And they're off! Our 8th graders have left for their day at Michigan Adventure! Have fun and try to stay dry!
#MichiganAdventure #AllIn #TheWestWay
Thank you to Portage City Councilwoman Mrs. Jihan Young for meeting with & mentoring a group of WMS girls throughout the '24-'25 school year. They have met almost every Monday since Quarter 1 and yesterday was their last meeting. This is her 2nd year mentoring some of our Pioneers.
Thank you Mrs. Young!
#Mentoring #AllIn #TheWestWay
Earlier this year, the birdhouse in our courtyard, that has always been active and put to use by our "flying Pioneers" over the years, was damaged during a storm. One of our Pioneers vowed to rebuild the home in his Woodworking class with Mr. Rapp.
Yesterday, Tristen J. presented the office with his final creation. Thank you Tristen! We know there will be some very happy birds ready to see to their new home.
#Woodworking #AllIn #TheWestWay
Saturday was a night to remember for our 8th grade Pioneers! Our PTSO volunteers created a "beach-themed" event and our students had a blast with all of the offered activities. Thank you volunteers for your time and dedication. Our Pioneers represented "The West Way" throughout the evening and had a great time.
See a few picture collages here from the evening.
We look forward to seeing our 8th grade families this Thursday at Huskie Stadium for the 8th Grade Awards program beginning at 7pm. All 8th graders are welcome and will be receiving at least one recognition!
See you Thursday!
#AllIn #TheWestWay
Did your students come home last week and mention the teachers and staff were dressing a little different??
They were right! Last week was a "Secret Spirit Week" for the adults in the building! Staff participated with crazy hair day, hat day, West day, and "Dress Like A Student" day.
Monday is our last dress up day of the year for everyone! It's Hawaiian shirt day!
The memorable 8th grade farewell Saturday inspired this one :D
See you tomorrow Pioneers! Aloha!
#AllIn #TheWestWay
The ESports clubs from Portage West and Portage North had a meet up last week! Students introduced themselves, their favorite games, and then engaged in friendly competition. Super Smash Bros and Rocket League were the games of choice.
This was the first time two middle clubs have scrimmaged together in person in Portage. Thank you PNMS for hosting and the pizza!
#Esports #PioneerGamers #SuperSmashBros #RocketLeague #AllIn #TheWestWay
Last Thursday, our 7th graders took a trip to Portage's World Famous Air Zoo! The students received guided tours, observed all the exhibits, and enjoyed the rides with their peers!
Thank you to Mrs. Bianco and our 7th grade teachers for planning this wonderful experience for our soon to be 8th graders!
#AirZoo #AllIn #TheWestWay
Class of 2029!
Our volunteers were busy as soon as school dismissed today preparing for our 8th Grade Farewell this Saturday!
Tickets are still available at the door. Come enjoy an evening of games, music, food, giveaways, photobooth pics with friends, and more!
See you soon 8th graders!
#8thGradeFarewell #AllIn #TheWestWay
Our music department concert series for the year concluded Wednesday with our 6th & 7th grade band concert. These Pioneer musicians did an amazing job showing their growth over the course of the year while performing to a packed house!
Outstanding job Pioneers and music department!
#Music #Band #AllIn #TheWestWay
It has been quite the busy week at West! Activities started with our 6th Grade Field Trip to the Kalamazoo Growlers for their STEM Fair & Baseball Game.
The students were able to explore different booths with activities by KRESA, Fawley Door, US Army, and more! We even had a few students interviewed about the day, quizzed about their STEM knowledge, and compete in relays on the field between innings!
It was a great day for all. Thank you Kalamazoo Growlers for this putting on this annual event for the school community!
#KalamazooGrowlers #STEM #AllIn #TheWestWay
CURRENT & FUTURE PIONEERS!
