The

Crocilla Courier
January 2017

Mr. Crocillas Corner

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,
Happy New Year! I cannot believe the school
year is already half-way through! I encourage
you to reflect on the first half of the school year
and set achievable academic and personal goals
for yourself moving forward. We have
celebrated some exciting achievements in our
classroom thus far, but it is important to
remember that there is always room for
growth. As we begin the second half of the
school year, we will continue to work on our
individual goals and make choices that will
best represent our classroom as respectful,
responsible, and peaceful learners. During the
month of December, we concluded our ELA
pilot curriculum, set Trimester 2 goals for ELA
and Math, experienced our L.A.B.s green
screen for the first time, enjoyed our annual
Its a Wonderful Night event at Troy
Craughwell, celebrated our second holiday
party of the year with the help of some
wonderful parent volunteers, and lastly,
enjoyed a well-deserved Winter Break.

January Happenings
Thurs. January 5 School resumes!

Mon. January 9 Sofias birthday!

Wed. January 11 SIP Day (Student dismissal @

11:50am No lunch on this day)
Fri. January 13 Mid-Trimester 2
Mon. January 16 NO
SCHOOL
(Martin Luther King Day)

I look forward to more moments worth

celebrating and the progress that students will
be sure to make as we continue this new year!

Fri. January 20 Chloes birthday!

Sincerely,

Mr. Crocilla
P.S. Just a reminder: all homework
will continue to be posted on our
class website daily.

Thurs. January 26
Daddy/Daughter Winter
Wonderland Dance @ 67:30pm

mcrocilla@troy30c.org / mcrocilla.weebly.com / #815-577-7313 ext. 6126

Learning Highlights: I can

Reading

Use my prior knowledge to explore new ideas.

Describe characters based on actions and dialogue.

Identify important events in a fairy tale and summarize

a story.

Make connections between a story and a play.

Identify a characters feelings or state of being to

explain unfamiliar words.

Compare and contrast two fairy tale stories.

Read a story and share my ideas in a collaborative

conversation.

Understand figurative language.

Writing

Narrow my writing focus by choosing an idea for my

fairy tale.

Mathematics

Use the partitioning strategy to

solve division problems.

Use the partial quotients

strategy to divide whole
numbers (two to four-digit numbers)

Use the partial quotients strategy to divide whole

numbers in word problems.

Social Studies

Describe the events leading to the Revolutionary War.

Identify and describe the National

Symbols of the United States.

Organize plot events so that it will make sense to my

reader.

Establish a situation and introduce my characters.

Develop characters and story events in my story.

Provide a sense of closure to my fairy tale.

Draft, revise, edit, and publish my fairy tale.

-------------------------------------------Word Study

Read my words, identify spelling patterns, and clarify

meanings.

Identify & apply long i & u spelling patterns in a text.

Identify closed syllable patterns.

---------------------------------------------Grammar/Vocabulary

Identify and use descriptive

adjectives.

Use context clues to identify

unknown words.

mcrocilla@troy30c.org / mcrocilla.weebly.com / #815-577-7313 ext. 6126

Fourth Grade Fun!

Happy Birthday to
Check out
our winterinspired
door!

Sofia 01/09
Chloe 01/20

Thank You!
Thank you to the parent volunteers (Mr. &
Mrs. Testa and Mrs. Chignoli) who not only
planned, but also helped and celebrated with us
during our Christmas Party! The fourth graders were
eagerly awaiting our celebration and with your support they
were all smiles while enjoying holiday snacks, playing
marshmallow bozo buckets, watching a Christmas movie, and
making reindeer candy canes for their hot cocoa mix to enjoy
over break! This would not have been possible without your
hard work and collaboration.

January Fun Facts

January is the first month of the year!

National Bird Day is January 5th.
January 11th is Clean Off Your Desk Day.
The first woman elected to Senate took place on January 12, 1932.
The Revolutionary War (something we just learned about in Social Studies!) ended on
January 14, 1784.
National Hat Day is celebrated on January 15th.
Martin Luther King Day is acknowledged during the month of January.

mcrocilla@troy30c.org / mcrocilla.weebly.com / #815-577-7313 ext. 6126

STAR STUDENT
This section highlights our Star Students of the previous month. Each student will be randomly selected
throughout the school year to be the Star Student for the week. This student acts as the teachers special
helper, as well as gets the opportunity to share more about themselves with the class during our Friday
meeting! Students can share pictures that are special to them, showcase some of their favorite
possessions, and will respond to ten bonus questions by their peers. Below you will
find some information that our Star Student would like to share about his/her self.

Who will be next?

Noah Watkins
Star Student: November 28th December 2nd
Birthday: July 24th
Family: Dad, Mom, and Mike
Favorite.
Subject in School: P.E.
Sport: tennis
Animal: dog or cat
Color: red or black
Thing to do: be happy
Place to Visit: Sky Zone
Something special about me is: I run fast!

Alaina Rothbart
Star Student: December 5th 9th
Birthday: November 12th
Family: Mom, Dad, brother, and me
Favorite.
Book: Doll Bones
TV Show: Pretty Little Liars
Food: pasta
Subject in School: P.E.
Sport: dance
Animal: cat
Color: light blue
Thing to do: dance
Place to Visit: Germany
Something special about me is: I am doublejointed!

mcrocilla@troy30c.org / mcrocilla.weebly.com / #815-577-7313 ext. 6126

A Special Gift

Dylan McCarthy
Star Student: December 12th 16th
Birthday: May 30th
Family: Mom, brother Kodi, sister Keileigh
Favorite.
Book: Zombiekins
TV Show: Star vs. the Force of Evil
Food: pizza
Subject in School: P.E.
Sport: soccer
Animal: ferret, dog, or cat
Color: black
Thing to do: sleep
Place to Visit: friends house
Something special about me is: I am good at
gaming!

We made holiday
ornaments for our
loved ones!

Absent Students
If your student is going to be absent and you would
like to pick up his/her homework for the
day, please call the office by noon and
his/her work will be sent to the office for
pick-up by 3:30pm.
Troy Craughwell Elementary School: #815-577-7313

mcrocilla@troy30c.org / mcrocilla.weebly.com / #815-577-7313 ext. 6126