POWES Family Press

Good Evening Powhatan Elementary Families,

We had a GREAT 1st week of school! As we head into week 2 your student will be moving into their academics as well as continuing to learn new routines and procedures. I'm hoping your child's teacher(s) have reached out to you. If not, then be on the lookout for a communication from them this week. We can't watch your kiddo(s) 📈LEVEL UP🥇this year with academics and overall performance in school!

Below is what you will find in this Sunday's message regarding the 26-27 school year. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

1. POWES Updates
2. POWES Expectations & POWES PRIDE
3. Transportation Information
4. Important Dates and Resources
5. Drills
6. Meet Some of Our NEW Teachers
7. PTO Info
8. Dr. Gill's Message
9. We have Powhatan PRIDE!
10. Helpful Links ALL year long for Parents
11. Previous POWES Family Press Newsletters
12. PCPS Calendar! Check it out...ALL of the date your kiddo is OUT of school! THIS IS THE TIME TO PLAN appointments & trips!

Remember family trips/vacations MUST be approved by the principal ahead of time. Please email Dr. Jason Gill at jason.gill@powhatan.k12.va.us in order to get PRIOR approval. Last minute communications CAN result in an unexcused absence. Even though a vacation/trip may be approved, does not mean the absence goes away. An absence from school is an absence from school. We need all students in school each and every day, but we know things come up. Please keep in mind if your child misses 10% of the school year at any time you will receive a call, a letter or both. We just want to make sure your child(ren) is not missing valuable instructional time.

If your child is interested in joining the Cub Scouts please view the 2026 Cub Scouts flyer. An info session will take place on Sept. 9th during school with a family info session on Sept. 10th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the POWES cafeteria.

• If you have any changes in your child's NORMAL mode of transportation throughout the school year please email powespickup@powhatan.k12.va.us and your child’s teacher. Please be patient as arrival and dismissal will take a little longer the first few days.

📜 Over the next couple of weeks your child will either learn or review what it means to..."Have Powhatan PRIDE"! They will review our school's expectations of: Being Respectful, Being Responsible, Being Safe, and Being Kind. Please use these same guidelines at home to bridge the gap between home and school. They will recite our school pledge each morning..."I am Respectful, Responsible, Safe, & Kind...I have Powhatan PRIDE"! 🧡

This past week your child's teacher spent quite a bit of time going over our POWES expectations for the:

• Classroom
• Hallways
• Bus
• Cafeteria
• Restrooms (inside classroom & hallway)

Please ask your child about our POWES Expectations and work with us regarding expectations of how we should leave the classroom, cafeteria, and restrooms when we leave. We have already had some issues in the hallway restrooms (both girls and boys). We addressed them, but we need your support at home to reinforce our expectations.

Please continue to use the My Ride K-12 app. We know there were a few "hiccups" this past week, but please know we are working hard on making your child's bus ride experience a pleasant one.

Please have your student at the bus stop at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled bus stop time. Being ready and waiting before the scheduled arrival time helps our buses remain on schedule and ensures students do not miss their bus.

Important Safety Reminder for Families of Young Children

For the safety of our youngest riders, PCPS requests that parents, guardians, or their designee accompany young children to and from the bus stop. Please plan to arrive at the bus stop with your child at least 10 minutes before the scheduled pickup time and be present to meet your child when the bus arrives in the afternoon.

We encourage all families to review bus stop safety expectations with their children, including staying a safe distance from the roadway, being aware of other vehicles on the road, waiting for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching, and following the directions of the bus driver. For more tips and additional information, see the PCPS Transportation webpage.

Thank you for helping us start the school year safely and successfully. We appreciate your partnership and the trust you place in PCPS Transportation each day.

We wish all of our students and families a safe, successful, and wonderful school year!

