Paw Prints🐾

Arrival and drop-off times are extremely busy near Walnut Hills. We're a small neighborhood school which means we have a lot of students and families who walk, bike, skateboard, and scooter to school. Please be mindful of speed limits, stop signs, and crosswalks, and crossing guards while driving. This includes avoiding U-turns on Uinta and E.Costilla Blvd. near Walnut Hills.

Thank you for your support with the safety of our students, staff, and families! 🐾

Breakfast

Breakfast is served from 7:30a-8:00a. Students may arrive as early as 7:30a for breakfast only. Door 1 is the entrance for breakfast only from 7:30-7:40. After 7:40a, students must use their grade level entrances.

Our grade level doors open at 7:45a, and that is the earliest students may arrive unless supervised by a parent or caregiver. In an effort to ensure a safe start to the school day for all students, our playgrounds are closed during morning arrival.

Pre K students will enter the building though door #11 marked in pink in the graphic below. PreK teachers and staff will share their specific dismissal doors and locations with you for a.m and p.m. Programs.

Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders will enter the building though door #7 marked in yellow in the graphic below. A staff member will be there to open the door no earlier than 7:45each morning. Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders will also be dismissed from school by their teachers at door #7. Meet them on the blacktop to pick them up after school.

3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will enter the building through door #8 at marked in orange in the graphic below. From there, they must go to class, or they can go straight to the cafeteria for breakfast if needed. 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will also be dismissed from school by their teachers at door #8. Students are expected to go straight home unless a parent or caregiver is there to supervise them on the playground after school.

August 17th- 3rd,4th,5th ONLY First Day of School!

August 18th- 1st,2nd ONLY First Day of School!

August 19th- Pre-K, Kindergarten First Day of School/ ALL grades return!

The safety and security of our Walnut Hills community is always our top priority. As part of our updated visitor procedures, ALL guests must check in at the kiosk located in the vestibule each time they visit the school.

📸 Please bring a photo ID EVERY TIME you come to school

⏳ Please Allow Extra Time

As we continue getting familiar with the new visitor system, there may be occasional wait times during the check-in process. At times, the system may need additional time to verify your information before you can be cleared to enter the main office. If there is a delay, please remain in the vestibule and wait for clearance from our main office. Once you have been cleared, you will be buzzed into the office.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding, and cooperation as we implement these enhanced safety protocols. These procedures are an important part of keeping our students, staff, and families safe, and we appreciate your partnership as we work through this transition together. 💙

We are looking for dependable and caring individuals to join our Walnut Hills team as Crossing Guards!

Work Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday

• Morning: 7:30–8:00 AM
• Afternoon: 2:40–3:00 PM

Wednesday

• Morning: 7:30–8:00 AM
• Afternoon: 1:40–2:00 PM

If you’re interested in helping keep our students safe as they arrive at and leave school each day, we’d love to hear from you!

Interested? Please contact the Walnut Hills school office for more information.

More details coming soon!

Imagine pulling into school and knowing exactly where you’re parking—every single time. One Walnut Hills family will get a reserved VIP parking spot for the entire 2026–2027 school year, and it could be yours!

Ready to make your pledge?

• Submit your pledge using this form.

• The family with the highest pledge by Friday, Sept. 4 wins the spot.

• Only the winning family donates their pledged amount—there’s no cost to participate if you don’t win.

No circling. No hunting for a space. Just pull in, park and go. 🙌

Plus, your winning donation goes right back to supporting our Walnut Hills students, teachers and community.

Want to help out at Walnut Hills this year, but not ready to commit to a specific volunteer role? Join the Cougar Community Crew!

The Cougar Community Crew is our no-pressure volunteer list for parents, guardians and other members of our school community who are open to lending a hand when they can. Whether we need help behind the scenes, an extra set of hands at an event or volunteers for a one-time project, we’ll reach out to the Crew first.

There’s no commitment and no expectation that you’ll say yes every time. Simply fill out our quick 1-minute form here. When opportunities come up, you can decide what works for your schedule.

The first week of school calls for a little celebrating! Join other Walnut Hills families at Main Event in Highlands Ranch on Tuesday, Aug. 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for bowling, laser tag, arcade games and more. (Sorry, 1st and 2nd graders—we know you’ll be busy rocking your first day of school!)

Come whenever it works for your family, stay as long as you’d like and don’t forget one important step before you head home: Drop your receipt in the Walnut Hills box at the purchase desk. A portion of your purchase will come right back to our PTCO.

Fun for the kids + funds for our school = a pretty great way to kick off the year. 💛🐾

Parents of students who qualify for the bus, please check the transportation app myk12 for student bus information. The transportation dept will contact the families of students who qualify to ride the bus this 26-27 school year. Those communications will go out starting next week through the first days of school. Please be aware that it is not uncommon for a family to be contacted by transportation with their student's bus information the day before school starts.

Our Walnut Hills teachers are back and ready to make this school year AMAZING—and sometimes, even superheroes need a little pick-me-up! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ If you’re doing some shopping and would like to help keep our teachers fueled and smiling, we’d love donations of individually wrapped candy and sweet treats for our treat jar. 🍫🍭

Our families were SO sweet last year and helped keep our candy stash stocked, and our teachers were incredibly grateful for every little treat! 💕 Chocolate is definitely a staff favorite! 😉

Have a little extra candy at home or want to add something sweet to your next shopping trip? We’d be so grateful! Thank you for always showing our Walnut Hills staff just how much you appreciate everything they do. 🍫💛

Families who need Walnut Hills communication translated, please contact the liaison listed:

English:

Please contact Kati Brinks at kbrinks@cherrycreekschools.org for support with this resource in your language.

Amharic

እነዝህን መረጃዎችን በተመለከተ በቋንቋዎ ዕገዛን ለማግኘት ከፈለጉ እባክዎን ተሊሌን በዝህ እሜይል ያግኙዋት thirpa@cherrycreekschools.org

Arabic:

يرجى الاتصال بـ (جميعة صباحي أو جاودة العلمي) على (jsebbahi@cherrycreekschools.org أو

jdajanialami@cherrycreekschools.org للحصول على الدعم مع هذا المورد باللغة العربية.

Chinese:

如有需要，请经由ahan10@cherrycreekschools.org，与韩馥联系，以您的语言获得此资源的支持。

Korean:

귀하의 언어로 이 자원에 대한 지원을 원하시면 (리아 리) 에게 (llee6@cherrycreekschools.org) 로 문의하십시오.

Russian:

Пожалуйста, обращайтесь к Ларисе Бака по адресу: lbaca3@cherrycreekschools.org для получения поддержки с помощью этого ресурса на своём языке.

Somali:

Fadlan la xiriir Omar Nur cinwaanka emaylka-onur2@cherrycreekschools.org si aad u hesho macluumaad ku qoran luqadaada.

Spanish:

Si necesita ayuda con este recurso en su idioma, póngase en contacto con Ilse Chavez Maldonado en ichavezmaldonado@cherrycreekschools.org, Rosa Han en rhan4@cherrycreekschools.org, Helena Gognat en hgognat@cherrycreekschools.org o Milagro Nuanes en mnuanes@cherrycreekschools.org

Vietnamese:

Vui lòng liên hệ với Thuý Ngọc tại Lchung2@cherrycreekschools.org để được hỗ trợ về tài nguyên này bằng tiếng Việt.

Email: kwilliams109@cherrycreekschools.org
Website: https://www.cherrycreekschools.org/walnuthills
Location: Walnut Hills Elementary School, East Costilla Boulevard, Centennial, CO, USA
Phone: (720) 554-3800