Mister Ambrose
489 Winthrop St.
Medford, MA 02155
ph: 781.393.2345
dambrose
9.1.2022 - Mr. Berry, Ms. Walker, and Mr. Ambrose all assure you that it is going to be a FABULOUS year because YOU ARE FABULOUS! It's a great day to be a Mustang!
Period 5, 2017-2018
Period 3, 2017-2018
Period 2, 2017-2018
Yearbook Staff, Parent Information Night, 9.27.2017
Nexus Crew, 2016-2017
Outdoor Education with Emma Schneider, 11.9-10.2016
8th Grade Open House Night, 10.18.2016
Mr. Ambrose's Period 6 Class, 2010-2011
Welcome to my website! I am very excited to use this website as an opportunity to keep in touch with students and parents about the great things that are going on in our classrooms at Medford High School.
Parent Information Night will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, October 7, from 7-9 PM. Parents, guardians, and care-givers - check your email to see a message from Mr. Paul D'Alleva with the relevant Zoom links. Thank you!
We've been doing a great job with distance learning over these past two weeks! I am very proud of each and every student for adapting so well to this unique style of learning. Everyone has been so responsible and accountable with the work so far. I'm excited for a great year!
Happy First Day of School!
We had a wonderful first day back to school today. I am so very excited about the upcoming. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to teach so many wonderful students.
Welcome to new students and their families!
I hope everyone enjoyed a great April vacation!
We are almost done with the school year. This is the home stretch. Push yourself to be the best!
I have started a YouTube Channel for class! Check out some of the videos below:
Othello 1.1 Analysis Video (Mr. Ambrose)
Othello 1.2 Analysis Video (Mr. Ambroses, Aidan, Tyler, Stef, and Peter)
I am very excited to begin the 2018-2019 school year. I think it's going to be the best one yet!
Summer session students can check out this link to find information about daily agenda and objectives, as well as helpful links for online learning.
Everyone else, thanks for a great year! Enjoy your summer, and I will see you in the fall!
Click here to play the Midterm Exam Review Game on Kahoot!
If you missed the parent information night at school on Wednesday, September 27, you can download my presentations here.
Welcome to the new school year! Check back regularly for updates about the year. The English 10, 2017-2018 link will be updated daily.
Congratulations to sophomore Mikhayla Rothermel from my period 6 class! Her sonnet was recently selected to be published in a national anthology!
It was great to meet many of you at the Parent Information Night! If you were not able to attend, I have included links to the informational presentations below so that you can stay in the loop. Feel free to email me at any time!
Nexus Parent Information Presentation
English 10 Parent Information Presentation
Yearbook Parent Information Presentation
Welcome to school year 2016-2017! Let's make it our best year yet!
It is now the fourth quarter - the home stretch! Do your best work, and you will have success. There is always hope to do well at Medford High School!
I am happy to have an online or in-person conference with any parent about their child's progress. Feel free to email me at dambrose@medford.k12.ma.us or misterambrose@yahoo.com at any time. I'd love to correspond with each and every parent during the month of March!
I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful holiday season with their families and friends! There will be no homework assigned over break so students can enjoy this time without stress!
I'm looking forward to a great 2015-2016 school year!
What a great school year!
Download Mr. Ambrose's End of the Year Shoutouts here.
Congratulations to the members of the class of 2015!
My sophomores have finished the MCAS English exam!
Many of my juniors have already visited colleges!
My seniors have sent the yearbook to the publisher for publication!
Where has the year gone? Things are flying by, and the students are doing great!
We've enjoyed a great year so far! I am so excited by our many accomplishments. Together, we made it through a rigorous four-day visit from a NEASC accreditation team, who lauded our students. We embarked on a new initiative involving outdoor education, utilizing the Fells Reservation as a de facto classroom on several occasions. Many of our students have prepared pieces for a variety of writing contests, including the prestigious Scholastic Writing Awards sponsored by the Boston Globe and the Museum of Fine Arts. I am excited to see all of the great things we accomplish together in the new year!
