Mr. James Cassata This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Tarmac Online

   www.chaminade-hs.org/tarmac/ar - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/1/2002   Last Visited: 4/15/2004

   Mr. James Cassata, a familiar face and favorite teacher to generations of Chaminade students, is one of the faculty members who will be making his departure this June. Mr. Cassata has been working at Chaminade for thirty-two years as a music teacher; from 1970 to 1995 he also directed the band. As the only instructor of Chaminade's required music-appreciation course, Mr. Cassata has enjoyed the unique privilege of teaching every student who has passed through these hallways during his thirty-two year tenure as a faculty member. He will be remembered by all of them for his quick wit and dry sense of humor. Mr. Cassata's "blind, deaf, and dumb dog, Piccolo" is just one example of his memorable sense of humor. So are the straw or the hose he would start playing as if it were a musical instrument. And, of course, who could forget how Mr. Cassata would delight in popping a brown paper bag next to a sleeping student's ear. "I found that making kids laugh was effective in teaching them the history of music," said Mr. Cassata. "I hope that my antics inside the classroom instilled an appreciation of all types of music in my students." Reflecting on his many years at Chaminade, Mr. Cassata said, "I love working with nice kids, and I am going to miss them and the faculty on a daily basis.