For Thursday, September 12
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
Turn in your summer community-service sheets tomorrow!
Summer Community Service hours are due by tomorrow, Friday, September 13, at 3 p.m. to be counted towards the Community Service Award for the 2024-2025 school year. Please submit them to Mr. Brown in the Study Lab (Room 1133) or the Main Office.
Seniors and your families, please don’t forget…
Jostens cap and gown orders
Cap and gown orders can still be placed online via the Jostens website. Please contact Josten’s representative Jim Ross at 269-217-6936 if you have any questions. Thanks!
Start your Holiday shopping with us!
PC Activities Craft Show: Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The PCHS Activities Craft Show will be held on this day. Get your Holiday shopping done early!!! And, we still have availability for vendors, so if you are interested, please contact Nikki Smith, Activities Director, nsmith@portageps.org. Or, print and return the application 2024-2025 Craft Show Information and Application Thanks so much!
Parchment accounts for the Class of 2025
Seniors should have received an email, on their school email account, this week that contains important information on how to set up a Parchment account. Parchment accounts are used to send student transcripts to colleges, trade schools and universities. Many employers also use this service for education verifications. If your student has already set up their account, great! If not, please remind them to complete this important step. If you have questions regarding transcripts or Parchment please feel free to contact the PC registrar, Nicole Gutshall, at ngutshall@portageps.org
Tutoring information
We just wanted to make you aware that we have tutoring opportunities at Portage Central. If you are interested in being a tutor, which could be during your seminar or after school, here is the link: Tutors for 2024-2025 form. Students do receive service hours for tutoring. And, if a student needs a tutor, here is the link to request one: 2024-2025 Request Tutor Form. Only someone with a portageps.org email can sign up, so students we encourage you to be the ones to fill it out. Please know that we will do our best to provide tutors for students, but there are many variables involved, so we appreciate your patience with this process. If you have any questions, please contact Nikki Smith, Activities Director, at nsmith@portageps.org.
How to get your student pictures – and retakes coming on Monday, October 14
An email has been sent to you from Strawbridge Studios containing information on how to order school photos – from there, you are also able to view a proof of your student’s photo online. Each child will have their own ordering code designated by Strawbridge Studios. If your student was not able to get their picture taken or would like to have a retake, picture retake & makeup day is October 14th.
Questions or concerns? Please visit the Strawbridge Studios website.
Just a reminder…
Our next Count Day for the district is coming up on Wednesday, October 2
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 funding 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 2. In addition, please encourage students who drive to school to arrive on time that day. Thank you for your help with this!
Human Growth and Development information
The Portage Board of Education has established a health program for our students as provided by Public Act 335. Part of this program offers instruction related to Human Growth and Development (HGD) as designated by Public Act 226. The curriculum is very specific as to the content that is taught. Our teachers only teach the topics listed in the approved curriculum using the materials approved by the HGD Advisory Board.
The State laws governing Health Education require parent notification and the option to review the curriculum. Described below are the means provided by the Portage Public Schools to assist parents and/or legal guardians in exercising their parental options under the legislative guidelines.
If you hit this link, you will find a summary of what will be covered during the HGD Unit. Instruction relating to Reproductive Health is typically delivered towards the end of the academic quarter. For further information regarding the schedule of HGD instruction, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.
Parents and/or legal guardians may make arrangements to review the materials/learning objectives and also request to observe the instruction their child will receive. Parents may use the form below if they wish to have their child excused from any portion of the reproductive health curriculum. If you choose to opt your child out of HGD instruction, the exclusion form should be returned to your child’s building principal within one week of receiving this communication.
We intend to assist parents/guardians in every way possible in understanding their child’s education program. Please feel free to contact me or your child’s classroom teacher for any further information.
