News

From the Director's Chair ​​Dear DECATS Families: The final week of DECATS has been incredible as we wrapped up our "Exploration Awaits" journey together marking 30 years of DECATS. I want to sincerely thank you for trusting us with your children's care and well-being this summer. It has been a true joy to witness their learning and growth. We are confident that our Scholars will take all they have learned and make a difference in the world. This week, our Scholars were actively engaged in completing their culminating activities. Our Manners Scholars demonstrated their dining etiquette [...]

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 one might think possible, and explored [...]

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 [...]

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 using their gifts and talents! 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 “Manners” 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 to Morals Day. Our [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! The second week of the program has drawn to a close, but we are nowhere near the end of our exploration. The Scholars continually wow me with their discoveries, breakthroughs, and use of creative and critical thinking as they continue to plumb the depths of the great power that they possess. Scholars are collaborating to design and create cookies that are delightful to see and taste (“Edible Art”), a creative group of architects are making a plan to try and survive various extreme weather scenarios (“To The Extreme”), and [...]

From the Director's Chair Dear Parents: It's amazing to think that we have already completed our second week of DECATS. I wanted to take a moment to give you an update and share some of the highlights of what your Scholars have been experiencing. This week has been both eventful and exhilarating, filled with unforgettable experiences as we continue to unpack our theme of “Exploration Awaits”. Our Scholars have been deeply involved in a variety of activities designed to enhance learning, foster teamwork, and support personal development. Here are some of the standout moments: Our “Manners” [...]

From the Director's Chair Ahoy, DECATS Families! The first week aboard the DECATS Spacecraft has been a blast! We are so grateful you said ‘Yes!’ to DECATS this summer. As we prepare to launch each day, we are fueled with celebratory songs during our morning and afternoon assemblies. The energy is out of this world! Having our parents join us for our assemblies each day is exciting. Scholars are exploring new adventures and engaging in singing, dancing, and celebrating all things DECATS. We’re sure that you’ve heard some of the songs on your way home each [...]

From the Director's Chair Greetings DECATS Families! I am delighted to write with an update on how far and how much we are already exploring 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 [...]

From the Director's Chair Dear Parents: Our Scholars have had an amazing start to their DECATS adventure filled with fun, growth, and unforgettable experiences. From the moment they arrived, their enthusiasm and energy have been out of this world. Our morning assemblies are filled with lively songs, animated dancing, and heartfelt prayer. It’s inspiring to witness blossoming friendships in such a short amount of time. From the morning to afternoon our Scholars engaged in a wide variety of exciting courses. The first two courses of the day are the foundational pieces of DECATS. In Manners, Scholars [...]

Dear Families, We hope you have continued to be safe and well during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re writing to share with you our latest updates and decisions regarding this summer’s program. Program Status After considerable thought, discussion and prayer, we will not hold DECATS this summer. This was not an easy decision to reach, and we stand confident that our sadness for not conducting the program this year is temporary and will result in a stronger program in 2021. Our theme – “The Strength Within” – will take on a whole new meaning and still coincide with the Summer Olympics. We trust [...]