of graduates to show their
ways you can support Cate's immediate
ongoing appreciation for the Cate
and long-term future with a gift to the
experience.
Centennial Campaign. Cate's office
of Alumni and Development will be
Capital Gifts are used to improve
happy to help you explore your options,
Cate's program by building or
which include gifts and pledges of cash,
upgrading facilities. The new pool
appreciated stock, real estate, bargain
and other athletic facilities, the new
sales, and other planned gifts such as
admission building, new faculty houses,
bequests and Charitable Remainder
and the wastewater treatment plant
Unitrusts. Please don't hesitate to
will be made possible by gifts to the
contact Terry Eagle at terry_eagle@cate.
Centennial Campaign.
org or 805-684-4127, ext. 254 for more
information.
Q: What defines “Cate Now” and “Cate in generous donors who notify the Revocable bequest intentions that
School with a bequest intention are confirmed in writing by the
the Future?” or who develop a planned gift donor or the donor's attorney will
(Charitable Trust) with Cate as the be recognized in the Centennial
Cate Now
beneficiary. Planned gifts in which Campaign Donor Report as Cate
The Centennial Campaign will raise
the School's interest is irrevocable will in the Future Intentions to the
funds to support current operations
count toward the Campaign goal. Endowment.
(Cate Fund), to improve and build
new facilities (capital gifts), and to
Cate also recognizes those individuals To date, twelve donors, seven of
support faculty salaries and financial
who inform the School that they whom are members of the board of
assistance (gifts to the endowment).
intend to remember Cate School in trustees, have notified the School
All gifts and pledges given in support
their wills with membership in the to confirm Centennial “Cate in
of these goals will count toward the
King's Court, so named in honor of the Future” gift intentions totaling
Centennial Campaign goal.
Curtis Wolsey Cate, affectionately $8,590,000.
referred to as “The King.”
Cate in the Future
The Campaign encourages and
Bequest intentions or other deferred
appreciates future gifts made
gifts in which the School's interest is
through one's estate. The Centennial
revocable will not be credited toward
Campaign will also recognize those
cash Centennial Campaign goal.

Watercolor of new faculty houses by architect Larry Clark.

F A L L 2 0 0 7 27
 Mesa Map 2010
This is an overview of building projects
that will be completed for 2010.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
• Build five faculty homes and relocate an
existing home.
• Construct an Admission building and
a newly designed entryway. Spaces
currently being used by Admission will
be used for the academic program.
• Develop a north quadrangle, the Kirby
Quadrangle.
• Build a competitive pool to meet CIF
water polo and swimming specs; build
smaller recreational pool.
• Construct pool locker room.
• Remove existing pool, with resulting
green space to be incorporated into
the Kirby Quadrangle.
• Complete the tennis facility.
• Move and renovate Cate Barns, which
will serve as a central service facility
for Buildings and Grounds.
• Move existing ceramics studio building.
• Construct new childcare facility.
• Realign fields for maximum utilization D

of space.
• Build an underground tertiary
wastewater treatment plant to provide
a considerable savings in water, a more
environmentally sound process of
obtaining usable water for irrigation
and to free up green space on the Mesa
for playing fields.
• Landscape all adjusted areas to include
bioswales for runoff and 60+ new trees.

28 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 12

13

13

11

10
12
10

LEGEND
A LEGEND
SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING (2,200 sf. each)
LEGEND
SINGLE FAMILY
B A RELOCATED DWELLING
CERAMICS STUDIO(2,200 sf. each)
BUILDING (1,544 sf.) -
SINGLE
A RELOCATED
B OUTDOOR FAMILY DWELLING
CERAMICS
PROGRAM &(2,200
STUDIO
STORAGE sf. TREATMENT
BUILDING
WATER each)
(1,544 sf.) -
B OUTDOOR
RELOCATED
MECHANICAL CERAMICS
PROGRAM
ROOM STUDIO
STORAGE BUILDING
& WATER (1,544 sf.) -
TREATMENT
C OUTDOOR
MECHANICAL
BUILDING PROGRAM
ROOM
& GROUNDS STORAGE
BUILDING (8,400&sf.)
WATER TREATMENT

D C CHILD MECHANICAL
BUILDING
CARE CENTER ROOM
& GROUNDS BUILDING
(2,048 sf.) (8,400 sf.)
C CHILD
E D POOL BUILDING
CARE
HOUSE & GROUNDS
CENTER
(3,547 sf) (2,048 BUILDING
sf.) (8,400 sf.)
D POOL
CHILD
F E PARKING LOTCARE
HOUSE CENTER
(3,547
W/80 sf) (2,048
STANDARD sf.)
PARKING SPACES
F &EACCESS
POOL
PARKING HOUSE
LOT TO
ROAD W/80(3,547 sf) & GROUNDS
STANDARD
BUILDING PARKING SPACES
F & ACCESS
PARKING LOT TO
ROAD W/80 STANDARD
BUILDING PARKING SPACES
& GROUNDS
G CAMPUS ENTRY
& ACCESS
CAMPUS
H G ADMISSIONS ROAD
ENTRY
OFFICE TO BUILDING
(3,500 sf RELOCATED& GROUNDS
PROGRAM)
CAMPUS
G ADMISSIONS
K H RELOCATED ENTRY
OFFICE
SINGLE (3,500
FAMILY sf RELOCATED
DWELLING (2,750 PROGRAM)
sf)
K H RELOCATED
ADMISSIONS OFFICE
SINGLE (3,500
FAMILY sf RELOCATED
DWELLING (2,750 PROGRAM)
sf)
K RELOCATED SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING (2,750 sf)

D
1 SOFTBALL FIELD
D
SOFTBALL
2 1 BASEBALL FIELD
FIELD
D
SOFTBALL
1 BASEBALL FIELD
FIELD
3 2 SOUTH ATHLETIC FIELD
BASEBALL
2 SOUTH FIELD
ATHLETIC FIELD
4 3 RELOCATED TENNIS COURT
SOUTH ATHLETIC
3 RELOCATED TENNIS FIELD
COURT
5 4 COMPETITION SIZE POOL (82.5’ X 50’) AND LAP POOL
RELOCATED
4 COMPETITION TENNIS
SIZE POOLCOURT
(82.5’ XTREATMENT
50’) AND LAPFACILITY
POOL
6 5 CONVERT EXISTING WASTEWATER
6 TO COMPETITION
5 CONVERT
NEW SIZE
EXISTING
LIFT STATION POOL (82.5’ XTREATMENT
WASTEWATER 50’) AND LAPFACILITY
POOL

7 6 TO CONVERT
NEW LIFT
IN-GROUND EXISTING
STATION
TERTIARY WASTEWATER
WASTE TREATMENT
WATER TREATMENT FACILIT
PLANT
TO NEW
8 7 ELIMINATE
IN-GROUND LIFT
EXISTING STATION
TERTIARY
OPEN WASTE WATER
EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT
STORAGE
7 ELIMINATE
IN-GROUND TERTIARY WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLA
9 8 UNDERGROUND EXISTING
EFFLUENTOPEN EFFLUENT
STORAGE STORAGE
TANKS
8 UNDERGROUND
ELIMINATE
10 9 REMOVABLE EXISTING
EFFLUENT
OUTFIELD OPEN
FENCE EFFLUENT
STORAGE STORAGE
TANKS
UNDERGROUND
9 REMOVABLE
11 10REMOVABLE EFFLUENT
OUTFIELD
SOFTBALL STORAGE TANKS
FENCECAGE
BATTING
REMOVABLE
11 REMOVABLE OUTFIELD
SOFTBALL FENCECAGE
CAGE BATTING
12 11 BASEBALL BATTING
REMOVABLE
12BASEBALL SOFTBALL
BATTING CAGE BATTING CAGE
13 12CHAIN LINK FENCING
BASEBALL
13 13CHAIN BATTING CAGE
LINK FENCING
14 CHAIN LINK FENCING
(N) PLAYING FIELDS/TENNIS COURT
INBOUND/OUT
(N) PLAYINGOF BOUND
FIELDS/TENNIS COURT
INBOUND/OUT
(N) PLAYINGOF BOUND
FIELDS/TENNIS COURT
(E) TENNIS COURTS
INBOUND/OUT OF BOUND
(E) TENNIS COURTS
CAMPUS LAWN
(E) TENNIS COURTS
CAMPUS LAWN
(E) TREES
CAMPUS LAWN
(E) (E) TREESBUILDING
CAMPUS
(E) (E) TREESBUILDING
CAMPUS
(N) CAMPUS BUILDING
(E) CAMPUS BUILDING
(E) ROADWAY BUILDING
(N) CAMPUS
(N) CAMPUS BUILDING
(N) (E) ROADWAY
ROADWAY
(N) (E) ROADWAY
ROADWAY
(E) HARDSCAPE
(N) ROADWAY
(N) (E) HARDSCAPE
HARDSCAPE
(N) (E) HARDSCAPE
HARDSCAPE
OFFICIAL SIZE SWIMMING POOL
(N) HARDSCAPE
(E) OFFICIAL
RUNNINGSIZE SWIMMING POOL
TRACK
(E) OFFICIAL
RUNNINGSIZE SWIMMING POOL
TRACK
(E) RUNNING TRACK

F A L L 2 0 0 7 29
Math Department from l-r: Micahel Beamer, Gary
Pierce, Frank Griffin, Catherine Beamer, Patti
Wilczek, Will Holmes, Tim Smith, Donna Dayton,
Erin Habelt, Mary Fish Arango

30 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 ÷5=
Multidimensional Math by Don Orth, Director of Communications

Math at Cate isn't just about the numbers. Multiplying ten teachers by the average
length of service will get you something over 150 years of excellent instruction, but
that doesn't explain the true nature of the school's math program. Nor does the fact
that 95% of Cate students who take the AP Calculus BC test get a score 3 or higher,
although that's not too shabby. However, when graduates of the school begin to talk
in grateful tones about the important life lessons learned in a math classroom, you
know you're onto something. And when 150 of Cate's 265 students routinely hunker
down in the Hitchcock Theatre after chanting something about “e to the x, dy dx”

2a
— encouraged by a wild figure in front of the stage during Assembly — the power of
Cate's math program begins to make a lot more sense.

