Santa Catalina School

Ranch beginnings and religious background

The original Santa Catalina Convent was founded by Sister Marie Geomaere, a Dominican sister, in what is now downtown Monterey in 1850, when Monterey was the capital of California. With the help of Rev. Joseph Alemany, O.P., Bishop of Monterey, she created the first Catholic school in California, excluding mission schools. Student were predominantly daughters of local town residents and of nearby Spanish landowners and classes were taught in Castilian Spanish. In 1854 the school was moved to Benicia, the new state capital, where it was renamed St. Catherine's Academy.

In 1950, Sister Margaret Thompson, Mother General of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, California, decided to reestablish Santa Catalina in Monterey. After buying the 36-acre campus from a local cattle rancher, Col. Harold Mack, the school opened in the fall of 1950, with Sister Mary Kieran as the first principal. When Sister Kieran died in 1965, Sister Carlotta became principal, a title she held for 35 years. As principal, Sister Carlotta's goal was to "educate the whole child... by guiding young people toward intellectual attainment and social, physical, and spiritual well-being."

Transition to co-education and new leadership

Boys were allowed to enroll in preschool and kindergarten at the request of Sister Jean, and Sister Carlotta encouraged male students to continue their education at the school through 8th grade.

Sister Claire, after serving as Head of Upper School since 1982, became Head of School in 2002. Sister Claire, Sister Christine and Sister Jean are the only Dominican nuns who still reside on campus. Sister Claire and Sister Christine both hold administrative positions but no longer teach.

Enrollment

There are 257 students in the Lower and Middle Schools; 61 percent are girls and 39 percent are boys.

Class size and student-teacher ratio

Class sizes are generally small, but vary by grade level as follows:

Tuition

Tuition varies by grade level, and the school offers need-based financial aid. Below is tuition and financial aid information for the 2010-2011 school year.

Enrollment, class size, and student-teacher ratio

As of August 2016, there were 233 girls enrolled at Santa Catalina: 116 were boarding students and 117 were day students. International students made up 16% of the student body. The average class size was 12 students, and the student-teacher ratio was 8:1.

Tuition

Upper School tuition varies between resident and day students, and both need and merit-based financial aid are offered.

Mission

Santa Catalina Lower School "encourage[s] each boy and girl to work effectively, to communicate articulately, [and] to approach life with a sense of purpose and competence" and prepares students for secondary schooling.

Santa Catalina Upper School aims to "combine a rigorous liberal arts curriculum, modern educational technology, and solid Christian principles" to prepare its students for college and beyond. The single-sex environment, Catholic background, and college preparatory courses are emphasized to "teach the importance of becoming leaders in our communities by serving others." The school attempts to develop each girl's abilities and emphasizes balancing intellectual growth with spiritual awareness. Santa Catalina also seeks diversity in order to enhance a student's sense of responsibility to her community and herself.

Requirements

Admission

Santa Catalina accepts students on the basis of academic achievement and personal qualification "without regard to race, creed, color, or national and ethnic origins." The admissions office requires a questionnaire and writing sample, school transcript, teacher recommendations, parent statements, SSAT scores, an interview, and an optional personal recommendation. Non-native English speakers are required to take the TOEFL.

Departments

Academics are divided among the following departments: Art, Drama, English, Foreign Language (including French, Spanish, Latin, and Mandarin Chinese), History, Math, Music, Religion, and Science.

Honors and AP opportunities

Santa Catalina School offers 18 AP (Advanced Placement) and 13 Honors courses.

College counseling and acceptance

The school has a college counselor on campus who works closely with seniors and assists with students' college applications and SAT and ACT registration. In addition, the school has an online resource for students called Family Connection, which provides further college counseling. In addition, approximately 65 colleges and universities from within the United States and abroad send representatives to Catalina to discuss their schools with students throughout the academic year. The average SAT score of students is 1732. 100% of graduates attend college and within the past five years the most-attended colleges were UC Davis (20 students), UCLA (11 students), Boston University (11 students), New York University(9 students), and Loyola Marymount University (9 students). Out of the 2010 graduating class, 6 students attended UCLA, 4 students attended University of California, Berkeley, and 3 students went to UC Santa Barbara and University of the Redlands.

Lower and Middle School academics

From kindergarten to fifth grade, students take courses in art, computer studies, language arts, math, music, physical education, religion, science, and social science. Spanish classes are introduced in the 4th grade. In grades 6 – 8, students take classes in art, computer science, English, foreign language (Latin or Spanish), history, math, music, physical education, religion, and science.

Faculty and administrators

Despite the school's religious background, the current administrators are laypeople and not affiliated with a religious order.

The Upper School is ranked among the top 20 boarding schools for faculty education because a high percentage of the faculty has advanced degrees.

Facilities

In 2003 a new outdoor aquatic center was completed, featuring a 25 yard by 30 meter pool that is connected to the gym's locker rooms. This 10 lane pool is used for physical education classes and the Upper School's swimming and diving and water polo teams.

Located next to the pool, the gym houses basketball and volleyball courts, bleachers, and dressing room facilities. PE classes and Upper and Lower School basketball and volleyball teams use the facility. The gym overlooks the pool and a regulation size softball and soccer field, which is encircled by an all-weather track. In addition, the gym is adjacent to 6 regulation size tennis courts, including one lighted court with stadium seating.

Resident students live in one of three dorms in either a single or double room, with faculty members living on each floor. Each room has a bed, desk, drawers, and lockable closet and there are common bathrooms for each floor. The dorms also come equipped with wireless internet, laundry facilities, and vending machines.

Thompson Dormitory — This dorm is used primarily for freshman and some sophomores, and also has faculty housing.

Hills Hall — For juniors, seniors, and faculty.

Greer Family Dormitory — This is the newest dorm and houses sophomores, juniors, and faculty.

Originally the Upper School classroom building, this 70-year-old building now houses the Upper School Admissions Office, Business Office, and Development Office.

This building houses a 150-seat recital hall, a dance studio, and music studios for private lessons. The building is primarily used for student music lessons and recitals.

The chapel is located in the center of campus and was built in 1954 as a donation from by Mrs. Marcia Ferrell Hart. San Francisco architect Germano Milono was commissioned to design the building. One of the most notable features is the chapel's stained glass windows. Today the chapel is used for daily morning prayer offered for students and faculty, weekly masses for resident students, on campus faculty, and the public, as well as special events.

This building includes the student health center and the dining hall. The school uses Bon Appétit food services, who were the winners of the National Resource Defense Council's 2009 Growing Green Award for their commitment to sustainable food. Their menus often feature locally grown foods and leftovers are composted.

Finished in 1967, the library holds about 34,000 volumes, 40 in-house periodicals, 500 media items, online databases, and 30 computers for students and teachers. It is used by both Upper and Lower Schools.

The Performing Arts Center is a 500-seat, state of the art theater that is used for Lower School Spring and Christmas concerts, various recitals, and three Upper School performances every academic year.

Upper School assembly is conducted every morning in this building. Desks are provided for every student and are arranged by class. There are also a limited number of lockers available for student use.

Lower School

Competitive sports are offered, but not required, for students in grades 6 - 8. Teams compete by grade level with other public and private schools in the area.

Upper School

Students can choose to participate in one sport per season. Teams compete in the Mission Trail Athletics League (MTAL) and the CIF / Central Coast Section (CCS). The volleyball, basketball, tennis, soccer, water polo, lacrosse, field hockey, and softball teams compete at both the varsity and junior varsity levels.

Performing arts

Students may also participate in theatre or dance, rather than athletic teams, after school.

Community service

Notable alumnae