Foreign Language
Coordinator of Foreign Language, Rita DiCarlo
rdicarlo@medford.k12.ma.us
781-393-2375
- Medford High School Staff
- Middle School Staff
- Elementary School Italian Teachers
- Foreign Language Department Mission
- Advanced Placement (AP) Exams
- School Trips
- News
Medford High School Foreign Language Staff
French Teachers
Ms. Ami Boardman
Mrs. Heidi Jaubert
Italian Teachers
Mrs. Rita DiCarlo
Mrs. Felisabeth Pancheri
Mrs. Diane Guarino
Spanish Teachers
Mrs. Nelida Muñoz Lepore
Mrs. Elizabeth Gomez
Mr. Michael Skorker
Mrs. Saioa Diez
Ms. Nicole Sanford
Middle School Foreign Language Staff
Italian Teachers
Mrs. Michela DeBari
Mrs. Lorella Bowers
Spanish Teachers
Mr. James Dickens
Ms. Kathryn Schulte
Elementary School Italian Teachers
Brooks
Mrs. Giovanna Trombetta
Columbus
Mrs. Sandra DiRenzo
McGlynn
Mrs. Rosetta Romagnoli
Mrs. Adele Scaramuzzo
Roberts
Mrs. Adele Scaramuzzo
Foreign Language Department Mission Statement
The Foreign Language Department of the Medford Public Schools is committed to satisfying the requirements of the Curriculum Framework put forth by the state of Massachusetts. It is our goal to prepare students using the best knowledge available regarding foreign language pedagogy and to adapt curriculum and methods to achieve success for the greatest number of students.
Guidelines
We subscribe to the belief that all students should learn a foreign language and that this instruction should begin as early as possible.
Communication is at the heart of what we do. Proficiency and skills development are the foremost goals. The Framework says, “The study of the language system itself, while useful for some students, does not automatically result in the development of the ability to process language in real situations… Most learners learn a modern language best when they are provided opportunities to use the target language to communicate in a wide range of activities.”(p.14-15) Therefore, teachers will use the target language as much as possible in class. Students also are expected to use the language with the teacher, in written work, and in pair or group activities to exchange information or solve problems.
To be truly proficient requires an understanding and appreciation of the peoples who speak the language studied (target language.) This cultural knowledge includes the typical products of culture, history, geography, literature and the arts as well as the common routines and features of everyday life. Knowledge of the target culture(s) as well as an understanding of how it compares to our own is essential for a well-educated person.
Teachers are encouraged to make connections with other disciplines so that students may be challenged to use the higher order thinking skills of synthesis and analysis. Students are also able to take better ownership of the material as they add new facts and restudy the material from a new perspective.
Foreign language, like other subject areas, prepares students for life-long learning. Efforts to make connections to the community, learn technology skills, and develop research abilities are valuable components of the curriculum.
The Italian Language and Culture AP Exam has been suspended.
The French Language AP Exam and the Spanish Language AP Exam will be administered the first week of May 2011.
Students are encouraged to visit the College Board website for more information.
Two Medford High School cultural trips will take place during the 2011 February vacation. Mrs. Lepore is leading the group going to Spain and Mrs. DiCarlo the group going to Italy.
There are still some spots available. Any student interested should contact Mrs. Lepore for the Spain trip at nlepore@medford.k12.ma.us and Mrs. DiCarlo for the Italy trip at rdicarlo@medford.k12.ma.us.
Call 781-393-2375 if you have any questions about the trips.
Please check out information and pictures about our trip to Italy in Spring 2009:
Medford High School’s Italian Adventure
Enjoying frothy cappuccino, creamy gelato, marvelous espresso, from crowded cities to charming hill towns, from the sea to the mountains, moving around in motor coaches, local buses, school bus, trains, subway, cars, big boats, small boats, and smaller boats … it was an unforgettable adventure!
Chaperoned by Mrs. DiCarlo and Dr. Krueger with the help of Mr. & Mrs. Cavallaro and Mrs. Gramolini we started our adventure in Rome, the Eternal City. We met our guide, Sara at the airport, hopped on the bus and arrived at our hotel. Four of us were especially anxious to get to the Hotel Pacific where family members were waiting. Emily Nixon was happy to see her brother George Nixon, and the Cavallaro’s were happy to see Paul Cavallaro. George has been studying in Rome for the past two years and Paul, a junior at Tufts University and a Medford High School graduate is doing a semester at the University of Bologna.
We spent our first two days walking through Rome marveling at its important historical sites. We visited basilicas, looked at temple ruins and walked on the same marble streets that Julius Caesar walked on many centuries ago. We stopped by Julius Caesar’s tomb where people still leave fresh flowers and then continued our walk through the Roman Forum which was the commercial, social, political, and religious center of ancient Rome.
The majestic Colosseum was impressive and we tried to visualize the gladiator fights that took place there. We crossed the Tiber River and went to the Vatican, home of Saint Peter’s Basilica, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. The Sistine Chapel famed by Michelangelo’s frescos in the 1500’s has the primary function today as a venue for the election of a new pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. On the occasion of a conclave in this chapel they install a chimney, from which smoke arises as a signal of whether or not a new pope has been elected. If the smoke is black it means no pope yet and when the smoke is white a new Pope has been elected. The rest of the time it is mainly open the millions of tourists that visit it every year. Michelangelo’s ceiling was incredibly beautiful with its vibrant colors.
