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Habitat for Humanity to hold Juneteenth celebration

Contributed Report

Juneteenth Powhatan 2021 will celebrate culture, commerce, and history from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, on the lawn next to the Habitat for Humanity-Powhatan ReStore. The Habitat ReStore also will be open.

Participants include local author and historian Sandra Morris Kemp; some of Powhatan’s Black entrepreneurs and artisans, and vintage cars from the Powhatan Cruizers. There will also be three food vendors: Power Ice, Favour Cookies, and Elegant Cuizines.

Elegant Cuizines will serve some of the traditional red foods and drinks associated with the day: red velvet waffl es, cranberry biscuits, Hibiscus tea (cold and hot), and raspberry limeade. Elegant Cuizines will offer breakfast fare from 9 to 11 a.m. and then switch to lunch fare.

Juneteenth — the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States — became a state- observed holiday this year.

“Juneteenth has been a missing puzzle piece in the telling of America history,” says Habitat board and ReStore committee member Vernell Straughter. “By recognizing it, we provide a fuller story of our nation.”

At the Powhatan event, learn more about the origins of Juneteenth, the history of Pocahontas High School, plans for the new Drexel-Morrell Center, and the legacy of the St. Francis/St. Emma school campus.

Habitat for Humanity International annually recognizes Juneteenth as a day of refl ection, action, and solidarity — a way to mark the nation’s aspiration of liberty and justice for all. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to Habitat for Humanity’s historical and theological imperatives, from its spiritual birthplace at Georgia’s Koinonia farm to its worldwide nonprofi t, ecumenical housing ministry today.

Visit habitatpowhatan.org.

SCHOOLS

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turning to normal,” Jones said. “The mask mandate was lifted for most settings other than public transportation and schools. Until that is lifted, we won’t know what it will look like next year, and the same with social distancing requirements.

“Our hope in Powhatan and our goal would be to not have social distancing and have classrooms look as normal as possible next year. But we need to make sure we can do that safely and legally,” he continued.

Jones said his staff is planning to have a normal school year with students in classrooms without masks and without social distancing guidelines if they are able to do so. PCPS also intends to have “full and robust” extracurricular and co-curricular activities unless it is prohibited from doing so, he added.

As far as transportation, while the school divisions haven’t gotten permission to run routes as normal, it would be best for everyone involved if the school buses are allowed to run at or near capacity, he said.

While restrictions may be lifting, the school divisions’ commitment to cleanliness and maintaining a safe atmosphere for students will not, Jones said. Many of the methods implemented to combat the risk of COVID-19 are just good practices to prevent the spread of germs that school staff appreciated and want to see continued.

PCPS did administer standards of quality (SOL) tests at the end of the latest school year. While those will not count toward accreditation, they will be helpful in determining if students need extra support and assistance, Jones said.

The schools also did end-of-year assessments to see where students stand after a full year of instruction, he added. Staff will be analyzing that data over the coming and making determinations about instructional programs based on students’ needs.

“We are doubling the size of our summer program by offering full day for elementary students, and we are really pleased with the response that we have had in terms of students signing up for summer school,” he added. “I think that will help us start off next year more normal because those students who need it are going to be getting basically twice the amount of instruction they would get in a normal summer.”

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COVID concerns

Data is showing that as more and more people across the country are getting one of the COVID-19 vaccinations, the number of positive COVID-19 cases is decreasing, Jones said. For the benefi t of public safety, PCPS is recommending that people who are eligible be vaccinated, including students who are old enough.

PCPS even held a vaccination clinic on June 2 that had 218 people signed up to receive the Pfi zer vaccine. The primary target age was students ages 12 to 17.

However, the school division also recognizes that it is a family decision and has no plans to mandate that students or staff be vaccinated before they come back to school, Jones said.

“If we did that, it would be something that would be dictated by the state and not by Powhatan Schools. At least that is our current thinking,” he said.

Some school divisions in the state are running pilot programs offering rapid testing when they think someone might have COVID-19 or have come in contact with someone who tested positive, but Powhatan is currently not participating in that program, Jones said.

“That is what is being piloted in areas across the state that we are not currently doing. But it is unknown if that is going to be a recommended practice or even a required practice,” he said.

Virtual learning

Those families who wish to have their students learn virtually will need to demonstrate they have a medical reason, they have demonstrated success in a virtual environment previously, or they have some other extenuating circumstance that necessitates them being in virtual instruction, Jones said.

