🌟 September is Attendance Awareness Month, and we want to highlight just how important it is for our students to be present in school every day. Regular attendance plays a huge role in academic success, social development, and building those lifelong skills. 🌟 When kids are here, they get to engage in enriching activities, build strong relationships with their peers and teachers, and make the most out of their learning experiences. 💪📖 Of course, we understand that sometimes illness or other issues come up, and that’s okay! 🤒💔 But for those days when students can be here, let's make the most of them! Attendance is a team effort, and we’re all in this together. Let’s keep encouraging our students to show up and shine! ✨#wearepcps #teampowhatan
🎵🎹 During a recent visit to Pocahontas Elementary, we got to listen to music teacher Ms. Nuckols jam with Ms. Aguilera’s second graders. The musical adventure had the kids grooving with rhythmic and melodic fragments on those cool barred instruments. They had a blast singing, clapping, and playing “Icka Backa” as they rotated around the circle. What a fun way to experience music and form! 🥁🎶
🏈 Powhatan High School has some really exciting things planned tonight at the varsity football game against Manchester. The student theme for the night is “USA,” and the school and community are celebrating “First Responders Night.” Old Powhatan Baptist Church, Red Lane Baptist Church, and the Powhatan Rotary Club have teamed up and mobilized their volunteers into action to support the evening with a pre-game tailgate that begins at 5:30 p.m. at the high school. All are invited. After the tailgate, the game begins at 7 p.m., and it should be a really good one. 🏈 Our team is the 7th rated team in the area after beating Mechanicsville 46-13. 🌟 First responders, veterans, and active military get free admission to the game. Donations are being accepted to support the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Our School Board Recap newsletter is back to keep you updated on the latest highlights and decisions from the School Board meetings. Check out the newsletter link in the first comment so you can stay informed and engaged with what’s happening in our schools! #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Today, Powhatan High School's JROTC cadets held a solemn and respectful 9/11 remembrance flag ceremony. 🎖️ Their dedication and poise honored the memory of those we lost and the heroes who stepped up. A powerful reminder of unity and service. 🌟 #wearepcps #teampowhatan
This morning, Powhatan Middle School honored 9/11 with a heartfelt remembrance flag ceremony. 🎖️ The event, beautifully led by members of Scouting Troops 1833 and 1832, was accompanied by a moving performance from our eighth-grade chorus. 🎶 It was a touching tribute to those who serve and remember.
📚✨ Mrs. Meaker’s third grade class at Pocahontas Elementary is diving into literary elements with their new Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) reading curriculum! 📝 They’re exploring character and setting, and learning about first-person and third-person perspectives. It’s exciting to see them develop their storytelling skills! 🌟📖 #wearepcps #teampowhatan
📚✨ September is Attendance Awareness Month! 🌟 From the first day of school to our students’ future careers, showing up consistently can help pave the way for success at every stage of life. Let’s make every day count! 💼🎓 #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Do you know a Powhatan County Public Schools employee who is Inspiring, Empowering, or Innovating? We want to hear from you. Tell us about any staff member who is making a difference in the lives of our children by inspiring, empowering or innovating. Just click on the link in the first comment to tell us about a Powhatan Schools staff member who deserves to be recognized. We welcome suggestions from students, families, co-workers or community members. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
PCPS wins statewide award for history curriculum
POWHATAN, VA – Powhatan County Public Schools’ (PCPS) efforts to develop a dynamic, in-house geography and local history curriculum for fifth graders were recently recognized with a 2024 Achievement Award from the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo).
PCPS was among 45 recipients across Virginia to receive this prestigious honor, which highlights excellence in local government programs. The award-winning curriculum, developed during the 2023-2024 school year, emphasizes local history to ignite community pride, honor our heritage, celebrate our future, and inspire future generations.
The VACo Achievement Awards are highly competitive, showcasing innovative solutions to challenges faced by counties. The winning entries announced on Thursday, August 29 addressed issues ranging from housing and recreation to communication strategies and beyond.
“Thank you to all who participated in the 22nd year of the Achievement Awards,” VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch said. “Last year we received 135 submissions, which was then our highest total ever. This year 145 entries were submitted. The program continues to grow because our member counties continue to do innovative work and find solutions to problems. The VACo Achievement Awards is a celebration of the hard work, good decision-making, and problem-solving skills of county staffs and leadership.”
The new curriculum was developed after the division moved the Virginia Studies course down a grade level, reducing the testing burden on fifth-grade teachers and students. This shift left a gap in the fifth-grade instructional program, which PCPS addressed by creating a comprehensive geography course aligned with Virginia Department of Education standards, including a mandatory unit on local history.
The curriculum was primarily crafted by Toni Kilpatrick, former K-12 History and Social Studies Curriculum Specialist, with valuable contributions from retired specialist Carol Simopoulos.
