Join us this May as we observe Mental Health Awareness Month and today, May 9, to recognize Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Let's prioritize every child's mental well-being by engaging in activities that boost mental health. For resources and information, check out Mental Health America's toolkit and the American Psychological Association's webpage. Educators, explore free resources on Classroom Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators (WISE) to support children's mental health. Learn about the Virginia Department of Education's efforts on student behavioral health at the Behavioral Health and Wellness webpage. Together, let's spread awareness and support for mental health!
Happy National School Nurse Day! Today, we celebrate the incredible dedication of our school nurses, who play a vital role in keeping our students healthy and thriving. School nurses are not just healthcare providers, they're champions of student well-being and academic success. They're there on the frontlines, providing a safety net for our most vulnerable children. Let's give a big shoutout to these everyday heroes who make a positive difference in the lives of our students each and every day! Please join us in recognizing our amazing Health Services Team:
Cathy Vaden, RN, Powhatan High School Head-Nurse
Michelle Short, RN, Powhatan Middle Nurse
Ashley Sloan, RN, Powhatan Elementary Nurse
Arla Thompson, RN, Pocahontas Elementary Nurse
Jen Lawson, RN, Flat Rock Elementary Nurse
Vickie Maxey - Clinic Assistant
Tammy Willis - Clinic Assistant
Rebecca Smartschan - Clinic Assistant
#wearepcps #teampowhatan
The Powhatan School Board wishes our PCPS teachers and staff members a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to the most dedicated, caring, and hardworking teachers and staff in the world for all you do. #wearepcps #teampowhatan #elevateeducatorsva #TeacherAppreciationWeek #ThankATeacher
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!
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
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.
May the Fourth Be With You! Kindergarten classes at Flat Rock Elementary have been embracing theme days A to Z, and this week saw them having fun with a Star Wars theme on R2-D2 Day. The classes created special gear like these hats Mrs. Valcourt’s students are sporting and doing Star Wars-themed activities. #wearepcps #teampowhatan #maythefourthbewithyou
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
At the end of their oviparous (hatches from an egg) animal unit, Miss Katie’s Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) preschool students at Flat Rock Elementary did a directed drawing of a diverse group of ducks. They also did a science experiment where they mixed vinegar and water, put eggs in the mixture, and witnessed them gradually change and become bouncy. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
During P.E. class at Flat Rock Elementary, Mr. Ellison and Mrs. Leslie had the second graders from Mrs. Southward and Mr. Thompson’s classes toss bean bags to try to get them in the hula hoop of the same color. If they missed, the students picked the bean bags up and the next child tried. The game is called Bozo for the word the line yelled if one of them hit all of the loops. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
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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)
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
PCPS loved welcoming part of the Class of 2037 earlier this month at the annual Kindergarten Registration Kickoff. All three elementary schools welcomed our future pupils with special themes: Flat Rock Elementary showed “We are Hungry for Learning!”; Pocahontas Elementary welcomed families to “Camp Kindergarten,” and Powhatan Elementary proved that “Kindergarten is ‘Tiki’riffic!” Have a rising kindergartner but didn’t make the event? You can still register. Anyone with a child that will be age 5 by September 30, 2024, should begin enrolling now. It is 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
Flat Rock Elementary third graders had a blast with the past when they embraced a full day of activities for Ancient Civilization Day. In the morning, the students headed to the bus loop to compete in their own Olympic Games, with activities such as the Long Jump, Relay Race, Bowling, Javelin Throw, Disc Throw, Chariot Race, and a Foot Race. A special thanks to the Powhatan High School RHO KAPPA National Social Studies Honor Society students who volunteered to officiate the games! In the afternoon, students created mosaics and Greek vases, built the Egyptian pyramids and Great Wall of China, constructed Chinese lanterns and Roman leaf crowns, and completed an Ancient Civilizations Word Search. The students also indulged their taste buds with a food tasting made up of various foods that originated from Greece, Rome, China, and Egypt. #wearepcps #teampowhatan #elevateeducatorsva
Mrs. Ayers’ first graders at Flat Rock Elementary created hot air balloons for Read Across America Week. The kids drew and painted the balloons and had an accompanying writing assignment where they were asked where they would go if they could go anywhere. This was inspired by reading Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, the Places I’ll Go! By ME, Myself.” #wearepcps #teampowhatan
