Prom tickets go on sale for seniors next week! Don’t wait!
For Thursday, March 20
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
Class of 2025 Senior Yard Signs – Pre-Order Now!
Celebrate your senior with a custom yard sign! Pre-orders are open now through April 18th.
Pickup Dates: May 7th, 9th, 14th, or 16th
Cost: $15 per sign
Limited signs will be available for purchase at pickup (exact change or check only).
Order now: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/class-of-2025-yard-signs-58724/items?cart
Have questions? Contact Sarah Allen at pchsptopresident@gmail.com.
From Activities & Athletics
Eligibility for the 4th Quarter
We wanted to make parents and students aware that we will not be running eligibility next week because the end of the 3rd quarter is this Friday, March 21st. We will run it again on Wednesday, April 9th, when we return from Spring Break. Please get all your assignments turned in and be sure to talk to your teachers about any missing work. There is the potential for only two grades in skyward at that point, and we don’t want you to miss out on a game or competition because of eligibility. Thanks, Nikki Smith & Jim Schafer
In celebration of World Languages Month, we wanted to share what we have learned as colleagues throughout the district have worked to prepare for curriculum improvements ahead. So each week in Mustang Minutes we will share different aspects of learning a new language and what that process can do for our kids.
We are inspired to be a community grounded in fostering strengths, growth, and lifelong learning. Every student. Every future.
And World Languages play a HUGE role in this vision!
Since 2021, approximately 450 PPS graduates have earned the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy. The Seal is earned with a 4 or higher on the IB Exam. That equates to college credit for three classes at WMU -- or about $7,500 in tuition savings! And the learning doesn't stop there…
Our future IS our students. Our graduates are doing great things around the globe! From studying abroad, to majoring in world languages in college, to serving the community as translators, to working with Major League Baseball teams, to medical staff helping their patients and families in different languages, to teaching at bilingual schools across the world, our students are changing our world for the better, and we all could not be more proud of their success. We look forward to helping our current students reach their full potential with language acquisition and seeing them live their dreams!
Just a reminder…
Big Band Bash this Friday!
There is still time to purchase tickets to the Big Band Bash tomorrow night, March 21st, at 7 p.m. in the Commons at Portage Central High School. You can purchase them online or at the door. They are $5 a piece. Here is the link: Big Band Bash. You don't want to miss some incredible music by our students!
“Dancing Queen” Prom information that you don’t want to miss!
The Dancing Queen Prom 2025 will take place on Saturday, May 3 from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.
Tickets will go on sale at the Welcome Center and online for SENIORS ONLY starting Monday, March 24. They are $35.
All school fines must be paid before purchasing a ticket. Students will be receiving notifications really soon to let them know if they have fines.
We highly recommend you purchase a ticket as soon as possible as we have sold out of tickets the past several years. (Just for context: the number of tickets we sell is based on how many people that the facility – in this case the KIA – can hold legally based on our community’s fire codes.)
Tickets will go on sale for Juniors and Seniors starting Monday, April 14, and all ticket sales will end Friday, May 2 at 3 p.m. No tickets will be sold past this date or at the door – and like I said, we could sell out sooner.
Remember, if you purchase a ticket online, Prom Tickets, you must pick up your actual ticket from the Welcome Center prior to prom, or you will not be allowed to enter.
Lastly, to buy a ticket for anyone who does not attend Portage Central High School, you must have a completed Guest Pass Form; this includes Northern and Community High. Please see Mrs. Darrah at The Welcome Center for these forms.
For any questions, contact Nikki Smith, Activities Director, at nsmith@portageps.org. Find that disco fever and get ready to boogie the night away!
Attention Seniors!
Are you interested in speaking or performing a musical selection at graduation?
If the answer is yes, then we ask that you please stop by Señora Reidel's room (1105) to sign up for an audition time slot. The deadline to sign up to audition is Thursday, March 27th. Auditions for graduation speakers will be held on Thursday, April 17th, and auditions for musical performances will be held on Monday, April 14th. We hope you will consider taking part in our special graduation tradition.
Got plastics?
The city of Portage is partnering with Portage Central and Portage Northern high schools to promote a NexTrex Recycling Challenge. A NexTrex recycling bin, located in the PC Welcome Center, can accommodate the following clean plastic bags: grocery, store, bread, produce, Ziploc and other reclosables, dry cleaning bags, e-commerce mailers, bubble wrap, case overwrap, and others. Materials collected until March 2026 will be used to produce a useful park bench, to be placed on site at one of the many Portage parks. This friendly competition between PN and PC will net $300 for the winning school and $100 for the runner-up. Questions? Contact the PC Recycling Club adviser, Cheryl Braford, at cbraford@portageps.org.
Do you have this on your calendar, seniors?
Senior cap-and-gown pictures will be Tuesday, April 22 and Wednesday, April 23
To continue our tradition of taking class pictures since 1922, we will be taking pictures of each of our seniors Tues. 4/22 and Wed. 4/23 up on the third-floor bridge, and these pictures will be used for our class composites that hang down near the Activities Office.
We will have our photographer at the 3rd-floor bridge taking pictures of our students wearing caps and gowns on
● Tuesday, hours 5-7
● Wednesday, hours 1-4
Seniors, you don’t need to bring your own caps and gowns; we will have some waiting for you. Wear a nice shirt; this picture of you will be hanging on our wall for at least the next 100 years. We will be calling seniors down alphabetically. If you have an off-campus class, stop up there when it works for you; we want to make sure that we don’t miss anyone. You might have to stand in line for a few minutes, so thanks in advance for your patience. Any questions? Drop me an email anytime – and thanks!
Some clarification from the district about Lightspeed alerts
Portage Public Schools recently implemented Lightspeed Alert, a proactive school safety tool designed to monitor students’ online activity and flag concerning behaviors. When concerning behaviors are detected, the system sends an email alert directly to the student’s building administration and respective School Resource Officer. Although alerts are generated 24/7, please be aware that District employees will review and address alerts during regular school hours and will be limited after hours. We thank you for your continued support in keeping our students safe.
The PC Main Office is closed during spring break
Catch us again when we are back together on April 7. Thanks!
Thankful for that little burst of sun and warm temps that we had,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…