DeKeyser News!

Message from Mrs. Hathcock

Dear DeKeyser Families,

What an AMAZING first week of school!

Thank you to our incredible DeKeyser students, families, and community for helping us begin the 2026–2027 school year on such a positive note. Our building has been filled with smiling faces, excitement, new friendships, and so much wonderful learning. It has been a joy watching our Dolphins settle into their classrooms, learn new routines, and reconnect with friends and staff.

We are incredibly grateful for your patience, support, encouragement, and partnership throughout this first week. It truly takes all of us working together to make DeKeyser such a special place for our students.

I also want to take a moment to share how incredibly proud I am of our students and staff for the way they responded during yesterday’s storms. Our Dolphins demonstrated quick action, calm behavior, patience, and cooperation as we followed our safety procedures. Our staff did an outstanding job ensuring students remained safe, supported, and reassured throughout the changing weather conditions.

I know that severe weather can be unsettling for students, families, and staff. Please know that the safety and well-being of everyone at DeKeyser will always be my number one priority. We will continue to follow all safety procedures and take every precaution necessary to keep our Dolphins and staff safe while they are at school.

Thank you to our families for your patience, understanding, and trust as we navigated the weather together. I could not be prouder of the way our entire DeKeyser community responded.

As we head into the holiday weekend, I hope all of our DeKeyser families have an opportunity to relax, recharge, spend time together, and enjoy a well-deserved break.

Thank you for an AMAZING first week! We are so excited for everything this school year has in store for our Dolphins.

Have a safe, relaxing, and wonderful holiday weekend!

With Dolphin Pride,

Mrs. Shannon Hathcock
Principal
DeKeyser Elementary School

What's Happening at DeKeyser

September 7th - 11th

September 2026

VIP Parking: Lisa Dicker

Monday, September 7

No School - Labor Day

Tuesday, September 8

PTCG - Stock the Lounge

6:00 - PTCG Meeting

Wednesday, September 9

PTCG - Stock the Lounge

Thursday, September 10

Happy Birthday Allison Dattolo! 🥳
PTCG - Stock the Lounge

Friday, September 11

Happy Birthday Stephanie Steffes! 🥳
Last Day to order grade level t-shirt to guarantee Fun Run delivery

PTCG - Stock the Lounge
Frozen Friday is back! $1 popsicle sale at lunch

First Lego League - Sept. 9th - 5:30 - 6:30 @ Eppler Jr. High

This is an informational meeting for families interested in learning more about Lego Robotics. Currently DeKeyser has a team coached by Mr. Messing. Spots are extremely limited on this team. We are looking for parents who would be interested in coaching a team. This informational meeting would be a great place to learn all about Lego Robotics and how to get started.

Grade Level T-Shirts

PTCG Information

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: