Dates to Note
Wednesday, Sept. 2nd - Grades and attendance information goes live in PowerSchool for students/families to view
Friday, Sept. 4th and Monday, Sept. 7th - No School - Student/Teacher Holiday and Labor Day
Thursday, September 10th and Monday, September 14th - PTA Sponsored 6th Grade Hawk Hangout (sign-up coming soon)
Saturday, September 12th - HCPS Specialty Center Information Session at Highland Springs High School (11 AM - 2 PM)
Wednesday, September 16th (6-8 PM) - Pocahontas Back-to-School Night
Monday, September 21st - Student/Teacher Holiday for Yom Kippur
Thursday, September 24th - HCPS Specialty Center Information Session at Tucker High School (6-8:30 PM)
Meet our Admin Team
Our administrative team is ready to support you and your student as you move throughout the school year. Reach out with questions or concerns - we are happy to help!
Dr. Leah Wiedenhoft, Principal - ldwiedenhoft@henrico.k12.va.us
Mr. Brad Alston, Associate Principal - 7th-grade administrator - wbalston@henrico.k12.va.us
Ms. Jackie Hunt, Assistant Principal - 8th-grade administrator - jbhunt@henrico.k12.va.us
Dr. Amanda Flanagan, Assistant Principal - 6th-grade administrator - agflanagan@henrico.k12.va.us
This year, we have four Administrative Aides who are assisting with a wide variety of tasks. Our Admin Aides are:
Ms. Elizabeth Bearer
Mr. Chris Mazella
Mrs. Megan Sherwood
Ms. Briana Smith
Main Office Reminders
No Outside Food Deliveries - Students cannot have outside food (ex: McDonalds, ChickFilA, etc) delivered during the school day. Please do not bring take-out items to the main office for students.
Walker/Bike Rider Permission Form - If your student has permission to walk or bike to/from school, we need you to complete this form. For safety precautions, the main office keeps the information on file to ensure we have documented permission for students to walk or ride their bike to/from school.
Early dismissals for students will end at 2:50 PM. If your student needs to leave school early, please arrive at the main office to sign them out before 2:50 PM.
If you need to drop off an item for a student, please leave the item with our SSOs at the front of the building.
Online Fees and Forms
Henrico County will continue to utilize online systems to complete school division forms, including the Code of Conduct and Laptop/Charger Agreement. Forms are available now in PowerSchool. Please take a moment to log into the Parent Portal to complete the required forms.
The form completion site, eCollect Forms, is free of charge and can be accessed using Parent Portal within Powerschool. Directions for accessing PowerSchool Parent Portal and/or creating an account are linked here.
Looking to pay school fees? Head to our Online School Payment (OSP) website. When you log in, you can access both required fees (based on a student's schedule) and optional fees (yearbook, etc).
If you don't have an account, the PowerSchool Information sight has a tutorial and directions.
Families can access their student's lunch account through MySchoolBucks. If you need assistance with your account, please visit our HCPS School Nutrition Website.
Attendance Reminders
Attending school on a daily basis is a critical piece of academic success. Missing even one day of learning can cause a setback. Please take a minute to review the HCPS attendance policy and these family resources from Attendance Works.
If your student needs to stay home for the day, please report the absence to the school by calling 804-364-0830.
Students who are car riders are reminded to arrive to school with enough time to enter the building and report to Advisory before the 8:35 AM bell. Students arriving after 8:35 AM are considered tardy and will need to report to the main office to sign-in and receive a pass to class.
Hawk Pride T-Shirts
We encourage everyone to purchase a grade-level Hawk Pride Shirt for your student. Details are in the Online School Payment System.
If you would like your student to receive a shirt in the first round of orders, please place the order by Thursday, September 3rd. Thank you for your support!
Upcoming Feedback Opportunity: 2026-27 Staggered Start Implementation
HCPS will soon be seeking input on the staggered start model used for the beginning of the 2026-27 school year.