J
ust as there is no simple
way to understand the
math mania on the
Mesa, there is also no
way to precisely calculate the passion
that drives our math teachers. It's a rare
combination of things—a passion for
teaching, a love of the subject, and a
genuine concern for their students—
that helps these teachers make the
sometimes daunting, abstract, and
mysterious subject of mathematics an
approachable, relevant, memorable,
and yes, even enjoyable one. You may
remember Allan Gunther's deep-voiced
“bearishness” or Doc Smith's practical
advice and humorous turns of phrase.
Others recall fondly the wide smile of
Gary Pierce, who “runs his class like
a family,” or the steady Frank Griffin,
who helps students apply complex math
to the real world. And then there is
the newest generation of math teachers
who are sure to be showing up in a
math Bulletin 20 years hence. We've
got characters who run the gamut from
quirky to obsessive, soft spoken to
fiery—and that's just Tim Smith. Cate
is extraordinarily lucky to find these
talented and versatile individuals, and
the entire school takes pride in their
devotion to teaching.
“Our teachers have a lot of experience
and know what they're talking about,”
Math Department Chair Frank
Griffin says without fanfare. Take
Erin Habelt, for example, one of
Cate's veteran math teachers—an AB
from Princeton in Geosciences, and
an M.Ed. in Mathematics Education
from University at Buffalo. Despite her
ability to think in the highest circles
of the math world, she is able to break
it all down for her students. “Are you
sure about that?” Erin asks them during
F A L L 2 0 0 7 31

a complicated calculus integration,
making sure they've explored all their
options. And Erin's expertise allows
her to pick up any strand of a student's
thought process, understand how he
or she is approaching the problem,
and offer an alternative approach. “It
takes a real intellectual flexibility to
manage that at such high-level math,”
says Frank, “especially with Cate
students who rise to the challenge and
challenge us in turn.” Erin also develops
animations using Sketchpad, a program
that allows simple to complex graphing
to demonstrate equations and concepts
for students.
And take Frank Griffin, who—
although reluctant to talk about
himself—receives invitations from the
organizers of math conferences around
the country to speak to teachers about
different math-classroom strategies.
Almost every summer, he is invited to
speak at programs such as the highly
regarded one at Phillips Exeter Academy
in New Hampshire and at the North
Carolina School for Science and Math.
And he always comes back with new
ideas for his colleagues, to help make
teaching math even more effective and
interesting for students.
Technology is becoming more prevalent
in today's math curriculum. “We try
to use as many resources as possible
32 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Will Holmes
Perhaps giving another meaning to the word “remainders,” Will
Holmes heads the school's “Green Team” in addition to teaching
in our math program. Everything he undertakes has an element of
social and environmental responsibility; he makes sure his students
raise awareness of the effects of their actions on the world around
them. While Tim Smith is riling students up for the next CalMath
contest, Will gets them psyched for the Green Team's next home
game—in other words, for the next official recycling-collection day.
Will also heads the school's Service program, an integral part of
the Cate curriculum in which all students participate. Whether it
be visiting local foster homes or volunteering at the area's food
banks, Will is a dedicated public servant whom students respect and
whose social concerns they embrace. As a math teacher, Will guides
his students through the twists and turns of math with a steady,
reassuring hand, as he does in every endeavor.
to make math accessible and relevant
to students,” says Griffin. Graphing
calculators, interactive whiteboards
(IWBs), and interactive animations—
when combined with traditional
classroom tools—bring Cate's program
into the computer age without
sacrificing the rigor that is its legacy.
It's clear to even the casual observer
that Cate math students are learning
more than ever before. Scratching out
a parabola point by point on a sheet of
green-squared graph paper has its place,
but varying the coefficients and seeing
the results instantly on an interactive
whiteboard is even better. Students can
make associations more quickly, and
x
combining concepts with visual cues
enforces the learning. Long-time math
teacher Mary Arango just returned
from a sabbatical year of research and
observation on the use of technology in
the math classroom, including various
uses of the TI-84 calculator and IWBs.
If you peek into any math classroom at
Cate, you'll see a few pieces of now-
standard equipment that were the
stuff of dreams just a generation back.
Teachers now bring their laptops to
class, hook them up to a multimedia
projector mounted on the ceiling,
and plug in the USB cable linked
to an IWB at the beginning of each
Catherine Beamer
Catherine Beamer is serious about math, and serious about helping
students “get it.” It's common for her to spend a good part of
each class working one-on-one and in small groups with students,
guiding them with an expert hand as they solve problems and make
important discoveries of their own. She also claims, sheepishly, to
have “a mild to moderate addiction to Sodoku,” which in recent years
has swept the campus. Catherine annually attends math conferences
around the country, including the Exeter Math, Science, & Technology
Conference in New Hampshire, and she recently received a
Klingenstein Summer Institute fellowship at Lawrenceville School.
She has taught courses in Geometry, Algebra 2, Algebra 1.5, and Pre-
Calculus in addition to assuming the duties of girls' JV basketball
and varsity softball coach. Catherine is a member of the committee
which is reviewing the school's daily and yearly schedule, she is
the chair of FAC, and last year she traveled to Scotland for a Round
Square International Conference at Gordonstoun School.
class. The computer's desktop image
is instantaneously projected onto
the IWB, and students and teachers
simply touch the board to open and
run applications, take notes, and write
diagrams; they can also save their work
for next class or keep and distribute it
as notes. In addition, there is software
that imitates the standard graphing
calculator that all students have, so
teachers can demonstrate its use and
students can do problems on the board
using the calculator. Frank Griffin
even has a random name selector
programmed into the calculator that,
when run, picks out the next lucky
student for board work.
Technology is also an essential part of
Donna Dayton's work. As the school's
Director of Technology, she teaches a
section of AP Computer Science, which
focuses on Java programming and on
the solving of problems with simulated
solutions. In typical 21st-century
fashion, the students in her class do
much of their work independently,
but they also regularly collaborate
on projects electronically through
the school's network and over email.
In addition, if they hit a roadblock
students can upload an example of
their work on a testing server and
Donna can make comments and
suggest modifications by viewing the
code. Although face-to-face meetings
are essential, the work could not be
done efficiently without electronic
communication of the results.
This ever-expanding math toolbox
means that the school's classrooms are
up-to-date, but it doesn't explain why so
many of our alumni have written to us
about their math experiences at Cate, or
why our current students get so excited
about math that they put aside a little
free time each month to participate
in the statewide contest sponsored by
the California Math League. And yet
that's exactly what happens. In the
If you have ever taken class with T. Smith, you have danced your way to
understanding functions, you have endured word problems so obscure
you wonder why anyone needs an answer with an imagination like that,
and you have realized that boards can be much smarter than you.
non-stop, round-the-clock life of a Cate
student—a life in which every minute
seems precious—more than half the
school will regularly steal an hour from
their schedules to take a math test. No
doubt some do it for a chance at math
glory, but for most it's simply part of the
wacky culture of Cate math. Some days,
the Hitchcock Theatre seems to pulse
with:
“e to the x dy dx,
e to the x dy,
tangent, secant, cosine, sine
3.14159
16, 12, square root of 8
solve 'em, solve 'em, solve 'em Cate!”
Can you hear it? Chances are, if you
chanted this once, you've been chanting
it ever since, and it will continue to
spiral in your head until the day you
leave this earth. And who knows?
Perhaps it's the answer to the Big
Question. When the wildly passionate
- Anne Sewall '08
Tim Smith
T-Smith is a man to be reckoned with, teaching many of Cate's
advanced-level mathematics courses, including Algebra II Honors, AP
Statistics, and “Prob-Stat-Calc,” which is Cate jargon for Probability,
Statistics, and Calculus. His rigor in the classroom is no less evident
than the intensity with which he lives his life; Tim would eagerly
have his students doing problems at the crack of dawn if he weren't
doing a 15-mile warm-up for the next marathon. When Tim starts the
CalMath contest cheer at Assembly, the theater rumbles with “e to
the x, dy dx, e to the x dy...” and a passerby could easily come to the
conclusion that the Superbowl had moved to the Mesa. Math gains
power and passion from the hands and mind of T-Smith, and his
students reap the benefits. Tim has also taken leadership in Cate's
Mock Trial club and coaches the Boys' JV Tennis squad. Among his
achievements are mountaineering in the Peruvian Alps, receiving
advanced SCUBA certification, and attending the Exeter Math camp,
to say nothing of the fact that he's a triathlete, AYSO coach (a local
youth soccer group), Wind Rover mountain guide, father of two young
children, and winner of the LA Marathon (2007) for his age group.
Perhaps we can somehow harness Tim Smith to solve the world's
energy crisis!
Tim Smith waves his arm around his
head in Assembly, we all stand up and
start the cheer. It's the way he gets the
school warmed up and excited for the
CalMath contest, and every member of
the Cate community knows it.
“There is a strong tradition of math
contests to challenge our strongest
students.” says Frank Griffin. “The
local Westmont Math Contest, the
statewide Cal Math League, and the
national AMC competition are just a
few. We place consistently among the
top schools in our county and within
the top 20 or even top 10% of the
state. We're proud of our high scoring
students but even more proud of our
high participation rates.”
Frank Griffin brought the contests to
the School some 25 years ago, and Tim
Smith has kept the momentum going
for the past 10. “Although this cheer is
chanted in many schools,” says Smith,
F A L L 2 0 0 7 33
 “and most schools around the States
offer what is really a national math
Erin Habelt contest, the remarkable participation
Whenever there's math to be done, anywhere on campus, the first rates that Cate shows is unheard
comment that's bound to be made is, “Let's ask Erin.” She's good.
Really good. When I snapped a photo of Erin and Frank Griffin of. Most schools select their top
talking on the stairs, a colleague said, “She's always working at math students to take the test, and
something. Her mind never rests!” Erin also has a wide range of that's it. We open it up to everyone,
facial expressions that get students engaged. The Socratic method
that so many alumni write about when remembering Cate's old math
and are very proud of the efforts
legends is reborn in Erin, and is likely to produce a new generation students make. This contest gets the
of mathematicians, whether they know it now or not. And did I blood flowing, and helps keep math
mention that Erin, at Princeton, earned both an AB in geoscience and
dynamic and exciting.”
a certificate in music performance (clarinet), swam for the school
and played club water polo? At Cate, she has started up a successful
co-ed swimming program and a successful girls' water polo squad. How do students prepare for these
Clearly, talent has not passed this one by, and we are grateful that tests? Katherine Lynn '01 remembers:
this Renaissance woman resides here on the Mesa.
“Tim would concoct complicated
math problems that involved his
then-toddler son, Dean, much to the
class's delight. He would occasionally
advise us, while writing a complex
equation on the board, to “take the

