For Thursday, December 21
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
Our Daily Announcements to our students
Want money for college? Of course!
The FAFSA will be opening up on December 31st. Prior to that, you can create your FSA ID. Go to studentaid.gov and click "Create Account" in the upper right-hand corner. Determine if or which parent is considered a Contributor for the FAFSA. You will need the following information to create the ID: full name and social security number as they appear on social security card (if applicable), date of birth, valid email address and phone number, immediate access to your email account, and your residential address.
Please note: If you have a sibling who attended college before you, your parent or guardian may already have an FSA ID.
How about even more money for college?
Holiday break is a great time to look for scholarships!
Seniors, don't forget to check out all the scholarship information on our scholarship website; hit this link to take a look!
In particular, the PEF (Portage Education Foundation) scholarships on this site are available only to PPS seniors; go to this site for more information or scan the QR code in the Counseling Office. The deadline to apply for the PEF scholarships is Feb. 15.
Another things that might be worth talking about over the Holidays
Vape use among high-school students
The school year is busy. June, July and August are filled with vacations and activities and summer jobs. The Holiday break is when many families spend more time with one another than ever – and so it might be a good time to visit with your kids about vape use.
There is nothing new about tobacco and drug use by high-school students; it certainly was part of my experience 30-plus years ago. A difference today, though, is the strength of nicotine and marijuana in some vape pens is far higher than what was used even a few years ago – making them far more addictive. Plus, vape pens are much harder to notice: the amount of smoke or vapor is far smaller than what would be produced by cigarettes, and the smell is also far less intense. Today someone could be vaping a few feet away from you, and it would be easy not to even notice.
For sure there are school consequences when students use vapes here at school or at school events – and consequences for students involved with activities and athletics when they use these away from school. For more information, hit this link for a recap of eligibility requirements for those involved with activities and athletics, and use this link to read the entire student code of conduct.
But far more importantly, there can be life-long consequences for their use. I have lost two grandparents due to lung cancer, and I have a dad who struggles to breathe because of the impact of smoking. That made more sense in a time when we did not recognize how harmful smoking was; today we very much understand.
Below are some resources that might be helpful for you, as you think about talking with your own kids about vaping. The Kalamazoo County Task Force has supported communities, schools and families for many years on e-cigarette and vaping use. The second is a fact sheet on vaping and its effects, and the third is a conversation guide to help walk parents through a discussion with their children on the risks of vaping.
Tips for talking with your student
And here are some additional resources on the GLIC. Thanks – a great deal – for considering this. No gift would be better than keeping all our kids healthier and safer in the new year.
Looking ahead…
The PTO needs your help!
The awesome PTO has done so much to help kids and colleagues for decades, and they would so appreciate your help. The PTO would like to kick off 2024 with a special winter breakfast. PTO is supplying the hot food items. Can you help us treat our amazing staff by signing up to bring an item(s)? Whether it's a caffeine kick or a box of Kleenex, it will be appreciated this time of year.
The breakfast will be held WEDNESDAY, January 10th. Items need to be dropped off the morning of by 7:30 AM, or items can be brought in the day before, Tuesday the 9th. Make sure to label the item "PTO BREAKFAST" and deliver to the Main Office.
Use this link to sign up to help:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C48ACA92AA2FF2-46513302-newyear?useFullSite=true#/
Last call!
Buy a brick for McCamley-Knight or Mustang Field, or a tile for the new pool! Great Holiday Gifts!
So many families and community members purchased bricks at the new McCamley-Knight and Mustang Fields and tiles at the new pool — to leave their mark in these spaces where so many great kids, parents, families, and community members celebrated and where so many more will celebrate decades into the future.
This sale continues until Graduation Day this spring. So if you are considering a brick at the new McCamley-Knight or Mustang Field, click here. If you would like a tile at the new pool, click here.
Thank you — again and again — for all that you have done!
Thanks to all the PC families who donated gas cards for community students and families
We are blessed to be a part of a community who gives – and this Holiday season is no exception. We are fortunate to work with kids and colleagues, families and local organizations to provide food and other needs. But gas cards really became a more intense need during Covid and has continued ever since. We are so thankful for the many families who dropped off gas cards, so that we could give them to families and students who need a little help getting to work each day.
And if you have not given and have not had a chance yet, it is never too late.
And thank you. So, so much.
I was sharing with a retired firefighter friend of mine that this year we have fully felt like Us, since all that we have experienced the past several years. Our student leaders – like our Link Crew mentors of freshmen, our Student Council, and heads and captains of clubs and teams – have had a hugely positive impact on building and growing the culture and values of our place. I simply have no idea where we would be without those positive and thoughtful leaders.
And, we recognize that we still have work to do. Members of our freshmen class in particular have had to make a big jump to get used to our imperfect and rigorous place. And, they are making the adjustments, both in their decision making and their academic growth; they are growing in healthy and positive ways. This progress would not be made without you: the families of all our students, helping and supporting kids and colleagues so we all contribute to a healthy community. I simply cannot say thank you enough.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Deeply grateful to be a member of our community, for a good and long time now,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…