A survey will be sent out the week of September 7 to gather feedback from students in grades 6 and 9, families, and staff to help us learn what went well and where we can improve as we plan for future years. Students in grades 6 and 9 will have the chance to share their thoughts through the survey during advisory classes. If you would prefer for your child not to participate, please contact your school directly.
Thank you for helping us improve! We look forward to hearing your feedback.
8th graders: HCPS Specialty Centers
Henrico County Public Schools offers specialty centers at each high school. These centers give students the chance to focus their learning around specific subjects, skills or career goals.
In addition to the strong academic programs already available at every HCPS school, specialty centers provide advanced courses and unique opportunities. By joining a center, students can dive into an area their passionate about while also challenging themselves with engaging, hands-on learning experiences.
As students think about their future, an HCPS specialty center can help them strengthen their skills, discover new interests, and prepare for the opportunities ahead.
Click here to explore the HCPS Specialty Center website.
Save the Dates: HCPS Specialty Center Information Sessions
8th grade students and families are encouraged to attend one of the two HCPS Information Sessions for the high school Specialty Centers. Specialty center information sessions provide a brief overview of the application process and the opportunity to hear from representatives of specialty centers of interest to your student. The information sessions are identical.
The first session will be Saturday, September 12, 2026, at Highland Springs High School from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM.
The second will be on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at J.R. Tucker High School from 6:00 - 8:30 PM.
Student Behavior Expectations
Please review the 2026-27 Student Code of Conduct. This document covers essential policies that all students are expected to follow, including (among others):
Cell phone & smart watch policy
Student ID cards
Dress code
Acceptable Use Agreement (use of technology)
These items and other expectations around respectful treatment of students and staff, hallway behaviors, lunchroom and Hawk Huddle reminders, etc. will be reviewed with each grade level by their administrator at a behavior expectations assembly by the end of this week.
Arrival Information
Car Riders Arrival
The building opens to students 8:05 AM. Students must wait in the car until 8:05.
Please follow the directions of staff who are directing traffic in the lot.
Vehicles must pull as far forward (to the stop sign) in the line before having your student exit. Please do not stop in front of the building if you can continue pulling forward to the stop sign.
Parents/guardians, please do not walk your student to the front door unless you need to complete a task in the building.
No cars should enter the front loop outside the main office unless there is a medical need.
Bus Riders Arrival
Bus riders should be at their assigned stops approximately 10 minutes before the assigned pick-up time.
When arriving to Pocahontas, buses will deboard from the bus loop in the back of the building.
Dismissal Information
Car Riders/Walkers
We will begin releasing students around 3:15 PM. All car riders and walkers exit the building through the main doors at the front of the building.
If you are picking your student up, you should park in a parking spot in our main lot and wait for them to walk to you. Please do not walk to the doors of the building.
Once your student arrives at your car, follow the circle around the lot to exit.
Please do NOT park and wait for your student anywhere other than a lined parking space.
No cars should enter the loop outside the main office.
Patience and caution are critical to keeping our lot safe and secure.
Bus Riders
Please review your student's bus number and bus stop location with your student before the first day of school.
The time for dismissing bus riders depends on when buses arrive at the building.
Once most buses have arrived, students will be released via an announcement. Additionally, teachers will display a PM bus board that indicates the order the buses are lined up.
Bus riders must move swiftly to their assigned buses. Please review your student's bus information with them so they know exactly which bus to ride.
Please work with your student so they have memorized their bus number.
We anticipate delayed buses for the first few days of school. Please be patient as our buses will not arrive until after they have completed elementary school runs.
Weapon Scanners
The safety of our students and staff remains everyone's highest priority. We are utilizing our weapon scanners on a daily basis. Students are doing a great job of moving swiftly through the scanners. Please remind student to remove laptops, binders, and spiral notebooks from their backpacks as these set-off the scanners.
Any guest coming into the building will also need to go through the scanners. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our students, employees, and school community safe.