34 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
function into your hearts!” One week,
we memorized Pi to an appalling
number of digits, some of which I still
know by heart (3.14159 . . . 2653589 . .
. 7932384 . . . ). I remember that it felt
great to do well in—and to enjoy—a
subject that, by and large, I'd been
lukewarm about until I attended Cate.”
“Mr. Griffin always gives us a couple of
days to deal with interesting problems,”
says this year's Thai Scholar, Kin
Fucharoaen. “When we cannot get
them, he shows us how simple they can
be. He makes integration beautiful. I
remember once when he asked me to
find the arrow in the FedEx symbol.
As I looked, he explained that it was
the same with integration problems—I
should look at them in many different
ways.”
The courses and the specific tools of
the Cate math program offer every
student an opportunity to succeed in
a subject that is uniquely challenging.
But it is Cate math faculty—those
multidimensional teachers, friends,
and role models—who make it all
happen. Their classrooms are alive with
inspiring examples of the importance
of mathematics in the contemporary
world, and with evidence of an
enthusiastic appreciation of the many
fine things that world has to offer.
This is no surprise, but it's good to be
reminded of the stuff we so often take
for granted.∞
F A L L 2 0 0 7 35
Remembering Math
Recently, I asked Cate alumni to share some of their memories of their
math teachers and classes from their days at Cate. The response was
overwhelming.
Gary Pierce
With the exception of a single year as math teacher in
Switzerland, Gary Pierce has spent his entire professional
life on the Mesa. He began his career at Cate with mentors
whom he remembers fondly, and over the years he has
taught most of the courses in the math curriculum and
in computer science. “I approach each class with energy,
humor, and enthusiasm,” says Gary, “and I still love teaching
after 30 years.” It is easy to believe him; his instruction is
exceptionally clear and organized, and he's well known for
helping students establish perfect note-taking skills and
immaculate homework preparation. His students feel well
taken care of in the classroom, and learn more because of
it. “Most importantly,” he says, “I love teaching students to
think, discover patterns or formulas, and understand where
those patterns and formulas come from and why they work.”
36 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Paul A. Rubinstein '51
My favorite teacher in all the six years I
spent as a Cate student (7th grade through
12th) was Stanley Durrant, my math
teacher. Mr. Durrant was soft-spoken, me-
ticulous, always willing to explain, and able
to clarify confusing concepts easily. Also he
had a wonderful extra-credit program. He
had a book of extra-difficult problems in
advanced algebra and geometry; we were
permitted to try to solve those problems,
and if successful, we earned a point for each
on our monthly grade. This could be vital
because high monthly grade averages bought
us exemption from study hall and permis-
sion to study in our own rooms instead.
“First privileges” (average of 87 or better for
the month) was exemption from all study
halls, days and evenings. “Second privileges”
(84 or better) applied to all evening study
halls, and “Third privileges” (80 or better)
excused Friday night and Sunday night
study halls. These privileges were highly
desirable, and one way to buy extra points
was to slave away at Mr. Durrant's extra-
credit problems, which also served to teach
us more and better math!
Bo Davis '59
Math teacher Mr. Durrant had a procedure
by which he assigned any extra dinner
dessert. He would have those students who
were interested in a second serving to raise
between one and five fingers; then he would
add up the fingers displayed by all contes-
tants. Finally he counted off the contestants,
from left to right, and left to right again as
necessary, until the grand total was reached.
That person got the extra. It's interesting to
note that, in those days, the teacher's wife
sat to the teacher's right and seniors sat
next to her—preparation for life in the real
world?—and one night, as a senior, I was
sitting next to Mrs. Durrant when she asked
me how it was that I never failed to get the
extra dessert. I shrugged. Mr. Durrant whis-
pered to her that I was adding up the fingers
ahead of him and calculating how many I
had to raise in order to win. I should have
guessed that he had known all along what
I was doing. Mrs. Durrant was outraged
when she heard what I'd done; she said that
to do such a thing was terrible—that it was
cheating. Mr. Durrant answered calmly:
“He's just practicing his math, dear.”
Doug Raymond '61
Cate was the first school I ever attended
where I found a teacher who matched the
impedance of my erratic and creative math
sense. I had always done poorly at math
before Cate, and had developed an opinion
that all of math could be done by a ma-
chine, and should be done that way, so why
give me grades for my errors in it—nuts and
phooey! This bias vanished abruptly when I
got Mr. Gunther as a teacher.
During a few weeks of unscrambling trigo-
nometric identities, Mr. Gunther asked me
to prepare an independent report on some-
thing called “Euler's Formula.” At the time,
I had not yet been exposed to the “famous”
Euler's Formula (“e to the i pi equals minus
one”), so...it was blank slate time. I went to
the library and started looking around, and
soon found an obscure formula attributed
to Euler that dealt with the oddness and
evenness of the numbers of edges, faces and
vertices in a polyhedron. Cool. I duly pre-
pared and presented an oral report on this
little known formula. Mr. Gunther and the
other students had a few questions, which I
answered. I'm not even sure I noticed that
A chapel service in the Johnson Library led by Headmaster Francis Parkman.
the subject had little to do with what we
were doing in class. I got a good grade, and
the class moved on to other matters.
Alan Gunther was the teacher
who kicked my brain into
action and taught me self
esteem and belief in myself.
It was not until two years after I graduated
and went to college that I discovered the
REAL Euler's formula, the famous one,
about “e, i, pi and minus one,” and saw
how the different derivations of it were tied
together as a unit, via a trig identity, an
infinite power series, a differential equa-
tion, and ... so many other ways: it was like
decoding one letter on the Rosetta Stone of
math. Kapow! Obviously THIS was what
Mr. Gunther had had in mind two years
earlier when we were doing trig, not the
unrelated one about the polyhedra.
Mr. Gunther could have easily corrected me
when I chose the wrong Euler's Formula in
his class at Cate; any normal teacher would
have straightened me out and explained the
error of my choice (and in so doing, driven
me away from math forever). But in letting
my report stand as I presented it, without
even a hint that I was way off the intended
trajectory, “Bang Bang” kept my interest
alive for the moment, and also planted a
nice little brain bomb that took two years to
go off. It was the right way to reach me . . .
maybe the only way.
Neil Tennant '68
I was fortunate to have Sanderson Smith
for senior math, and Alan Gunther for AP
Math, in 1967-68. (I spent only that one
year at Cate, as an AFS exchange scholar.)
Sanderson was a visionary in realizing so
early on how important computers and
combinatorial mathematics would be in
the years to come. Behind Alan's gruff
Patti Wilczek
exterior was a mind that appreciated what New to the Math Department this year as she teaches a section
was elegant and profound in the subject. of Algebra to ninth graders, Patti Wilczek brings a formidable
I'll never forget his excitement in revealing array of skills to the classroom. As the school's Director
Euler's equation to us. He was also house- of Counseling Services as well as teacher of our classes in
master of Bothin. I once put up an extended psychology, she has the energy, empathy, and connection with
graffito on the door of the john, deriving the students that make her a welcome presence in any classroom.
least-number principle from the principle of As for the teaching of mathematics, Patti says with a smile that
mathematical induction. I can still remem- “It's nice to work with numbers rather than the “warm fuzzies”
for a change. The clarity of numbers is refreshing and offers
ber the stentorian guffaw that came from
a different way of thinking about the world.” Patti has a PhD
Alan when he went in there one evening, to in counseling psychology and is now working on her masters
relieve himself while on his dorm rounds. Educational Leadership. She also oversees Cate's participation
Both Sanderson and Alan did a great deal in the RoundSquare international student-exchange program.
to help me prepare for the rigor of math at
F A L L 2 0 0 7 37

