Weekly Update #1
May 30, 2025
DECATS GCISD is wrapping up day four of an amazing week. Students have made new friends, learned new facts, and practiced critical and creative thinking skills in a variety of ways this week. Thanks for allowing us to work with your kids this summer. We look forward to more fun next week!
Special Dress Up Fridays
6/6 - Crazy Hat/Crazy Hair Day
6/13 - Tacky Beach/Tourist Day
ASSEMBLY ADVENTURES
EXCITING ELECTIVES
A-MAZE-ING MARBLES
ANGRY BIRDS
Scholars use their previous knowledge and new understandings of Newton’s Laws and basic physics to engineer our classroom version of Angry Birds.
BRAIN TEASERS
This week at Brain Teasers, our kids took on creative thinking and teamwork challenges. In one activity, they worked in groups to flip over a piece of paper without letting it touch the ground, then tried to fold it as small as possible while still standing on it. They also tackled historical and literature riddles, and completed a Space Exploration Challenge! These activities are all designed to stretch students’ imagination and critical thinking skills.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
This week, our campers became engineers as they designed and built gravity-defying water slides! Using their knowledge of force and motion, students experimented with angles, speed, and structural design to create some truly wild and wonderful slides. It was a great hands-on way to explore physics concepts—and of course, a lot of fun!
CODEZILLA
This week in Codezilla campers were introduced to the basics of computer programming in Scratch with CS First. They focused on sequencing, events and loops. Coders cannot wait to build on their knowledge to create more personalized projects next week!
CREATING IN MINECRAFT
CSI
This week, our students have been diving into the Language of the Discipline used by real detectives! They've been learning how investigators think, talk, and analyze information.Using their new skills, campers are examining crime scene evidence, identifying potential suspects, and ruling out others based on solid alibis. It’s been an exciting week of critical thinking, collaboration, and hands-on fun!
DREAM HOUSE
GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY
HOGWARTS
LEGO PRIME
This week, students had the opportunity to brainstorm and explore ideas for things they might create using Lego Spike Prime. From the first spark of imagination to hands-on building and coding, creativity was in full swing! Our highlight of the week? Dancing robots! Campers designed and programmed robots that could move, groove, and show off their own unique dance styles. It was a fantastic blend of engineering, coding, and fun!
OLYMPICS
This week in our Olympics class, students took a journey back in time to explore the history and traditions of the ancient Olympic Games. From the origins in Greece to the events that inspired modern competitions, campers gained a deeper appreciation for the spirit of the Games.
The highlight of the week? Students began designing their own chariots, drawing inspiration from ancient techniques with a creative twist of their own. We’re gearing up for an exciting reenactment of ancient chariot racing soon, and we can’t wait to see their hard work in action!text here
ONCE UPON A STEM
Once Upon A STEM had to use their engineering skills to help Goldilocks find a solution to a problem of their choice given time and supply constraints. Students had to use their critical thinking and problem solving skills as they collaborated with friends. The presentations showed such unique and creative ways to help Goldilocks!
POSITIVELY MEDIEVAL
WORLD CUP
DCATS World Cup footballers are practicing and developing their basic skills through a partner passing drill.
REMINDERS
- If your student needs a fork or spoon for their lunch, please send it with them. We do not have access to any of these.
- Follow the Advanced Academics page on Facebook for pictures.