
Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared May 7, 2024, as National Fentanyl Awareness Day in Virginia. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, poses a serious threat, especially to our youth. It's crucial to grasp its potency; just a tiny amount can be deadly. There are two types: medical-grade and illicit. While medical-grade is legally prescribed, illicit fentanyl, often mixed with other drugs, has led to a surge in teen overdoses. Education and action are vital! Parents, have open conversations with your kids, and be prepared with naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Remember, knowing the signs of overdose and understanding Virginia's Good Samaritan law can save lives. If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 for confidential support. Let's work together to combat this crisis. We will provide several useful links in the first comment.


Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! We want to continue the celebration of Powhatan's amazing educators with a Virtual Applause Parade. Show our teachers some love with a round of applause by posting the 👏 emoji in the comments. Let’s see how many 👏 we can get by the end of the day! We’ll start … 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 ... Your turn!


The Powhatan County School Board workshop and meeting will be held at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at their regular location in the School Board Meeting Room at the Pocahontas Landmark Center, 4290 Anderson Highway. The School Board will honor a large number of staff, students, and their families during the Recognitions at the beginning of the meeting. In the case of a large crowd at the meeting, the school division requests that seating be prioritized for honorees, most of whom usually leave following the Recognitions. The School Board understands there may be a large number of people who wish to attend the meeting and speak during the Public Comment period. To ensure both goals are met, there will be a 10-minute recess between the Recognitions and the first Public Comment period to enable plenty of time for a smooth transition between the two agenda items and the movement of meeting attendees.
The School Board room has a maximum capacity of 160 seated people. If the room reaches capacity, an overflow location has been arranged in the cafeteria of Pocahontas Elementary School, 4294 Anderson Highway, which has a 300-seat capacity. A video conference will be set up to allow people in the overflow space to view the entire meeting and speak during the designated public comment periods. The meeting will be live and archived on the school division’s YouTube channel.

We are shining a light on educators this week as part of Teacher Appreciation Week. We would love our families to share the most impactful lesson a teacher has ever taught you. #wearepcps #teampowhatan #elevateeducatorsva #TeacherAppreciationWeek #ThankATeacher


We are ready to celebrate the heart and soul of our school community: our incredible teachers! Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6 to 10, and we're shining a spotlight on the superheroes who inspire, educate, and uplift us every single day. From the bottom of our backpacks to the tops of our graduation caps, THANK YOU for your dedication, passion, and endless support! Powhatan teachers really do eclipse the rest! #wearepcps #teampowhatan #elevateeducatorsva #TeacherAppreciationWeek #ThankATeacher


Mr. Payne’s Building Trades 1 class at Powhatan High School previously built a wall using bricks and mortar. Thanks to a donation of 30 bags of teachable mortar from the Virginia Masonry Association, the students could break down the masonry project and reuse both the bricks and the mortar (shown here) for multiple future projects without the materials losing their integrity for class purposes. #wearepcps #teampowhatan

Good afternoon PCPS community. Although this is delayed, we are back again with another installment of the Powhatan County School Board Recap. As always, the goal of this newsletter is to help people who don't have the time to come to or watch full school board meetings still stay abreast of what is going on in our school division. The April 16 meeting newsletter link is in the first comment.


Dive into a world of creativity at our upcoming 2024 Powhatan AP Art Exhibit. This annual showcase of Powhatan High School art students not only allows you to see some incredible artwork but to Meet the Artists! Join us for an unforgettable journey through their masterpieces, each stroke of a paintbrush, shutter of a camera, or molding of clay telling a unique story. Also enjoy special music guest Jesse Whiting. The show will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 10 at the War Memorial Cultural Arts and Community Center, 2375 Skaggs Road, Powhatan, VA. All are welcome. #wearepcps #teampowhatan #CreativityUnleashed









Powhatan County Public Schools recently invited parents of the Class of 2037 for a Rising Kindergarten Parent Information Night. Couldn't make it to the event? Families are invited to equip themselves with the knowledge to help their child succeed by contacting their school and asking what information they need to know.
PCPS is also asking for the public's help in reminding anyone with a child that will be age 5 by September 30, 2024, to begin enrolling now. This is a special time for schools to welcome their newest students. It is also important to get students screened and on the rosters as soon as possible to be better prepared for the start of the new school year.
In addition, the preschool (VPI/ Head Start) application process for children turning age 3 and 4 by September 30, 2024, is also now available online.
Check the Powhatan County Public Schools website for information or contact your local school with Kindergarten Registration or Preschool Application questions. We are so excited and cannot wait to get these students on the PCPS team! #wearepcps #teampowhatan

We love seeing book lovers pass on their love of literacy to younger generations! Members of the Powhatan High School Writers Club recently held their Spring Read Aloud by reading to kindergarten and first grade students. The high school students read spring-themed books to children in Pocahontas Elementary classes (shown here) and Powhatan Elementary classes to help spread the joy of reading. #wearepcps #teampowhatan


To all the PHS staff and families who helped make Prom 2024 a success for our students, a huge thank you for your support. Because of your collective efforts, our students were safe and undoubtedly have a night to remember.


