Quick Updates:

• 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

• Expedited SOL retake forms for grades 3,4,& 5 are coming home this week. Completed forms will be due on Monday 3/16/26

• 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).

Spring Picture Day update

• Strawbridge Studios will be taking individual spring pictures and class pictures on Monday, March 9th! All students will take a spring picture, but there will not be any order envelopes since every student will receive a picture package!

   

• Class pictures are optional for purchase, but pre-ordering is required. Class picture order forms were distributed on Friday, February 20th.

Let’s Continue Reading!

• National Reading Month is still going strong! Join our Reading Bingo Challenge and keep the fun going all month long!

How to Participate:

• Complete fun reading activities on the Bingo board (read a Dr. Seuss book, read outside, read to your pet, try a new recipe, visit the library, and more!).

• Get Bingo = 1 entry for a chance to win a prize from the Book Vending Machine.

• Complete the entire board = 2 entries!

• Post your pictures using the QR/link on the board.

• Turn in your board to your teacher before Spring Break.

• CLICK HERE to access the Reading Bingo Board and start reading!

Stuff’d Pals Fundraiser Kicks Off March 4!

• Powhatan Elementary is excited to kick off our Stuff’d Pals Fundraiser beginning Wednesday, March 4th!

• This fun and easy fundraiser requires no catalogs, no selling, no deliveries, and no money collection. Students who participate will be invited to a special in-school stuffing event where they can create their very own 16” Stuff’d Pals Reading Buddy, with over 30 animals to choose from.

• When students raise $50, they earn a Stuff’d Pal to stuff at the celebration event. Additional emails, shares, and donations can unlock even more prizes and surprises.

• Watch for more details coming home soon, and thank you for supporting Powhatan Elementary!

POWES’ 1st Annual CAREER Day

• POWES’ 1st Annual CAREER Day will be on Friday, March 27th. If you are interested in sharing a little about your career with our students please fill out this FORM.

• Our school counselors will reach out to you if you are selected and will share more details. We want our kiddos to learn about all of the possibilities out there for them and hopefully create a starting point with their own passion towards a career. The expectation is to provide a short demonstration or presentation of your work. This can be through a slideshow, showing work equipment (on site at the school) or demonstrating what you do day to day.

• The schedule for March 27th has not been finalized, but the goal is to have short time blocks where students will rotate to your station. This means you will show the same presentation multiple times. Once interest is gathered, we will finalize scheduling and logistics!

Join the Fun! Kids Heart Challenge Is Underway

• Our Kid’s Heart Challenge comes to an end THIS WEEK! BUT there is still time to collect for this amazing cause. CLICK HERE to see our “FINAL WEEK LETTER”. Families thank you so much for your continued support! Here is our EVENT FLYER…there is STILL time to meet our goals!!

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

• Powhatan County Public Schools Student Services Department welcomes you to our monthly Virtual Coffee Chats titled Powhatan Strong Family Connection Series. Each month, Student Services will present a different topic with strategies to support your students from home, policies and procedures at the division and school levels, and opportunities to ask questions of our Student Services Department members and guest panelists. Previous Coffee Chats can be found at the links below:

  • August Session- Attendance

  • September Session- School Safety

  • October Session- Bullying

  • November Session- Parent Burnout / Stress

  • January Session- Family and Community Volunteering Opportunities in PCPS

  • February Session - Emotional Regulation Ideas for Families

• Our next session will be held on March 19 @ 12:00 pm: Understanding Student Anxiety (virtual)

• 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.

Powhatan PTO

• Dance Volunteer Sign-Ups…We're getting ready for TWO unforgettable nights!

  • Daddy-Daughter Dance - Friday, April 24th

  • Mother-Son Dance - Saturday, April 25th

  • 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!

    • Sign Ups are Below:

    • "

      A Night to Remember": Daddy-Daughter Dance

    • "Electric Boogie"!: Mother Son Dance

• Lucky Grams…PowES PTO is thrilled to offer Lucky Grams this St. Patrick's Day - a fun and cheerful way to spread good luck and send sweet messages to friends, teachers, and staff. Help us spread some extra luck by sending a thoughtful note and a treat to someone special!

• Return Lucky Grams with attached payment to school by Thursday, March 12th.

  • CLICK HERE for Lucky Grams

• 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.