Powhatan Middle School

Much like everyone across our region, Powhatan County Public Schools are closely monitoring the forecast for potential impacts to school operations. Our team is monitoring weather reports and road conditions, as well as reviewing guidance from local officials. No final decisions have been made at this time.
In the event of delayed openings or closures, we will share official closure announcements as soon as decisions are made via:
*SchoolMessenger Email/Text/Phone Alerts
*Powhatan.k12.va.us
*PCPS Official Facebook and Instagram accounts
*Local News stations (WRIC, WTVR, WWBT)
Please stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your understanding and for helping us keep everyone safe.

Thank you to everyone who helped make The PHS Experience such a successful and informative evening last week. Families had the opportunity to explore the wide range of classes, programs, activities, and supports available at Powhatan High School, and it would not have been possible without the dedication of our students and staff.
From student performances and demonstrations to conversations about academics, athletics, counseling, and career pathways, the night truly showcased the many opportunities available to PHS students. 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Notice of a Powhatan County School Board Budget Workshop
Pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3707, please take notice that the Powhatan County School Board will hold a budget workshop on: Friday, January 30, 2026, at 2:00 PM at the Pocahontas Landmark Center, 4290 Anderson Hwy, Powhatan, VA. This notice is being provided in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
This meeting will be open to the public.

Mr. Peyton’s Family and Consumer Science students at Powhatan Middle School recently rolled up their sleeves and got to work making pie dough from scratch. A hands-on lesson like this helped students practice following directions, measuring ingredients, and building foundational kitchen skills. 🥧
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

We’re excited to share the results of our Fall PCPS Pull Tab Contest – and they’re something to celebrate! 🎉
Together, Powhatan County Public Schools collected 516 pounds of aluminum pull tabs, resulting in a $356 donation to the Ronald McDonald House of Richmond. This is the largest collection total yet since the contest began in 2022.
Here’s how our schools contributed:
• Pocahontas Elementary: 242.12 pounds
• Powhatan Elementary: 101.3 pounds
• Powhatan Middle School: 92.4 pounds
• Flat Rock Elementary: 51.67 pounds
• Powhatan High School: 28.51 pounds
Congratulations to Pocahontas Elementary for winning the Tab Trophy!
Since the contest started, PCPS has collected 2,602 pounds of tabs, donating $1,778.69 to support families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Richmond. Pull tabs are recycled, and the proceeds help fund operating costs for families with sick children.
This contest began as a heartfelt way for a retired PCPS employee to give back after her family experienced the support of the Ronald McDonald House firsthand. Today, it continues as a meaningful, real-world learning experience for students – combining service, math, teamwork, and a little friendly competition.
📌 The next PCPS Pull Tab Contest starts today, January 20, and runs through April 30. Tabs are collected year-round at all schools. Fun fact: it takes about 1,267 tabs to make 1 pound!
Thank you to our students, staff, families, and community for pulling together to make a difference. Let’s see if we can beat our record next round! 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

REMINDER: Powhatan County Public Schools will be closed on Monday, January 19, 2026, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is an official day of service and celebrates the civil rights leader’s life and legacy.