Frank Griffin,
Department chair
Highly respected basketball coach, Tandy Technology Scholar,
and Math Department Chair for many years, Frank Griffin leads by
example. He routinely makes presentations at the nation's leading
math conferences and workshops, where his vast experience and
cutting-edge teaching strategies are in great demand. In 1995
Frank received the Sliffe Award for distinguished teaching of high-
school math from the Mathematical Association of America, and he
co-authored (with recently retired Cate math teacher Sanderson
Smith) a calculus textbook that has been through several editions.
In his 29-year tenure at Cate, during which he took a sabbatical
year to earn a master's degree in educational technology, Frank
has also been director of athletics, director of studies, Admission
Committee member, head of Faculty Advisory Committee, Faculty
Advisory Trustee, and tennis coach. He teaches Calculus and “Prob-
Stat-Calc” as well as an elective in Geography.
Cambridge. I've since ended up as a logi- rounded by numbers, as it turns out. God
cian and a philosopher of mathematics. I'm Bless Alan Gunther!
just sad never to have been able to let Alan
know, before his untimely death, what a role Eric C. Taylor '80
he played in steering me along that course. I remember spending every Saturday morn-
It's not too late, I hope, to let Sanderson ing during my sophomore fall semester at
know that I feel the same way about his Alan Gunther's house being tutored on the
teaching. darker side of mathematics—also known
as calculus. He “invited” me to visit him
Kevin Anderson '74 there to assure that I succeeded in—or,
Alan Gunther was my math teacher at Cate, rather, did not fail—his class. At first, I
and I remember him as a gruff but friendly thought it a little strange that he failed to
bear, full of life. For years after Cate he see that we both had better things to do on
was in my dreams, and I never knew why; a Saturday, but I quickly discovered that he
I never appreciated my gift for math, and didn't. He was perfectly content watching
at the time I was simply glad to get the re- USC football on the little black-and-white
quirement out of the way. Now I realize that in his den while I worked through the
Alan Gunther was the teacher who brought custom-made practice problems that he
me to life the same way Gepetto did Pinno- placed on the TV tray next to him. After
chio. Hopefully all Cate students will have my extended class sessions, I passed calculus,
a teacher, or a defining moment, where they took the AP exam (with marginal success),
realize their potential. Alan Gunther was grew closer to the entire Gunther family,
the teacher who kicked my brain into action and developed a strong disdain for anything
and taught me self-esteem and belief in my- cardinal and gold. What I did learn from all
self. He wasn't my advisor, nor was he my this was that Cate teachers cared about their
mentor, but looking back all these years later students, and were sincerely committed to
I know that he is without question the most our personal growth. I also learned that I,
important and influential teacher I've ever too, can watch football while overseeing my
had. My subconscious knew it; I just didn't. own daughter's homework assignments. Mr.
And while I never pursued mathematics as Gunther was a great teacher.
a passion or career, it plays a significant role
in my life as a composer. Here in my studio Audrey Kremer (Monke) '84
I create music made of notes, harmonies, Like many new Cate students, I arrived
and melodies based on the progression of on the Mesa with an unblemished aca-
numbers in relation to the harmonic series. demic record—all A's for as long as I could
It is a fascinating and never-ending process remember. My first math class was Algebra
of discovery. I am in a binary world sur-
38 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
II with Mr. Griffin; my first math quiz grade
was a “D.” I couldn't believe it! At Cate,
I was asked not to just to regurgitate math
problems I had already learned; I was taught
to apply math skills. I quickly learned that
I would actually have to use my mind in
math! I would be hard-pressed to do any of
the problems now, but I remember the great
sense of accomplishment of solving prob-
lems in the Johnson Library. When I think
back to what the difference was in my edu-
cation at Cate versus the previous years, it
always comes back to the skills I was taught
to apply. Although I sometimes need to look
at the book to help my kids with their math
homework (now that they're in middle
school and getting into Algebra), it always
comes back to me, thanks to the great foun-
dation in math education I received at Cate.
Cheers to Mr. Griffin and to Mr. Gunther,
who I know still looks down and reminds
us that “our third-grade brother can do that
one in his head.”
Lynda Mitchell Ray '85
Accuracy, precision, and no shortcuts when
it comes to solving a problem—those are
just a few of the things I learned at Cate
during my math career. My senior year I
took Pre-Calculus with Mr. Gunther; I was
mortally terrified of him the first part of the
year and then I developed a deep apprecia-
tion for math. His larger-than-life personal-
ity and his ability to make someone proud
that they could prove a math equation were
his trademarks. I went to college and tested
out of all the math classes required for my
major, and now I am putting my math skills
to use tutoring my daughters, their friends,
and other kids who need help. I have used
many of the skills I learned from my teach-
ers at Cate in my career of teaching Voca-
tional Agriculture students in Mosquero,
NM.
Jolly Denison Solomon '88
Even though I was always a year ahead in
math, it was a subject with which I strug-
gled. However, I never truly understood
what it meant to struggle with math until
I sat in a Pre-Calc class with Mr. Gunther,
watching him ask questions, eyes glancing
around the room, searching for some poor
soul. The answers to his posed questions
always seemed to be obvious to him, but
none of us seated in the room could answer,
and so it would continue. Our emotions
would tennis back and forth between terror
and relief; terror if a question was directed at
us, relief if it was a classmate. We always felt
deep empathy for the friend who struggled
to find an answer as Mr. Gunther stood, nose
to chalk board, completely bewildered that
this or that student had ever been accepted to
Cate in the first place. “How on earth have
you made it this far?” he would grunt. “Did
Doc Smith really put up with this for a whole
year?” he would ask, incredulous. “How did
you ever pass Alegebra II?” In hindsight, de-
spite the fear, Mr. Gunther was, hands down,
the best math teacher I have ever had, and was
my greatest advocate when I was applying to
Mrs. Durrant was outraged
and said she thought that
ber most. Sanderson 'Doc' Smith spent a year everything I always loved with everything I
in a “Calculus” course, teaching us statistics learned to love at Cate. Happily, I have the
(namely how to count cards, what the best calculus prerequisite under my belt; after Tim
bets were, and how to beat the house should Smith's class I felt so confident that I took
we someday find ourselves in a run-down a calculus class at Princeton. The professor,
casino in a remote part of Missouri), how
to use Excel spreadsheets, and the history of
mathematics. Although I got destroyed by
the Calculus AP exam, the lessons I learned
in his class were far more valuable than an
expertise in calculus. I can't say that I have
used integrals more than a handful of times
since high school, yet I use excel on a daily
basis, occasionally find myself in a run-down
casino winning modest amounts of money,
and women really go for a guy who knows
various nuggets of math history. OK, I made
up that last part, but you get the point.

was terrible, that was

cheating. Mr Durrant followed
with: “He's just practicing his
math, dear.”
colleges. And no one, and I mean NO ONE,
in my life prepared me better for the relent-
less Socratic method I would come head-to-
head with in law school. After Mr. Gunther,
nobody could scare me.
Kelsey Miller ‘91
I was new to Cate as a senior in the autumn
of 1990, and was assigned Mr. Gunther as
my advisor. He was to me the quintessential
math professor—quirky, deep-voiced, wise,
and deliberate with his words and advice. He
had a quiet sense of sureness and joviality—
quick to correct with a wink and a nod—the
type of gentleman you didn't want to disap-
point; a well respected great-uncle. I came
back to Cate after a mid-semester break that
same fall and sat at assembly waiting for him
to join us. As it turns out, he had died while
we were gone, and, like the whole Cate com-
munity, I felt the loss profoundly. I have a pic-
ture of him hanging in my office today—head
in hand, reading glasses askew, weary, tender,
and wise. I still miss that gentle guidance and
umbrella of protection that he provided so
many years ago.
Adam Rives '97
While my first three math courses at Cate
were standard, book-taught geometry, trig,
and algebra, it was my senior year I'll remem-
Katherine Lynn '01
My Cate math teachers, and Tim Smith in
particular, helped me to realize that I actu-
ally liked math. I had excelled in math in
elementary and middle school, but I was also
an artist, a dancer, a musician and a literature
enthusiast. Math was fine, but why should I
continue with it when I was clearly bound to
wind up on an artistic career path?
Taking calculus with T. Smith was chal-
lenging, and, for that reason, fun. The class
bonded over the solving of tough problems.
We rallied around his “tasty tidbits,” which
were problems that would allow us some extra
credit should we wish to take the in-class
work we were doing a bit further. He turned
high-achieving students on to the idea that
they could help their fellow students by be-
ing Math Lab tutors on weekday nights. He
encouraged us to try the Cal Math League
tests and congratulated us when we got a 5 or
a High Pi. Tim would concoct complicated
math problems that involved his then-toddler
son, Dean, much to the class's delight.
Unmatched in his enthusiasm, he would oc-
casionally advise us, while writing a complex
equation on the board, to “take the function
into your hearts!” One week, we memorized
Pi to an appalling number of digits, some
of which I still know by heart (3.14159 . .
. 2653589 . . . 7932384 . . . ). I remember
that it felt great to do well in and to enjoy a
subject that, by and large, I'd been lukewarm
about until I attended Cate.
Now I am in the process of applying to gradu-
ate programs in architecture, which combines
Mary Fish Arango
You might say that Mary's teaching career started in second
grade, when a certain Mrs. Bates assigned her the task of
teaching spelling and reading to classmates who needed
one-on-one help. Then, as a seventh and eighth grader, she
volunteered at a nursing home and helped stroke victims
relearn how to read. For three summers as a high schooler at
a ranch in New Mexico, she taught a deaf Indian wrangler how
to communicate with signs and wondered what a person was
thinking if he didn't have language to communicate.
Mary has been at Cate for ten years and teaches Algebra
I and Geometry. She arrived at Cate with fifteen years of
experience working with students with dyslexia, dysgraphia,
and attention deficit disorder, as well as students for whom
English is a second language. She loves the challenge of
helping the young understand how they learn best, and she
particularly enjoys working individually with students or
facilitating small groups where they support one another.
According to Mary, “The 'Aha!' moments when a student
finally understands something challenging, or helps a peer
understand something vexing, are what positively make my
day.”
Mary grew up on the campus of Greenwich Country Day
School, attended Dana Hall School in Massachusetts, and
graduated from Williams College in 1978. She was a four-sport
athlete at Williams and earned a Masters in Sports Medicine
at University of Virginia as well as a Masters in Counseling
at Oakland University. She's passionate about dogs and
photography, and you will often find her taking pictures
or visiting hospitals with her therapy dogs when she's not
teaching.

