For Thursday, September 26
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
Homecoming is next Friday, October 4! Please join us!
The traditional Homecoming parade starts at South Westnedge Park at 5:45 p.m., and community members and families line Westnedge Avenue all the way to McCamley-Knight Field before joining us for the game. Plus, join us for dinner – with food trucks owned by PC friends:
Plus the graduating class of 1999 will be holding their 25th-year reunion in Centennial Park.
The owners of the food trucks above will be donating some of their profits for us to purchase our new counseling dog – Toby! As you might remember, Phoebe is heading to retirement, and last spring students and colleagues raised over $5000 toward buying our new counseling dog. We just learned that our newest member of PC is Toby!
But we still have $3000 more to raise to pay for Toby in full. (Yes, as you can imagine, the training is very involved and absolutely necessary.) If you think you might be able to help, even with a small donation, we would be so thankful. Just hit this link – and thank you in advance so much!
Homecoming Week Dress-Up Days and dance information
Homecoming is next week, so students get ready to dress up and support your class.
Monday: USA Day
Tuesday: College Day
Wednesday: MEME Day
Thursday: Country or Country Club Day
Friday: Spirit Day
Come out and watch the parade and support the Mustangs!!! And, Saturday, October 5, from 8 - 11 pm, come join us in the Commons for our semi-formal Homecoming Dance. The theme is Greek Mythology in honor of our upcoming musical, Hadestown. The cost is $10 a person and make sure you have your student ID. And, if you’re bringing a guest, make sure to see Mrs. Darrah at the Welcome Center desk as soon as possible. We can’t wait to see everyone there!
Yearbook Orders – Lowest Price of the Year!
Right now is the best time to order your yearbook for $70 -- the lowest price available! The price increases to $80 on October 5, 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 Saara Ashfee at PCYearbook@portageps.org.
Get the date on your calendar…
Picture retake day is coming!
Picture retake day will take place on the morning of Monday, October 14th. If your student would like their photo retaken, or taken for the first time, then please let them know to expect that opportunity on this day. PA announcements will call students down by grade level and last name. If your student has an off-campus class or is absent during part of this morning, please let them know to report to the auditorium lobby before leaving or as soon as they arrive. A proof of your student's photo will be shared with you via email within the following weeks. You should have received the proof for your student's first photo already. If you haven't, or if you have other questions, contact Strawbridge at 1-866-624-6229 or customerservice@strawbridge.net.
PCMI 2024 - Thank you for your support!
On Saturday, Portage Central Bands hosted the 3rd Annual Portage Central Marching Invitational (PCMI) at McCamley-Knight Field.
A total of 18 bands performed, concluding with a home exhibition show by the PCMB. By the end of the night, the bleachers were PACKED full of supporters, parents, community members, and students who came out to cheer on the performing groups. We could not be more proud of our Portage Community and local area bands for coming out to support this amazing event.
Special thanks to our 150+ PC Band parents, alumni, and supporters who volunteered to make this huge event possible! We could not have done it without you!! We are also grateful for our PC Admin team for continuing to support this event and look forward to planning next year's PCMI 2025!
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. 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.
Come see a great movie to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
Hosted at the Northern High Auditorium Oct 1st, we as a district are really hoping for a great turn out; all students and staff are invited. First Voice Generation is a documentary film highlighting the racial, educational, and financial barriers of higher education for first generation college students. Although, pursuing higher education is at an all-time high, finishing college and representation is still a challenge. The screening is a programming opportunity to help increase retention rates while increasing belonging and community on campus with your program, while serving as an education tool for educators and administration. Institutions have screened the film for Hispanic Heritage Month and First Gen Week. Here is a recent news story about the film and a First Voice Generation Trailer.
Last 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!
A host of reminders about the upcoming PSAT…
October PSAT/NMSQT testing information - Late start on Wednesday, October 9
On October 9th, 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 |
Digital Readiness Check and Senior Meeting - Wednesday, October 2
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.
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 9.
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.org/
Grateful for such a great start to the year,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…