Students in Mrs. Erazo’s Spanish 1 class at Powhatan Middle School put their language skills to work last week by writing poems in Spanish about themselves. As part of an adjectives review, students described their personalities, decorated their poems, and prepared to recite them for the class. 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Mrs. Woodel and Ms. Farrell recently spent two days in the Powhatan Middle School Innovation Lab with their 7th grade U.S. History 2 students participating in an assembly line airplane build. Led by Dr. Spott, the lesson connected students’ study of Henry Ford and the mechanization of the assembly line with the Wright brothers’ success in flight, giving students a hands-on way to explore how individual roles contribute to a larger system.
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Get a glimpse of what awaits at Powhatan High School. From hands-on classes and competitive athletics to clubs, leadership opportunities, and student life, The PHS Experience showcases the many pathways available to students.
Join us Thursday, January 15, to explore academic programs, AP and dual enrollment options, athletics, activities, counseling supports, JROTC, college and military pathways, and more—all in one place.
Evening at a glance:
• 6:00–6:15 p.m. – Welcome and student performances (Auditorium)
• 6:15–6:45 p.m. – Counseling presentation: Pathways to Graduation and Beyond (Auditorium)
• 6:45–8:00 p.m. – Program showcases in Main Street, Commons, and gyms
Whether you are curious about a specific program or want the full picture of life at PHS, this evening is designed to help families see what’s possible. 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Robots. Hoops. Creativity in action. 🤖🏀
Powhatan High School is hosting a regional robotics competition this weekend, and the public is invited to come cheer on student teams from across Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
📍 Where: Powhatan High School, 1800 Judes Ferry Road
📅 When: Saturday, January 10 & Sunday, January 11
⏰ Best time to watch: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
🔥 Playoffs (top-scoring robots): 4–6 p.m.
Students design, build, test, fail, fix, and compete with robots they created themselves—all while playing a brand-new game for this season.
🎟️ Free admission
🍔 Concessions available
🚚 Food trucks on site from 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Most matches take place in the gym, and visitors can also explore the pit area to see teams working up close (safety goggles available for $2 purchase).
Come see engineering, teamwork, and creativity on full display—and meet some of our amazing future innovators.
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3707
Please take notice that members of the Powhatan County School Board may be present at the Strategic Plan Meeting to be held:
DATE: Friday, January 16, 2026
TIME: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Pocahontas Landmark Center
4290 Anderson Hwy, Powhatan, VA
This notice is being provided in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act due to the possibility that a quorum of school board members may be in attendance.
No official business will be conducted, and no votes or decisions will be made by the School Board at this event.

During a visit to the Innovation Lab at Powhatan Middle School last semester, sixth graders in Mr. Hall’s science class took learning to another planet as part of their space unit. 🌌🤖 With guidance from Dr. Spott, students created two-dimensional models of Mars and programmed Finch robots from BirdBrain Technologies to navigate and explore the surface. The hands-on lesson combined science, coding, and problem-solving as students applied what they’ve learned in an engaging and creative way. 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Families are invited to The PHS Experience on Thursday, January 15. This evening is a chance to explore everything Powhatan High School has to offer, from academics and activities to athletics and student life. The night begins with a welcome and student performances from 6:00 to 6:15 p.m., followed by a counseling presentation on Pathways to Graduation and Beyond from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m., both in the auditorium. From 6:45 to 8:00 p.m., families can visit the Main Street, Commons, and gyms to learn more about classes, AP and dual enrollment course opportunities, clubs, athletics, counseling, financial aid, JROTC (including demonstrations), college and military options, testing, and more. We hope to see families there as they take the next step in their PHS journey. 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Students in Mr. Raychouni’s classes at Powhatan Middle School stepped into the role of broadcast meteorologists as part of a Weathercast Production unit earlier this semester. Students wrote scripts, practiced on-camera delivery, and used green screen technology to film their forecasts before editing their final videos using digital production tools. Along the way, they built skills in communication, problem-solving, creativity, and media production – learning how technology and storytelling come together to create a polished broadcast. 🎬🌦️
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Powhatan Middle School eighth graders in Mrs. Phinney’s Physical Science class put Newton’s Laws of Motion to the test earlier this semester through a hands-on station lab. Students rotated through experiments designed to help them describe, predict, and explain how forces affect the motion of objects.
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Sixth graders in Mr. Johnson’s and Mr. Bookbinder’s exploratory music classes at Powhatan Middle School got creative earlier this semester in the Innovation Lab with Dr. Spott. Students engineered models of musical instruments designed to change pitch, then explained how those changes would work if the instruments were real. A great blend of music, engineering, and problem-solving as students explored how sound is created and manipulated. 🎶🔧
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Merry Christmas! Powhatan County Public Schools wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday. We can't wait to see everyone in 2026!
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Powhatan County Public Schools recently partnered with Longwood University for the second round of hearing screenings this fall. Graduate students from Longwood’s speech-language pathology program visited both the high school and middle school to conduct screenings, gaining valuable clinical experience while supporting our students’ well-being.
We’re grateful for strong community partnerships like this one that create meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities and benefit students of all ages. 🧡🖤
#WeArePCPS #TeamPowhatan

