Catalina traditions that deserve more hype

By Sofia '25

If someone were to bring up the topic of Catalina traditions, without a doubt, the first tradition up for discussion would be either Ring Week or Kris Kringles (KKs). And why not? Ring Week is undeniably the craziest one yet, where seniors have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dress their junior ring sisters in the weirdest costumes ever (with good intentions). KKs are a favorite because they let you experience Christmas on a personal level with another student from your class.

But other, underrated traditions, like Halloween Dinner and spirit days, often get swept under the rug without recognition. We don’t have to wait for Catalina’s most talked about traditions to start the fun!

Sure, seeing all the crazy costumes for Ring Week can be fun, but you know where else you can do that and it happens way sooner? Halloween! It may be a national holiday, but Halloween at Catalina is its own unique experience. Freshmen organize Halloween Dinner every year and always make it fun. The night starts with everyone in a decorated dining room with the must-have mac and cheese or chicken tenders, and mint chocolate mud pie for dessert. Then all the festivities happen: costume contests, jokes, and my personal favorite, karaoke, where you usually sing with your friends to a song that relates to your costume. However, this is merely the pre-game because what I love about Halloween is what happens after dinner: trunk or treating at seniors’ cars plus Haunted Hills, if you’re up for it. The haunted house that the senior boarders put on will knock the socks off of your feet from fear! Now, whether your favorite part of Halloween is the karaoke, the haunted house, or just being with your friends, the best part of this night is that we all, as a community, get to come together and laugh and scream. I have yet to meet someone who has disliked Halloween Dinner, and I believe it should be talked about more. I had no idea what Halloween Dinner was when I came as a freshman to Catalina, but being able to decorate the dining room and pick the music and food was surprisingly a lot of fun because the school seemed to love it. It was a great moment for the freshmen to plan their first event and to be able to work together as a class. Year after year, the freshmen have never disappointed.

The second tradition that does not come up enough is our spirit days and pep rallies! Pep rallies and spirit days may be popular traditions in most high schools, but what I think makes Catalina unique are the little things we add, like Cake Auction and the kickball game, which happen in the second semester. These are my favorite parts of our spirit days because I love cheering. And if you haven’t noticed by now, the students here LOVE to dress up, so what better opportunity to go all out on your class colors and accessories and cover yourself in glitter? The Cake Auction happens on Spirit Day, where the seniors make cakes and auction them to underclassmen to raise money for their senior gift to the school. It’s always a great time because the cakes have different themes and flavors: cows, Barbie, Super Mario—anything really—and it’s enjoyable to see what the seniors come up with. Everyone gets a cake in the end, so it's a win-win! We have a Spirit Week as well, and although it may be similar to other high schools, Catalina girls commit to it like no other. Each day is an opportunity to dress up as something fun, and because we wear uniforms every day, we get excited to put on something new and show off our personalities. When applying to Catalina, I found lots of photos of our spirit days, and I can tell you they’re as fun as they look!

In conclusion, this is an appreciation post for the traditions that do not get the same praise as some of our other ones. I also find that people, including myself, can get so excited about KKs and Ring Week just waiting for them to come that we get a little impatient and don’t appreciate the more minor traditions that happen. If you’re applying here, I encourage you to not only ask about KKs and Ring Week but also ask about all the traditions, even the less extravagant ones. These traditions build our community and give us an excuse to have fun. All our traditions manage to do that quite well—big or small!