May is almost over and summer will be here soon! As you plan activities and prepare for the 2025-2026 school year, take a look at our list of School Sports & Summer Camp Information here:
https://tinyurl.com/wms25sumfall
#AllIn #TheWestWay
Last week, our 7th & 8th graders in Mrs. Schnurstein's Healthy Living class planned, baked, and designed their cake decorating projects. Staff reviewed all the submissions throughout the week. The Grand Prize Winner was the Strawberry Shortcake Cake by Ni'Yell Colon-Applewhite, Priyal Patel and Nora Napolitan! Great job ladies!
Congratulations to all the Pioneers on your magnificent submissions!
#CakeDecoratingContest #AllIn #TheWestWay
Today at our last staff meeting of the year we were able to honor the careers of 2 outstanding educators: Mr. Helsom, our Power Training trailblazer/world renown Athletic Director, and Mr. Galer, our legendary teacher and coach of many!
In honor of Mr. Helsom, we are naming our workout area in the gym balcony "Pioneers Performance Center... Established By Geoff Helsom 2002." This placard will be on display in the weight room area.
In honor of Mr. Galer, we have a plaque with pictures of two of the many teams he's coached over his 38 year career. Two of his former players, Lisa Byington, sports anchor and reporter who is the first woman to hold a full time play by play role for an NBA team, and Lindsay Tarpley, two-time Olympic Gold medalist in soccer, signed the plaque. It will be on display outside of the gym.
Thank you both for ALL you've done for the West community and your years of service. You will be missed.
#AllIn #TheWestWay
8th Grade Pioneer Families!
See the attached fliers regarding our 8th Grade Farewell this Saturday! Our PTSO is still actively looking for volunteers to help out w/ the festivities!
Click the link below for more details:
https://tinyurl.com/wms8thfarewell25
#AllIn #TheWestWay
CHAMPIONS!
Portage West Track & Field crushed the 2025 West Michigan Middle School Championships! 💥🔥
👟 Boys Team: 1st PLACE OVERALL with 75 points
👟 Girls Team: Top 10 Finish – 9th Place!
Outstanding job to all of our Pioneer track & field athletes on an amazing season! Huge shout out to Coach Hall, Coach P, and all the coaches! In the words of Coach Hall...
"Every race. Every jump. Every point. You made it count. Way to represent, Portage West! 💪
https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/566122/results
#TrackAndField #WestMichiganMiddleSchoolChampionships #AllIn #TheWestWay
Yesterday, our Pioneer Gamers eSports club held our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament! We had 18 participants across all grade levels. The competition was fierce through the end of the last match!
Congratulations to our 3rd place winner, Raphael W., our 2nd place winner, Lennon C., and our 1st place winner,
Champion of the 2025 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament,
Lilly W.!
Thank you to Mrs. Mahabir for your snack donations to the event! Great job to all the gamers!
#PioneerGamers #SuperSmashBrosUltimate #AllIn #TheWestWay
Congratulations to our Boys & Girls Track and Field teams for an amazing showing at Monday's Regional meet!
Our Boys team tied for 1st place and our Girls team finished in 2nd place.
Today concludes our season with the West Michigan Track & Field Championship Meet in Grand Rapids.
Good luck Pioneers!
#TrackAndField #AllIn #TheWestWay
Our Spring Music Department Concert series continues this evening with our 8th Grade Band & Orchestra!
Come see our 8th Grade Pioneers perform in one of their final performances as a middle school student!
#Band #Orchestra #AllIn #TheWestWay
PIONEERS!
All library books are due this Friday! Families, please encourage your Pioneer to double check their belongings to make sure they do not have any library books that may be hiding in their bags, under their beds, in their locker, etc.
Happy Tuesday!
#AllIn #TheWestWay
CURRENT & FUTURE PIONEERS!
May is almost over and summer will be here soon! As you plan activities and prepare for the 2025-2026 school year, take a look at our list of School Sports & Summer Camp Information here:
https://tinyurl.com/wms25sumfall
#AllIn #TheWestWay
