Mar. 04, 2020
Suzanne Piechotta, a Grade 10 teacher at Robert Thirsk High School (RTHS), is the Board of Trustees nominee for the 2020 Edwin Parr Award.
Piechotta is a first-year English Language Arts and Art teacher and was heralded by principal Matt Christison as an “outstanding human being.”
She uses her passion for the arts to help connect with students, helping them find inspiration, passion, and a place where they can express themselves. Her priority is always to build the student’s capacity so they feel like they can be successful. This carries over into her role of basketball and field hockey coach, where she has helped her athletes realize the skills they develop on the court can carry over into their everyday lives.
Piechotta thanked her colleagues at RTHS, saying “the supportive, collaborative environment at the school has provided me with numerous opportunities to work alongside experienced teachers from various disciplines, building my knowledge base and strengthening my skills as an educator.”
The Edwin Parr Teacher Award is given annually to a novice teacher who demonstrates initial teaching proficiency. If she is selected as the zone winner, she will be recognized along with the five other zone winners from across Alberta at a ceremony this fall.
Christison said that all people who encounter her thrive: “She embodies all of the things that we look for in teachers.”
Suzanne Piechotta
accepts the nomination for the Edwin Parr Teacher Award
L-R: Recruitment and Staffing Consultant Doug Swift, Area 1 Education Director
Christine Davies, Suzanne Piechotta, RTHS principal Matt Christison
