Since the news was released that Portage Northern will be building its own football stadium and soccer field, the community has been anxiously awaiting any new developments in regards to the new facilities. Turns out, Portage Northern is breaking ground in more ways that one. The school is reaching out to the community and offering members the opportunity to put their own name by the facility. Parents, teachers, and friends alike can pay a flat fee of $100 for a brick that will be in the walkway leading up to the stadium. There is a designated space to dedicate a message to loved ones right on the brick. “This has been 50 some years in the making (this is) an opportunity for (community members) to become a part of that,” shared principal Jim French.

Not only is this an excellent fundraiser for the new stadium, the Brick Campaign is additionally an innovative way to bring the school community together. “Our website design class is developing the website. They know the story that we have shared and now they are creating the website to share that story,” explains French. Classes such as Woodshop, Marketing, Multimedia design  are all using the talents and skills possessed by the students to involve the school’s population in its upgrade.  “Everything is being done with our current courses and using the talent of our students,” French continued.

It will take, at this time, roughly 3,000 bricks, with meaningful dedications to community members from community members. The Brick Campaign launch date is April first, when order forms will be distributed via the internet and shared here on the NL website. The goal is for orders of the first installment to be submitted by May 15, but multiple deadlines will be pushed depending on where the brick is located, and when it is to be installed. While Huskies will continue to wait for the name of the stadium to be released, in the meantime, they can put their own name on the stadium.