Travelers who passed by the Pocahontas Landmark Center on Sunday evening or today may have noticed the large tree in front next to Anderson Highway had a large part break off. Facilities staff will be evaluating the remaining parts of the tree to see if it can be saved. In the meantime, we wondered how many longtime residents, especially students and staff who attended the school through the decades, have any special memories of the tree?
The included black and white photograph shows the original school with the tree in front. The photo is courtesy of the Pocahontas School Yearbook of 1961 (“The Echo of 1961”). This was the first of only three yearbook that were published for the school (1961, ‘67, and ’69.) The yearbook was edited by the senior class. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Good morning and happy last day of school . Please remember that today is a half day, so secondary schools will be out by 10:45 a.m. and elementary schools by noon.
We hope all of our students and their families have a wonderful summer with at least a few learning opportunities thrown in there. Don't forget to have your students read and engage in fun activities like summer camps and Powhatan's awesome Summer Reading Program.
Please join us in thanking all of our teachers and staff for another wonderful school year!
And if your child is attending PCPS next year and will be riding the school bus, you must opt in to school bus service by filling out the Google form we will share in the comment section.
On Memorial Day, the Powhatan High School Army JROTC Color Guard participated in the Memorial Day Ceremonies at both the Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Amelia and for the American Legion Post 201 at the Powhatan War Memorial Cultural Arts and Community Center. Each year, the PHS JROTC Color Guard supports the Virginia Veterans Cemetery with their Wreaths Across America wreath laying ceremony. This was the first year supporting both venues for their Memorial Day ceremonies. The cadets that took part in the ceremonies were: Cadet Nicholas Blankenship, Cadet Sophia Ehle, Cadet Samuel Weaver, Cadet Cohl Brooks, Cadet Isiah Turner, Cadet Nikki Fens, Cadet Emily Derrer, and Cadet Violet Edling. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Powhatan Middle and Pocahontas Elementary school will both start the new academic year with new leaders at the helm.
Mr. Colin Innes will join the Powhatan County Public Schools family on July 1, 2024, as the new principal of Powhatan Middle School. He is currently the associate principal of Midlothian Middle School.
Also on July 1, Dr. Samantha Martin will transition into the familiar grounds of school administration as the new principal of Pocahontas Elementary. Dr. Martin is currently the division’s Coordinator of Innovative Learning and Professional Development.
Mr. Innes takes over from Mrs. Courtney Jarman, who will become the division’s Chief Schools Officer on July 1, while Dr. Martin is the successor to Mr. Tom Sulzer, who is transitioning to become the Assistant Facilities Director on July 1.
Mr. Innes comes to the division with 14 years of experience in education, the last eight of them in school administration. In addition to working in his current position for the last four years at Midlothian Middle, he was also previously the assistant principal at Bailey Bridge Middle and Midlothian Middle schools.
Before transitioning into administrative roles, Mr. Innes had proven himself as an experienced, bilingual leader. He taught Spanish for six years, and he also developed curriculum and taught in the Spanish Immersion Center at Manchester High School.
Mr. Innes is an experienced instructional leader with a strong cross-curricular background and dedication to supporting student academic growth and achievement through personalized learning. Recognizing that middle school can be a challenging age, he also has a passion for building relationships and focusing on restorative practices to significantly lower disciplinary issues.
“I am humbled by and excited for the opportunity to lead Powhatan Middle School. I believe that education is certainly the backbone of society as we set our students up for their immediate and future success,” Mr. Innes said. “At Powhatan Middle School, we will continue to work hard to create an environment where every student has a champion, and where all students feel valued and heard in order to achieve their highest potential.”
Dr. Martin has been with PCPS since 2014, working first as an assistant principal at Powhatan High School and then as principal of Powhatan Middle School before taking on her current role in 2022. She previously taught special education math at the high school for two years.
Before her time in Powhatan, Dr. Martin worked as a program specialist for grades 5-9 in the Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Centers and taught at the middle and high school levels for seven years.
Dr. Martin has a Doctorate of Education from the University of Virginia with a focus in K-12 Curriculum and Instruction, a Master of Teaching degree from UVA with a focus in K-12 Special Education, and is Nationally Board Certified in early adolescent math.
In her previous administrative roles, Dr. Martin showed herself to be a leader who believes in collaborative structures for success for all students, schoolwide differentiated professional development, and strategic planning and data-based decision-making for school improvement.
“I have fallen in love with the Pocahontas Elementary School community during my current role, and I am so thankful for this opportunity. I believe in the success of each student in a positive, caring environment where students, staff, and parents are excited about learning each day. I look forward to meeting students and families as we begin the next year, and I know we will do great things together,” Dr Martin said.
This morning, May 29, 2024, our student notification software experienced a glitch. Parents/guardians of all enrolled students in Powhatan County Public Schools received multiple notifications stating their child was marked absent. Please disregard these notifications. Your child’s attendance was properly recorded. We are working on determining the cause of this glitch. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are concerned about your child’s whereabouts, please contact your child’s school to confirm that he/she is present.
This morning, May 29, 2024, our student notification software experienced a glitch. Parents/guardians of all enrolled students in Powhatan County Public Schools received multiple notifications stating their child was marked absent. Please disregard these notifications. Your child’s attendance was properly recorded. We are working on determining the cause of this glitch. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are concerned about your child’s whereabouts, please contact your child’s school to confirm that he/she is present.