F A L L 2 0 0 7 39
 in class—I can safely say that Doc Smith's
lesson is one of the most valuable that I ever
DONNA DAYTON learned from Cate.
Although Donna Dayton was a software engineer immediately prior to her
arrival at Cate, she has spent most of her professional life in schools. For 12
years she taught mathematics at the junior-high level in Steamboat Springs, When I got to college, I was bombarded by
Colorado; her interest in the relationship between math and technology dozens of credit card offers, just like every
resulted in the introduction of computers into the school district in the other student in the country. But some-
mid-1980s. She then developed and implemented a curriculum for teaching where in the back of my mind, I always
computer technology to elementary and junior high students. In 1990 she heard Doc saying “if you let those suckers
moved to Carpinteria to join the research and development team for a local get their hands on you, they will wom-
software company, and accepted the post of Technology Director at Cate in pay-woo you all the way to Pluto!” At the
1992. She is responsible for all server and email accounts, the maintenance time, Pluto was a planet and represented
of intranet and Internet access, and the ongoing support of all students,
the farthest reaches of the universe, so to
staff, and faculty. And yes, she also teaches the computer sciences courses
at Cate. AP Computer Science requires students learn Java and invent translate Doc Smith's special language, that
project-based solutions to a virtual, simulated world. “It's exciting,” says meant that if we allowed credit cards to get
Donna, “because it gives students a chance to really apply what they have their claws in us, we would not be able to
learned and see the effects.” Donna is also an experienced outdoorswoman send our own children to Cate! To his credit
with particular interest in windsurfing, hiking, and cycling. (no pun intended) he was absolutely correct,
and I thank my lucky stars that I developed
the courage to say “no” every time—courage
that stemmed directly from Doc Smith's
unfortunately, was much less inspiring, Smith prepared me more for my personal frenzied advice. I don't think I would know
which led me to major in English. But my and professional experiences with mathe- anything about interest, let alone that when
enjoyment of math lives on (I've been de- matics/finances than he did for my doomed compounded continuously it was most
veloping the national GRE math and verbal academic math experience. dangerous to unsuspecting chargers, if it
curriculum at Kaplan for the past two years) weren't for the lessons Doc and Herkimer
and is completely based in Cate's math I was one of nine seniors who took that first taught me.
department. “Mathematics of Finance” course. Most of
us taking the class were hoping to escape
the rigors of AP Calculus or Statistics, and
Leigh Crawford ’85
Sophia Hall '02 I had Dr. Smith for geometry my freshman
were proud of our scholarly classifications
If you asked any of my math teachers at year and Alan Gunther for Calculus my
of poet, social butterfly, or theater kid. We
Cate whether they thought that someday I senior. I can't remember what happened
would work in the Math Department at UC in between, but I'll never forget how Dr.
Berkeley, I doubt that they would say “yes.”
As I teenager, I was more renowned for my
...he would occasionally Smith had a vast repertoire of math puns,
like “What did the acorn say when it grew
ability to fall asleep in Pre-Calculus—poor advise us, while writing a up? Geometry (Gee I'm A Tree)!” It was
a formative experience because geometry
Cara Yoder, only one year into her teaching
career!—than I was for my ability at solving
complex equation on the introduced me to the idea of “proof ” and
logarithms. To be honest, I don't think I
even remember what a logarithm is. But I
board, to “take the function how to build a bridge between an assump-
tion and a conclusion, which is pretty much
can tell you that the solid foundation I re- into your hearts!” what I do at work now all day every day.
The thing I remember most from calcu-
ceived in math at Cate did help me through
my college requirements (a lovely little class lus was Mr. Gunther himself; he was the
that may have been specifically created for absent-minded, emotionally disassociated
had no desire to learn the matrices our more
me called “Math for Non-Concentrators”) math wizard. He never learned our names or
motivated classmates complained about so
and has allowed me to stay afloat in my knew who anyone was; we'd see him doing
vehemently in the dining hall; we simply
current position. Technically, I am a copy advanced problems in his spare time in the
desired to pass the class and never look back
editor and subscriptions manager for a small faculty lounge, and he drove the surfing van.
at math again. Of course, as with any course
non-profit publisher of math and engineer- While we were surfing, he would devour
taught by the (in)famous Sanderson Smith,
ing journals. However, as with any job, I biographies and history books, and on our
we were in for a surprise. Instead of letting
feel more that I am the general catch-all way back to the Mesa, he would take us for
us coast through endless lessons on how to
for unwanted work—at least anything not ice cream at Thrifty's.
balance a checkbook, Doc Smith showed
related to Calculus, Topology, or Number us day after day how to manipulate Excel
Theory. Anyone who has known me longer spreadsheets, and how to avoid the destruc- Ashley Woods ’03
than a minute immediately says “WHAT?” tive force of what he called “the credit An Ode to Doc Smith
when they learn of my job, especially my card trap.” This trap, he warned us, was a When I first heard Sanderson Smith—
friends from Doc Smith's Algebra II or downward spiral of debt, deception, and Doc—say that math is a language, I had no
“Mathematics of Finance” classes at Cate. I despair. And to my surprise—and probably idea that the phrase would become one of
feel confident in stating, though, that Doc to the surprise of anyone who ever had me the most memorable sayings from my time

40 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
at Cate. It was in the air on the Mesa—
from Assembly to formal dinner, the saying
sprang up wherever you were. Students
of Doc enjoyed his popular Herkimer's
Hideaway. Herkimer's images were used
most notably to accentuate numerous
math achievement awards, and featured as
a molding of sorts around the perimeter
of Doc's classroom. Even the most radi-
cally challenged math students were able
to assuage their fears under Herkimer's
watch. The teaching and style of Doc—
neatly buttoned-up shirts, eraser board pens
that rarely ran out of ink, TI-83s galore—
received school-wide admiration. And there
was always the hope that the power of math
would make you a Cal Math League high
scorer! For Cate students who have started
college, ended college, and moved into
“reality,” the information learned from Doc
becomes more and more important, espe-
cially his famous lectures on the good and
bad sides of credit cards. I am delighted to
have been in Doc's classes. And while it may
seem unlikely to remember all of Algebra
and Statistics, the language of math is like
riding a bike—it always comes back.
Jeff “Seis” or maybe “Ocho”
Butterworth ‘95
Since leaving Cate, I graduated with a BS
in engineering, worked as an engineer for
two years, and earned my MS in engineer-
ing. Currently, I am working on my PhD
in engineering... I think it is safe to say that
mathematics has played a big role in my life,
and mathematics at Cate certainly planted
the seeds of my career path.
Freshman year at Cate, I found myself in
a class taught by Gary Pierce. My sister
Aimee, assured me that due to the schedul-
ing genius of Charles Plummer, I had found
my way to the classroom of one of her
favorite teachers. It took less than a week
for me to confirm my sister's opinion. Mr.
Pierce ran each of his classes like a family
and his giant smile and warm personality
never seemed to fade. One particular mo-
ment in class has stuck out in my mind over
the years.
Mr. Pierce had just spent the last two classes
introducing the ever-popular quadratic
equation. At one point, he concluded that
we all need to commit this equation to
memory as every Cate student knows the
quadratic equation. As a freshman, this
seemed like a ridiculous idea to me, but
just to show us all what less-than adequate
students we would be if we did
not commit said equation to memory, Mr.
Pierce poked his head into the hall. Amy
Brown ('92), a senior at the time, happened
to be passing by the room.
“Hey! Amy, come here!” exclaimed Mr.
Pierce with his usual huge smile.
What followed was the usual series of “Who
me's?” that one would expect from a student
that was just caught completely off guard by
a teacher. In a moment, Mr. Pierce had Amy
in the room and asked her to tell his class
the quadratic equation.
Clearly this was the last reason for which
Amy had thought she had been brought
into the room, but sure enough after a brief
moment to collect her thoughts
she provided what Mr. Pierce must have
thought was pure teaching gold.
“x is equal to negative b plus or minus the
square root of negative b squared minus
four a c all over two a,” Amy blurted out.
Mr. Pierce beamed like he had hit the jack-
pot and shooed her out the door. He had
made his point, and I've remembered the
quadratic equation ever since.
Come second semester of that freshman
year, our class was split. One half of the
kids remained in Mr. Pierce's class while
the rest of us where moved up to a School
House classroom and given to some new
guy named Brian Yager. Prior to our move,
I knew nothing about Mr. Yager other than
the fact that he played soccer like he had
never heard of the word “tired”. It was one
of the first courses Mr. Yager taught at Cate;
he learned about teaching while we learned
about mathematics. In due time, “Yager” (as
we all learned to call him) became another
one of those legends of Cate for me.
After that year, I logged two more years of
math with the great Gary Pierce until senior
year when Todd Hamblet arrived on the
Mesa. Mr. Hamblet put a cap on a career
of great Cate math teachers that I still look
forward to catching up with when I find my
way back to the mesa or alum events.
One of my last memories of math at Cate
is from second semester of my senior year
in Mr. Hamblet's class. Mr. Hamblet just
returned a freshly graded quiz, at which
time Grayson Bryant and I received our
newest nicknames “Seis” and ‘Ocho.” As
I recall those names had something to do
with our less-than stellar scores on that quiz.
I don't recollect if I was “Seis” or “Ocho”,
but nonetheless, I digress...
Since graduating, I've taken mathematics
courses and mathematics-intensive engineer-
ing courses at three universities. In each one,
I can look back and attribute much of my
success in those courses to the strong math-
ematics foundation I built while at Cate.
I certainly would not be where I am today
without the guidance and energy of Mr.
Pierce, Mr. Yager, and Mr. Hamblet. ∞
MiCHAEL BEAMER
As math teacher, assistant baseball coach, '25 House dorm head,
“advisor for SIX wonderful Cate students,” and assistant director
of admission, Michael Beamer is a busy man. Prior to his arrival at
Cate, he spent six years as an active-duty Naval Officer, resigning his
commission this year as a Lieutenant. Four of his six active years
were on the Spruance Class Destroyer USS ELLIOT (DD 967) out of San
Diego, serving as the CIC (Combat Information Center) Officer, Strike
Officer (charged with maintaining and employing the ship's offensive
missiles), and Navigator. He completed two full deployments to the
Middle East one in support of Operation Enduring Freedom following
the attacks of September 11, 2001. One can easily imagine that
Michael keeps his Algebra 1.5 and Algebra II classes ship-shape, and
yet his easy smile and sparkling eye are permanent fixtures in the
room. Balancing calculator in one hand and SMARTBoard pen in the
other, he leads his charges with rare skill, never losing site of the
real target: an active understanding and appreciation of the world
of math.
F A L L 2 0 0 7 41
Master Teacher Reaches
Milestone by Betty Woodworth, Librarian and Archivist Emerita

She continues to travel to science devoted naturalist. Her most recent

conferences to run workshops and share
her professional ideas. In the summer
of 2006, Cheryl was an instructor of
ecology and environmental studies
in an international program for high
school students Cape Town, South
Africa. Also for five summers she helped
organize a biotechnology research
program for students in Montana.
A firm believer in community service,
she is one of the truly dedicated
members of the Tuesday Public Service
program. Cheryl is much admired in
the Carpinteria community, especially
by the senior citizens, with whom she
visits on a regular basis. Cheryl and
Brian Yager hosted a math and science
summer program for local middle
contribution to the School is the Cate
Nature Trail. She and students from
last year's AP Environmental Science
class blazed the trail along the fire road
leading from the driveway beyond her
house to the school road below. She
and her crew identified and provided
signs for many of the plants that border
the trail, and did extensive research
on the local flora and fauna. There
are attractive stone benches where
one can admire the setting and view
of the valley, and steps leading to an
additional trail. Although still in the
early stages of development, the Nature
Trail is already a delightful addition
to the Mesa. We owe thanks in large
part to the initiative of Cheryl Powers,
teacher and practicing environmentalist.