Volunteering Form
We LOVE when parents/guardians volunteer at Pocahontas. In order for any person to volunteer, they must complete the Volunteer Link form.
If you have students in other Henrico schools, the form only needs to be completed once but you must check off each school you wish to volunteer/chaperone for.
Securly Home
As we continue the discussion of Digital Wellness, Henrico County Public Schools is using Securly to keep students safe on their school-issued devices. As part of our commitment to your child’s safety, we are giving all HCPS parents access to the free Securly Home app.
Securly Home is a family engagement app that extends digital safety beyond the school day by giving families greater visibility into and control over their child’s online activity on their school-issued device.
Looking for more information? Check out the resources below! Thank you in advance for your partnership!
Securly Home in HCPS: Overview and Access Directions - A one-page overview of Securly Home and ways for parents to access the Securly Home parent portal.
Securly Home Directions for Parents - Directions to sign in to the Securly Home app
Parent Welcome Letter - PDF - A sample welcome email that parents receive from Securly. Please note: Parents do not need the welcome email to access Securly Home.
Esports Tryouts
Is your student interested in Esports as a way to compete, connect with other students, and demonstrate leadership? If so, they should plan to tryout during the times below! Informaiton will be shared via morning announcements and Schoology.
Monday, August 31 3:30-4:45 = Smash Brothers competitive Pocahontas Team Tryouts (location: café)
Wednesday, September 2nd = Mario Kart competitive Pocahontas Team Tryouts (location: library)
Pocahontas PTA
Our Hawk Shop is open! On our PTA website we have our VINTAGE Spirit Wear available at a discount! These are items in school and can be distributed to your student’s advisory teacher and you can purchase them HERE! We are excited to share we are moving to an online platform for our Spirit Wear so our families can get exactly what they need! Check out the pajama pants and other exciting items HERE!
Our PTA needs your support! More members means a stronger voice, and together we can make a really loud HAWK SQUAWK! That sounded better in my head, but you get the idea! Click HERE to become a member of the PTA! Click HERE to fill out our volunteer opportunity survey! Available board positions and descriptions are HERE! We look forward to hearing from you!
Now it’s time to talk about donations! Our Hawk Fund supports our Faculty and Staff with Hawkspitality Breakfasts, Snacks, Lunches, and direct classroom and club support, our 6th Grade Hawk Hang-out, Silent Disco for Seventh, and the 8th Grade Party! We can’t do our best work without your support! Click HERE to donate to our HAWK FUND! A $50 donation = 1 car magnet, $75 donation = 2 car magnets, a $100+ donation = 2 car magnets plus a ticket for our Hawk Raffle where you can win front row seats or premium parking for a Band, Chorus, or Theater performance! Raffle drawing will occur after Theater Auditions for Frozen, Jr
Birthday (and half Birthday) Shout outs are open! Celebrate your Hawk with a Shout-Out on the Pocahontas Entrance Sign! Sign-ups are open HERE through September 27th at Midnight!
Mark Your Calendars Hawk Families! Don’t worry, details will be coming!
6th Grade Families: Our Hawk Hangouts are scheduled directly after school until 5pm on both Thursday, September 10th and Monday September 14th
7th Grade Families: Our Silent Disco for Seventh is scheduled directly after school until 5pm on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2027!
8th Grade Families: Our 8th Grade Party is scheduled for Friday, May 14th, 2027!
Best of luck to our Families and Students for a smooth start to the new school year! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, thoughts, ideas!
Gracie Herbert
By joining the Pocahontas PTA, you become part of our community focused on encouraging student achievement and enriching the learning environment. We foster a partnership between families and the school, so that every Hawk benefits.
Become a member to say informed about school events, make connections to other families and our staff, and have your voice matter.
Membership Cost -
$8.50 (1 adult)
$15.50 (Family Membership - 2 adults)
Optional Hawk Fund Contirbution
Join online at Pocahontas.memberhub.com