NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education chair Dick Mastel (right) presents Notre Dame Academy teacher Ron Pisoni with the Excellence in Catholic Education award Tuesday.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
A Notre Dame Academy teacher is this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Catholic Education award, which he received at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Ron Pisoni, who teaches junior high math and science, told the News he became a teacher because he “always enjoyed helping kids,” even when he was one himself, helping his peers with their homework.
He began his 25-year career teaching in the public system – at Hat High and Irvine School before moving to St. Mary’s and then Notre Dame – but appreciates the ability to express his faith as a means of instruction in the separate system.
Pisoni cited the creation of the universe as an example.
“Even religion can’t deny science. And science can’t deny religion. They’re basically intertwined,” Pisoni said. “Creation is like a domino effect, so you have a domino but God was the one who knocked the domino over. Then you have the Big Bang Theory, evolution and all that, but God was the first one to knock it over.”
Two of Pisoni’s colleagues – Notre Dame principal Neal Siedlecki and Heather Irvine, a teacher at St. Mary’s School – presented him with the award.
Siedlecki described Pisoni as a “spiritual ninja” in his professional and personal life.
“He has such a presence. He’s a father figure. He’s an outstanding father, an outstanding husband. In his role as a teacher, he just brings passion and makes kids believe there’s hope and goodness in the world, and faith,” said Siedlecki. “He doesn’t just talk about his faith, he lives his faith.”
Irvine said she was inspired to nominate Pisoni after seeing him at Holy Family Church, where he’s a Eucharist minister.
“I’ve had the privilege of knowing Ron as a colleague and as a teacher of my own kids. I was sitting in church one Sunday and saw him serving on the alter, and I thought ‘He needs to be recognized for Catholic education,'” she said.
There were four other nominees who also received honours at Tuesday’s meeting – Erika Bodnaruk, Courtney Helmer and Natalie Bueckert of Mother Teresa School, and DonnaMae Melle of Monsignor McCoy High School.
