Photos by Mike Salsbury
Musician Ric Zassenhaus sings an educational song to first-graders Friday at Holy Family School in Lacey.

Anna Huyck, a first-grader at Holy Family School, sings along to "This Little Light of Mine" during Zassenhaus' visit.

Musical lessons add fun to school

CHESTER ALLEN, THE OLYMPIAN

LACEY -- The 164 students at Holy Family School expect favorite songs -- not geometry -- when musician Ric Zassenhaus visits.

But geometry is what third- and fourth-graders got Friday when Zassenhaus led them through the chorus of "Jack the Maniac."

"I say hello, and he says 'bye," Zassenhaus and the kids sang. "I say right, he says wrong."

Then Zassenhaus sang, "I say acute, he says obtuse."

"What?" blurted one confused student.

Holding his hands to resemble the beak of a bird, Zassenhaus demonstrated that an acute angle is less than 90 degrees, while an obtuse angle is more than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees.

Little heads nodded, and Zassenhaus strummed his guitar again.

Zassenhaus, a postal worker, volunteers at Holy Family School at least once a year, and his songs bring a new dimension to the school, Principal Danny Millar said.

"It's a chance for them to have a different kind of teacher," Millar said. "And they see that learning can be fun."

"It's cool because he's so good," said third-grader Kyle Schrader. "He's so good."

Founded in 1974, Holy Family School is a private Catholic school for pre-school through eighth grade.

Zassenhaus, whose easy style appeals to kids of all ages, strums his guitar and rehearses a few songs with each age group during the day.

Then the whole school gets together in the afternoon and belts out one song after another.

Third-grader Nancy Miles used her hands to practice acute and obtuse angles after her session.

"I like 'Jack the Maniac,' " she said.

"It's sort of funny, and I like coming back later to sing again."

Zassenhaus said singing in school is a labor of love -- and payback to a teacher from his childhood.

"A long time ago, when I was a kid in grade school, a Catholic brother took us all out to a farm and sang with us, and that started my love of music," Zassenhaus said. "I want these kids to love music too."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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