SG-Portal

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Weekly Updates

Friendly competition between our garnet and grey houses continued yesterday with some intense matches of chess! Congratulations to our finalists, Cooper H. and Miller D.!

Scheduling Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conferences
Our students are busy preparing for their student-led conferences. Conference Day will take place on Friday, October 31. The link to set up conference times will go live on Tuesday, October 21, at 9 a.m. in MyPG. You can review additional details and instructions here.

If you have trouble logging in, please email helpdesk@portergaud.edu for assistance. If you need to cancel a conference that you have signed up for, please do so within 48 hours of your conference time. If you need to reschedule your conference after this date, please contact your student's teacher directly. 

Please reach out to your student's advisor with any other questions related to conferences. We look forward to meeting with you.

Founder’s Day Concert
Come enjoy handbells, our Lower, Middle, and Upper School choirs, an art exhibition, and more at Founder's Day on Monday, October 20, at 7 p.m. in the Wendell Center. Our students have been working hard and look forward to this opportunity to perform in front of their families, teachers, and peers.

Upper School Preview Event for Current Eight Grade PG Parents and Caregivers
Join us on Monday, October 27, from 8:45 - 10 a.m. for an Upper School Preview for current 8th grade Porter-Gaud parents and caregivers. This event will include student and adult perspectives on life in the Upper School, a presentation of academics, arts, athletics, service, and spiritual Life; a Q&A; and a tour of the Upper School. Please click here to RSVP. We hope to see you there!

Digital Citizenship Week
Porter-Gaud is excited to celebrate Digital Citizenship Week from October 20-24. Students in all three divisions will utilize a variety of resources from Common Sense Media and participate in lessons and activities designed to promote a healthy, balanced, and positive approach to media and technology usage. Because partnering with families is critical for student success and digital wellbeing, we also encourage parents and caregivers to talk with students at home about how we can all thrive in an ever-changing digital world. 

Future City Mentor Needed!
Are you an engineer who would like to share your knowledge with Middle School students? Mrs. Garcia and Mrs. Clair are leading a Future City team and are in need of a community mentor as a required component for the team. If you are interested, please email jclair@portergaud.edu to get more details!

MS Service Program Updates
Many of our Middle School students have participated in service projects with the Charleston Parks Conservancy. They are a valuable partner of the Middle School Service Program. This Saturday, Charleston Parks Conservancy is hosting a free community event at Colonial Lake called Bloom Charleston. Please consider joining the fun with your family!

Bloom Charleston Information

Upcoming service opportunities:

• November 8: Charleston Miracle League (Buddy On the Field), 9:45-12:00 (Signup will be posted in the October 23 update.)
• December 13: GrowFood Carolina. Join us to pack food boxes for food insecure families in the Charleston area. (Signup will be posted in early December.)

Fifth Grade Pumpkin Carving Contest 
The Fifth Grade Pumpkin Carving Contest will take place on Thursday, October 30! Students may submit one pumpkin for judging. There will be six categories, with first place and runner-up prizes awarded in each. Pumpkins should be dropped off on the S&T steps between 7:30–7:55 a.m. More details can be found on the flyer here.

Middle School Pre-Football Game Social on the Green!
Join us on Friday, October 24, from 6–7:30 p.m. for a Middle School Social on the Green! All 5th–8th graders are welcome to come hang out with friends, enjoy food, music, and games before the big game. There will be a $5 entrance fee. This event is for Porter-Gaud Middle School students only. Please click here to RSVP.

Winterim Assignments
Winterim assignments should be shared with families tomorrow. With the canceling of the Costa Rica trip, we have had to reassign some students to their second and third choices based on availability. For students who had not selected the Costa Rica trip, we made every effort to honor each student’s first-choice of experience; however, because enrollment was filled on a first-come, first-served basis, not all requests could be met. In rare cases, those who signed up for a Winterim after the deadline may not be placed in any of their top three choices because those experiences had already reached capacity.

