For Thursday, November 7
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
Please be aware!
The PTO Fall Formal, "Bright Lights, Neon Nights!" has been canceled for this Saturday, November 9th
More information will be coming out in future issues of Mustang Minutes as we figure out when it can be rescheduled. Thanks!
Seniors and your families!
And important date change for the Mustang RideOut
More than 20 years ago a group of seniors started the Mustang RideOut, a celebration of so much of what seniors accomplish during their four years here.
We come up with the date each May, and then some things changed a bit this summer with the overall school calendar, so we have to make an adjustment. Here are all the nuts and bolts:
The new date is Thursday, May 29, 2024
Please put that into your calendars right now – and thanks!
This mandatory event for seniors begins at 9:30 a.m.
Seniors arrive at Centennial Park at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast and to pick up their GPA honor cords if they have earned one
Families may join us at McCamley-Knight Field starting at 9 a.m.
Seniors will process from Centennial Park to McCamley-Knight Field at 9:15 a.m.
Thanks for your patience with this change – and we will be excited to see you there!
Playoff football here this Friday!
Admission to the event will be accepted through GoFan Pre-Purchase Online Ticketing or GoFan Box Office Credit Card sales at the gate. There are no cash sales for MHSAA play-off football games. The price of admission is $7 for all spectators. And The GoFan Online Purchasing Link is https://gofan.co/event/1183281?schoolId=MI10167
Gates for spectators open at 5:30 pm. GoFan Online Ticketing Redemption should only be done at the admission gate; don’t validate your GoFan ticket prior to arriving at the event. To save time, please purchase your GoFan ticket prior to the game.
As a reminder, no backpacks, no outside food/beverages, no noise makers – and be nice, as always.
Orchestra POPS Concert!
The Orchestra Pops Concert will be held on Friday, November 22 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 23 at 4 p.m. It will be at the Central Middle School Black Box Theatre. The theme is #1 Hits. We will have more information coming, but please put these dates on your calendar.
Donate your new or lightly used toys!
The Kzoo Toy Drive is a CAS project run by Portage Central juniors Connor Imus and Jose Rangel. From 11/4 to 11/29, we aim to collect new or lightly used, second-hand toys for children of all ages to donate to local charities. These toys can be submitted at labeled bins in the Portage Central High School Welcome Center, St Michael Lutheran Church's lobby, abd Air Zoo lobby. All donations will be sanitized and passed onto Twelve Baskets charity, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity. Let us all come together to provide joy and comfort to children in need around the Kalamazoo area!
Breadlift is coming soon!
Breadlift is a tradition at Portage Central, Portage Northern, Gull Lake, and now Mattawan that has continued for 50 years. This year, on November 16, nearly 500 Students will be going to neighborhoods, knocking on doors, and asking for donations to the Congenital Heart Center at Mott Children’s Hospital. In return for their donation, they will receive a loaf of bread. The Congenital Heart Center at Mott Children’s Hospital is one of the largest and best pediatric heart programs in the United States, assisting children with congenital heart disease. The Congenital Heart Centers’ goal is to provide children and families with additional aid and knowledge on congenital heart disease while promoting independence with children's heart health. Portage Central High School extremely cherishes this program, and in May of 2024, our very own senior, Jenna Howard, passed away during her heart transplant recovery journey. We would truly appreciate any consideration of donating to our Breadlift Campaign and the Congenital Heart Center at Mott Children’s Hospital.
Additional information about Jenna Howard: https://www.langelands.com/obituaries/jenna-howard
Just a reminder…
Please remind your kids to be mindful of what is in their cars at school – even if it is not their car
We have been working with drug-detection dogs here for about 20 years, and I think I mentioned that for the last 12-15 of those years those visits are wonderful: the vast majority of our kids have exactly what they should have in their cars – and I am deeply grateful. Sometimes though one of our great kids has something they should not have on campus: perhaps a vape, or tobacco, or (rarely) alcohol or a drug that a minor cannot possess. And when that happens, our kids are honest and forthright and take responsibility – another example of why I am so grateful for the kids I serve.
On occasion, kids in that situation explain that they were driving someone else’s car: a friend’s, or a sibling’s, for example. And the consequences are the same, both for us as a school and for us as a community with our police department.
So please, when you have time now or over the Holidays, visit with your kids about that. Make sure they are vigilant, no matter what car they drive, so they can continue to have a school year free of these kinds of distractions. Thanks for your help with this!
Ski/Snowboard Club and Discount Card Registration
Back by popular demand for the Holidays…
Buy a brick for McCamley-Knight or Mustang Field, or a tile for the 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!
With respect and appreciation, as always,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…