For Thursday, February 8
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
“Mean Girls” is here!
The show opens this Friday, February 9th at 7:30 p.m. Additional shows are February 10th, 16th and 17th at 7:30 p.m. and 2 matinees on February 11th and 18th at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for students and are currently on sale. Here is the link to buy tickets: Mean Girl Tickets.
PC students, want to save some money? There will be a student show on Wednesday, February 14th (Valentine’s Day) @ 7 p.m. Tickets for this performance are $5 for students and cash only at the door.
Thanks for joining us!
Count Day is February 14
Our official spring count day day is Wednesday, February 14. The State of Michigan requires verified attendance for each and every student, in each and every class period. If your student is going to be gone for all or any part of the day, please reach out to our attendance office to excuse their absences. Thanks in advance for your help to ensure proper funding for the important programs and services at PC.
8th Grade Family Night is right around the corner!
Wednesday, February 21 at 6:30 p.m. will be here soon! The event starts in our gymnasium. You as a family will be making so many important decisions between now and the start of school next year – and the conversations start here in earnest.
Here is a link to our program for the evening; take a look to get some background on what we will be discussing on this important evening. It will be great to see you
And we will have our school store, The Corral, open on 8th Grade Parent Night!
Come in and browse, and pick up some Mustang merch, and be the first ones in the class with new PC gear! Be sure to bring cash or check, as the store is not yet able to accept credit cards.
Pre-Festival Band Concert - Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium
The PC Pre-Festival Band Concert is on Wednesday, February 21, at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium. This concert features performances from our Concert and Symphonic Bands prior to their performances at MSBOA District 11 Band Festival at the end of February. We hope to see you there!
And we apologize for the conflict on the 21st
We are blessed to have so many things going on for our kids around here. But all those activities also lead to scheduling conflicts for auditorium and gym use, like when the Pre-Festival Concert and 8th Grade Family Night are on the same night. If you cannot attend 8th Grade Family Night, just know that we will be linking our presentation to an upcoming Mustang Minutes, and that presentation and the program above will give the information you need to make decisions ahead. And as always, if you have a thought or question, reach out anytime to me or your counselor, and we will figure things out like we always do: Together.
Connecting teens with their community
Communiteen Read 2024, with Ruta Sepetys!
On March 19th Ruta will be visiting Portage Central. Students who have read the book (and secured an AD absence from their teacher or Mrs. Brown) will make their way to the auditorium at 9:20 a.m. for the 3rd hour event. Students will return to their 4th hour class. We anticipate around 500 students +/- will be attending this event and apologize for their time out of class. We appreciate your supporting this reading event and work hard to make it rich and impactful. This year the event will take the form of a moderated interview, with our very own Mr. Eric Alburtus, guiding questions written by our students. We are excited to meet this internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author. For more information check out https://www.communiteenreadportage.com/ where you can RSVP for the evening event being held that same night at the Senior Center.
From the counseling office…
Scheduling classes for next school year
The PC counselors have begun scheduling the 2024-25 school year. This process means the counselors are out of their offices and are meeting with students in our classes for several hours each week now through the beginning of March.
Here is how the scheduling process unfolds:
1. The counselors schedule one grade level at a time. We start with a classroom presentation in each of our English classes.
2. The scheduling presentations will be sent home in the Skyward messaging systems, after the English presentations for each grade level. This information can also be found on each grade-level GLIC.
3. The following week, after the grade-level presentations, the counselors work with students one-on-one to assist with course requests.
4. Course request confirmations, for the entire high school, will be sent out in late March for parents to approve.
We would appreciate your patience with this important process. We are looking forward to meeting individually with your children!
Seniors, think about applying for the SophieStrong scholarship
The SophieStrong Memorial Fund at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation is pleased to announce its second ever grant award for student assistance to a 2024 Portage Central High School graduating senior. This financial grant is designed to help a student who is planning on seeking a helping profession such as medicine, nursing, social work, counseling, occupational therapy or physical therapy. Please see Eric Alburtus for any questions.
To apply for the scholarship, a long-form essay is required. Guidelines for the essay follow:
Essay must be typed
Essay should be about 1,000 words. Please do not exceed 1,500 words. Longer essays are not necessarily better essays. It’s the content of the writing that counts, not the word count.
This is a personal essay about you. Please use the first person and don’t be afraid to express yourself. Feel free to be clear and direct about who you are and what you want to accomplish.
This essay should represent your best writing. Spelling, grammar, and style are important.
The application period will be from February 7, 2024 to May 1, 2024
Choose one of the following essay questions:
What are your academic and/or career goals?
Explain the importance of (your major) in today’s society.
If you had the authority to change your community in a positive way, what specific changes would you make?
Discuss a special attribute or accomplishment that sets you apart.
People face challenges every day. Some make decisions that force them beyond their comfort levels. Maybe you have a personal political, social or cultural viewpoint that is not shared by the rest of your school, family or community. Did you find the courage to create a better opportunity for yourself or others? Were you able to find the voice to stand up for something you passionately supported? How did you persevere when the odds were against you?
Do you know families who might want to transfer to or within Portage Public Schools?
Then hit this link for more information.
With a lot to be happy about around here,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…