Mr. Kraus8th Grade MathMathemagician

Resident Genius of B32

Céad Mile Fáilte!

Learning begins NOW! The sentence above is Irish and translates to “A hundred thousand welcomes” in English.

INDEED, WELCOME TO MATH CLASS!

Who is this guy?

I was born on May 19th (several years before any of you) in Ottawa, KS.

I grew up in Quenemo which is a little town of 350 people 15 miles west of Ottawa. I moved to Ottawa 3 years ago.

I went to preschool at Faith Lutheran Church and K-12 at Marais des Cygnes Valley where I graduated in 2006 as part of a class of 18.

My familyMother – Pam

Stepfather - MarkFather – BryanSisters – Amanda (32), Whitney (17),

Kennz (10), Chrome (7)Brothers – Trenton (27), Dalen (21),

Ezekiel (passed), Gaither (passed)

My mother, stepfather, three younger sisters, brothers and I live in an old 50s style motel that has 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.

This is my car Charlie. He’s a 2011 Dodge Charger.

College Years I became a Gorilla at Pittsburg State University in 2006.

While I worked on my major, I lived in the Residence Halls on campus and served as an officer in several organizations on campus including the student-alumni group, Advancement Ambassadors, and the Math honors society, Kappa Mu Epsilon.

I also worked in the library and presented my research at two National conferences.

I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Mathematics Education in 2010. Instead of looking for a teaching position, I chose to continue my studies as

a Gorilla and accomplish my Masters of Science in Mathematics. While I was a graduate student, I also taught a section of College Algebra with Review for the University each semester. I graduated with my Masters in 2012.

Due to my diligence and academic success, I graduated with less than $2000 in student loans which I’ve already paid off. Working hard in school DOES pay off!!

After graduation After I graduated from PSU, I began to

search for a teaching gig. I had originally thought I would want to teach at a high school but luckily for you, I accepted the position here at West and became a Warhawk!

The summer after graduation, I also chose to travel a little bit. I spent an amazing 19 day travelling around Ireland and England. For the first nine days, I puttered around Dublin with a day trip to County Cork to see Blarney Castle and 6 days in London visiting the Olympic venues.

Last year, I taught in this same room and had an absolute blast. No doubt many of you have heard of my greatness?? Of course you have! My one piece of advice for you to receive the same experience is that I expect a lot from each of you and if you’re willing to give me your all and work hard every day we can have a blast AND learn Math at the same time!!

Hobbies – I do have a life outside of school! I LOVE to read! I don’t have near enough time for it during the school year

so I get caught up over the summer. I get really into March Madness. My dream is to give a horse a home. If that happens, I will be found on the

trails every weekend. I want to build my own archer’s bow. I enjoy firing arrows on the range

when I can. I work out at The Summit downtown three to four days a week. I like to bake and try new recipes. When I have downtime I like to stumble through old textbooks and find

new Math-y things I didn’t know about to study. I love to laugh!

My hopes for the year Above all, I hope that each of you leave my classroom at the end of

year able to be the next big thing in Mathematics! I hope that throughout the year each of you will become leaders in

your class. Leaders that are not afraid to be involved. Leaders that defend those that are unable to defend themselves. Leaders that understand you are more than what others say about you.

I hope that each of you will join me and your fellow Warhawks when the opportunity arises to cheer on your classmates in their games, concerts, and competitions!

I also hope that you allow me to get to know each of you and that you grow to trust that I have best wishes for your future at heart.

Words of Wisdom I have high expectations for each of you. I know many of you don’t like Math. I’m here to begin to change that! I ask that you come into my classroom every day prepared and ready to

participate. We’re going to make mistakes and that’s OK. Together we should learn

from them and move on. This class will be hard at times…

DON’T EVER GIVE UP!