For Thursday, May 28
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
The Mustang RideOut is tomorrow – outside on a beautiful day!
Take a look at these slides from our Senior Meeting to make sure you know the right times and places to be for this fun event that celebrates the accomplishments of our seniors! In a nutshell…
Students to arrive at Centennial Park at 8:15 a.m. for breakfast
McCamley-Knight Field opens for families and friends at 9 a.m.
The RideOut starts promptly at 9:30 a.m.
Too, if you can’t attend, no worries: you can watch it online: just hit this link right here. Our thanks, as always, goes out to the incredible staff of PCTV, led by adviser Ashley Bowen.
It looks like it’s not going to be too cold, or too hot or too rainy, which is wonderful: that means we can hold the event out at McCamley-Knight Field like we planned. See you there!
Graduation is Friday!
Take a look at these slides from our Senior Meeting again to make decisions on where you want to sit and graduation, as well as other pieces of useful information – like all the dates and times to make sure you are right where you need to be. Too, hit this link so you can think ahead of time about where you want to park.
And if you or friends or family can’t attend graduation, you can watch it right here – because of the terrific work of our PCTV students!
The final exam schedule for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors starts on June 2!
Also, hit this link so you can read more information about transportation and food service during exam week. Note that neighborhood bus routes don’t drop students off at their doorsteps, but they get our kids pretty close. Too, our students could also wait in the Commons until 2:50 pm on those days for our district’s normal, 2:50 pm bus runs if needed.
Exam week attendance
Just like the SAT exam administration, a student must stay in their assigned classroom until an exam period has concluded, even if they finish their exam before their peers in class. Students should plan to either be present for the entire exam period or have a pre-planned excused absence for the entire period; early dismissals to leave the building are not processed or delivered during exam periods. This supports a quiet, distraction-free and optimal testing environment for all students.
If a student has a prearranged appointment during part of an exam period that can’t be changed, or if they will miss a full exam period due to illness or an appointment, they should make a plan with their teacher to make up the missed exam during the makeup exam session following the 7th-period exam on Friday, June 5, or take an Incomplete in the class and be prepared to come in as soon as possible over the summer to take their exam in the Main Office. Final exams may not be taken early. Reach out to your teachers if you miss an exam for any reason, and thanks for your help!
Important enrollment information…
Do you know someone who wants to enroll at PC?
If so, awesome – we are excited to meet them. But can you share with them these important dates below?
Portage Public Schools will be upgrading its student information system, Skyward, this summer. As part of this transition, the district’s online enrollment application will be temporarily unavailable. Online enrollment will be closed from July 15, through August 4, and will reopen on Wednesday, August 5.
If you know any families who are new to the area and planning to enroll, please share this information with them so they can plan and do whatever is best for their family. Thanks for helping us spread the word!
Just a reminder, as we plan for Graduation…
Graduation and security
Graduation is an incredible experience. Our kids have worked countless hours over the past years to build their own success and the success of others. Moms and dads, colleagues and community members, friends and families have supported all our graduates so they could have the strength and commitment to arrive at Graduation Day on Friday, May 29 at 6:30 pm at the Wings Event Center. The folks at Wings are great hosts, and the place is huge so you can invite anyone you like! We are so grateful.
We are committed to making Graduation a special celebration. We are also committed to doing everything we can to ensure safety. When you arrive, you will notice that the Wings staff will be using metal detectors at the two entrances through which we will all enter: the main entrance for all guests, and the back entrance for our graduates. The Wings staff are well trained to help guests move through the process as thoughtfully and briskly as is appropriate. As you prepare to attend, we ask that you bring only necessary items, which include cell phones and cameras. We ask that the following items remain at home or in your car:
oversized bags or purses
selfie sticks, iPads, and laptops
laser-light pointers, noise makers (like air horns), and large signs
food or beverages, including any cans or bottles, and coolers
any type of weapon
illegal drugs or substances
Too, we would so appreciate it if you could share this information with any of your friends and family who are attending as well. Thanks!
To get it on your calendar…
Prom 2027
Just wanted to make you aware of the date for Prom 2027. It is April 24th and will be held at the Fetzer Center. We know it’s almost a year away, but we figured it would be great for folks to get it on their calendars!!!
Our summer office hours
Monday through Thursday, 9 am - 12 pm & 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Closed Fridays)
Please note the office will be closed on Friday, July 3.
Just another reminder, because we don’t want any folks to lose their stuff…
Students, don’t forget to clean out your lockers by Friday, June 5 at 10 am
We wash out all the lockers over the summer. Anything left in lockers after that Friday morning at 10 am will either be thrown away or donated to a local charity. So please take everything with you for the summer. Thanks!
And while you’re at it, please clean your bedroom and check under your bed for any stray school textbooks that may have lost their way. Get those back to your teacher or to the main office so that you don’t end up with a fine.
Taking home medications for the summer, and other news from our school nurse
Hello, my name is Cara Laforest and I am the Registered Nurse at Lake Center Elementary, Central Elementary, Central Middle, and Central High. With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, I wanted to send out a reminder that all medications kept at the school, prescription and non-prescription, will need to be picked up at the end of the year by a parent or guardian. Any medication remaining after the last day of school will be properly disposed of. If you need more time or want to set a time to pick up your child’s medication, please reach out to me at claforest@portageps.org.
As a reminder for next fall, all medication administered at school requires a medication consent form signed by a physician no earlier than July 1 of that school year. Medications will not be accepted without a completed medication consent form. If your child has allergies, asthma, diabetes, or seizures, an Emergency Action Plan is also required. Updated medication consent forms and other medical forms are available on the Portage Public Schools website. PLEASE NOTE: All medication consent forms, emergency actions plans, and medical management forms are due August 24th, 2026 which is one week before the start of the school year.
Thank you all for trusting me to care for your child/children throughout the school year. I hope you all have a safe and fun filled summer. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.
~ Cara Laforest – 269.323.5667
Want to get community-service hours over the summer?
Cool! Let’s do them here at PC!
We have been blessed to have a lot of kids help out here over the summer over the past 20+ years, doing a wide variety of things, from watering trees to cleaning to creating cool projects to welcome our students back in August. If you are ever interested, drop me an email anytime – ealburtus@portageps.org – and we can get some fun work done together. Thanks for considering it!
Back by popular demand…
Buy a brick for McCamley-Knight or Mustang Field, or a tile for the new pool!
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.
Ready, excited and a little sad about Graduation,
Eric Alburtus
PS I am so grateful for the feedback that students and families gave us in the most recent district surveys. We recognize that we as colleagues here are not a perfect people, and as a result PC is not a perfect place. We have worked very hard, over decades, to make this place as healthy and as engaging as possible, for all of our kids. So your feedback – the pleasant words and the constructive feedback – is so important to us, as we continue to work to make Us, better.
If you would like to see some of the feedback we received, click right here.
And if you want even more PC news…