Portage High School Students Making a Difference This Holiday

Portage High School is making a concerted effort to help our students build developmental assets important for success in life. December's focus is Service to Others. Each teacher's 2nd mod class has been asked to create and implement a class service project. Students have brainstormed, discussed, and organized projects, such as the following:

Mr. Kania and Mr. Haas have adopted 30 families for the Angel Tree. Our goal was to raise $3000, so we could spend $100 on each kid. It currently looks like we are going to surpass that total, and we are in the process of trying to adopt more kids. The kids are doing an awesome job! We are going to wrap these gifts on Wednesday December 7 during all classes, and we are going to load and deliver these gifts on Wednesday after school.

The following is a list of some of the great things happening at Portage High School this month!

• Ted Marthakis: My Mod 2 has decided to help a local animal shelter by raising money and buying/donating pet food items.
  
• Carry Parsons: My class is participating in the Pajama Program with Diane Dominguez's class.
  
• Patrick Moody: We're thinking about sending Christmas cards to nursing home folks or sending cards to and perhaps a fundraiser for supporting returning war veterans and their families.
• Stephanie Crook: My 2nd mod class is gathering angels from a local angel tree then purchasing gifts for the children whose angels we gathered. To fund our project students are making donations. Students are also in charge of gathering the angels and making the purchases. A few students are also bringing in a ham and a turkey to help provide a holiday meal for local families. All of the ideas and choices have been made by the class. They are very enthusiastic about the project and ready to help in every way with one important stipulation: It must be children than are being helped!
  
• Cheryl Clapp: Angel tree, collect clothes for needy, and make Christmas cards for the troops.
  
• Lois Chalmers-MacMillan: A student came up with the idea to do a "Read to A Child" project. Students will have the opportunity to earn extra credit until the end of the term by handing in a reflection and verification by an adult that they read to a child.
  
• Carrie Martin-Smith: My 2nd mod class is donating money to Riley's Children's hospital because a few of my students have family members who have had to attend there. We're collecting money the whole month of December. I told my students I would match whatever they donated.
  
• Tami Kepshire: My class is filling stockings for the residents of Gabriel's Horn. We will pack the stockings with small age appropriate gifts, mittens, scarves, hats, and home made goodies. We have not set up a time to deliver them, but we have been in contact with the director, Mignon Kennedy. She is very excited about what the students are doing.
  
• Barb Iddings: We have adopted 5 families over here that my students are going to be purchasing Christmas gifts and meals for. We are planning on shopping on the 13th of December with the items being ready to pick up by the families on the 16th.
  
• Rick Snodgrass: My second period class has adopted 4 elementary students from South Haven who need assistance with gifts for Christmas.
  
• Christine Kern: My students are collecting paper goods and cleaning supplies for Gabriel's Horn. All is due by Dec. 20th
  
• Debbie Gannon: I have a service project that mods 3, 4/5, 7/8, and 9 have completed. We made flower headpieces for the Civic Dance Center. The production will be Dec. 17 here at the school.
  
• Andrea Flynn: French 1 second hour has decided to adopt a family from Portage. The mother has 4 little boys, at least 3 of whom have special needs. She is on her own and we would like to give her a hand in making Christmas special for her boys. We also decided that giving should not stop in December, so when we come back to school in January, we are going to bake some treats and take them to some local nursing homes. We would like to sing traditional Christmas folk songs to them and try to keep the spirit going into the new year.
  
• Ashley Plumley: My second Mod class is raising money for a child to receive surgery to fix their cleft lip or cleft palate. Every person in the Portage community who donates over $3 dollars will receive a crafted reindeer made from palm tree leaves (supplies are limited). Our goal is to raise $250. The reindeer were made today during SSR, and we will begin collecting donations next week. We are also creating donation boxes where information on Cleft Lip (Palate) can be found. The students are very excited to make a difference in a child's life. Every $250 will pay for the costs of one complete surgery. Ms. Bundridge's class is also working with my class on the Service Project.
  
• Julie Goetz: One of my 2nd mod students suggested that we contribute items for the Sojourner Truth House such as clothing and a food pantry wishlist. My students are working on getting these items together.
  
• Juanita Viera: 2nd Mod will be ringing Salvation Army bells at Kmart, tomorrow, from 9am to 3pm. They will be taking two hour shifts. The class received Xmas wishes for four children from the Trustee's Ofc. (Santa Cause). They are having a bake sale in different classes next week and during the 3 lunch hours on Friday to raise funds for the gifts for the four children.
• Barbara Lochmondy: My mod 2 is slowly collecting items for our service men and women, and we will make Christmas cards to send to them next Friday.
  
• Rhonda Doane: Mrs. Doane's Dental Class donated 37 hygiene kits to Heartland Alliance for Human Needs in Chicago, IL on Tues, Nov. 29. Each hygiene kit included full size items of: bar soap, shampoo, conditioner, comb, brush, lotion, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, and washcloth. The funds to purchase the items were raised through our annual oral hygiene products sale.
  
• Carrie Carlson: The Advanced Orchestra just took a group of 9 orchestra students to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago tonight (Friday, Decd. 2) to play for the cardiac unit at the downtown hospital. We played for an hour, a combination of classical and holiday music in the main lobby of the hospital. Afterward we were treated to pizza and a goodie bag. One of our parents, Jean-Marie Spencer is on the staff of the hospital and made all the arrangements for us. Three parents drove us back and forth to Chicago. This same group of students played for the chamber of commerce last week for another community function. In addition, several groups of students from beginning, intermediate and advanced orchestra will be going out into the community during the holiday season to play at locations of their choice. They have to make all the arrangements themselves, but we will be provide them with appropriate seasonal music. We are doing our part!
  
• Darryl Schultz: My mod 2 is collecting clothes for people that need it. My other classes have given a bit as well. I'll probably take it to the salvation army. They are collecting pet food and pet treats for pets in homes that need it. I will be taking it to a vet that is participating in food for needy animals. I have about 3 food items for dogs and 2 bags of clothes so far. I will collect through the 16th of December.
  
• Linda Parker: Our cadet teacher class has decided to support an animal shelter with home made doggie treats. I am a big animal lover but, honest, it was their idea. I had nothing to do with it.
  
• Melissa Deavers-Lowie: My class is adopting a local family from the Portage Township Trustee's Office. We are still waiting on the office to contact us with a family. Once we get the details, we are going to write letters to local businesses asking for food donations; my class will also be purchasing gifts for the family.
  
• John Johnston: MCJROTC is collecting food for the Portage Food pantry. We have a two-three tons already but are aiming for at least 10,000 pounds by the week of 19 December. We will hold a food canvassing on Saturday 17 December from 9am-1PM. We are planning on that making the difference.
  
• Gail Trobaugh: We are doing the "Pajama Program" with a few other classes in our department. This involves purchasing new pajamas for infants-teens. The pjs get donated and Scholastic donates a book for each pair of pjs donated.
  
• Linda Peda: We will be collecting cans for the food pantry and making Christmas cards in Spanish to take with the food. Marian Cunningham: We're buying gifts for an angel tree recipient
  
• Diane Dominguez: I want to share with you a program I am trying to get started for our Pay It Forward month. It's called the Pajama Program. I am sending you a link that has a short video to explain the program. http://www.pajamaprogram.org/ I want to do this with my mod 2, but to be honest, we are a very small group. I would like to invite as many classes and PHS clubs, organizations, teams...as possible so that we can make a bigger difference.