For Thursday, April 17
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
Seniors and your families, this is your…
Step by step to graduation!
Ready or not, graduation is right around the corner, so make sure you are ready for all of it by reading through the Step by Step to Graduation; just hit this link! You will see all the dates and times to make sure you are right where you need to be.
Seniors, want to walk through your old elementary school for the last time as a student?
We are so excited for our Senior Walk Around at the Elementary Buildings! Our elementary-school students and colleagues are so grateful for the seniors coming back to visit us and share their huge accomplishments. The eight elementary buildings have coordinated a mutual date for a Senior Walk Around at their buildings. The mutual date is Wednesday, May 21st at each of the elementary buildings. Please RSVP so they know in advance who will be attending. Here is the hyperlink for the RSVP; students must sign in through their PPS email address.
Also, if there are seniors who did not attend a Portage elementary building, but would still like to participate, that's great. They should simply call and speak to the Engagement Specialist at whichever school they would like to attend so the building is aware they are coming.
Families of incoming 9th graders…
Accessing Final Forms for the 2025-26 school starts on April 17
We really value good communication around here – and Final Forms are a big part of that effort in athletics. All current 8th grade parents will be able to check the sports available that their student is interested in starting April 17. By doing so, you will get information about summer work-outs, try-outs, physicals, schedules and so much more for the sports you sign up for in Final Forms.
Just a reminder…
We would so appreciate feedback from our families
Last week we as a district emailed a link to a survey for all families, so we can get your feedback on what is working well – and most importantly, what is not. We are not a perfect place, and we are not a perfect people – and we care deeply about our kids and our community and the work we do, Together. We would be so grateful if you could take 10-15 minutes to share your thoughts at this link: Portage Public Schools – Parent/Caregiver Experience Survey
The survey will ask you to select your child’s school, and you can complete a separate survey for each of the schools your children attend. The survey will be open until Friday, April 25. Thanks again for your time and thought on this!
About these surveys…
A thoughtful parent just asked me a great question!
She asked, If I send a nice message about a particular teacher, does that teacher see it?
The answer is, You bet!
One of the things I love to start my summer with is I read every piece of the survey results. And one of the things I do is I copy and paste the kind comments and I share those with particular teachers, which is a great way for them to start their summer too!
Take a look at your report card!
Quarter three (Q3) 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 (ie - 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.
Senior yard signs are on their way!
Did you order one? Great! Did you not order, but you still want one? No problem – it’s not too late!
Either way you can pick them up during the lunch periods 11:20 to 12:40 on the following dates:
May 7
May 9
May 14
May 16
Order now https://my.cheddarup.com/c/class-of-2025-yard-signs-58724/items?cart. Each sign costs $16. Have questions? Contact Sarah Allen at pchsptopresident@gmail.com.
Organized by one of our awesome IB students…
Got some books you would like to share?
Donate to the PC Book Drive during the week of April 18th-24th, drop off at the bins outside of the Welcome Center and Library! We will be collecting partially used to new books, all types of books accepted. Donations will primarily be going to the Kalamazoo Public Library. Thank you!
Don’t forget to save the date!
Underclassmen Achievement Awards are coming Thursday, May 1 during the school day
…and you are invited to attend in person or via livestream on our YouTube Channel! Freshmen, sophomore and junior award recipients are invited to their grade-level assembly and will have an opportunity to mingle with family and friends for photos in Centennial Park for a short time following their assembly. Check out the program here to see the names of all of our incredible students earning awards! If your daughter or son is on this list, please consider joining us for the ceremony in our auditorium and the celebration in Centennial Park immediately after! Below are the times of each grade level ceremony, and in the weeks ahead, we will share more information with you here in Mustang Minutes about where to park, where to enter the building, and more. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, May 1 at 8:00 AM: Junior Awards Ceremony and Celebration
Thursday, May 1 at 10:00 AM: Freshman Awards Ceremony and Celebration
Thursday, May 1 at 1:15 PM: Sophomore Awards Ceremony and Celebration
Please read. Very important…
“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 are $35 each.
Tickets went on sale for all Juniors and Seniors on Monday, April 14th, and they are going fast!!! Please purchase your ticket as soon as you can and make sure your fines are paid and your guest forms complete.
Once we have hit a certain number of sold tickets, online purchasing will no longer be available
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.)
Remember, if you purchase a ticket online, hit this link Prom Tickets, and you must pick up your actual ticket from the Welcome Center prior to prom, or you will not be allowed to enter.
For any questions, contact Nikki Smith, Activities Director, at nsmith@portageps.org. Find that disco fever and get ready to boogie the night away!
Organized by one of our awesome IB students…
How to pitch in during Teacher Appreciation Week!
As a prelude to Teacher Appreciation Week, a supply drive competition will be held between 3rd-hour classes from April 28 to May 1! Whichever class gathers the most supplies will be rewarded with a donut party! A physical copy of this supply guide will be given to all 3rd class (with additional copies posted around the school), along with a box for the supplies your class can gather. So get ready to show our teachers some appreciation!
Save the dates for the upcoming 2025-2026 School Year!
Monday, August 18 is Freshman Orientation
Freshman Orientation goes from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 18th. It will be held in the Portage Central High School Gymnasium. Incoming 9th graders should be here by 7:45 a.m. and wait outside the gymnasium doors until they are welcomed in by our Link Crew Leaders. We can’t wait to meet you all and are excited to welcome you to the PCHS family! If you have any questions about Orientation, please contact Nikki Smith, Activities Director, at nsmith@portageps.org or 269-323-5265. More information will be coming your way later this year.
Wednesday, August 20 is the PCHS Open House
The Portage Central High School Open House will be held on Wednesday, August 20th from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be an Activities Fair in Centennial Park, weather permitting (otherwise it will be held in the Commons), so students can get club information before school starts. There will also be an open Meet and Greet to get to know your students’ teachers, students can find their lockers and classes, you can purchase Lunch/Parking/Athletic passes, and visit the school store. This is a great opportunity to get to know Portage Central High School before school actually starts.
Featured Summer Sports Camp of the week: Registration opens May 5!
Hey there, Mustang Families! Each summer, our amazing athletic programs host summer camp opportunities for our student-athletes to continue to develop and improve. Click right here to reuse all our summer camp options. And this week we are featuring boys and girls waterpolo!
And if you want to sign up, it’s easy!
Beginning May 5, 2025, families can register
Or go directly to the PPS GoFan Page
Excited and just a little sad that graduation is right around the corner,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…