Amesbury Middle School
Encyclopedia
Amesbury Middle School At A Glance
Superintendent of Schools Charles L. Chaurette, Ed. D.
Principal Michael F. Curry
Assistant Principal Sandra Swart
Assistant Principal Steven O'Connor
Guidance Counselor Donna Piver
Guidance Counselor Kathleen Scott
Opened September, 1918
School type Public
School District Amesbury Public Schools
Amesbury Public Schools
Amesbury Public Schools has, for over 100 years, served students from the town of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Currently the district offers pK-12 education.-District Snapshot:Amesbury Public Schools10 Congress StreetAmesbury, MA 01913Website: -History:...

Grade levels 5-8
Student body Coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...

al
Location Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...

Students 868
Faculty and Staff Approx. 68
Mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

School colors
School colors
School colors are the colors chosen by a school to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification. Most schools have two colors, which are usually chosen to avoid conflicts with other schools with which the school competes in sports and other activities...

Blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

 and Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...



Amesbury Middle School has evolved much over the more than 85 years it has been in existence, serving students from the town of Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...

.

School snapshot

Amesbury Middle School

220 Main Street

Amesbury, MA 01913

Phone: (978) 388-0515

Fax: (978) 388-1626

Website: Amesbury Middle School

History

Founded in 1918 as the Amesbury Junior High School, and comprising the 7th and 8th grades, the Amesbury Middle School has seen much change. From 1918 to 1953, the AJHS was housed in the old Amesbury High School
Amesbury High School
Amesbury High School is a coeducational preparatory school in the city of Amesbury, Massachusetts, drawing students from Amesbury, South Hampton, New Hampshire, and other parts of the Merrimack River Valley region....

 building, built in 1882. When the building was declared unsafe for human habitation in 1953, the entire 7th and 8th grades, under the watch of Principal Edward Boulter, were moved to the brick high school building across the street, causing the high school to initiate double sessions. After a whirlwind building project, a 16-classroom addition to the high school was built to house grades 5 through 8. The $680,000 addition, designed by the architects of S. W. Haynes & Associates, Inc., opened on September 7, 1955. It housed 16 classrooms, a gym, a home economics unit, wood shop and office. The old gym in the high school was then retrofitted as a cafeteria for both schools. 1962 saw the complete departmentalization of the lower grades and the appointment of department heads. After the Amesbury High School burned down in April 1964, the Amesbury Junior High School expansion project was begun. An addition to the old junior high school wing, now renamed the Amesbury Middle School, was designed by Walter Scott Brodie of Kilham, Hopkins, Greeley & Brodie of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, and contained an administration suite, guidance and nurses office, a library, a cafetorium, band room, art room, two science labs, nine classrooms, a metal shop and a mechanical drawing shop. The new wing opened on January 2, 1968, but, due to the closing of the town's parochial schools, as well as construction of a number of apartment complexes in Amesbury during the early 1970s, the school's student population skyrocketed to 900, and the school district was forced to move the 5th grade to the new Charles C. Cashman Elementary School, opened in late 1975. By the mid-1970s, amid a flurry of administrative turnovers, the school began to move toward a true middle school system, organizing into academic teams. This system was slowly developed until it was adopted in totality in the late 1980s, with the final abolishment of academic departments. After several attempts, November, 1995 saw the opening of the middle school renovation and expansion project. The project saw the construction of a new wing to house the 5th and 6th grades, the administration, computer labs, library and a performance center. The rear classroom wing was removed and a new 7th and 8th grade wing was built in its place. The center of the building was renovated and brought up to current building codes, creating new classrooms out of the old art room, main office, expanding the old cafetorium to a regular cafeteria, created a new art suite in the old library, expanded music facilities, and generally modernized the building. The project was designed by the TAMS Consultants firm. Today, the Amesbury Middle School and the Charles C. Cashman Elementary School make up some of the more modern school buildings in the area.

AMS trivia

  • The Amesbury Junior High School's first principal, Mabel Emma Lunt, served longest, for 29 years, from 1918 to 1947.
  • The Amesbury Junior High / Middle School has had eight principals and nine assistant principals.
  • The Amesbury Middle Schools third principal, Edward Boulter, served 22 years, at the original AJHS, the AJHS wing, and the middle school. The center wing of the middle school built in the 1960s is dedicated in his name.
  • The middle school is a middle school concept school, with grades divided into teams. The 8th Grade contains only two Teams, Yellow and Orange Teams.
  • The school has had three principals serve more than ten years, Lunt (29 years), Boulter (22 years), and Raymond Tiezzi (17 years).
  • On the front lawn of the school is The Doughboy
    Doughboy
    Doughboy is an informal term for an American soldier, especially members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The term dates back to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48....

    memorial by sculptor Leonard Craske
    Leonard Craske
    Leonard Craske was a sculptor. Craske was born and raised in London, England. After emigrating to the USA and settling in Boston, he became an accomplished sculptor, creating the well-known Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the work for which he is best remembered...

    , creator of the Gloucester Fisherman, it was dedicated November 11, 1929.
  • Students may elect to attend either Amesbury High School
    Amesbury High School
    Amesbury High School is a coeducational preparatory school in the city of Amesbury, Massachusetts, drawing students from Amesbury, South Hampton, New Hampshire, and other parts of the Merrimack River Valley region....

     or Whittier Regional Vocational High School upon 'graduation' from AMS.

External links

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