Sincerely,

PCPS Transportation

View My Ride K-12 Parent User Guide (English).pdf

View Student Transportation My Ride K-12 Parent User Guide Spanish Flyer (1).pdf

PCPS Student Services:

Join the PCPS Student Services Department for their monthly Powhatan Strong Coffee Chat series on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 9 AM. They will discuss PCPS attendance guidelines and how your family and our school support your student toward great attendance. To join, click the link at https://bit.ly/PowhatanStrong26-27

Reminder about the next couple of weeks...there is NO school for students & staff on Friday, Sept. 4th and Monday, Sept. 7th!

• September 4th & 7th: School Holidays

• September 17th: Back-to-School Night

📝School Supply Lists:

View Supply Lists for PK (3’s & 4’s)
View Supply Lists for Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd

View Supply Lists for 3rd, 4th, & 5th

Additional Information

• View Community Color Fun Run flyer

• 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.

• ⏰ REMINDER: Elementary start time: Drop off begins at 8:25 am in the front loop of the school. Bus riders will also get off the bus at this time, too.

  
  

  Our school day starts at 8:40 am…so your child needs to be in class at that time or they are tardy. Dismissal begins at 3:30 pm.

  
  

  ***If a need arises for some reason and you need to pick your child up early from school you will NEED to bring your photo ID inside the building in order to do so...EVEN if we know you!

• 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.

• Are you or someone you know interested in becoming a substitute teacher for PCPS? Apply here if you are interested! Please spread the word so we can increase our substitute pool.

This week we will have a LOCKDOWN drill. Our Pre-K & K students will NOT participate in this drill until the 2nd half of the school year.

As the year moves forward your child will practice different types of emergency drills. Some of which you will be notified at least 24 hours prior. Others will be "unannounced", but your child's teacher will go over all of these drill expectations this week and next. Please talk with your child about them at home. Pre-K & K will NOT participate in the "Lockdown Drill" this semester.

Types of Drills:

• Fire
• Tornado
• Earthquake
• Lockdown

📢 CALLING ALL POWES FAMILIES...WE WANT & NEED YOU 🫵!

Please join the PTO as we would love to have 100% of our staff and families join us as we plan and organize TONS of events for our school! We would LOVE to see ALL of you at our monthly meetings, which take place the 1st Thursday of each month at 6:30pm. We even have a VIRTUAL Zoom option for you join! Stay tuned for the link as we are having out 1st meeting on Thursday, Sept. 3rd! We HOPE to see you there!!

Keep scrolling to see our two order forms:

1. POWES Spirit Wear
2. POWES Class Shirt

If you are interested in joining or want to know more about what we do please contact us at powhatanespto@gmail.com. We are excited to partner with you to make this a successful and memorable school year for our students and staff.

POWES PTO

Dear POWES Families,

🎉 A few highlights from around our school:

1. I'm sure your kiddos were excited as they came home to share all about their day; however, I"m almost 100% certain that they were ALL exhausted after this 1st week! Here's to starting Week 2 @ POWES!

2. Please continue to join us by sending your kiddos to school in the "Color of the Day" as we join our kindergarten kiddos and teachers. ALL grades and staff will participate AND so can you...PARENTS!!

3. If any of you are traveling for the 4 day weekend, please be safe and most importantly HAVE FUN!!

4. Our teachers will begin diving into the curriculum starting this week. Please make sure your student is getting the proper amount of rest as we will be CHALLENGING ALL of our students in order to 📈LEVEL UP🥇this year!

5. Please keep scrolling down to see a section that contains the previous POWES Family Press newsletters.

We are so excited to kick-off the 26-27 school year with all of you! Mrs. Gobble, assistant principal, and myself are so glad that each of you will be joining us as we 📈LEVEL UP🥇 this school year. Again, I am HONORED to be your principal and I cannot wait to see all of you VERY soon!

See you soon,

Dr. Jason Gill

Your PROUD Principal

View Parent Guide with ALL Things POWES!

View Breakfast & Lunch Menus

View MySchoolBucks for lunch accounts

View SchoolCashOnline for field trip and other payment

View the 2026 - 2027 division calendar

View the PCPS website

View the PCPS Instructional website