For Thursday, November 6
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
So happy for our soccer boys!
Congratulations to the men’s soccer team for claiming the school's first-ever STATE CHAMPIONSHIP this weekend with a shootout victory against Ann Arbor Huron. And congratulations to Gunnar Thorhallsson, who has been named MHSAA 2025 Mr. Soccer. Gunnar is the first goalie ever to win this title. The players and coaches want to thank all the fans who supported the team. The team finished the season undefeated with a 24-0-2 record.
Also, during halftime of the playoff game this Friday, we will be acknowledging the state championship boys soccer team along with our state champion #1 singles tennis player, Sam Schumacher. Please join us to recognize what they have accomplished; we are so proud of them!
Speaking of the game on Friday…
A bunch of useful facts about state tournament games – and this Friday’s football game
Friday, November 7. The gates open at 5:00 pm, and the kickoff is at 7 pm
Once someone comes into the game, and leaves, they must pay to reenter..
All tickets are $7, and cash and passes cannot be accepted for playoff games.
We would encourage you to purchase tickets ahead of time, to speed up entry. Just hit this link: Football Playoff Game Tickets
Then just have your tickets on your screen and ready for colleagues at the gate to check you in.
Please do not click on your tickets; gate colleagues must do this for you in order to enter the game.
The sidelines are restricted to coaches, officials, athletes, and school administration. Only approved photographers with valid credentials may enter with prior approval from the Athletic Department.
Can’t make it to the game? You can stream it live through the MHSAA @ mshaa.com or through the NFHS Network @ nfhsnetwork.com
Want to see a map of the campus so you can find the best place to park and find your way? Just click right here!
Got any questions? Just call the PC Athletic Department at (269) 323.5361.
Some reminders to save the dates!
Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner
They are once again held virtually, on Tuesday, November 11 and Thursday, November 13 from 3:30-7:15 pm. Keep an eye out for emails from your child’s teachers with their sign-up link. Instructions on how to use the links can be found here.
Speaking of parent-teacher conferences...
The PTO likes to make the late evening better with food & drink for our awesome teachers. Please consider signing up to donate using this LINK. Items can be brought to the Welcome Center or main office at your convenience beginning Monday, November 10, until Thursday, November 13, any time from 7 am - 2 pm. Or, consider a monetary donation by hitting this LINK - 100% of donations will be used for conference dinners. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference! Thank you for your support!
Want to learn more about the Career Connect Campus?
Click right here to get an overview of the programs at the new career and technical education campus. Students will learn even more on Tuesday, January 27th as CCC colleagues present in our English classes. Then, families will decide if they want their daughters and sons to attend a tour of the campus on Friday, February 6th from 9:30-10:30 am. (Students will likely leave PC about 9:15 for the ride over, and they will likely return to classes here at 11. So they will miss parts of 2nd and 4th hours, and all of 3rd.)
In order to attend the tour here are the steps ahead for each interested student.
Talk it over with your family.
Anytime between now and Thursday, January 29th at 3 pm, this link to sign up.
Also, anytime before Thursday, January 29th at 3 pm get these things completed:
download this permission slip, and print it;
ensure your parents or guardians have given their permission and signed it;
and return it to the Counseling Office.
The first 45 students to return the slip are guaranteed bus transportation to and from the CCC for the tour.
If we have more than 45 folks sign up, we will work with our Transportation district Department to see if they can provide more buses
If we cannot provide additional buses, parents can drive their own sons and daughters to the CCC for the tour. Just let the Attendance Office know if you plan to do this. Sorry, students cannot drive themselves.
And remember, as with all field trips, you have to be passing all your classes the week before the trip in order to participate. So stay focused on your success!
Just a reminder…
It's Breadlift Time – and has been for nearly 50 years!
This year, on November 15, nearly 500 Students will be going to neighborhoods, knocking on doors, and asking for donations to the Bronson Health Foundation- Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fund. In return for their donation, they will receive a loaf of bread.
The Bronson Health Foundation’s Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fund supports the Bronson Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic, which cares for children and young adults with blood disorders, cancers, bleeding disorders, and rare blood conditions. This fund is important because treating childhood cancer and blood disorders involves not only medical care but emotional, educational, and technological support.
Orchestra POPS Concert!
The Orchestra Pops Concert will be held on Friday, November 21st at 7 pm and Saturday, November 22 at 7 pm. It will be at the Central Middle School Black Box Theatre. The theme is Back to the 90’s. We will have more information coming, but please put these dates on your calendar.
From the awesome entrepreneurs at the Corral, our school store!
Check out the new style! Show your Mustang spirit by purchasing new sweatshirts online, during lunches (11:22 a.m. - 12:12 pm), or at the Varsity Football game this Friday (6-7 pm). Come check out your new Mustang look!
Just a reminder…
Please remind your kids to be mindful of what is in the vehicles they drive to school
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 clean 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, or items that are not illegal off campus but that may not be legally possessed on a school campus (like a hunting knife or pepper spray). 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!
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. In the past several years we have seen a greater need to support our students as they navigate interpersonal conflict. We are excited to continue our partnership with Gryphon Place restorative practices facilitators here at Portage Central High School to address this need, helping students peacefully resolve conflicts and repair harm 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.
We are grateful for…
An upcoming community event on suicide awareness and prevention for caregivers
On Wednesday, November 19 from 6 to 7:30 pm please join other friends and families for an opportunity to learn more about signs that may indicate a loved one is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide. Dr. Roddia Hill, Director at TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students). Join Dr. Hill and other families in the Portage Public Schools in learning how to support children and teens at risk of suicide. This event will take place online and your preregistration is kindly requested. Want more information and see how to register? Click right her
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!
Thank you all for your support of Toby and our kids!
And our thanks also goes out to Seelye Kia!
If you are a veteran PC parent, you might remember Phoebe, our first counseling dog. She was amazing: so smart and kind. And in the spring of 2024 she had to go into retirement younger than we hoped with some medical difficulties in her back hips. So we as a school-community worked to raise $8000 in five months to get a new counseling dog – and we succeeded and now have Toby!
One of our local business partners has been Seelye Kia for a lot of years and we are so grateful! This summer we already started working on raising funds for our next counseling dog. My personal goal: to raise $10,000 -$12,000 to pay for the next counseling dog, long after I am gone. If you would like to help, you can hit this link anytime, and we would be so, so grateful – as will our kids years into the future.
With respect and appreciation, as always,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…