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From the Director's Chair Dear DECATS Families, What an incredible final week we've had as we wrapped up our 31st year of DECATS. This summer has truly been a celebration of growth, leadership, and transformation. Thank you for entrusting us with your Scholars. We are honored to have been part of their journey. Throughout our final week, Scholars completed their culminating activities, each designed to reflect how far they’ve come and how prepared they are to take their learning to The Next Level. Our Manners Scholars confidently demonstrated their etiquette and social skills at the DECATS [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings, DECATS Families! As we wrap up an incredible summer, our final week has truly taken us to the Next Level! Scholars showcased their talents and hard work through course presentations, and our community came together for the powerful culmination of our service project. Thanks to your generosity, we collected over 1,000 cans and non-perishable food items to support the Houston Food Bank—a true reflection of compassion in action. During Thursday’s Closing Celebration, Scholars explored their creativity and teamwork in a dynamic performance that beautifully demonstrated the critical thinking, leadership, and collaborative [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! On Thursday morning, over a year of planning, months of building courses, and hours of leveling up culminated in our annual closing celebration day. What amazes me most about DECATS, besides the fascinating breakthroughs, remarkable insights, and moving acts of kindness, is how quickly it all goes by. It seems like only yesterday we were gathering together for the first time, starting to learn our new theme song, and learning the standards of our time together. We played hard, learned more than one might think possible, and advanced to [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings, DECATS Families! We’ve officially leveled up in Week 2, and what an amazing week it’s been! Our Scholars continue to grow, explore, and use their unique gifts to take their learning to the Next Level. I’m so proud of their progress and excited to share a few highlights. Our “Manners” Scholars sharpened their social skills through introductions and small talk in preparation for Tuesday’s Manners to Morals Day. In “Executive Functioning”, Scholars powered up skills like working memory, organization, and social awareness. During “Wellness”, Scholars explored stressors, healthy body image, and [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! The second week of the program has drawn to a close, but we still have plenty of leveling up to do. The Scholars continually wow me with their discoveries, breakthroughs, and use of creative and critical thinking as they continue to reach heights and levels that we never thought possible. Scholars are collaborating to design and create cookies that are delightful to see and taste (“Edible Art”), a creative group of magicians are adding new tricks to their repertoire and perfecting their sleight of hand (“AbracaDECATS!”), and aspiring disc [...]

From the Director's Chair Dear Parents, It’s hard to believe we’ve already wrapped up our second week of DECATS! The days have flown by, and I want to take a moment to share some highlights and celebrate the incredible experiences your Scholars have enjoyed so far. This week has been both dynamic and inspiring as we continue to explore our theme: The Next Level. Our Scholars are embracing the challenge of pushing beyond their comfort zones—growing intellectually, socially, and spiritually through meaningful, hands-on experiences. In Manners, Scholars practiced introductions, small talk, and table setting. They’re looking [...]

From the Director's Chair Week One inside the DECATS gaming deck has been a total Level Up! Thank you for saying “Yes!” to this epic summer quest. Your Scholars have navigated through the consoles of the Game Center with energy, curiosity, and courage—and we couldn’t be more excited to be on this journey with them. Each morning, we power up with assemblies that set the tone—filled with music, movement, and celebration. With our DECATS theme songs on repeat, the energy is truly out of this world. It’s a joy to have parents join us in the [...]

From the Director's Chair Dear Parents, Our Scholars have launched into their DECATS adventure with incredible momentum, energy, and joy. From the very first day, they’ve shown that they are ready to take it to The Next Level—in learning, leadership, and personal growth. Each morning, our assemblies are alive with song, dancing, and prayer. The sense of community forming among our Scholars is inspiring, with new friendships and growing confidence across the campus. Our foundational courses have set the stage for powerful development. In Manners, Scholars practiced  introductions and first impressions—skills that will serve them for [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! I am delighted to write with an update on how much leveling up has already happened during the first week of DECATS Houston at Strake Jesuit. From the first moment of Monday’s program the energy level was off the charts, and it only went up from there. During their first period courses, our youngest Scholars started learning about proper handshake and introduction etiquette, other Scholars started learning about their prefrontal cortex in Executive Functioning, while our Wellness squads began learning how to keep their bodies strong and healthy. Our [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings, DECATS Families! The final week of our program is always filled with many experiences, such as course presentations and the culmination of our service project. Our community gathered over 300 pet toys and several pounds of pet food to donate to SPCA Houston! During Thursday’s Closing Celebration, our Scholars explored their creativity together and developed a powerful performance that was a wonderful display of critical thinking and leadership. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your Scholar’s growth this summer. I pray that all the Scholars walk away [...]