The next morning it was raining, our bus driver picked us up and took us to Naples where we visited the National Archeological Museum which is the most important and biggest archeological museum in Europe. The museum houses bronze and marble statues, paintings, mosaics, and other important findings that were recovered from the excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum. These two cities were completely buried by the explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. A popular attraction in the museum is the large mosaic taken from the Casa del Fauno in Pompeii, which is made up of over 1.5 million tiny tiles and shows a scene from the battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian King Darius III. On the bottom floor of the museum we were able to view important excavation findings from Egypt. After enjoying some pizza, we proceeded to Pompeii.
From written accounts by historians it was known that Pompeii, a very prosperous town located at the base of Vesuvius, existed in the 1st century. However, there was no physical evidence of such a place until 1748. Pompeii had remained buried under 60 feet of ash and pumice for almost 1700 years. In 1748 it was discovered accidentally and excavations began. Parts of the city are still buried, but the parts that have been excavated provide an amazing insight into everyday life at the height of the Roman Empire. Pompeii was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
We continued our adventure the next day to the island of Capri. The magnetism of this small island off the coast of Naples is its alluring sea cave called la Grotta Azzurra, the Blue Grotto. Weather conditions have to be just right; entrance to the cave is not possible if it’s too windy or the waves are too high. The morning didn’t seem too promising, but we kept our fingers crossed. It was a bit cloudy and we felt some drops of water. Some of us even bought umbrellas from the street vendors before we ventured on the boat. We weren’t sure if we could go into la Grotta Azzurra, but we did go in, and what an enchanting experience it was! The opening to the cave is very small and we had to get into reclining position in small boats to pass through the opening. Once inside we couldn’t believe our own eyes! The beauty of the blue water was breathtaking!
The next day we took the train and the local bus to the town of Castel di Sangro, in the region of Abruzzo to experience the everyday life of Italians who do not live in touristy areas. The capital of this region, L’Aquila was destroyed by a strong earthquake only a few weeks before, but Castel di Sangro was only minimally affected. We were able to admire the beauty of the majestic mountains and enjoy some spectacular views as the local bus to Castel di Sangro took us through winding country roads in the Apennines Mountains. The air was crisp and it was raining again!
That afternoon after checking in our elegant hotel, we were picked up by a school bus sent by the mayor of Castel del Giudice, Mrs. DiCarlo’s hometown. When we got to Castel del Giudice, the mayor, the deputy mayor and others gave us a warm welcome and reception at city hall. Each of us got a gift bag that contained some brochures postcards and a T-shirt from the town. Caitlyn Levine spoke in Italian and thanked them for the warm reception they gave us. The mayor then took us to the local bar where he treated us to espresso, cappuccino, or delicious hot chocolate which had the consistency of pudding. We then toured the small town making a stop at Mrs. DiCarlo’s condo. We returned to the hotel by school bus and that evening we had an incredible dinner where we ate continuously for three hours.
Mrs. DiCarlo’s cousin is a teacher at the regional high school in Castel di Sangro and was able to arrange for us to visit the school. At ten o’ clock the next morning classes were in full session when we arrived and were greeted by the principal, vice principal and some teachers. We walked through the school and stopped in a couple of classes. The walls of the classrooms were very plain, with coat hangers in the back. Students do not have lockers and hang their jackets in back of the room. They remain in the same classroom all day and teachers go to them. School is from Monday through Saturday, it starts at 8:20 in the morning and it ends at 12:20 some days while on other days at 1:20. They have a five-minute break at 10:30 and eat lunch when they get home. We left the school did some shopping and it was time to say good bye to Abruzzo and return to Rome.
Our last two days were spent in Rome where we strolled in Piazza Navona with its beautiful statues especially Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of Four Rivers), did some shopping in Via del Corso, attended a free concert, and threw coins in the Trevi Fountain to assure our return.
On the Trevi Fountain, one of the students, Nina Pino states, “Three coins in the fountain. It’s a classic black-and-white film made in 1954 starring Clifton Webb and Jean Peters. Not only is it a movie, but it’s also the exact number of euro coins that I threw into the Trevi Fountain on my last night in Rome. Our awesome tour guide Sara told us that if you threw 1 coin into the fountain you got a boyfriend, 2: you get married, and 3: you married to an Italian and move with him/her back to wherever in Italy he/she lives. I had gone to Italy before when I was maybe around 11 or 12 years old, but back then I was too young to fully appreciate traveling to a foreign country. Now, a few years older I’m more than glad that I went back to Italy. I definitely appreciated all I experienced there more than before, so much so that I hardly wanted to return.”
Our last day in Rome we also visited the Capitoline Museum on top of the famous Capitoline Hill. The museum collection includes a large number of Roman statues, medieval and renaissance art and other artifacts that include jewelry and coins.
We returned home with the experience of a lifetime and beautiful memories to share from our unbelievable Italian Adventure!