D
uring her twenty-five school students for five summers on the
years at the School, Cheryl Cate campus. Thank you, Cheryl. Cate is grateful to
Powers has made a lasting you for your generous service, and for
impression on hundreds In addition to being a consummate the role model you present.
of students and faculty. She has science teacher, Cheryl Powers is a
taught most of the science disciplines,
enhancing the Science Department
curriculum with innovative ideas
involving technology, research, and
inquiry-based activities. Her AP
Biology is one of the most popular
courses at Cate.

The rapport that Cheryl has with her

students continues long after they
graduate. Many Cate alumni testify
that the impetus to pursue higher
education in science and medicine came
from her teaching and guidance in the
classroom.

Over the years Cheryl's work has been

recognized at state and national levels.
Among her many honors are: Woodrow
Wilson Fellow, Tandy Technology
Scholar, Outstanding Biology Teacher
for California, and Siemens Award for
Excellence in Advanced Placement.

42 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
CLASS NOTES
Center two students, l-r: Mac Bowyer '84 and Adrienne Colgate '84
1948
Nelson Jones is working with the Alumni
and Development Office to plan the Class
of 1948's 60th reunion celebration at
Camp Cate 2008. Please contact Nelson
with any questions and/or information
about this momentous event.
1956
Davis Kennedy's daughter, Henningham,
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Yale University this year. His son,
Bruce, also celebrated graduating this
year with an MBA from Stanford University.
1958
Reunion Chair Martin Hale is composing
a letter to the Class of 1958, encouraging
all members of the class to try as hard as
possible to attend their 50th reunion at
Camp Cate, June 6-8, 2008.
1962
In June 2007, Michael Schutz celebrated
being a professor of sociology for 35
years. For the last twelve years, he has
been at Cal State East Bay in Hayward.
Last summer, Mike was married to his
wife Veronique in the only wedding ever
on the CSUEB campus. They spent their
honeymoon in Argentina and Brazil. Mike
and Veronique are doing well and send
greetings to their old friends from the
class of 1962!
1963
Bill Ince is planning the Class of 1963's
45th reunion celebration at Camp Cate
2008. Please contact Bill with any ques-
tions about the festivities.
1967
Jacques Littlefield and his wife
Sandi welcomed a daughter on July 16,
2007—Jeannik Sandi Nicole Littlefield,
named for Jacques' mother.
1968
Billy Steinberg's song “Like A Virgin”
was named by Rolling Stone Magazine as
one of the “40 Songs That Changed The
World.” Phil Irwin is the reunion chair for
the Class of '68; he is looking forward
to celebrating his 40th reunion with his
classmates.
1973
Walter Douglas recently moved to
Washington, DC from Saudi Arabia.
Upon arriving in DC, he met a friend's
father, who happened to be another Cate
graduate, Calvin Cobb '41. He continues
to see classmate K.C. Walsh and family on
a regular basis when visiting his parents
in Reno/Tahoe. Mike Avenali, Bill Slater,
and Jon Upham are planning the reunion
festivities for the Class of 1973. Please
contact them with any questions about
what is in the works for Cate's 35th
reunion class.
1974
Don Dudley met his classmate and
best friend Neil Schroeder and his two
daughters, Sarah '08 and Annaliese '11,
at the Centennial launch on the Mesa,
October 19, 2007.
1976
Michael Tilton graduated from Truckee
Meadows Community College on May
18, 2007. He is now a registered nurse
at Renoun Health Care System in Reno,
Nevada.
1978
Chris Morphy has accepted a new posi-
tion at Poplar Forest Capital in Pasadena.
Reunion Chairs Charlie Ganz and Rick
Hogue look forward to hearing updates
from all their classmates in preparation
for their 30th reunion at Camp Cate 2008.
1979
Tom Weller visited with Alec Williamson
in the Pacific Northwest. After eight years
with PacBell/SBC/AT&T (the ever-merging
megalith), Rob Dunton left his 20-year
home in San Diego to return to the Mesa
full time; in August he joined the Alumni
& Development team as the Major Gifts
Director for the Centennial Campaign.
He sees Paul Denison almost daily, so
mini-reunions are occurring all the time.
Rob writes how great it is that bastions
of 70's era Cate such as Terry Eagle,
Bob Bonning, Betty Woodworth, Ned
Bowler ‘83, and Gary Pierce are still at
Cate, and he recently spotted retired
Sandi Smith and Frank and Sandy Ellis
on the Mesa. Rob couldn't be happier.
Reconnecting with alumni is part of Rob's
role at the School, and he has had the
pleasure of reconnecting with more than
a few schoolmates on and off the Mesa,
including: Alec Williamson, Clay Shevlin,
Jon Mann, Steve Boehm, Eric Taylor '80,
Chris Maloney '80, Peter King '80, Steve
Guisto '80, Steve Fulstone ‘80, and Blake
F A L L 2 0 0 7 43

Jones '81 (all are doing great, by the
way). Rob says he has a guest room in his
Summerland digs, so you've got a place to
stay if you're in the area.
1980
Bill Pruitt received a Primetime Emmy
Award for Outstanding Competition Reality
Program for producing The Amazing Race
for CBS on September 16, 2007.
David Myers' '83 son, Spencer, in his boater's
hat and Cate sweatshirt.
1981
It was reported that Will Hay recently
accepted a position as a commercial
pilot for Delta. Trevor Lindsey is active
excavating dinosaur remains from
construction sites. His most exciting find
was several years ago: a complete woolly
mammoth in Moorpark.
1982
Matt Swinden and his wife Marlis are “liv-
ing the dream in Evergreen.” No kids, but
three cats, a herd of elk, a hungry bear, a
Kristin Zwart Waters '85 and Glenn Waters were married on Little Sebago Lake, Maine, on July 14,
2007. Pictured with the couple are Glenn's children, Jack (11) and Annalise (4).
44 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
wily fox, and dive bombing hummingbirds
are sharing their space in Colorado. They
would love to hear from any Caties in the
area. Bill Wehrli is the principal at Pioneer
Valley Regional School in Northfield,
Massachusetts. He is interested in sup-
porting any Cate alum interested in public
secondary education. Bill 's email address
is wehrlib@pioneervalley.k12.ma.us.
1983
David Myers and his family are living
in England where their son Spencer will
attend Harrow next year as a “Shell.” Are
you interested in joining Cord Pereira
and Maurice Blanks as a reunion chair
for your 25th reunion? Please contact
Grayson Bryant '95 in the Alumni and
Development Office if you are interested
in this important volunteer opportunity.
1985
Keri Ueberroth was married on June 16,
2007 to David Neshat. Keri continues to
live in Laguna Beach with her two sons,
ages 10 and 12. Kristin Zwart Waters
and Glenn Waters were married on Little
Sebago Lake, Maine, on July 14, 2007.
1986
Lisa C. Morgan and her husband Kylo
Ginsberg welcomed a new baby girl, Jessie
Morgan Ginsberg, to the family on El Cinco
de Mayo 2007. Lisa and her family are still
living in Portland, Oregon, where Lisa is
freelance writing and working part-time as
a Planned Parenthood Marketing Manager.
Blair Elliott Paige and her husband,
CLASS NOTES
John Pringle '92 and his Hot Rod Surf Chop Top Coupe, which he and Mark Whitney Mehran '92 built
at the Hot Rod Surf Headquarters in San Diego.
Mark Whitney Mehran '92 and his Hot Rod Surf O.R.M. motorcycle at the starting line at the world
land speed races at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in August 2007.
Kevin, are the proud parents of Elliott
Jane Paige, born on July 3, 2007, 5lbs. 12
oz. Mike Stevens and his wife Liz Mitchell
continue to live and work in Hailey, Idaho
and eagerly welcome the arrival of Megan
and Brian Yager to the area, where Brian
will be the new Upper School Head at
the Sun Valley Community School. Mike
continues his work in conservation and
land management. Check out his website
at www.pmgadvisors.com. His wife Liz is
an international environmental attorney.
1987
Diana Froley de Forest and her husband
Carmaig are pleased to announce the safe
arrival of their daughter, Aurelia Aurora
de Forest, born September 27, 2007. Diana
and her family live in Seattle, where she
works for the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Carmaig is teaching
their son to play the ukulele. David Jones
sends his best to the class of 1987 and
wishes he had been able to attend the
20th reunion. He had been working in
the insurance industry, handling workers'
compensation claims. However, he has
changed direction in his career and has
decided to enter the ministry. David is
planning to apply to the Talbot School of
Theology to join their Masters in Divinity
program. Carter Kirkwood and his wife
Jessica live in Pacific Palisades with their
three children: Robby, Emily, and Chloe.
He is currently CEO of a software start-up
that automatically collects and organizes
consumer's financial documents in a
single place. Users can also securely share
documents with trusted tax/financial
advisors. You can check out the website at
www.vaultstreet.com.
1988
Kendall Yaw Cieciuch and her husband
Steve announce the birth of their daugh-
ter Jula, who was at home in Telluride,
Colorado on St. Patrick's Day 2007. Jula's
full name is Jocelyn Maliha Cieciuch,
after Kendall's classmate Jocelyn
Denison Solomon! David Whiting, his
wife Tine, and their two-year-old son JD
moved to the Oakwood Friends School in
Poughkeepsie, New York in August. Dave
will be the Dean of Students. Gretchen
Huntsinger Wyatt, Bonnie Carlson
Solmssen, Amy Garbarini Kiernan, Ali
Ford-Garrett Heine, Willis Boyd III, and
Jocelyn Denison Solomon are planning
their 20th reunion at Camp Cate 2008.
Please send them questions and updates
as we get ready for the big 2-0!
Grayson Bryant '95 and Joe Russell '95 at Cate
School for the Class Agent Summit, October
5, 2007.
1989
Valarie Janklow Gardner, her husband
Evan, and their daughter Ella Bea were
thrilled to welcome Joshua, born January
9, 2007, into the family. Pat McCoy's
daughter Kate celebrated her first birth-
day August 1, 2007. He and his family are
still living in Santa Barbara and loving it!
l-r: Cate faculty Jim Masker , Nika Schmidt '93,
and Cate faculty Winston Zai-Yang Li at the
Consulate General of the People's Republic of
China reception in Los Angeles.
1991
Robin Scher and his wife Andrea
welcomed their first child to the world
on June 6, 2007. Rorick Maxwell Morland
Scher (Rory Scher for short) arrived
weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces, was 19
inches long, and was described as “mel-
low, curious, and beautiful.”
1992
Aimee C. Butterworth and her husband
Omar Quintero-Monzón welcomed a son,
Samuel Lazaro, 7 pounds 14 ounces, on
July 15, 2007. Josh Conviser's latest novel
Empyre is available for purchase as of
October 30, 2007. According to Publisher's
Weekly Review, “... the Orwellian atmo-
sphere, intricate plot lines and breakneck

