Summer Newsletters

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]