DeKeyser News!

Thank You, DeKeyser Families!

Thank you to all of our families who took the time to attend fall conferences! We truly appreciate your partnership, support, and commitment to your child’s success. Working together makes a difference, and we are so grateful to have such wonderful families as part of our DeKeyser community.

A special thank you to everyone who stopped by and shopped at our Book Fair, visited our Student Council table, and took a moment to check our Lost and Found table for missing items. Your support helps make DeKeyser such a special place!

Thank you for being part of our DeKeyser family and for making our school community so amazing.

Adventures never end!

With gratitude,
Mrs. Shannon Hathcock

Digital Citizenship Week - Oct. 19th - 23rd

What's Happening at DeKeyser

Week of October 19th - 23rd

October 2026

VIP Parking: Lisa Dicker

Monday, October 19

Halloween Gram Sale

4:00pm – 5:00pm Anime & Cartoon Drawing Athletes Global

6:00 – 8:00 - Double Dolphins Robotics

7:00 – Board of Education Meeting

Tuesday, October 20

Halloween Gram Sale

6:00pm PTCG Meeting

6:30 - 8:30 – First League Robot - Gym

Wednesday. October 21

No School

Thursday, October 22

Halloween Gram Sale

Painted Pumpkins Due

6:30 – 8:30 – First League Robot - Gym

Friday, October 23

Halloween Gram Sale

Frozen Friday - $1 Popsicle Sale

6:00pm – 7:30pm Spooktacular

Halloween Grams On Sale - Oct. 19th - 23rd

What's Happening at DeKeyser

Week of October 26th - 30th

October 2026

VIP Parking: Lisa Dicker

Monday, October 26

PBIS Assembly

6:00 – 8:00 - Double Dolphins Robotics

Tuesday, October 27

6:30 – 8:30 – First Lego League Robotics

Wednesday. October 28

Bubbles Boutique – School Store

Thursday, October 29

EDAC Meeting

Friday, October 30

Half Day – 12:09pm Dismissal

11:30 - Halloween Parade

6:00 – 8:00 - Double Dolphins Robotics

Saturday, October 31

Happy Halloween 🎃

Halloween Updates

Classroom party volunteer lists should be given to Heather by Wednesday, Oct. 21st so she can prepare all labels prior to Oct. 30th. Please make sure you include the time that the parents are permitted to come down to your classroom.
Parties should be with snacks with labels only, fresh fruits, and vegetables could work as well.
Treats can be sent to school to take home. Please be cognizant of the allergies in your classroom / grade level / learning community. I have attached a safe snack list if you would like to send it home. Safe Snack Guide - SnackSafely.com
Please remind students - No Violent costumes!
The parade will be at 11:30 a.m. All classes will sit outside of their classroom on the outside wall. The parade will start at Mrs. Conklin's classroom. Weather permitting, we will parade around the building picking up classrooms as we pass. Once we make it around the building once, you will sit outside of your room to watch the remainder of the parade.
Rain plan will be shared closer to the date.

Halloween Costume Guidelines

Halloween is a time of year where some of our students get super excited about picking out their Halloween costumes, and as parents/guardians we know that sometimes those "popular" costumes are hard to find the longer we wait to go shopping. With that being said we thought it may be helpful for you to have an idea of what those "school appropriate" costumes are here at DeKeyser. Keep in mind, or as we like to put things in perspective with our older students.... we have students as young as 4-5 years old and while some costumes are "age appropriate for them", they may not be appropriate for the all-school parade. After reading the guidelines below if you have any questions regarding the suitability, please contact the office or your child's teacher.

Students should refrain from violent characterization and may not use any fake weapons, fake blood, or any references to victims or perpetrators of violence for their costume choice at school. Violent characterization is unacceptable for school parades and where younger students might be frightened. If deemed inappropriate by school personnel, students will be asked to remove the costume and/or wash their makeup.

Book, cartoon, folk heroes, historical figures, and period costumes are all good ideas to consider when thinking of the perfect costume.

Since Halloween is a half day of school, students will be allowed to wear costumes to school. Check to be sure that your child can walk freely, and that the costume will be comfortable enough for the classroom setting. Masks may be worn (frightening masks not permitted) but those that impede vision should be left at home. Plan to have your child bring any costume props (wigs and other add-ons) to school in a bag or backpack.

PTCG Information

It's been a busy and exciting few weeks at DeKeyser, and we have so much to be thankful for!

A Slice of Appreciation!
During Parent-Teacher Conferences, the PTCG treated our wonderful teachers and staff to some delicious Jet's Pizza as a small token of appreciation for all they do! We hope all of our families and caregivers enjoyed their conferences and the opportunity to connect with our amazing teachers.

Pumpkin Painting Fun!
A big THANK YOU to our awesome volunteers who helped organize and distribute pumpkins to participating families! We can't wait to see all the creative masterpieces on display at Spooktacular for our Pumpkin Raffle!

Spooktacular Is Almost Here!
We're getting excited for one of our favorite fall events! There's still time to register your vehicle or table for Trunk or Treat. Registration closes Wednesday, October 21st! Don't miss your chance to join the fun!

Thank You for Supporting DeKeyser!
A huge thank-you to all the families who participated in our Cutting Edge event and Panera Bread Restaurant Night! Your continued support helps the PTCG provide fun experiences, resources, and opportunities for our students and school community.

DOLPHINS.....With total donations over 1,000 POUNDS of candy, Ms. Trupp's class has won the Candy Monster contest with 289lbs! The extraordinary effort from Mrs. Conklin's Kindergarteners, with a donation of 218 pounds of candy cannot be ignored!

Hope you're ready to Trunk or Treat your hearts out at Spooktacular.

Please remember it's for DeKeyser families only.

UCS News

Do you want to see a snowman? Henry Ford II High School Theatre presents Frozen The Broadway Musical, December 3 (6:30), December 4 (6:30), December 5 (3:00), and December 6 (3:00) at the Henry Ford II High School Performing Arts High School. Tickets are $15 at hf2theatre.ludus.com and via the QR code. A magical night out for the whole family!

School Age Child Care

Utica Community Schools is pleased to provide an opportunity for School Age Child Care (SACC)!

DeKeyser Options are as follows:

Morning SACC: Monday - Friday 6: 45 am - 9:05 am

Afternoon SACC: Tuesday - Thursday 3:55 pm – 6:00 pm at Oakbrook Elementary

Students will be bussed to this location after school.

Please click on the link below for more information and the opportunity to register your child for SACC.

Click Here For More Information Related to SACC

Download the Raptor Safe App For Quick Signing In

Click Here to Download the Raptor Safe App

We Love Our Volunteers and Visitors!

We are asking for your support to help keep our students safe. If you plan to volunteer in our classrooms, work directly with a student and/or chaperone a field trip, etc. you will need to have a volunteer background check on file. The new volunteer application form is located at this link: www.uticak12.org/volunteer. The background check involves multiple state and federal law enforcement databases. We greatly appreciate the involvement of our families and the difference you make at DeKeyser Elementary. Thank you for your partnership with this extra step that will improve safety in our school.

Volunteer applications need to be renewed annually. If you submitted a volunteer application in November, you do not need to submit a new application at this time. Raptor will automatically send a renewal application when their current volunteer approval is approaching its expiration date.

A few reminders: