For Thursday, September 28
Hit the GLIC!
The Grade-Level Information Center has information that is relevant for each class.
An index and archive for this year’s weekly Mustang Minutes
Yearbook Orders – Lowest Price of the Year!
Right now is the best time to order your yearbook for $65 -- the lowest price available! The price increases to $75 on October 4, so don't delay, and order your copy today! Go to
www.yearbookordercenter.com and use school code 3604 to place your order. Got questions?
Reach out to Roundup Business Manager Anna Underwood at PCYearbook@portageps.org.
This Friday is a half day
And here is the schedule for the day. Have a great afternoon!
First Hour 7:40 - 8:03
Second Hour 8:08 - 8:31
Third Hour 8:36 - 9:00
Fourth Hour 9:05 - 9:31
Fifth Hour 9:36 - 9:59
Sixth Hour 10:04 - 10:27
Seventh Hour 10:32 - 10:55
Please support the Family Drive at PC v PN football game October 6th!
The Ginsburg Society, a student organization that provides free period products for students, will be partnering with the Portage Community Center to host a Family Drive Friday, October 6th at the Portage Central v.s. Portage Northern Football Game at McCamley-Knight Field. The following donations would be so appreciated:
● Tampons and pads,
● Diapers (preferably sizes 5 and up)
● Detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, and baby wipes
Monetary donations will also be appreciated. All period products donated will be used in the PC bathrooms, and all other products will be donated to the Portage Community Center.
Working with Gryphon Place to support our students
For decades, Gryphon Place has served our community, providing mental health services, youth suicide prevention programming, and professional development to organizations. Gryphon Place also specializes in helping individuals navigate through conflict using restorative practices. In the past several years we have seen a greater need to support our students as they navigate interpersonal conflict. And, in recent years, bullying and harassment have been reported to us than in years past.
On the one hand, we believe this means that our students are confident in reporting, and, on the
other, it means that our students need our support even more. We are excited to partner with
Gryphon Place restorative practices facilitators here at Portage Central High School to address this need, helping students peacefully resolve conflicts and repair harms to our school community. We need your help, too, in talking to your children about what kindness, civility, integrity, and good citizenship look like. We all want our school community to be a safe and welcoming place to learn and be – together.
Free senior portrait sessions
Senior year is an overwhelming time: college applications, letters of recommendation, and more demand our attention every day. Senior Krissy Elias hopes to lessen some of that stress by offering free senior portrait sessions to some seniors here at Portage Central. If you think The Portrait Project is a good fit for you, fill out this Google Form to request her services.
Just a reminder…
Count Day for the district is coming up on Wednesday, October 4
This day is important because it determines our school's funding. We want every student to be
counted! Having all of our students here on that day ensures that PC receives the needed state so that we all can do our important work, together. With that in mind, we ask that you please avoid scheduling any non-critical, out-of-school appointments for your student on Wednesday, October 4. In addition, please encourage students who drive to school to arrive on time that day. Thank you for your help with this!
A host of reminders about the upcoming PSAT…
October PSAT/NMSQT testing information - Late start on Wednesday, October 11
On October 11th, PC will be administering the PSAT, which is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (thus the really long abbreviation). Juniors will test in the morning and other students will have a late start that day. Regular classes will start at 11:35 that day and run through all classes with shortened periods. Bus transportation times will be normal, so 9th, 10th, and 12th graders who rely on district transportation will be able to use the area in the Commons as a study hall for the morning. Other students may arrive between 11:00 and 11:30. Lunch will be served at 11:00 for all students here at that time.
Here is the schedule for the day:
Testing - 7:40 to 11:00
Lunch - 11:00 to 11:30
- 1st hour 11:35 AM 11:58 AM 0:23
- 2nd hour 12:03 PM 12:25 PM 0:22
- 3rd hour 12:30 PM 12:52 PM 0:22
- 4th hour 12:57 PM 1:19 PM 0:22
- 5th hour 1:24 PM 1:46 PM 0:22
- 6th hour 1:51 PM 2:13 PM 0:22
- 7th hour 2:18 PM 2:40 PM 0:22
Juniors who need to borrow a calculator for the PSAT
There is an online calculator in the new PSAT/SAT however our Math teachers believe that our
students will be more comfortable using the same calculators that they use in class, so we are going to continue to offer loaners to Juniors who need them. Math teachers already have the link to sign up, but in case you need it, here it is: linked form. Forms need to be submitted by 3pm on October 6th. Calculators will be delivered to testing rooms on test day. Thanks!
Digital Readiness Check and Senior Meeting - Wednesday, October 4
This year the PSAT/NMSQT is all digital. To get students registered and to make sure that their
Chromebook and all of the tech is working, we are going to have them go to their testing rooms and log in about a week ahead of time. Hopefully this will provide them with some familiarity with the program ahead of time and will give us time to track down any issues before test day. We are grateful for our friends over in the Technology Department, who recently installed additional Wireless Access Points to increase our capacity for this online assessment.
That day, we will use the modified class schedule below, with shortened hours 1-4. Then
during this Digital Readiness Check (DRC), juniors will meet with their test proctors – the same
ones they will work with at the PSAT on October 11.
Seniors will meet with Mr. Alburtus in the Auditorium for a Senior Meeting. At this
meeting, Seniors will get reminders about Graduation and other Senior information. Freshmen and Sophomores will have an extra Seminar Period that day during this period.
- 1st hour 7:40 AM 8:20 AM 0:40
- 2nd hour 8:25 AM 9:05 AM 0:40
- 3rd hour 9:10 AM 9:50 AM 0:40
- 4th hour 9:55 AM 10:35 AM 0:40
- DRC 10:40 AM 11:17 AM 0:37
College Board Student Search and BigFuture Services
College Board has traditionally offered a service called Student Search Service where they shared information about students with outside organizations. There are advantages to students from that service and also significant privacy concerns so they have created a new system which addresses many of those issues. The new service is called BigFuture. Through BigFuture students can still opt in to the traditional Student Search Service. We will be directing students not to opt in to these services at school. We encourage you as a family to look into these services and make a decision about whether your student should sign up - which connects how well they did on their PSAT and SAT to other information that they input into the College Board system. More information and directions on how to opt in through your student’s College Board account can be found here https://bigfuture.collegeboard...
Grateful for such a great start to the year,
Eric Alburtus
ealburtus@portageps.org
And if you want even more PC news…