“This year was voluntary – you could decide to be virtual or not. We did have some students who chose to be virtual who weren’t successful at it, so we want to make sure we provide as much support in a face-to-face environment as we can for students,” he said,

The school division is also taking away the requirement that those who sign up for virtual have to commit to a whole semester, as staff would hope they would transition back more quickly.

“I talked to a few parents who are concerned with students who are under the age of 12 that haven’t had a chance to be vaccinated yet. They may want to start them on virtual until they have access to a vaccine and then they want to move them back to a face-to-face environment after they have been vaccinated,” he said.

With the smaller number of students expected to learn virtually, Jones said the school division is committing not to have any teachers teaching both virtual and face-toface unless they choose to do so.

To maximize PCPS resources, virtual secondary students are more than likely going to receive their instruction from an online private provider that specializes in virtual instruction, such as Virtual Virginia. They would still be considered Powhatan students, he said.

At the elementary level, the division is still looking at numbers. There may be a designated teacher for each grade level teaching students from all three elementary schools, he said.

“Until we get the fi nal numbers, we don’t know what that will look like. If it doesn’t make sense for us to do it in terms of staffi ng, then we will be doing Virtual Virginia at the elementary level,” he said.

Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday. com.

CHURCH DIRECTORY

St.Luke’sEpiscopalChurch SUNDAYS 8:00AMinpersonserviceinthechurch 10:30AMinpersonserviceinthechurch (livestreamed) www.stlukespowhatan.org

AllareWelcome Formoreinformationvisitwww.stlukespowhatan.org Route711atThreeBridgeRoad794-6953

EVERGREEN COMMUNITY CHURCH (PCA) Proclaiming&PracticingtheGospelofJesusChrist OutdoorWorshipServiceat10:00AM Meetingat2895LowerHillRoad ECCPCA.ORG 598-8844

Rev.RobertBarnes

WorshipService10 AM Meetingin thegym

MeetingSundaysin Amelia,Farmville, ForkUnion,Midlothian, PowhatanandOnline. Visitpccwired.netfor servicestimes&locations. 598-1174 pccwired.net

1801 Huguenot Trail SundaySchool 9am SundayWorship 10am WednesdayBibleStudy 6:45pm Bryan M.Holt, Pastor 378-3607 MountCalvary BaptistChurch

2020RedLaneRoad Powhatan,VA23139 Pastor,LarryB.Collins SundaySchool9:45a.m. SundayWorship11:00a.m. WednesdayBibleStudy 7:30p.m. Office804-598-2398

Genito Presbyterian Church

2910GenitoRd.Powhatan,VA 372-9074

WorshipwithusthisSunday Churchservice@9:30AM Sundayschool@10:30AM

TheBridge Church

“BuildingaBridgeofHope” Isaiah58:12

Sundays: MorningWorship10:00AM Wednesday: FamilyLifeNight7:00PM 2480AcademyRoad 598-7159 Pastor:JohnathanM.Whichard

Providence Presbyterian Church

“WorshipingandWitnessing inWesternPowhatan since1825” WorshipService11:00am AllAreWelcome! 598-4970

Located1950RidgeRoad (Rt.627) PowhatanChristian Fellowship

SundayMorningWorship 11:00a.m. SundaySchool10:00a.m. WednesdayNight7:30p.m. 3308PleasantsRoad, 1/4mileoffofRoute711 RussCress,Pastor 598-0733

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Call 804-746-1235 ext.2 fordetails.

St.JohnNeumann CatholicChurch

LivingAsChrist’sDisciplesWithinOur

HeartsandBeyondOurDoors 2253RossonRd.

JustoffRt.13intheVillage 598-4438

Worship: 8:30&10am

www.powhatanumc.us

WeekdayPreschool(ages2-5) 598-6090

CommunityChurch

Dr.CavellW.Phillips,Pastor

WherethereisUnity,thereisalwaysVictory. Achurch“Whereyouarewelcome”

JoinUsForSundayWorship Wednesday:BibleStudy

11:00AM–12:30PM 6:30–7:30pm(60Minute

PowhatanVillageBuilding WarmUpToSunday) 3910OldBuckinghamRoad Powhatan,VA 804-256-4411 ucc4me.org Rev.WalterG.Lewis,Pastor Saturday-5p.m. Sunday-8:30a.m.&11a.m. 598-3754 www.sjnpowhatan.org LocatedbehindFlatRock VillageShoppingCenter