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From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! The last week of DECATS has been amazing as we have concluded our journey together “With Great Power.” The growth we have seen in the few short weeks we’ve been together has been tremendous. We are excited to report that all of our Scholars have great power within them to go out and make a difference in the world. The Scholars were very busy this week completing culminating activities in their courses. Our Manners Scholars showcased their dining etiquette and social skills during our luncheon at the DECATS Café. [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! On Thursday morning, over a year of planning, months of building courses, and hours of exploration and discovery culminated in our annual closing celebration day. What amazes me most about DECATS, beside 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 I thought possible, and developed as [...]

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 came together to collect over 300 items to donate to Texas Children’s Hospital! During Thursday’s Closing Celebration, our Scholars used their talents With Great Power and put together a powerful performance that was a wonderful display of creativity 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 from [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings, DECATS Families! It is with gratitude and joy that I share with you that the second week of DECATS has been amazing! Our Scholars are working at learning and using their gifts and talents With Great Power! I am so proud of them and thrilled to share a few highlights from this week with you. As the second week comes to a close, our “Manner” Scholars refined their social skills of introduction and small talk. They look forward to putting all of these skills into practice on Tuesday during our Manners [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! The second week of the program has drawn to a close, our momentum and powers continue to grow, and they show no signs of slowing. The Scholars continually wow me with their discoveries, breakthroughs, and use of creative and critical thinking as they continue to exhibit the great power that they possess. Budding photographers have chronicled their vision via the lens of a camera (“Through A Different Lens”), a creative group of architects are making a plan to try and save Venice (“The Sky’s the Limit”), and many LEGO [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! It has been another amazing week at DECATS! As the second week of our program comes to a close and we continue to embrace “With Great Power,” we are thrilled to share some highlights with you. Our “Manners” Scholars refined their social skills of introductions and small talk. They look forward to putting all of these skills into practice on Tuesday of next week during our Manners to Morals Day. “Executive Functioning” Scholars explored and practiced ways to strengthen working memory, initiative, materials management and social coordination. During “Wellness,” [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings, DECATS Families! The first week of DECATS was a great success, and we are having a blast! We are so grateful you said ‘Yes!’ to DECATS this summer. Mr. Ferrugia, Mr. House and some graduate assistants led us “With Great Power” each day in our morning and afternoon assemblies. The energy level is through the roof! It is exciting to have our parents join us once again for our assemblies each day. Scholars are actively engaged in singing, dancing, and celebrating all things DECATS. We’re sure that you’ve heard some of [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! I am delighted to write with an update on all the great powers that are being used during the first week of DECATS at Strake Jesuit. Once the program kicked off, the Scholars quickly began to use powers never seen before at DECATS. 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 [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! Time flies when you are having fun! The first week of DECATS was a huge success! Our first courses of the day, Manners to Morals and Perspectives, are the hallmark of our program. In Manners, Scholars experienced the power of the handshake. Executive Functioning Scholars practiced the skills of impulse control and shifting between tasks smoothly. Wellness Scholars investigated the importance of nutrition, exercise and stress management. Values and Morals Scholars explored morality and ethics and began brainstorming ideas for a service project to support the larger community. In [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! On Thursday morning, over a year of planning, months of building courses, and hours of exploration and discovery culminated in our annual closing celebration day, which involved two separate super-assemblies this summer. What amazes me most about DECATS, beside 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 [...]