Quick Updates:

April 2026- PCPS Parent Resource Center News Edition #3

• 25-26 Parental Opt Out Booklet

• 2025-2026 Students Rights and Responsibilities

• Cardinal Care Coverage - Back to School!

• Counseling Topics

• Elementary Assessment letter

• PCPS Elementary Attendance Procedures

• School Supply Lists

• Solving Problems Together: Who to Contact?

• Breakfast & Lunch Menus & MySchoolBucks for lunch accounts

• SchoolCashOnline for field trip and other payment

Attendance UPDATE: Due to the snow/ice days the FINAL number of absences to be “Chronically Absent” for the year is now…17 days! Please keep an eye on your child’s absences so they do NOT reach this number. As of 2/27 if your child has missed 10 days or more they are currently “Chronically Absent” (10% of school missed).

Upcoming Concerts & Events

• Spring Book Fair (April 13th - April 17th)

  • Powhatan families, we’re so excited to welcome you to our Spring Book Fair from April 13th–17th! This is always such a fun week for our students, and we can’t wait to fill the library with great books and big smiles.

    The Book Fair runs on the support of our amazing parent community, and we’d love your help to make it a success. Whether you can volunteer for a shift, help with set‑up or take‑down, or simply spread the word, every bit of support makes a difference.

    A few helpful links are included below:

    • Volunteers NEEDED: CLICK HERE 

    • eWallet: Book Fair Homepage

    • Share the Fair: Share the Fair - Help Kids Get Books

• Kindergarten Registration is open! To register for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year, your child must be age 5 by September 30, 2026. Complete the online registration and keep an eye on your inbox! You will receive an email you to schedule a formal appointment during our Kindergarten Registration Days on April 9th or April 10th - Welcome to the Class of 2039! 

• Girls on the Run @ POWES for 3rd–5th grade girls led by Amber Ritter and Rachel Harding, is held Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30 PM – 4:45PM. For questions, contact Amber Ritter at amber.ritter@powhatan.k12.va.us

2025–2026 Yearbooks

• Don't miss your chance to capture the year! Powhatan Elementary School yearbooks are officially ready for pre-order.

  • Order deadline: April 10th

  • Cost: $25

    (Yearbooks will be distributed to students in May)

  • To order online:

    • Visit www.strawbridge.net

  • Select Order Pictures & Yearbooks

  • Enter YB32498

    • Click Find

    • Direct Link: CLICK HERE

Let’s Pull Together — Tab Collection

• Collecting through April 30, 2026

• Powhatan County Public Schools is collecting aluminum pull tabs to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmond. Please send your tabs to your student’s school — every tab helps!

• Drop-off locations

  • Elementary schools: Student’s homeroom or front office

  • Middle & high schools: Student’s 1st block or front office

• The school that collects the most tabs by weight will receive the Ronald McDonald House Tab Trophy.

• Why it matters: Ronald McDonald House provides a “home away from home” for families traveling to the Richmond area while their children receive medical treatment. Collecting pop-tops helps support their mission.

Powhatan Strong: Family Connection Series

• Please join the PCPS Student Services Department for our April Coffee Chat on Thursday, April 16, 2026 from 5-6 PM. This month, Erin Woodson, PCPS Health and PE Lead, will host our session on Student Nutrition.

• To log in, scan the QR Code link below or visit bit.ly/PowhatanStrong25-26. If you are unable to make the Coffee Chat, please submit your questions via the Coffee Chat Google Form. We look forward to seeing you on the 16th!

Powhatan PTO

• Dance Volunteer Sign-Ups - We'd love your help to make the magic happen! These dances truly come to life because of our amazing parent volunteers. Whether you decide to greet guests with a smile, help organize behind the scenes, decorate the space, or lend a hand where it's needed, your help is valued and appreciated!

  • Our Daddy-Daughter Dance on Friday, April 24th

  • Mother-Son Dance on Saturday, April 25th.

• Sign Ups:

  "A Night to Remember": Daddy-Daughter Dance

• Have you joined our FABULOUS PTO? If not, click here to join!

• CHECK OUT THE POWES PTO NEWSLETTER!

• If you have any questions please feel free to email them at powhatanespto@gmail.com 

Volunteer With Us!

• The Lunch Buddies Mentoring Program has been in place in PCPS for over 10 years. The goal of the program is to help foster strong relationships among our students and the positive adult role models in the community. Whether at any of our 3 elementary schools or our middle school, you would meet with a student once a week and ultimately act as another advocate for them. It can be anything from academic support to conversation, playing games, making crafts, and so much more. The program is planned to begin the 1st week of Oct. and will last until mid-May. If you are interested please reach out to lunchbuddies@powhatan.k12.va.us for any questions.

  Visit this page to apply.

• Watch D.O.G.S. -It has been GREAT seeing our Watch D.O.G.S. in our building this week! THANK YOU to all of our dads who have taken the time to come and support POWES! We can’t wait to see which dads will show up next!

  If you want to get a jumpstart, please fill out this form.

  • Watch D.O.G.S. update…if you wish to be a Watch D.O.G.S. at some point this year you MUST sign up BY 3/23. This will allow us time to set a schedule with all of our end of the testing and VA SOL testing for grades 3, 4, & 5.

Additional Information & Reminders

• Updated PCPS Cell Phone Policy -This policy INCLUDES Smart watches so please make sure if your child wears one they understand it MUST be put in their backpack when they arrive at school. SEE PG 2 OF THE POLICY FOR ELEMENTARY students

• This Parent Guide has additional information about the school year, including the parent/student handbook, important school contact information, meal prices, and more detailed information about parent drop off and pick up.

• As the year begins and needs arise which calls for you to pick up your child early from school, you MUST bring your ID into the building in order to sign your child out.

• Transportation Changes: For any transportation changes, please email powespickup@powhatan.k12.va.us AND your child’s teacher.

• REMINDER…if you sign your child in tardy OR sign in to eat lunch with your student PLEASE do not walk down to your child’s classroom. Permission from admin or your child’s teacher has to be verified in the office before you can enter the building. This is a safety concern when we do not know who is in the building. Thank you for your support as we keep our POWES kiddos and staff safe.

• We are loving the amount of families stopping in to have lunch with their child. However, we are seeing an increase in the number of students your child is bringing over to the lunch table with you. Please ONLY pull your child due to allergies and to prevent the opportunity for others to be left out.

• P

  arent Drop Off/Pick Up Zone: For safety reasons and to speed up our parent drop off/pick up zone, please stay in the car. If your child is in a car seat please have them get out of it while in line and move to the PASSENGER side of the car so they can just get out without your assistance on the PASSENGER side of the car.

• Vacations: Remember family trips/vacations MUST be approved by the principal ahead of time. Last minute communications can result in an unexcused absence. Even though a vacation may be approved, it does not mean the absence goes away...an absence from school is an absence from school.

• School Messenger: If you do not currently receive text messages from the school messenger program and you would like to OPT IN to receive TEXT messages. Text the words OPT IN to 67587.

• Each year, Powhatan County Public Schools is required to share certain notifications with families based on federal and state legislation. PCPS sent out the initial list of required notifications on Aug. 20, 2025. Based on Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) and legislative updates that have since been released, PCPS has updated its notifications. Here is a link to a summary of those items: Required Notifications 2025-2026.