Welcome to Mr. Mulligan's 2nd Grade Class! 2018 - 2019
Hello Everyone!
If you are reading this message, most likely, I have your child for the 2018 - 2019 school year. I don't know about you, but that is really exciting to me! You may be wondering, who is this Mr. Mulligan? How do I know if he is going to be the best teacher for my child?! Well, to answer your question – Yes! I know I am going to have an amazing year with your child and I will do my best to make your child make as much growth as possible! Will we have our ups and downs throughout the year? Yes! 2nd grade is an exciting, monumental, enlightening year for students! You know why? For many students, they have just begun their fascination and exploration of reading. Isn’t it wonderful? They love new books and want to explore as many as they can! Many 1st graders coming up into 2nd grade have explored many pictured books and are inching closer and closer for that day when they will pick up their first chapter book and read it – like, actually read it! That amazing moment in your child’s life is going to happen this year. If you have already had that moment, fantastic!! I am going to make sure to push them even harder and make them think about their reading in ways that they never have before.
Furthermore, your child is going to start thinking about numbers in ways they never have before! Your child is going to be able to add into the thousands by the end of the year and will have so many different math strategies that they can pick from to help them succeed. Parents, yes, I am sorry, but there will be “weird Common Core Math.” These alternative strategies help all students who need options on how they can add and subtract. By the end of the year, I guarantee that your child will be soaring through math and they will be able to add and subtract using “the traditional method” that you and your family learned in school, too. It can be hard and frustrating at times, but please do not worry! I have so many resources for you as well! I know math can be hard and these weird strategies can be just as stressful to you as they are to your child. When the school year starts, you will be given a link to our classroom website where you can go online and check out my podcast where I teach YOU the math strategies in less than a minute – literally 57 seconds. Pretty cool, huh?
So what kind of teacher am I? Well, if you look at my experience, I have three degrees -- two of them Masters Degrees in Education. I have MA Degrees in Educational Leadership (Future Principal!) and in Elementary Education! This is my 7th year teaching and 4th year here at Pine Ridge.
If you ask parents from previous years that I have had, I hear the word “fair” a lot. I completely agree with this adjective. I am the teacher that is going to be your child’s number one fan and will support them however I possibly can, but I require one thing from them – effort. A child who has the right mindset and believes in themselves, I will stand behind 100%. A student that takes his/her education in their own hands and gives it their all is a student that will prosper in my 2nd grade classroom. That can be a challenge at first, but they will discover this amazing trait. I am a teacher that will helps your child understand positivity even more. In the beginning of the year, I have a million + one lessons on positivity and how having the right positive mindset can change their entire year. I would know! It helps me, too! I am the type of teacher that responds to your late night email within minutes because my phone is attached to my hip. I know happy parents help make happy kids. We are going to be a team and this is going to be your best year here at Pine Ridge!
Ok, last but not least, who is this Mr. Mulligan? Does he live under his desk? What does he do when he is not grading my child’s spelling tests? Well, to answer you questions, over our summer break, I had the pleasure of marrying my best friend. I am officially going on 3 weeks of marriage. I made the mistake of being the main and sole wedding planner to my big day, so I feel like I need about 8 more weeks to relax from my big day. With that said, it was literally the best day of my life. When I am not in school, I am with my two bulldogs, Emi Lou and Ozzie. They fill my life with so much joy. We are adopting a third dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog in the fall named Kuma. My family lives in Aspen and Golden, so I love to visit and hike as much as I can! Our beautiful state has so much to offer! I absolutely love to travel when I can. My honeymoon is going to be in May where we will travel all around the beautiful countries of Spain and France. Teaching has been a passion of mine since I actually was in 2nd grade where I had the most inspirational teacher a guy could wish for. Because of Mrs. Schmidt, I am here today writing this letter to you! I am so excited to start this journey with each and every one of you and let’s have an amazing year!
Together in learning,
Scott Mulligan