DeKeyser News

Welcome to DeKeyser ~ Home of the DeKeyser Dolphins

Principal: Mrs. Shannon Hathcock

Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Lisa Russo

Clerk: Mrs. Heather Mansour

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

School Hours: 9:00 AM - 3:50 PM (full days) and 9:00 AM -12:04 PM (half days)

Breakfast - Door #2 opens at 8:40

Student Arrival - All students can enter their classroom at 8:50 am

Address:

39600 Atkinson

Sterling Heights, MI 48313

Office Phone Number: (586)797-4400

24 Hr Attendance Line (586)797-4499

Fax (586)797-4401

DeKeyser Email: officedekeyser @uticak12.org

September 2023

• Happy Birthday Aleece Tousignant (Kindergarten)

• Board of Education Meeting
• K-3 Reading NWEA window opens

Tue., Sept. 19:

• Lego Robotics 6:30 – 8:30 (Gym)

Wed., Sept. 20:

• No School - Teacher Professional Development Day

• 6:00 – 7:00 - P.A.M. – “A Day in the Life of a Preschooler”

• Peace Day
• Lego Robotics 6:30 – 8:30 (Gym)
• EDAC (Rescheduled) @ Bemis – 6pm
  

Fri., Sept. 22:

• 3:55 – 4:55 - Young Rembrandts

Events will be added regularly so always double check each week for additions to our calendar.

• 3:55 – 4:55 - Soccer

Tue., Sept. 26:

• Johnny Appleseeds B-Day
• Lego Robotics 6:30 – 8:30 (Gym)

Wed., Sept. 27:

Thur., Sept. 28:

• Picture Day
• Lego Robotics 6:30 – 8:30 (Gym)

Fri., Sept. 29:

• 3-to-Be Assembly – (Award: 3-to-Be / Teach: Respect)
• 1/2 Way Through 1st Quarter
• M-STEP Parent Reports Sent Home
  
• 3:55 – 4:55 - Young Rembrandts

Picture forms will be coming home next week. Here is a sneak peak at the flyer. You can start thinking about what you are going to wear for your 2023 - 2024 school picture.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come out to our 1st DeKeyser Restaurant Night at Fuddruckers. It was so nice seeing so many families! Thank you for supporting our school. Hope to see you at our next event. Click on DeKeyser's Facebook page to see the pictures from our event.

Each day the students at DeKeyser have the opportunity to earn a "blue ticket" These blue tickets are positive 3 to Be referrals given by all staff at DeKeyser Elementary. Students never know when they may be given a "blue ticket." These tickets are given to students who are showing the 3 To Be expectations throughout the day.

All tickets are brought to the lunchroom and placed in the appropriate lunchroom buckets. Each Friday, 3 names are drawn from the bucket during the three lunches. The winners are able to visit our Dolphin Cove for a special reward. We celebrated our 1st Dolphin Cover Winners this Friday.

Congratulations to Skylar, Olivia, Addy, Fatima, Victoria, Mila, Maddie, Giannah, and Anastasiia. We hope you enjoy your new books! HAPPY READING!

We have been working on an apple theme. We talked about where apples grow, what we call the outside of the apple (skin) and what things you can make with apples. The children graphed their favorite color apple. Red was the winner. We are also working on leaving mom and dad without tears, making friends and learning about the different areas in our classroom.

This week Kindergarten dove deep into their iPads! We spent time on Starfall, Epic, and ClassLink! We went over iPad expectations and how to be responsible with them. All of our students love iPad time and are learning how to scan their QR codes to have access to all of the fun, educational apps! Next week these Dekeyser Dolphins are going to dive even deeper into iPad use and using them for stations!

Our first graders eagerly embraced classroom routines, crafting thoughtful cards to express gratitude to Mr. Yili for his support and hard work. One major highlight of the week was when they received their iPads, setting the stage for a year filled with exciting learning adventures through a variety of educational apps. This week has been a heartwarming blend of routine, creativity, and technological empowerment in our first-grade classrooms.

Second grade students were so excited to receive their new laptop computer and login for the first time with the help of the Sixth grade students! Shout out to our Sixth graders for being so kind, helpful and patient with our Second grade students. Our Second graders have also been practicing having a growth mindset, being mathematicians and what it's like to be a good classmate and work as a team with others!

Third graders participated in a “Book Tasting” as part of our introduction to genres. They rotated through stations and got to check out some historical fiction, realistic fiction, mysteries, science fiction, nonfiction and fantasy books. They were excited to add some of these books to their book bins for independent reading!

Students enjoyed hands- on STEM activities as they worked together. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. Students used Magnetic tiles, puzzles, Jenga, and Legos to elicit their problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities.

Our 5th graders have been busy having deep conversations about our classroom culture and community. We are reflecting on how we treat each other, and how to resolve conflicts. In addition, we started learning about equivalent fractions in math. So far 5th graders love fractions!!

Sixth Graders at DeKeyser are provided with many opportunities to step into leadership roles. This week they helped our Second Graders log into their new laptops and become familiar with how to use them. As you can tell by their faces, the 6th graders enjoyed helping and the 2nd graders were very appreciative.

The past week we have been getting to know each other and picking our seats for music class. We have had some fun singing and dancing in class.

6th Grade choir, no they are not taking a nap, we are practicing proper breathing techniques so we can sing with a strong, supported voice.

Our younger grades are having fun singing for our classmates.

Our Kindergarten and 1st Grade are learning about and practicing steady beat.

6th grade Media Center students had a great time building their pyramid together! They had to make 64 individual pyramids and then stack them together to make the final pyramid. They learned what every piece is important in the bigger puzzle.

In Art this year students will learn various processes of creation! We will incorporate core curriculum ideas such as Reading, Writing, Math and Science into our classrooms! Students will find an exciting way to show off what they learn through a number of artistic projects, some will even be showcased this year at the Annual Art Show that Utica proudly presents!!! We look forward to seeing your child's creativity!!!

This week in ISM we are continuing to discuss 3 to Be, Kindness and whole body listening. We are starting to explore our Purposefull People & Character Strong curriculum which brings social emotional learning to the elementary school level. Each week students will have the opportunity to focus on a skill, such as making new friends and learn about new ways to incorporate this skill, in and out of the classroom. Students were tasked to complete at least one random act of kindness this week. Kindness is contagious...pass it on!

The Macomb Intermediate School District will be presenting additional maturation programs for fourth grade and fifth grade girls and their mothers/guardians, at which time they will answer growth and development questions.

EVENT: The Macomb Intermediate School District is the host site for the Macomb County Health and Wellness Fair. The fair is Saturday, 9-23-23. There will be over 55 community agencies present with information on the resources they provide. We will also have a keynote speaker talking about the Magic of Hope as well as short 30 minute presentations on various health and wellness topics.

Grade Level T-Shirt Orders

Thank you for sending in your t-shirt orders. We are placing this order and will be getting you your shirt before our DeKeyser Fun Run.

IF you were unable to order a shirt, you may still do so throughout the year but you are not guaranteed your shirt prior to Fun Run.

Kindergarten = Teal

1st Grade = Red

2nd Grade = Orange

3rd Grade = Yellow

4th Grade =Royal Blue

5th Grade = Green

6th Grade =Light Blue