Earlier this month, Flat Rock Elementary School’s Kindness Klub sponsored a food drive across the entire school for Backpacks of Love. The school collected thousands of items to donate to the nonprofit, which is dedicated to eliminating hunger in school-age children in Central Virginia by providing food for their weekends. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Sixth graders in Mr. Roberts’ Energy and the Environment class at Powhatan Middle School put what they learned about thermal energy into practice by trying to save penguins! Ok, they were ice cubes shaped like penguins, but those ice cube penguins were in very real danger from some powerful heat lamps. The students were charged with building a box that would withstand concentrated heat under a heat lamp for 15 minutes to prevent the penguin from melting. In constructing the boxes, the idea was to conserve less energy, pollute less, and reduce greenhouse emissions. Students recorded the mass of their penguin ice cube before and after the time under the heat to see how much it melted and gauge their success. Mr. Roberts said the experiment was based on real efforts in Africa to protect penguins, but the knowledge the students gained could be applied in a number of ways, such as understanding how to conserve energy when building homes for humans. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Powhatan County Public Schools expresses its deep gratitude and appreciation to the men and women of the U.S. Military who served their nation and paid the ultimate sacrifice. We honor and remember you today.
Attention Parents and Guardians of PCPS students who will be riding the school bus in the 2024-25 school year:
Parents and guardians will now opt in for student transportation services for the 2024-2025 school year. In order to facilitate routing and planning for bus transportation, we are asking that all parents/guardians fill out a transportation request if they need bus transportation for the upcoming school year. The information collected for this request will allow us to route more efficiently and provide us with the most up-to-date information on the transportation needs of your student.
These forms will be due by July 26, 2024. Requests received after July 26, 2024, will be processed in the order received. However, requests received after bus route planning has begun are not guaranteed by the start of the 2024-2025 school year, and service may be delayed until September 3, 2024.
Scan the QR code or follow the link in the first comment to fill out the form.
Members of Powhatan High School’s One Voice and Resonance choirs were invited to perform on May 22 at the Virginia State Police Memorial Day Service, which honored 67 of the Department’s law enforcement professionals who have died in the line of duty. The students met Governor Glenn Youngkin at the event, and he was among the many people there who gave these talented young men and women and their leader, Mr. Dean, a standing ovation after their brilliant performance. Thank you to our young people for honoring our fallen heroes in such a beautiful way. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Congratulations to Powhatan High School Class of 2020 alum Brandon Eike for being named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year! We are so happy to hear of his success at VCU. @vcubaseball @a10conference @brandoneike
Image: Shared from Instagram.
Let’s make a messy masterpiece! Powhatan Elementary fifth graders learned about non-representational, abstract art by heading outdoors to create a Jackson Pollock-style splatter paint. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
This is a reminder that Powhatan County Public Schools will be closed on Friday, May 24 and Monday, May 27 in honor of Memorial Day. We hope our PCPS students, staff, and families have a lovely weekend.
Attention Powhatan High School Families of Seniors. Because of a 60% chance of thunderstorms, the decision was made to move the Powhatan High School graduation indoors on Thursday, May 23. For details, check your email for a message from principal Chris Sumner or visit the Graduation 2024 page on the PCPS division website. Find the link in the first comment. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Ahead of the recent SOL tests, Mrs. Green and Mrs. Hopkins’ fourth graders at Flat Rock Elementary joined together to compete in a trivia game that doubled as an SOL review. Playing Sink or Swim, if the students got the answer correct, they could “sink” a member of the opposite team or “swim” one of their own classmates to bring them back into the game. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Powhatan High School continued its efforts to highlight the Class of 2024 with a Military Signing Day on Wednesday. Five graduating seniors signed letters of intent to join either the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, or U.S. Marines. We are so proud of these young people’s willingness to serve their country and excited to see what the future has in store for them. #wearepcps #teampowhatan @GoCoastGuardRichmond
Powhatan County Public Schools is hiring. We are looking for interested teachers in the areas of Art, Computer Technology, Secondary English, Middle School Math, Middle School Science, Physical Education, and Special Education as well as School Counselors. To learn more about becoming a valued member of our team, contact Human Resources at 804-598-5700 for visit the school division's website .
The team score of two Flat Rock Elementary fifth graders earned their school the Top Elementary School in Virginia for the Spring of 2024 for their ending portfolio value in the Stock Market Game. The Stock Market Game is sponsored by the Virginia Council on Economic Education and is a 10-week online program. Julianna Russo and Beckett Fisher were honored at the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond with a luncheon on Friday, May 10. The students received certificates and prizes for earning Flat Rock the honor of top elementary school in the state. Mary Lisa Watts (advisor), Isabella Worrell, (principal), Mr. Russo, and Mrs. Fisher (parents) accompanied them. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Congratulations to the Class of 2024 Advanced College Academy on their graduation Tuesday from Reynolds Community College. These amazing young men and women committed to and successfully completed four years of hard work that allowed them to graduate with an associate’s degree a week before they receive their high school diploma. We are so proud of their diligence and thankful for the teachers, staff, and family members who supported them in this incredible journey. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
