Mrs. LePard's 1st Grade!

Welcome to First Grade!  

I am looking forward to working with you and your child this year.  I will be using this google site to communicate with your family this school year, so please take a look around by using the tabs at the top of this page.  Please know this site is a "work in progress" and will change as needed.

If you scroll down the page, you will find the newsletter for the week.  Each newsletter will be saved in the "past posts" tab at the top in case you ever need to review them.

There are also links to the Hudsonville Public School website and Food Service for your convenience at the bottom of this page.

December 18, 2025

Hello First Grade Families,

Thank you to all the parents/volunteers who helped out with our classroom celebration today.  We appreciate your time, energy, and donations for crafts, games, and snacks.  We couldn't do it without you!  So thank you again.  If you check out the photos page, you will be able to see what the kids did.

I would also like to say THANK YOU for sending in books for our book exchange and for all of the gift you shared with me.  I truly feel appreciated by you.

Please remember that our holiday break begins on Monday, December 22 and lasts for two weeks.

I look forward to seeing your child on Monday, January 5, 2026.  We will have library that day, so please remember to return library books!

What we learned this week....

Phonics:  We focused on the "sh" digraph and the sound it makes.  We learned that you can find this digraph at the beginning and endings of words and/or syllable beats.  We practiced reading and writing lots of words with this blend and wrote sentences at the end of the week.

READING:  We finished traveling around the world.  We had a great trip and learned so much about other holidays and customs.  "Luggage" was sent home earlier in the week.  I hope you had the chance to take a peek at it and have great conversations with your child.

WRITING... We have started using our own ideas to write how-to stories.  First we brainstormed ideas of things we thought we would be good at teaching someone else to do/make/be.  Then we made a front cover for our stories, as well as a materials list of the things we would need to teach.

MATH.... We continue to work with number lines and placing numbers at the correct intervals.  We have played the "blank card" game a lot.  The kids are given numbers at the beginning and end of the number line and then a blank card is placed on the number line.  The kids use their mathematical thinking to figure out what the missing number is and have to explain how they achieved that number.  It is fun to hear the different ways they are solving problems.

SEL - We are focusing on the the words focused and distracted.  We are working on being more focused and less distracted during learning time.  We are working on keeping our tools organized and using our self-talk to remember our purpose (they thing we are supposed to be doing).  We will be practicing these skills for a while!

Important Dates:

MONDAY:  LIBRARY DAY!   

Jan. 5, 2026:  Return to school

Jan. 15, 2026:  Skating Party 6:15-8:15pm

Jan. 16, 2026:  Early Release Friday...kids are dismissed at 12:15pm

Jan. 20, 2026:  PTC meeting at 6:30pm at Alward

Happy Holidays!  May your family feel blessed and at peace this holiday season.....Love, Mrs. LePard

Links for Parents

•  Hudsonville Public Schools (for background checks)

•  Food Service/Lunch Information (for lunch account information)