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Calling ALL POP TOP TAB COLLECTORS
We NEED your TABS…Tomorrow!!!
Our divisionwide contest ends Friday, April 26!
Please spread the word and drop your tabs off at your child’s school (or any Powhatan school)!
The Ronald McDonald House thanks you, and so do we.
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(photo courtesy of Ronald McDonald House)


The spirit of cooperation was alive and well at Powhatan High School when the Firefighter I students taught the Nurse Aide students how to use fire extinguishers. We love seeing successful peer-to-peer learning. #wearepcps #teampowhatan

National Administrative Professionals' Day recognizes the professionals who keep an office running smoothly every day. With all of the activity going on in our five schools, Transportation Facility, and the Pocahontas Landmark Center, Powhatan County Public Schools couldn’t do all we do without the support of these amazing staff members. Please join us in showing our appreciation for the work they do to support our students, staff, and families. #wearepcps #teampowhatan


Offering a huge congratulations to Powhatan High School Class of 2017 alumnus and current Signal Knob Middle School agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor Dakota Stroud. Earlier this month, Mr. Stroud was awarded the 2024 Virginia Association of Agricultural Educators (VAAE) “Teachers Turn the Key” scholarship. The Teachers Turn the Key Scholarship Program was created in 2003 by the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) to combat the teacher shortage in agricultural education and to encourage young agricultural teachers to remain in the profession. PCPS reached out to Mr. Stroud, who is in his third year of teaching, to congratulate him and ask him how Powhatan played a role in his path to becoming an ag teacher. He said, “The classes that influenced me began in 7th grade at Powhatan Junior High and taking Agriscience exploration with Mr. Henry Paris. This continued into the high school, where I continued to expand my skills and interests taking many different agriculture classes ranging from Veterinary Science to Horticulture with Caitlin Smith, Ed Olsen, and Chris Whitlow. In addition to these courses, I took Culinary Arts, Teachers for Tomorrow, and many more Career and Technical Education Classes.”
With April being Virginia School Boards Association #WorkforceReadinessMonth, we are happy to highlight how workforce development opportunities can enable students to find what they are passionate about and to be prepared to succeed.
#wearepcps #teampowhatan #teachag @visitpowhatanva #SignalKnobMiddleSchoolFFA Shenandoah County Public Schools



April is Virginia School Boards Association #WorkforceReadinessMonth, and one way PCPS wants to celebrate is by honoring the students in our amazing Career and Workforce Development programs. This weekend, eight Powhatan High School students traveled to Virginia Beach to compete in 59th Annual @SkillsUSA Virginia State Leadership Conference competitions. Please send some love to our amazing competitors, who competed in a variety of categories, and the Cosmetology team for bringing home Bronze medals in the Total Fantasy Look category:
Olivia Brown – Nail Care
Ashley Beach - Nail Care Model
Olivia Benton- Total Fantasy Look
Brielle Walters- Total Fantasy Look
Kendall Hayton- Total Fantasy Look Model
Mason Heckel- Electrical Construction Wiring
Bradley Wade- Electrical Construction Wiring
Xander Wheat- Masonry
The team of Kendall Hayton, Brielle Walters, and Olivia Benton competing in Total Fantasy Look received Bronze medals for their third-place finish. Great job ladies!!!
And a special thank you to Mrs. Hazelwood and Mr. Payne for guiding these students and taking them to the competition.
#wearepcps #teampowhatan





Powhatan High School’s Mr. Powhatan competition to raise money for the fight against cancer was once again a wonderful success. A huge thank you to all of the young men and women who volunteered to make this night possible last week. Now on to the winners!
Congratulations to Gavin Utley for being named Mr. Powhatan 2024 and Tommy Menting for being chosen as the Runner Up!
We also want to recognize the specialty winners:
Mr. Congeniality - Henry Bowman
Photogenic - Tyler Atchison
Best Dressed - Jackson Cary
Best Smile - Coleman Smith
Most Entertaining - Will Pollard
Best Hair - Michael Saunders
Thank you, gentlemen, for putting on a hilarious and energetic show for such a good cause!
#wearepcps #teampowhatan

Powhatan County Public Schools follows the Virginia Department of Health's Minimum Immunization Requirements (02/21). The Health Department has posted this information at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/immunization/requirements/.





Attention families of Class of 2024 graduates! PHS has set up a graduation page on its website that will be a great place to get information about graduation on May 23 and other relevant information. More updates will follow in the coming weeks as information is finalized. Check the first comment for the link. #wearepcps #teampowhatan


Mr. Bell’s Economics and Personal Finance class recently visited Mrs. Meade’s Community Based Instruction (CBI) class at Powhatan High School. The CBI students prepared a tasty spread to help their fellow students celebrate taking the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification Test. In preparation for the visit, the CBI students made cinnamon muffins as part of a lesson to learn about fractions. Mrs. Meade said the visit also helped her students practice their social interaction skills. She said, “We are working on social skills, communication skills, helping our students meet new people in the building, and they made muffins that required using fractions from recipes.” #wearepcps #teampowhatan
