School year kicks off with shared adventures

Santa Catalina School mixed things up for the start of the 2023-24 school year, kicking off with two days of retreats and service activities for each class. The purpose of the change was to give classes time to connect and bond before the start of academic classes.

After move-in day and orientation activities—which included games between senior big sisters and their freshman little sisters—students enjoyed two days of off-campus fun with their classmates.

Freshmen headed up to Elkhorn Slough for a kayak adventure, then spent time at Catalina making sandwiches for Dorothy’s Place, playing games, and filming skits around campus.

Sophomores helped the Big Sur Land Trust clear weeds from the future site of a city park in Salinas and tried their hand at geocaching in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Juniors embarked on their annual health and wellness retreat, which this year included an overnight stay at The Camp in Carmel Valley. Students went hiking, tried their hand at archery, made tie-dye shirts, created action plans for the year ahead, and more. Back on campus, they built kids’ bikes to be donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County.

Seniors took a day to work on college applications before heading up to the American River for the annual rafting trip. This year, a climbing wall, ropes course, and zipline provided additional thrills.

All of this intentional time spent in community helped set the tone for a successful, welcoming, and enthusiastic start to the school year.

See all of our photos from the start of school on SmugMug.