Class Trips
We look forward to our class trips scheduled for Tuesday, May 5 – Friday, May 8. Class trips are an integral part of our academic program, and students are expected to attend. Please note that dates may shift slightly depending on logistics. We will communicate any changes as soon as they are confirmed. The student fee/family share of the payment is listed beside each trip. Porter-Gaud works hard to keep these costs affordable.

Below are the class trip activities as well as links to register for the 7th and 8th grade trips through Orange Sky, the agency we work with to facilitate these particular class trips. 

• 8th Grade – Leadership and Teamwork the Disney Way (Student fee $100): Building on the success of last year’s Winterim trip, this experience will now serve as the culminating class trip for 8th grade, ensuring every student can participate in this fun and educational leadership experience. You can register using this link:  https://orangeskytravel.com/200245 and the Trip Code: 200245. Please note, the cost of the trip listed on the website may not match the actual cost of the family share. Families will only pay $100 for this trip and the school will cover the remaining cost. Also, please choose the “quad” room option when registering. The deadline to register is Friday, October 24.
• 7th Grade – Washington, D.C. (Student fee $100): A classic educational experience, this trip includes visits to key D.C. landmarks, museums, and the U.S. Capitol, aligned with the 7th-grade history curriculum. You can register using this link: https://orangeskytravel.com/200240 and the Trip Code: 200240. Please note, the cost of the trip listed on the website may not match the actual cost of the family share. Families will only pay $100 for this trip, and the school will cover the remaining cost. Also, please choose the “quad” room option when registering. The deadline to register is Friday, October 24.
   
• 6th Grade – Local Field Trips throughout the year (Student fee $0): Perhaps the most exciting change is the thoughtful planning of local field trips throughout the school year to build community and connection amongst the sixth graders. This year, sixth-grade students will start the year off with a team-building trip to Charleston Adventure Forest. This will be followed by a science-focused field trip before winter break. The spring semester will involve a field trip focusing on the arts, with an end-of-the-year field trip focused on community building. Each of these trips will focus not only on educational connections to the classroom, but also on connections among students to help them strengthen or build new bonds with their classmates. They occur at times throughout the year when students typically seek connections with their peers.

• 5th Grade – Camp Timberlake (Student fee $50): A hallmark experience of the Middle School journey, the fifth-grade trip to Camp Timberlake offers unforgettable outdoor education and bonding that lays the foundation for meaningful relationships throughout Middle School. There is no need to register for this trip. All fifth grade students are currently registered, and billing will occur through the school.

MS Service Opportunities
The Middle School Service Program encompasses the Service Club, as well as off-campus opportunities open to all Middle School students. To see detailed information, please check the "MS Off Campus Service" tab under Resources when you log into MyPG. Below are opportunities that have been scheduled for the first semester.  Space is limited and registration is required, as we must ensure that all paperwork is completed by all participants.  An adult should complete the sign-up so that we can communicate with the person who is transporting the child to and from the service project.

• November 8: Charleston Miracle League (Buddy On the Field), 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Signup will be posted in late October.
• December 13: GrowFood Carolina box packing for people facing food insecurity. Signup will be posted in late November. 

Dining Update from Taher
All families are invited to participate in a short survey about school lunch here. Thank you for participating! 

Please click here to see the menu for the upcoming week. You can also follow Taher on Instagram (@taherpgdining) or access menus online.

From the PGPA

• Holiday Festival Committee: Parents and caregivers in all divisions are needed for the Holiday Festival Committee, which assists with the Holiday Festival on Saturday, December 6, and decorating the campus on Sunday, November 30. All are welcome to attend the first drop-in meeting in Washington Hall on Wednesday, October 22, between 8:15 - 9:30 a.m. to learn more! Click here for more information. 
• PGPA Concessions: Please click here to sign up for shifts and support our athletics teams. No experience necessary!
• Volunteer Opportunities: Click here to learn more about PGPA volunteer opportunities.