Paula Duncan named PCPS Teacher of the Year
POWHATAN, VA – Powhatan County Public Schools is proud to announce that Powhatan High School’s Paula Duncan has been named the Division Teacher of the Year fiscal year (FY) 2027.
Mrs. Duncan serves as the Social Studies Department Chair and teaches AP Human Geography and World History II. She has spent 25 years with Powhatan County Public Schools – all of them at PHS – and has 32 years of experience in education.
The announcement was made on Thursday, December 19, during an impromptu staff meeting at the high school. Principal Mike Pierce said Mrs. Duncan is renowned among her students for her enthusiasm and engagement as well as for the strong relationships she builds with them.
Her colleagues – several of whom are her former students – praised Mrs. Duncan for her impact as both an educator and mentor. One colleague shared that her “ability to bring history to life through her energy, unmatched content knowledge and care for her students is one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher.” Another noted, “She was a tremendous wealth of knowledge and deeply cared about helping me with my students when I was figuring out how to teacher. Without Mrs. Duncan, I wouldn’t be the teacher I am today.”
At the risk of sounding cliché, Mrs. Duncan said she simply loves Powhatan High School – the job, the workplace, and the students and staff.
“I have spent my entire career coming in here and working with phenomenal staff and phenomenal students,” she said. “I think that is what keeps me coming through the door every day and actually loving it.”
Mrs. Duncan said she was amazed and humbled by the honor, both because of the outstanding school-based winners she was nominated with and when she considers the caliber of educators she works alongside at Powhatan High School.
“I walk by some of my colleagues’ doors on a daily basis and see amazing things that they do, and I think to myself, ‘I want to be really good like that. That’s how I want to be,’” she said. “That really is inspiring to me, and that is what really makes me honored, because I am being honored by some of the best of the best.”
Beyond her work in the classroom, Mrs. Duncan has demonstrated leadership at the local, state, and national levels. She is an active member of the Virginia Geographic Alliance and the National Council for Geographic Education and has served in leadership roles with Alpha Delta Kappa. She is also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and volunteers with the Feeding Powhatan Food Pantry.
Mrs. Duncan has also contributed to curriculum and assessment development through her service on multiple Virginia Department of Education committees, including helping to design the World History II Standards of Learning and serving on World History I test design and question development teams.
In addition to the Division Teacher of the Year, Powhatan County Public Schools is proud to recognize the following FY 2027 school-level Teachers of the Year:
• Amanda Henley, Powhatan Elementary School – Serving as Technology Resource Teacher and Innovative Learning Liaison, Mrs. Henley has spent 16 years supporting students and staff by expanding learning opportunities, encouraging creativity, and integrating technology in meaningful ways.
• Cindy Raley, Pocahontas Elementary School – A second grade teacher and team lead, Mrs. Raley has been part of the Pocahontas Elementary community for six years and brings eight years of teaching experience marked by dedication to students, colleagues, and her school.
• Kristen Bentzen, Flat Rock Elementary School – An Innovative Learning Coach supporting both Flat Rock Elementary and Powhatan High School, Ms. Bentzen is in her third year in her current role, year 11 with the division, and has 21 years in education, with a strong focus on innovation and collaboration.
• Mike Morin, Powhatan Middle School – A sixth-grade science teacher, Mr. Morin has dedicated 27 years to PCPS and 28 years to education, making a lasting impact on generations of students through his passion and commitment.
We are deeply grateful for all of our FY 2027 Teacher of the Year nominees, whose commitment to students and passion for education exemplify the very best of Powhatan County Public Schools.