For Thursday, October 22
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
Correction: In last week’s Mustang Minutes we listed the wrong dates for parent-teacher conferences. Sorry about that. Here are the correct dates:
Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming!
They are on Tuesday and Thursday, November 10th and 12th from 3:30 - 7:15 pm. Watch future editions of Mustang Minutes for more information.
Breadlift 2026 is almost here!
Coming on November 14th, PC student volunteers will go door-to-door in the Portage community asking for donations to a charity in exchange for a loaf of bread. Breadlift has been a school tradition for over 50 years, and this year the selected charity is The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. If your student wants to volunteer to support this incredible cause, they can find the sign-up form link in their email!
Don’t forget!
There is no school?
Yup, there is no school for students on Monday, November 2, as teachers engage in some training. Have a great day away!
Can you help feed colleagues at parent-teacher conferences?
I say this as kindly as possible: we here consume food like Biblical locusts. And especially during conferences, when each colleagues is connecting with hundreds of families, we have minutes to eat. So the awesome folks of our PTO are working on dinner for folks here for November 10 and 12.. Click this link…
Fall Conference Dinner Sign Up
… if you can help! We all would be so grateful!
Don't forget about AP and IB Testing!
All students planning on taking an AP test this spring need to register and submit payment through https://www.portagecentralexams.com/. Contact Dr. Bakalyar for questions about AP testing at kbakalyar@portageps.org.
While IB diploma candidates have already registered for their tests with Ms. Kubinski, all other IB students planning on taking one or more IB test in the 
spring also need to register and submit payment through https://www.portagecentralexams.com/. Contact Ms. Kubinski at rkubinski@portageps.org for questions about IB testing .
Registration for both will close on October 30, 2026.
Opening night is tomorrow!
Please join us as PC’s Theatre Department presents “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time!”
This wonderful show opens on Friday, October 23, 2026 at 7 pm. Additional shows are Saturday, October 24th and Friday, October 30th at 7:00 pm. Matinees are Sunday, October 25th, Saturday, October 31st and Sunday, November 1st at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $12.00 for students. Here is the link to purchase tickets: PCHS Box Office Link. There is also a student performance on Thursday, October 29th at 7 pm. Students must have a current ID and $5 to enter. We only take cash for that performance.
Just a reminder…
Guidelines on community-service hours
All community service hours must be completed in person with a nonprofit organization. We do not accept virtual or at-home service (such as letter writing, quilt making, or knitting), even if the organizations are nonprofits. We are fortunate to have so many local, in-person nonprofit organizations doing terrific work for our community members, and they need our help. That’s why we want to do everything we can as a school to support them -- and that’s what our community service hours and recognitions are all about. Only service hours completed for nonprofit organizations count toward PC recognitions, such as our academic awards programs, the National Honor Society, and the International Baccalaureate curriculum, to name a few. Only an adult directly affiliated with the activity may authorize service hours, not a relative. (Sorry… PC students cannot be the authorizing adult.) Click here for information on our Community Service Award and our new service form. If you have questions, please contact our community service coordinator, Rob Brown, at rbrown@portageps.org.
PC Activities Craft Show: Saturday, November 7 from 9 am - 3 pm
The PCHS Activities Craft Show will be held on this day. Get your Holiday shopping done early!!!
Looking to opt out of the WIN Works state test in the spring?
For the first time, the state of Michigan is providing waivers for all juniors and their families to opt out of the spring work-skills test. So if you would like to take that test, great – you don’t need to do anything at all.
However, if you as a junior and your family, would like to waive that requirement, just follow these steps:
Fill out this PDF waiver form.
Save it to your computer or Google Drive.
Email a copy to me at this address: ealburtus@portageps.org
If you are having trouble with that, you can…
Print it
Fill out the fields by hand
Take a picture and email it my way
And you are done! Thanks for giving this thought and making the right choice for you. Too, it would be great if I knew what was best for you by, say, December 1. Thanks!
Can you help at the CEL Trunk-or-Treat?
We are looking for student volunteers to help make our annual Trunk-or-Treat event a success on Friday, October 30. Volunteers are needed from 5:45-7:45 pm at Central Elementary School, and will help us distribute and restock candy to the decorated trunks throughout the event. We are happy to sign off on any service hours needed. If interested, please sign up on the SignUpGenius:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4BA8AB2BABFD0-66740315-2026#/
It's a fun way to support our elementary students and the Mustang community! Questions? Email the CEL PTO at PortageCentralMustangs@gmail.com
PC Marching Band concludes competition season and 2026 production: “Prism”
Our award-winning Portage Central Marching Band completed their season with two spectacular performances. On Tuesday, October 13 the band performed at MSBOA District 11 Marching Band Festival and earned a “Superior” Division One rating from the judges. And on Saturday, October 17 the band performed at the East Kentwood Scholastic Marching Band Invitational – earning the highest score of the show with a 95.2 and the Grand Champion Trophy. The band was First Place in Class A, and earned the caption awards of Best Music, Best Marching, and Best Percussion. All 178 students in the band have worked very hard this year and are grateful to all who have come out to support and cheer them on!
Want to stay in the know about construction on Westendege?
Really thankful for a wonderful fall,
Eric Alburtus
And if you want even more PC news…