Welcome to Portage Northern High School
Planning for the Future
At the November 9 school board meeting, PPS administration presented a plan to the board to move forward with planning for a possible move back to face-to-face learning sometime during the 2nd semester, if and when it is deemed safe and feasible. If this plan is approved by the board on Monday November 23, we will have to quickly move forward with some big decisions and with some very big changes to be made in preparation for the 2nd semester. Each family would then be asked to again make a critically important decision for their student to (1) continue with virtual instruction for the remainder of the school year OR (2) when and if the experts say it’s safe, move to a face-to-face mode for the remainder of the school year. Here are the next steps:
2. Ask questions. If you have a question that hasn’t been answered or there’s something we haven’t clarified enough, please ask and will post the answers on our FAQ document. We will be updating this document regularly in the coming days as questions come in, so check back often.
Questions can be submitted here and answers can be found here.
3. Parent/Student Information Sessions will be offered in an online town hall format. (Click on the link at the indicated meeting time to join that Zoom session.)
November 30, 6-7pm, link here to join us on Monday evening
December 1 at 6-7pm, link here to join us on Tuesday evening
December 2 at 3-4pm, link here to join us on Wednesday afternoon
4. Following the instructions that will come from PPS via a Skyward email on or around November 24, make your selection by December 2.
You have our assurance that our school will continue to provide high quality instruction for whatever mode of instruction your family chooses, and we are committed to continuously improving how we serve our students regardless of the mode. Again, if you have any questions or concerns, please submit them here.
Office Hours
We are not able to accept any walk-in visitors, however our main office vestibule remains open for pre-arranged pickups and drop-offs Monday-Friday 8am-4pm on normally scheduled school days. This means if there is no school scheduled, for example, the day before Thanksgiving, the vestibule will not be available.
The main office staff will be available ONLY by appointment Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm, on normal scheduled school days during the shutdown.
Chromebook Repairs
If a student’s Chromebook needs repairs, please fill out this form. Our building IT specialist will reply shortly with the process for the next steps. Also, find here some great troubleshooting topics and pointers.
Dual Enrollment
If you are interested in dual enrolling for 2nd semester, please reach out to your counselor for more information and the linked application. The deadline to complete is December 15.
Library ‘PASS’
We are excited to announce the Portage District Library and Portage Public Schools have entered into a partnership to provide Portage District Library memberships for ALL students enrolled at the Portage Public Schools. The membership is called the Library PASS (Portage Access for Student Success), and allows every student enrolled in PPS full access to the public library’s digital and physical materials. TONS of books and resources online! Find login instructions and details here.
Virtual Learning Expectations
As we gain experience in virtual learning, we are seeing clear patterns of what helps students be more successful in this environment. In observing what’s working well and what areas need improvement, we have put together a list of student expectations for virtual learning.
Work Permits
Call our offices at 323-5400 to request a work permit form and it can then be left in our vestibule for you to pick up.
The student will complete the top portion, and the employer will complete the second section. Once both parts are complete, Contact us again at 323-5400 to set up an appointment to have it signed in person. The student needs to be present and should bring a form of ID with them to speed up the process. We can use the school record to verify identity, but it will take a bit longer.
Take the signed original permit back to the employer. We will keep a copy for the student file. Please note: All required fields (including signatures) must be legible, and all needed fields must be complete. (If a signature is not legible, please also print the name.) Incomplete or illegible permits will be delayed.
Note that we cannot accept drop in visits – appointments must be made in order to enter our offices.
Transcript Requests
All transcript requests for college or scholarship applications are processed directly via Parchment. Parchment also offers a great student “Tool Kit” – be sure to take a look. If you have questions, contact [email protected].
Note: Student’s unofficial transcripts can be found in their Skyward Portfolio (tab is on the left side of the student’s Skyward page).
For PNHS graduates, the PPS website has complete instructions to request transcripts.
Skyward Family Access
Here is a direct link to Skyward Family Access.
Students login with their firstname. lastname that matches their PPS email and their network password. If your student does not know or does not remember their password, they can check in at their grade office or contact Mrs. Marsh.
Parents, if you don’t know your password, here are easy instructions to reset:
1. Make sure your email is on file and up to date with your school. This should have been included with your enrollment information.
2. Navigate to skyward.portageps.org to access the log in screen.
3. Click on the “Forgot Password” link, which is just underneath the ‘Sign In’ button.
4. Enter the email you have on file with your school and click “submit”.
5. You will receive a link in your email inbox with a Login ID and instructions to reset your password.
If you have other questions about Skyward, please contact Brenda Marsh by email or call 323-5466.