JJ Johnston '94 and wife, Kelli, at the NCAA Final Four LAX tournament in Baltimore, Maryland in
June, 2007.
pacing make this cyberpunk/espionage
hybrid a highly entertaining read.” Mark
Mehran took the Hot Rod Surf O.R.M. mo-
torcycle to the World Land Speed Races at
the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in August,
2007. He built the O.R.M. race chopper
from a salvaged 1989 big twin evolution
Harley Davidson softail and a recently
developed custom-made turbo charging
system. He rode the O.R.M. chopper to set
the world record in the 1350cc Pushrod
Turbo Charged Class.
Julia Wykoff, daughter of Class of 1994
graduates Samantha Chang Wykoff and
Charlie Wykoff
1993
Ryan Cunningham married Rebekah Hash
in August 2006. He sold his startup com-
pany, jumpcut.com, to Yahoo! in October
2006 and is currently living and working
in San Francisco. Nika Atkinson Schmidt
is the Program Coordinator for the
UCLA Confucius Institute. The Confucius
Institute is a partnership between UCLA
and the Chinese government in an effort
to enhance understanding of Chinese
language and culture among students
and teachers in American schools. Avery
M. Sheffield and Dan Rosenthal moved
to New York City. Dan is launching a long-
short fundamental-strategy hedge fund
CLASS NOTES
and Avery is laying the groundwork for
the NYC office for Hodge/Niederer/Cariani.
Avery will also be taking a sabbatical
from work this year to finish her MBA at
Wharton. The Class of 1993 will celebrate
their 15th reunion at Camp Cate 2008. If
you would like to join Kelly Buchanan,
Tommy Martin, Stephanie Overgaag,
Rusty Baco, Amy Nichols, and Wyatt
Guiber as reunion chairs, please contact
Grayson Bryant '95 in the Alumni and
Development Office.
1994
Rob Fisher, his wife Sarah, and their
one-year-old Zoe are living in Carpinteria.
Rob is the new Associate Rector at All
Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in
Santa Barbara.
1995
Erin C. Bernau and her husband Ethan
welcomed their first child, Ellis Harold
Bernau, in March 2007. They are enjoying
Alexis Riding-Rice '97, Camille Freeman '97, Marisa Avansino '97, Ariel Morris '97, Elyssa Thorp '97, and Casey McCann '97 celebrating at Marisa Avansino's
rehearsal dinner in Montecito.
their son and love living in Seattle.
Teresa Hsu and her husband Robert are
the proud parents of a new baby girl,
Evie, born June 5, 2007. Brenden, Cibll,
and Dilan are very excited about their
new little sister. Jason MacMurray was
married to Rochelle King on August 25,
2007 in a lovely ceremony overlooking
the ocean in Carpinteria. Rebus Bonning
and Jeff Butterworth served as Jason's
bestmen and Grayson Bryant was a
Joanna Siegel '02 and Ryan Bradley '02 came to New Haven to see a show Mattie Brickman '01
groomsman. Other Caties who attended (center) wrote and performed at the Yale Cabaret.
the wedding were Victor Hernandez,
Karen Herbert Gustafson, Jamie Morris
Persoon '94, and Jason's sisters Kristen
MacMurray '00 and Megan MacMurray
'03. Jason and Rochelle are at home in
Santa Barbara after honeymooning in
Thailand. Ali Motamed and his wife Maria
welcomed a son, Miles Parker, on July 21,
2007. Amanda Freeman married Chris
Peiffer at her parents' home in Petaluma,
California, on May 27, 2007. Alumni in
attendance were Catherine Dudley,
Ryan Bradley '02, Katherine Lynn '01, Mattie Brickman '01, and Joanna Siegel '02 at the Bohemian
Boyden Rohner, Erin Bernau, Hadley Biergarden in Astoria, Queens.
Tomicki, Brooks Rosenquist, Dave Dolby,
Colin Browne, Alexis Owen Boian '94,
Alex Bloomingdale '94, Daniel Kennedy
and Pacific Film Archive and living in
Berkeley. Nadine Haobsh's first book
plan to attend. Erin Rattazzi is currently
working with Human Rights Watch in
'94, Camille Freeman '97, and Eugene Beauty Confidential: The No Preaching, London. Sarah Ray is attending Emory's
Park '94, who introduced the bride and No Lies, Advice-You'll- Actually-Use Guide Rollins School of Public Health, working
groom and delivered a delightful speech to Looking Your Best, is being published toward a Masters in Public Health. She is
at the wedding. by Harper Collins. Nadine has joined with currently working for Avivia Health from
classmates Ashlyn Clark, Adam Driscoll, Kaiser Permanente and also coordinates
Cally Sprague, and Allie Torrance to help a state-wide campaign to legalize needle
1998
plan the 10th reunion festivities at Camp
Cate 2008. Nadine reports that Brian
exchange in order to help prevent the
spread of disease.
Dena Beard is working as a Curatorial Brazier, Sarah Ray, Cristina Riessen,
1999
Assistant at the Berkeley Art Museum Dustin Stephens, and Jen Wilkie all
Drew Skelton is no longer working for
Morgan Stanley; he is now a member
of Yale Business Management School's
Class of 2009. In June 2007, Drew helped
celebrate the birthdays of Justin McBaine
and Chris Gough at their dual bash.
Other '99ers in attendance were Adam
Horowitz, Morgan Emmett, Paul Grumet,
Andrew Hoover, and Adam Fell.
2000
Peter Lewis's band Storytyme was fea-
tured on Denver's Channel 9 News before
their performance at Denver's Soiled
Dove Underground. They also performed
with the Focus Flying Fish Circus at the
Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Their
F A L L 2 0 0 7 45
 CLASS NOTES

SPLASH!

music is available on their website, www.

storytymeband.com. Kristen Tysell 2005 2007
married Nicholas Ghoussaini on August William Choi is in his junior year at Austin Ditz joined the club crew team at
18, 2007 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Stanford as a declared Computer Science America University. He also completed a
San Francisco, California. Alumni in at- major. He has been taking classes in NOLS Wind River Mountaineering course
tendance were Cade Carradine '01, Alexa everything from Introduction to Artificial in Wyoming over the summer and gradu-
Enthoven, Anne Gilchrist, Austin Heafey, Intelligence and Human-Computer Interac- ated with honors. Class of 2007, please
Lily Horowitz, Aaron Luber, Caroline tion Design to a two-quarter sequence contact Jana Miller in the Alumni and
Luce, Cory McLean, Caroline New, Chris in Russian literature and fiction writing. Development Department with any news.
Petrin, and Meghan Werner. This past summer, William was working as We would love to hear how your first year
David Harbison '72 at Whidbey Island, WA this past summer with rising Cate seniors Hallie
an intern at the Quantitative Strategies of college is going.

2001
McPherson '08, Taylor Shoolery '08, and Kengo Tsutsumi '08. He remarks, “The school will be in good department within Goldman Sachs in New
hands this year.” York City, writing applications. The previ- Policy for printing class

2003
Mattie Brickman wrote and performed a ous summer, he was involved in a research note submissions in the
show at the Yale Cabaret. Ryan Bradley project making simple online games Cate School Bulletin
'02 and Joanna Siegel '02 were in the Gena Davis, Nydia Durazo, Roseanne that will try to collect linguistic data The editorial staff gives
audience to cheer her on! Lazer, and Sam Widdoes are working to make computers better understand preference to class notes that
with the Alumni and Development Office natural language. William sends his best come from primary sources. We
print news of weddings, births,

2002
to plan the Class of 2003's 5th reunion to the Cate community. Noe Fernandez
or graduations after the events
celebration at Camp Cate 2008. Please is spending her junior year in college in
have occurred. We rely on each
Layla Hall ran into a fellow Catie from her contact Associate Alumni Director Jana Granada, Spain. She invites her classmates person submitting notes to be
class in...Dubai! Stephen Nussbaum is Miller in the Alumni and Development traveling in Spain this year to contact her accurate and accountable for the
also working in the Emirates. They were Office if you plan to attend or would like at arte.nf@gmail.com. Chris Tracy loves information submitted. For photos,
happy to see each other and to learn that to be involved with the reunion planning Edinburgh where he plays on the varsity please submit jpg or tiff files with
they were also both going to Thailand the process. basketball team and is concentrating a resolution of 300 dpi OR files
following week. on finance this year. A number of his greater than 300 KB and less than
classmates are in junior-year abroad 1.5 MB. If you have any questions,
Chris Tracy '05 and his father, Frank, surfing
this summer in Kamakura, Japan. email Jana Miller at jana_miller@
programs in Europe, so the plans are in
cate.org. Thank you.
the works for a reunion in London.
46 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
 CLASS NOTES

Marriages
1985 1995
Keri Ueberroth to Jason MacMurray to
David Neshat Rochelle King
June 16, 2007 August 25, 2007

Kristin Zwart to Amanda Freeman to

Glenn Waters Chris Peiffer
July 14, 2007 May 27, 2007

1993 2000
Ryan Cunningham to Kristen Tysell to
Rebekah Hash Nicholas Ghoussaini
August 2006 August 18, 2007

Back row: Austin Heafey '00, Alexa Enthoven '00, Lily Horowitz '00, Cade Carradine '01, Anne Gilchrist '00 and guest, Aaron Luber '00, Meghan Werner '00
and guest, Caroline New '00, Caroline Luce '00 and guest. Front row: Cory McLean '00, Kristen Tysell '00, and Chris Petrin '00.