Sincerely,
Michael Pascoe
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction
Eligibility Reminder
We will begin running eligibility on the evening of Tuesday, September 17th, so we encourage all student athletes, actors, competitors, and parents/guardians to be checking skyward. Remember that communication is very important, so check with your teachers if you have a question about your grades. Also, remember that game and performance day attendance is taken, so a student must be at school all day on those days unless they have a pre-arranged absence. And on that note…
Code of Conduct Meetings
If you were unable to attend the Code of Conduct meetings we offered at the beginning of the school year, we have two more options for you: Tuesday, September 17th, at 7:10 a.m. in the PCHS Community Room or Thursday, September 19th, at 7:00 p.m. in the PCHS Community Room. Remember parents/guardians must attend with their student, and students need only attend one of these meetings in the entire high school career. If you have any questions about eligibility or the Code of Conduct, please contact the Activities Director, Nikki Smith, nsmith@portageps.org, or the Athletic Director, Jim Schafer, jschafer@portageps.org
Link Crew Meeting on Wednesday, September 18th, during 1st hour
The first official Link Crew meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 18th, during 1st hour. 9th graders should report to their first hour class and will be dismissed via the announcements to the Auditorium. They should leave their cell phones in their locker for first hour, since they are not allowed at the meeting.. Freshmen will receive a reminder from their Link Crew Leader in the next few days of what group they are in. We had an amazing Freshman Orientation and are excited for this new school year. Thanks, Mrs. Smith :)
Know a PPS elementary student?
Bring them to the game next Friday!
Please join us at the PC tailgate from 5 - 6:30 p.m.at the grass field east of the softball field. This will be a walk-in event with the community. Please enjoy food, drinks, and yard games. Then we will meet at the north gate at 6:35 p.m. Elementary students will then enter and walk down the home sidelines to set up the tunnel. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the pre-game National Anthem tunnel and high fives as the Mustangs come to the home sidelines.
And hit this link to get even more information about this fun, community event!
Want some community-service hours?
Central Middle School is looking for PC students who can run game clocks and take stats for their league volleyball games. And we will need more help in the winter too! If you are interested, reach out to CMS Athletic Director Payton Fleming at Pfleming@portageps.org.
It's back with a new best selling flavor this year!
PC Bands Coffee Fundraiser with Celery City Coffee Roasters!
We are excited to bring our coffee fundraiser back again this year where you can purchase your Portage Central Bands Tanzania Peaberry coffee made by Celery City Coffee Roasters (Portage, MI). Coffee is available in medium or light roast, ground or whole bean. Free local pick up or can be shipped. PC Bands will receive a percentage of all sales of the Portage Central Bands Tanzania Peaberry coffee purchased through this link from September 9 - 27. https://bit.ly/pcbandscoffeefundraiser24
Pick up will be at Portage Central HS on Sept. 16 from 4-6 p.m., Sept. 25 from 4-7 p.m., and Sept. 30 from 4-6 p.m. by the band tower in the East student lot.
A visit from Drax
Last Friday I was visiting with some parents I have known for a good and long time. I shared with them that I worry that when I tell our students today that they are awesome, they might think I’m just an old man who is gushing. But that is simply not the case. (Well… it is true that I’m not young anymore.)
Instead, I say they are awesome because they are — and because I have seen us in our darker times. To be clear, in the 30-plus years I have served our community, I have always been blessed to work with incredible kids. Some of you parents reading this are those former kids. And 20-plus years ago when I was new in this role, we were going through a time in our history when – for a host of disconnected and different reasons — many of our kids were struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. So we had to make some changes, and one of those was our random visits from our drug-detection dogs, like Drax.
Drax (named after the Marvel character…and yeah, there are some similarities) is so smart and so good at his work. For example, on Friday Drax smelled a medication in a closed bottle and in a closed car, and when he does this, he just sits and looks forward to playing with the chew-toy treat he will get. And over the past 15 or so years, that’s what he almost always finds: items that are completely appropriate to have at school. That is very different from 20-plus years ago, when we regularly and often found illegal items like drugs and alcohol. Our kids today are safer as a result, and I am so grateful.
To be clear, that does not mean we have fixed all our problems; we are a human place with all the frailties that humans possess. But our kids are thoughtful and respectful, they care about their safety and future and those of their friends in classmates.
And yes, they are truly awesome.
Continue to be glad and grateful for a great start to the year,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…