Superintendent Beth Teigen praised their efforts, stating, “I am so proud of the work Toni Kilpatrick and Carol Simopoulos spearheaded to create a unit of study focused on the geography and history of Powhatan County for all fifth graders. The noticeable boost in students' understanding and enthusiasm for local history speaks volumes about the quality and effectiveness of the program these educators have developed."
Dr. Teigen also highlighted the collaboration with the Powhatan County Historical Society, which offered resources and insights that enriched the curriculum to help bring Powhatan County’s history to life for students.
PCPS will honor the innovative work behind this award-winning curriculum at an upcoming School Board meeting.
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Students in Mrs. Hannaford’s fifth-grade class at Flat Rock Elementary School work in teams to create imaginative maps that have a title, three regions, three geographic features, examples of absolute and relative locations, and one industry. The students are learning new vocabulary they will see throughout the year in the division’s new fifth-grade geography curriculum. #wearepcps #teampowhatan #elevateeducatorsva
📚✨ Mrs. Ford's second graders at Pocahontas Elementary are having a blast diving into their new Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) reading program! 🚀 In this lesson, the students learned all about phonics—practicing their sounds and using their shiny new materials like pros. 🎉✏️ It’s amazing to see how these young readers are mastering structured literacy, and their excitement is absolutely contagious! 🌟 Keep up the great work, kiddos—your reading superpowers are growing every day! 📖 #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Are you ready for some football? !? So are we, but before the season officially kicks off, we need to share important information as we prepare to host our Varsity Football Team and guests at James W. Woodson Stadium for our first home game against the Mechanicsville Mustangs on Friday, September 6th. Please take a moment to review our updated guidelines and procedures for attending this and other PHS events. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you on Friday night. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
When students miss school, they miss out on so many things! #SchoolEveryDay #wearepcps #teampowhatan
For the first few weeks of the new school year, Pocahontas Elementary School’s littlest learners in preschool and kindergarten are focusing on a different color each day as part of their instruction. To help them learn their colors, all students and staff have been invited to dress in the Color of the Day. And POCA is definitely here for the fun! A special poultry guest (principal Samantha Martin) came to visit Miss Morton’s kindergarten class on yellow day. For red day, Mrs. Senger’s kindergarten class read “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and made their own Clifford ears. The celebration of color concludes on Wednesday, Sept. 11, which is Patriot Day, when students are encouraged to wear red, white, and blue. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
👯♀️ When great minds think alike… they twin! Two of our central office team members showed up Thursday rocking the same outfit. Who says working together doesn’t mean matching wardrobes too? #wearepcps #teampowhatan
Powhatan County Public Schools will be closed on Friday, August 30 and Monday September 2 for Labor Day weekend. We wish all of our families a safe and happy long weekend.
Sorry, we couldn’t resist jumping on the trend. School buses are back on the roads in the morning and afternoon, and we want to make sure our students are safe on Powhatan’s gorgeous but sometimes windy roads.
So stop; it’s the law! Virginia motorists must:
• stop for stopped school buses with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign when approaching from any direction;
• remain stopped until everyone is clear and the bus moves again; and
• stop whenever the bus is loading or unloading passengers, even if the lights and stop sign are not activated.
If a school bus is on the opposite side of a median or barrier, motorists aren’t required to stop; however, drivers should be prepared for students exiting the school bus and crossing into their lanes.
We know we are off to a great start to the new school year, but there are still some summer moments we want to appreciate. 🌟 First off, shoutout to our amazing teachers and staff who went above and beyond this summer! 🌞 While these photos capture just a few of the dedicated individuals who made summer school a success, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you. ❤️ Your hard work and commitment are truly appreciated! #wearepcps #teampowhatan #SummerSchoolHeroes #Grateful
It’s eggs-periment time! It may have been the first week of school, but Ms. Brooks was ready to get her fifth graders excited about science from the get-go. The students soaked eggs in vinegar for two days and then took the new bouncy creations outside to see at what height they would break. This was a great lesson on process skills and matters of observation as well as just a fun and slightly messy time.
For those who have never seen this experiment, the calcium carbonate shell undergoes a chemical reaction and dissolves in the vinegar. The acidic vinegar leaves the membrane that lines the inside of the shell intact. Some of the vinegar permeates the membrane due to osmosis, which is why the egg swells. The egg insides remain intact, and the remaining membrane is surprisingly strong and flexible, allowing the egg to bounce if dropped from a small height. What an eggs-cellent experiment! #wearepcps #teampowhatan
We had a lovely surprise this morning at the Pocahontas Landmark Center when local resident Karla Curtis dropped off the roughly 500 copies of “The Magical Place We Call School: Creating a Safe Space for Learning and Happiness in a Challenging World” that she and her husband, Bob, are gifting to teachers, counselors, and other staff members in our schools. Author Kathleen Corley was the keynote speaker at this summer’s admin training, Curriculum Close-up, and Mrs. Curtis said she hoped the book would help staff in their constant quest to create magical learning experiences for students. Experiences like this show why community engagement and building relationships are such an important part of the work we do at PCPS. #wearepcps #teampowhatan