I am so excited to begin another great school year tomorrow! Check out my site and follow me on Twitter - @misterambrose - for all of the latest updates!
Just updated each class site with information about the final exam.
Here is a bullet point list of what to review for each exam:
And here are curriculum questions that will also help you to review:
Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year! We are off to a great start! I am looking forward to meeting many parents and guardians at tonght's Information Night!
Download junior information presentation here.
Download sophomore information presentation here.
Download yearbook information presentation here.
I can't believe the school year will be over in two weeks! Continue to check the website daily for updated class agendas and assignments. Follow me on Twitter @misterambrose and email me at misterambrose@yahoo.com or dambrose@medford.k12.m.us if you have any questions, particularly about making up work missed due to absence. Let's push ourselves and finish strong!
MCAS begins tomorrow for the sophomores! You will all do great, and no matter your score, I am very proud of all of your efforts to prepare for this test. We have worked on English fundamentals throughout the year, and I know that you possess the reading and writing skills to ace this thing. Also, don't forget our bet if everyone in the class gets an Advanced score!
You might think that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education might keep previous versions of the test under wraps, but that is anything but the truth. Did you know that you can go online and get all of the answers to every MCAS since 2007 (not including tomorrow's test, obviously)? Check it out here!
Download my final MCAS tips here.
Download 15 different MCAS prompts here.
Download info about how the test is scored here.
I am happy to report that six of Mr. Ambrose's students (and 16 Medford High School students in total) earned recognition in the Boston Globe Scholastic Writing Awards. Nicole Avella (Yearbook), Abigail Candee (English 11 Honors), and Victoria DiPrizio (English 11 Honors) earned Honorable Mentions. Lian Blake (English 11 Honors) and Eli Kissman (English 11 Honors) earned Silver Key Awards. Callaghan Todhunter (English 10 Honors) earned a Gold Key Award. Congratulations to all who participated!
On Monday, February 4, all students who received awards will be recognized by the School Committee at a meeting at City Hall at 7 PM. Silver Key and Gold Key Award winners will be honored at an Awards Day in Boston on Sunday, March 3.
Happy New Year to you and your family!
Last year saw seven of Mr. Ambrose's students earn Boston Globe Writing Awards. This year's award winners will be announced on January 28, and I'm sure Medford will have a great showing.
Other major achievements in 2012 included Nicole Avella's strong performance on the PSAT/NMSQT. She earned National Merit finalist standing, placing her in the top one percent of all students nationwide. This performance came on the heels of her strong performance on the MCAS exam, on which she earned a perfect score.
Last year, all of Mr. Ambrose's students earned Proficient or Advanced scores on the MCAS English Language Arts exam. This year, I'm certain that we'll see a similarly strong performance on the test in March.
I'm sure 2013 will have just as many highlights as 2012!
Download English 11 Parent Presentation.
Download English 10 Parent Presentation.
Download Yearbook Parent Presentation.
Click here for information about registering for iParent.
Even though we are in the dog days of summer, students continue to work hard.
Just today, Mr. Ambrose had 19 students earn credit for high school English through the summer school credit recovery program. Special congratulations go out to Jeffco Lincoln Mwangi, who earned his high school diploma today after completing his English and math requirements! Students like Jeff demonstrated their fundamental English skills by analyzing short fiction by Jamaica Kincaid and Ernest Hemingway, longer fiction by J.D. Salinger, and nonfiction informational texts from the New York Times. Their final writing portfolios contained a variety of pieces of writing, from an identity poem in the style of Langston Hughes to a personal narrative in the style of Alice Walker to a traditional critical essay in MLA format.
On Wednesdays throughout the summer, Mr. Ambrose meets with his small band of PSAT warriors. If you are interested in joining this elite group of students, please email Mr. Ambrose at misterambrose@yahoo.com. Sessions are held Wednesdays from 12:30-2:00 PM in Mr. Ambrose's room, and are geared toward preparation for the October administration of the PSAT/NMSQT.
