For Thursday, November 14
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
Breadlift is this Saturday!
Breadlift is a tradition at Portage Central, Portage Northern, Gull Lake, and now Mattawan, and it has continued for 50 years. Please watch this video to learn more: The Impact of Breadlift on the Lives of Others. This Saturday, 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
And, parents and 9th graders…
We have a Link Crew meeting coming up next Tuesday, November 19th, during 2nd hour.
This will be an opportunity to have fun, reconnect with your Link Crew Leaders, and discuss some interesting topics with your Link Leaders and your peers. Be looking for a reminder from your Link Leaders about your group number and location. And, 9th graders, please know that you can always reach out to your Link Leaders with any questions you may have. If they’re not available, please come and find me, Mrs. Smith, in the Activities Office. Thanks!!!
Notes to excuse absences
When you send in a note to excuse a student’s absence, it is really helpful if you write the note yourself and then sign it. When we receive notes that have been written by students and then signed by a parent/guardian, sometimes it is hard to verify the legitimacy of the note, which then means that we have to call you to check it out. You are, of course, always welcome to email our Attendance Officer Jody Thrash at jthrash@portageps.org or call the Attendance Line 24 hours a day at 269-323-5259. Thank you for your help with this!
Too, please make sure to remind your kids to stop in at the Attendance Office first anytime they need to leave early for the day and whenever they are arriving late. Thanks for this too!
Orchestra Pops Concert
The Orchestra Pops Concert will be held on Friday, November 22nd at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 23rd at 4 p.m. It will be at the Central Middle School Black Box Theatre. The theme is #1 Hits. Here is the link to order tickets: Box Office
Seniors: Get help with your FAFSA
KVCC is hosting several FAFSA® Nights to assist families in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). Students do not need to be attending Kalamazoo Valley to receive assistance in completing the FAFSA®. If you have questions or need help, stop by the Student Financial Services Office every Tuesday between 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., Room 9210 at the Texas Township Campus. For more information, email finaid@kvcc.edu.
Also, here is some additional information that might be helpful:
Virtual FAFSA Nights hosted by the state of Michigan
Several scholarships listed on the Senior GLIC Scholarships Page
Just a reminder…
Donate your new or lightly used toys!
The Kzoo Toy Drive is a CAS project run by juniors Connor Imus and Jose Rangel, and 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, and 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!
A bunch of yearbook information for seniors
Attention Seniors! Senior Portraits for the 2025 yearbook are due soon. The December 2 deadline is just around the corner! To upload a Class of 2025 senior's photo, please go to www.hjeshare.com and use school code 3604.
Attention Parents of Seniors: Yearbook Senior Memory Ads are for sale!
Parents of seniors can design and purchase a Class of 2025 Senior Memory Ad for the yearbook. The Senior Memory Ad deadline is December 21. Go to www.yearbookordercenter.com and use school code 3604 to get started. Sizing and pricing is available in the Senior Guide on the GLIC. Got questions? Reach out to Business Manager Saara Ashfee at PCYearbook@portageps.org.
Want some Qdoba? And help an awesome club do good work at the same time?
Connect for Cancer club is hosting a fundraiser at Qdoba on November 21st from 4 - 8 p.m. You can order in person and have them scan the QR code, or you can order online and use the code at checkout. 25% of all proceeds go towards Connect for Cancer club to help them continue doing activities for the cancer community and raising awareness.
From the Activities Office…
Prom date and location
I just wanted to let all families and students know that Prom 2025 will be Saturday, May 3rd, from 8:30-11 pm at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. It is for Juniors and Seniors. More information will be forthcoming in the months ahead, but I wanted to be sure that folks had that date and location on their calendars. Thanks!!!
Keeping you in the loop on grades in Skyward
Quarter-one report cards have been posted to all student Skyward accounts. Your student's current report card, along with all previous report cards and transcripts, can be found in Skyward under the "Portfolio" tab. Off campus class grades (like online classes, dual-enrollment classes, KAMSC and CTE/EFE) are not posted on the quarter 1 or quarter 3 report cards and will therefore be left blank. Grades in these classes are only posted on a student's semester 1 and semester 2 transcripts. Please check with the program directly for more information on these class grades.
One of my favorite authors would complain, Everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. And I get it: we have been a community of builders and farmers for our 100-year history. And over the years we have been blessed to build so much – and some of that maintenance of those community investments can only happen with the help of our local business partners. They help us accomplish tasks as varied as replacing our 19-year-old golf cart that shuttled community members to athletic events for years, to making sure that we could purchase a new counseling dog, Toby, to support our kids when they have difficult days.
So over the next few weeks we will be publicly thanking these businesses here in Mustang Minutes and elsewhere on campus. And if there is any way she can show your thanks as well, we would appreciate it!
Looking forward to time with family next week,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…