Smoky Hill Buffaloes Newsletter

Monday 8/31 GREEN DAY

Tuesday 9/1 RED DAY

Wednesday 9/2 GREEN DAY + ADVISORY

Thursday 9/3 RED DAY

Friday 9/4 GREEN DAY

Students who attend school regularly and punctually learn more and enjoy a more successful academic experience than those that do not. At Smoky Hill, as a part of our continued commitment to attendance and student success, we are dedicated to ensuring the best possible educational experience for our students.
As a reminder, you may report/update your student's attendance in Talking Points (Our preferred method), or call the Attendance Office if your child is going to be absent from school (720) 886-5457). For early dismissal, please call at least one (1) hour prior to dismissal OR send a note with your student to the Attendance Office in the morning before school begins to obtain a pass for early dismissal.
Regarding Tardy procedures, for this school year, students arriving within the first 10 minutes of class will be marked in PowerSchool by their classroom teacher as Z(Present), U(Unexcused Absence), T (Unexcused Tardy), or L (Excused Tardy). After those first 10 minutes, teachers will only be updating PowerSchool if a student arrives tardy with a pass (L). Any student who arrives late after those first 10 minutes will need to check in on the Minga tablet in their classroom. They will remain marked as unexcused absence in PowerSchool until the start of the following period, when a report will be uploaded into PowerSchool, and their attendance is updated to a T (Tardy). You might receive a call regarding the absence until the report is uploaded. Our ask is that you please allow these reports to work their way through. If by the end of the day, your student is still marked as a U, and they did check-in tardy on Minga, please either send Rosita Tantao or the attendance line a message on talking Points.

• Cafeteria Entrance (Door 28) (7:40 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.)
• Activities Entrance (opens at 8:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m.)
• Main Entrance (8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. for all students)
• After 9:00 a.m. only the Activities Entrance is open for entrance into the building.

If you are dropping off and/or picking up your student at Smoky, please use the entrance off of Laredo Street and Buffalo Way. The Main Office entrance closes at 9:30 am, so please sign in through the Activities entrance on the east side of the building if arriving after that time.

The north parking lot (located on E. Smoky Hill Rd.) is not accessible for after-school student pickup. To ensure a safe and efficient dismissal process, all after-school student pickup will take place in the south parking lot (located on E. Buffalo Way). Afternoon pick up/drop off takes a little bit longer, so please be patient with our student drivers and families.

Students who are registering their vehicles will need to fill out the parking permit application located in the student check in packet.

Everyone is invited to come out and support our Smoky Hill Cross Country team on Monday, September 07, 2026, Labor Day for our 4th Annual Smoky Hill Community 5K Walk/Run. We would love to see you there!

Please sign up for the race and support our Smoky Hill Cross Country team. Money raised from this event will be used to purchase practice supplies, team equipment, and pay for travel expenses, while also helping to keep Smoky Hill Cross Country affordable and providing opportunities to low-income families.

Thank you for your support. Here is the flyer with the QR code and link to register for the Smoky Hill Community 5K Walk/Run event, and other information.

Questions? Contact: Fabian Ruelas | Spanish Teacher | Boys/Girls Head Cross-Country Coach

fruelaszacarias@cherrycreekschools.org

Join us for the College fair at Smoky HIll High School!

• Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026
• Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
• Where: Smoky Hill High School Cafeteria
• 16100 E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora, CO 80015

Dear Parents:

TalkingPoints is your go-to app for staying connected with our school! Use it to report absences, check in about tardies, and communicate directly with our staff and your child(ren)'s teachers. Download the app today to receive important updates and make home-to-school communication quick, easy, and convenient.

Dear Parents:

Download The Buffalo App—your one-stop shop for everything Smoky Hill Activities and Athletics! Stay up to date with schedules, scores, announcements, and news for your favorite teams and clubs, all in one convenient place. Download it today from the App Store and never miss an update.

So, what's your favorite team or club?

Dear Students:

Minga is a highly recommended app for every Smoky Hill student! It gives you instant access to your digital student ID, making it easy to check in at school and school events. You can also view your hall pass history, helping you stay organized throughout the day. Download Minga today so you're ready from day one!

For the 2026-2027 School Year the Cherry Creek School District will provide no-cost Breakfast and Lunch for all students.

Research shows students perform better at school when they are not hungry. By providing Breakfast and Lunch to students at no cost, we better support their learning.

Although all students will receive no-cost meals, it's still important for households to provide their income information when requested. Gathering this information allows the Cherry Creek School District to receive the state and federal funding we qualify for. These funds go directly to schools to help cover the cost of meals and support after-school activities and other nutritional programs for students. Plus, qualifying households may be eligible for Summer EBT benefits, receive discounted school fees, class materials, bus passes, utilities support, and more. Providing household income information ensures you and your school receive all available financial support.

This packet contains more information and the form to provide your household income information. While the following pages may reference eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals, Breakfast and Lunch will be provided free to all students regardless of household income.

Our school meals follow U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for healthy school meals. You can be confident your children are getting quality school meals while saving your family time and money.

For information on how to apply, please read the attached letter.

Please find attached, a letter from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment with important information about school required vaccines for students. The letter is also available via this link in multiple languages.

Please read the letter carefully and check with your student’s healthcare provider or local immunization clinic to ensure their vaccine records are up-to-date before the first day of school.

Vaccine clinic resources and opportunities can be found here.

Thank you for allowing us to partner with you for the health, safety and academic success of your student.

We're excited to welcome volunteers back into our schools! To help keep students and staff safe, all volunteers must complete a one-time registration each school year through the Verkada Guest Management System before visiting. It takes just 5–10 minutes (easiest on mobile) and requires a photo of yourself and your government-issued ID, which you'll also present at check-in. Please register at least a day ahead of your visit.

Start your volunteer registration

2026-2027 School Year: 8/30/26 8/5/26
2025-2026 School Year: 5/15/26, 5/8/26, 5/1/26, 4/24/26, 4/17/26, 4/10/26, 4/3/26, 3/27/26, 3/13/26, 3/6/26, 2/27/26, 2/20/26, 2/13/26, 2/6/26, 1/30/26, 1/23/26, 1/16/23, 1/9/26, 12/19/25, 12/12/25, 12/5/25, 11/28/25, 11/21/2025, 11/14/2025, 11/7/2025, 10/31/25, 10/24/25, 10/10/25, 10/3/25, 9/26/25, 9/19/25, 9/12/25, 9/5/25, 8/29/25