Births Elliott Jane to

Kevin and Blair Elliott Paige
July 3, 2007
1967
Jeannik Sandi Nicole to 1987
Sandi and Jacques Littlefield Aurelia Aurora to
July 16, 2007 Carmaig and Diana Froley de Forest
September 27, 2007

1988
Jocelyn “Jula” Maliha to
Steve and Kendall Yaw Cieciuch Dinko holding his new baby sister, Aurelia
March 17, 2007 (Diana Froley de Forest '87) Kendall Yaw Cieciuch '88 and her husband
1989 Steve with their daughter Jula, named after
Jocelyn Denison Solomon '88.

1992
Samuel Lazaro to
Omar Quintero-Monzón and Aimee
Butterworth
July 15, 2007
Jessie Morgan Ginsberg (Lisa Morgan '87)
1995
Ellis Harold to
Ethan and Erin C. Bernau
1986 March 2007
Jessie Morgan Ginsberg to
Kylo Ginsberg and Lisa Morgan Miles Parker to
May 5, 2007 Valerie Gardner (Janklow) '89 and her husband
Maria and Ali Motamed Evie Lee (Teresa Hsu '95)
with Ella Bea and her baby brother Joshua.
July 21, 2007

Joshua to
Evan and Valarie Janklow Gardner
January 9, 2007

1991
Rorick “Rory” Maxwell Morland Scher
Andrea and Robin Scher
June 6, 2007

Elliott Jane Paige (Blair Elliott Paige '86)

Rorick Maxwell Morland Scher (Robin
Scher '91)
F A L L 2 0 0 7 47
 IN MEMORIAM

Gordon Ranney Gilbert '57

October 8, 1939-March 16, 2007

Gordon passed away March 16, 2007 at his home in Grand Junction,
Colorado. Described by Cate School Headmaster Francis Parkman
as intelligent and personable, enthusiastic and serious about his
work, Gordon was very involved with the life of the School during
his tenure as a Cate student. In his senior year, Gordon was the
editor of the yearbook and on the board of the newspaper. He was
also Chairman of the Dance Committee, President of the Jazz Club, a
member of the Dramatics Club, played football, and ran track. He was
an appointed monitor in the dormitory for younger boys.

After Cate, he received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science

degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. He consulted for NASA, in its Apollo program and the
first lunar landing. He received a PhD in Physics from MIT in 1972.
In 1980, Gordon moved to Grand Junction, to pursue his love of
theoretical physics, teaching at Mesa State College. He received the
first Distinguished Faculty Award in 1993.

The varied talents and interests Gordon displayed at Cate were

developed throughout his life. He had an enormous love of nature,
a passionate love of music, and a compelling love of physics and
mathematics. He possessed an immense sense of poetry, both in
books and in the universe, and passed on this beauty to all he met.

Gordon is survived by his daughters, Jennifer Graves Gilbert and

Elizabeth Johanna Gilbert; his sons, Gordon Clifton Gilbert, James
Christian Gilbert, and Thomas Wyatt Gilbert; and two granddaughters.
Edwin Marston Burke '35
March 21, 1917-July 30, 2007 The memorial service for Gordon was held March 31, 2007 at the First
Congregational Church in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Edwin died Monday, June 30, 2007 in Palm Beach, Florida. In 1935,
Edwin pitched for Cate's baseball team. As an alumnus, Edwin served
on the Board and was a part of the very first endowment campaign
the Curtis Wolsey Cate Endowment started in 1971. He made the
first-ever gift of stock to the School.

After graduating from Cate, Edwin attended Princeton University,

Class of 1940. He served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy
in the Pacific and was awarded The Bronze Star. He owned the L.V.
Ludlow Company in Far Hills, New Jersey, and served as mayor of Far
Hills. He was a member of the Racket and Tennis Club in New York,
Piping Rock Club in New York, Everglades Club in Palm Beach, and the
Seminole Golf Club in Palm Beach.

Edwin is survived by his wife, Virginia; his children Natalie Turullolis,

Edwin M. Burke, Jr., Stephen Burke, Kevin Burke; his stepdaughters,
Consuelo Hutton, Linda Lamy, Cynthia Mack, and Mimi de Chabert
Ostland; and five grandchildren.

Funeral services for Edwin were held on August 3, 2007 at the Royal
Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach, Florida.

48 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N

Dana S. Redington
April 2, 1912-June 27, 2007
At age 95, Dana S. Redington, longtime friend, teacher, and coach,
died in Dover, New Hampshire on June 27, 2007.
Mr. Redington was a Cate legacy, working at the School for 17 years.
While at Cate, he taught chemistry and physics, served as college
counselor, athletic director and coach of both varsity basketball and
baseball. The Redington Cup is given in his memory each year to two
athletes who have demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship.
IN MEMORIAM
Throughout his life and work, he was recognized for his integrity, his
patience, his organizational skills, and his sense of humor.
Dana is survived by his wife of 70 years, Barbara; his son, Dick
Redington '60; his daughter, Katherine Morgan; five grandchildren
and three great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his son,
Robert Redington '57, who also attended Cate.
Remembering Dana
I never knew a better person than Dana Redington. Dana was our
chemistry teacher, our physics teacher, and our basketball coach.
Our class dedicated the yearbook to him, and years later named the
new Athletic Director's office after him.
Under his tutelage, three of his players made the 12-man All League
team our senior year. And Cate, at the time, played in the CIF
Tri-Valley League. So we played teams like Simi, Moorpark, and Santa
Clara. One of Dana's best/worst times as coach was after an upset
win against Simi. When we hoisted him on our shoulders and paraded
him around the Cate gym for at least three minutes, we didn't know
we had crushed his “privates,” and he had to smile the entire time
when, in his words, he was “dying.”
Three of his players — Judd Hanna '59, and Bo Davis '59, and myself —
flew back to visit Dana and his wife Bobbi after Dana had passed the
90-year mark. We also took him a replica of the plaque in his name in
the Athletic Director's office. When we first saw Dana when he came
to pick us up, we were flabbergasted that he looked exactly the way
he looked 45 years earlier. And I mean exactly. When I mentioned this
to our classmate Peter Jaeger '59 he responded, “Sorry to deliver
the bad news, Jake, but it's called Clean Living.”
We had three great days with Dana and Bobbi. Dana was still very
active in his church and never really “retired”. He could also hit
8 of 10 free throws. We all had a great time together with a lot of
memories and laughs. Dana really chuckled at some of the lines of
the comedian Steven Wright: “Why do we use sterilized needles for
lethal injections?” “What if there were no hypothetical situations?”
“Went into a diner with a sign that said ‘Breakfast at any time,' so
I ordered French toast during the Renaissance.” “My mechanic said
he couldn't fix my brakes, so he made my horn louder.” Those of you
who knew Dana can just picture his reactions.
There were tears all around when we hugged goodbye. Judd, Bo,
and I agreed we had never made a more meaningful trip. But with
me there were no tears when Dick Redington called to inform me of
Dana's passing. He had a long, great, full, and fulfilling life. I'd say
“God bless you, Dana” but I'm quite sure that he did that over 90
years ago.
- Jake Butts '59
F A L L 2 0 0 7 49
 Calendar
August 2007
26 SF Giants Game

September 2007
6 LA Young Alumni Happy Hour

23 Carpinteria Beach Clean-up

27 Los Angeles Reception

TRUSTEES
Officers
October 2007 Chairman of the Board
5 Class Agent / Committee of 100 Training George B. James

11 New York Alumni Happy Hour President

Greg H. Kubicek '74
20 Cate vs. Thacher on the Mesa
Vice President
25 San Francisco Alumni Council Meeting Sean M. McAvoy '82
25 San Francisco Young Alumni Council Meeting
Treasurer
November 2007 Norman F. Sprague III, MD
15 Portland Reception
Headmaster/Secretary
18 Seattle Reception Benjamin D. Williams, IV

December 2007 Life Trustees

4 San Francisco Food Bank Richard D. Baum '64
6 Los Angeles Career Networking Event James F. Crafts Jr.
Dan A. Emmett '99
January 2008 Nelson D. Jones '48
5 Winter Alumni Sports Day
Members
10 San Francisco Reception Christopher Arnold
Henry F. Burroughs '68
19 Mesa Dinner John D. Caldwell '59
Kate Colmery Firestone
February 2008
6 Washington DC Reception Lawrence N. Gelb, MD
Stephen J. Giusto '80
28 New York Career Networking Event Perri V. Harcourt
David Horowitz
March 2008 Margaret Hyde '92
1 Boston Alumni Happy Hour Blake Jones '81
Jenny Jones
21 Pasadena Reception Bruce W. King '85,
Alumni Council President
April 2008 Peter F. King '80
1 Santa Barbara Phonathon James D. Klingbeil
Christopher P. Maloney '80
3 Los Angeles Phonathon J.C. Massar
Monique Parsons '84
8 San Francisco Phonathon Wendy Read,
CPO President
TBD Orange County Reception Eric C. Taylor '80
Mark Whiting '74
May 2008
4 7th Annual Wine Tasting
Faculty Advisory
10 Spring Alumni Sports Day Trustees
Peter Arango, English/History teacher
25 Commencement Patrick Collins, Art Department Chair

June 2008 Ex-Officio

6 – 8 Camp Cate
7 Annual Alumni Council Meeting (at Camp Cate)
Meg Bradley, Director of Development
Charlotte Brownlee '85, Director of Admission
Sandi Pierce, Business Manager
John Swain, Assistant Headmaster

50 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N
Corrections in Bulletin Summer 2007. We apologize for omitting Juan
Hernadez, Fidencio Celio and Cheryl Powers from last Summer's Bulletin in
the section announcing the years of service for Staff and Faculty. All three
have served Cate for 25 years to make the Mesa a better place.
F A L L 2 0 0 7 51
 Cate School Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
1960 Cate Mesa Road
PO Box 5005 PAID
Santa Barbara, CA
Carpinteria, CA 93014-5005 Permit #1020
www.cate.org
Tel. 805.684.4127
Fax. 805.684.6897

52 C A T E S C H O O L B U L L E T I N