Just after the school year ended, seven members of the Blue and White yearbook staff travelled with Mr. Ambrose to the University of Connecticut, where they spent two days learning about yearbook publishing and business. Katherine Timmins, Ali de Rosas, Cassidy LeBert, Isabelle Kingbury, Caitlyn Murphy, Steve Mahoney, and Jake Liberty had a wonderful time planning the yearbook page ladder, designing the yearbook cover, and brainstorming theme ideas. Of course, they also took advantage of the all-you-can-eat dining hall policy, came in second place in the campus-wide scavenger hunt, and asked many people they encountered if they knew Mr. Tucci!
The year certainly flew by! I'm very proud to look back at all of our accomplishments the 2011-2012 school year.
Sophomores have read Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Othello, ballads, sonnets, Animal Farm, The Importance of Being Earnest, "A Modest Proposal," and The Lord of the Flies, in addition to other short informational texts. Sophomores also did a significant amount of reading and writing to prepare for the MCAS exam. Most memorable, perhaps, will be our satirical propaganda videos or our "Medford State of Mind" parody videos.
Juniors have read "Letter from Birmingham Jail," excerpts from Walden, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience," Ethan Frome, As I Lay Dying, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, Hemingway's short stories, short stories by other American writers, excerpts from The Jungle, poems such as "Chicago" and "I Hear America Singing," excerpts from The Sun Also Rises, as well as other informational texts such as Harold Bloom's literary criticism Poem Unlimited and How to Read and Why. Students also practiced a lot for the SAT, and should have a good running list of what colleges interest them.
The yearbook staff debuted a wonderfully popular book on Friday that featured all full color pages. The layouts and photos were dynamic, and everything was well-received. Additionally, we completely balanced the budget!
Mr. Ambrose honored junior Susie Smith with his Outstanding Effort Award and Mariam Taha with his Academic Excellence Award at the recent Scholastic Awards Night. Susie goes above and beyond on every single assignment, and Mariam managed to earn the highest grade of any honors sophomore in the entire school.
Five members of the yearbook staff earned distinction from Mr. Ambrose at the recent Leadership Awards Night. Jamie de Rosas, Steven Marchio, and Stephanie Falasca were recognized for leading by example, and editor-in-chief Katie Bowler and business manager Dan Costello were recognized for their outstanding contributions as student leaders.
Seven of Mr. Ambrose's students (Shahrayz Shah, Julia Shoop, Evan Nigro, Tommy Southwick, Abbey Morse, Kayla Greeley, and Nicole Avella) were recently honored by the School Committee for their awards in the Boston Globe Scholastic Art and Writing contest! From Shahrayz's Beowulf-inspired Zrockgar to Julia's coming-of-age essay to Nicole's own "Modest Proposal," many students won recognition for pieces inspired by their work in class.
Weeko raps about Beowulf, 10.6.17
2017-2018 Yearbook Leadership Team:
Delaney Tivan and Mia McGillicuddy
Homeroom Advisory C114, 2014-2018
The 2016-2017 Yearbook Editors
Mr. Ambrose and the yearbook staff at work, 2016
Vincent Perella '16 and Mr. Ambrose
Period 2, Halloween 2014
Period 6, Medford Pride 2014
Mr. Ambrose advises the hardest working club in the school - the Blue and White yearbook staff.
Above: Jamie de Rosas '12, Ivana Garcia '11, Katie O'Brien '11, Mr. Ambrose, and Breanna Hughes '12.
Below: Mr. Ambrose consults with staff members Kiley Callahan '10 and Chris Vaudo '09. Both have recently graduated from Boston College. Kiley and her sister Brenna '09 both served as editor-in-chief of the yearbook; their sister Grace '15 was the yearbook business manager. Chris studied aboad in Tanzania, during which time he maintained an interesting blog. Follow his blog from Tanzania here.
Mister Ambrose
489 Winthrop St.
Medford, MA 02155
ph: 781.393.2345
dambrose