Coach, Mentor, Teacher of the Year Michael Kistner Recognized for 25 Years in the Classroom
A graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, Michael Kistner earned a bachelor's degree in history, then a master's degree in European history from the University of North Texas. He began teaching at Bishop Dunne in 2000, and had been teaching for a decade before that. This is his 25th year in the classroom.
A sign above his classroom door reads, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," from Dante's Inferno. It appears to be just the opposite of his teaching and coaching style. He laughs about it: "That's a joke from my AP students," he explains.
His former students agree that he's an inspiration. Cameron Maxwell, Class of 2014, took AP World History from Mr. Kistner in his sophomore year. He says "Mr. Kistner is easygoing and has a relaxed way of teaching. I felt like I wasn't just another student, but that we all got to know each other on a deeper level."
In addition to teaching a full schedule of classes and coaching volleyball, over the years Mr. Kistner has served as moderator for the National Honor Society.
For fun, when he's not teaching or coaching or moderating a club, he's researching with the goal of writing books. One is about his father's two tours in Vietnam, in 1968 and in 1971. The other is a book on strategic mining in World War II.
Mr. Kistner is married to Kris, and on June 30, 2016, they'll celebrate their 26th anniversary. The couple often attends Falcon football home games.
For more information about Bishop Dunne Catholic School see the school's website at: www.bdcs.org For information about the Volleyball program, contact coach Kistner at mkistner@bdcs.org or Becky Sivinski at rsivinski@bdcs.org
The school hosts a number of athletic and academic camps in the summer including volleyball:
High School Girls’ Volleyball Camp
Grades: Incoming 9th-12th Grade
Date: July 18- 20, 2016 (Monday – Wednesday)
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Cost: $75
This skills camp is designed to meet the needs of athletes entering grades 9-12. The focus is on all aspects of the game, particularly fundamentals. Skill development is emphasized through on-court instruction in the following areas: serving, serve receiving, forearm passing, setting, attacking, team defense, blocking, team reception, attack coverage and team transition.
Instructor: Mike Kistner
Middle School Girls’ Volleyball Camp
Grades: Incoming 5th – 8th Grade
Date: July 18- 20, 2016 (Monday – Wednesday)
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $50
This skills camp is designed to meet the needs of athletes entering grades 6-8. The focus is on all aspects of the game with an emphasis on fundamentals. Skill development is emphasized through on-court instruction in the following areas: serving, serve receiving, forearm passing, setting, attacking, team defense, blocking, team reception, attack coverage, and team transition.
Instructors: Mike Kistner & Rebecca Sivinski