BB 11-14-25

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE 18

Nov 14, 2025

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

  • Leiden donations:  If you haven’t sent in your donations yet, please do so!  3 bottles of Softsoap (individual bottles), 3 boxes of tissues, 3 rolls of paper towels.  We are particularly in need of soap!  Thank you!
  • School Pictures:  Our photographer is switching to an online ordering system for viewing and ordering school pictures.  We hope to have the information to you next week, so please keep your eyes open for it!
  • SOCKTOBER Results:   Bradford collected 468 pairs of socks. We collected $465, which will allow us to purchase 1,116 pairs of socks for the Piedmont Rescue Mission. This has been our best year ever! Thank you for your generosity towards this important ministry. Our students gave allowance money, birthday money, and several took money out of their piggy banks. We are thankful the Lord is at work in their lives and they are willing to bless the less fortunate. Well done, Bradford Academy.
  • Used Uniform Sale:  Thurs, 12/04/25 at the lower school campus.  SIGN UP HERE!
  • Bradford Archer Store:  We are excited to share the link to our Bradford Archer Store!  Don’t worry, if you lose this link, you can access it from our website.  There are lots of options, not just for students, but also for parents, grandparents, and babies too!  We love to see Bradford logos on the sidelines at ballgames and around town!   **PLEASE NOTE:  Our in-class uniform code has not changed. The only sweatshirts and jackets allowed in the classroom are the French Toast black quarter zip sweatshirt and full zip fleece jacket.**
  • Canned Food Drive: Plymouth is organizing a Food Drive for the Allied Church Food Bank.  Starting on Monday, all students are invited to donate canned food and non-perishable food items.  Mrs. Rivera will have a collection bin at the lower school campus, and Mrs. Crotts will have one at the upper school.  Please consider contributing to this service project.  (All donations should be sent by November 17th.)
  • Hot lunch:  Remember to order your HOT LUNCH by Sunday night for the following Thursday!  Our Seniors are raising funds for their class trip.

 

LOWER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  A community note this week:  If applicable, please adjust your morning routine in order to honor a prompt start time in our classrooms.  The end-of-recess whistle is blown promptly at 7:55.  Please make every effort to be in the drop-off line prior to that time so that students can enter the building, be unpacked and in their seats by 8:05.  Teachers are intentional about buying up minutes during every hour of the day and yet always wish for more time on task with your children.  While we understand getting caught in traffic or held up by trains, integrating students who are chronically tardy into the morning routine eats up those minutes for the whole class.  Thank you for your attention to this matter!
    • Pro tip:  Train your children to have clothes, shoes, backpacks, lunches & water bottles ready the evening before; a laminated checklist can objectify this…just ask, “Have you checked off the list?”

 

UPPER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

 2025 DECLAMATION Winners: 

  • 6th – Isaiah Jeremiah (L), Audrey Edwards (L)
  • 7th – Jake Zamorski (L), Sal Papaneri (P)
  • 8th – Asher VanFarowe (S), Samuel McDorman (S)
  • 9th – Elise Palmer (L), Ian Frueh (A)
  • 10th – Nick Meredith (A), Kemuel Farrish (A)
  • 11th – Savannah Drews (P), Joy Yael Williams (L)

DECLAMATION Finals:  These students will present their speeches to the upper school students and staff on Tuesday, 11/25/25 at 10:00 in the Upper School Sanctuary.  Parents are welcome to attend!

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Tues, 11/18: AWAY Basketball games, Varsity girls @ 3:00 pm.  Varsity boys @ 4:15pm
  • NEW Fri, 11/21:  7th – 12th grade BONFIRE at lower school campus, 6:30 – 8:30 pm

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Tues, 11/25:  Thanksgiving Feast Day and Activities.  Upper School:  Declamation at 10:00
  • Wed, 11/26 – Fri, 11/28:  Thanksgiving Holiday (no school)
  • Mon, 12/1: Applications open for the 26/27 school year!
  • Thurs, 12/4:  Used Uniform Sale
  • Wed, 12/17:  8:00 TK Nativity Play, coffee and donuts reception for parents
  • Tues, 12/16:  7:00 pm –  5th / 6th grade Christmas Concert at Upper School campus
  • Thurs, 12/18:
    • Alumni Panel (upper school)
    • 7:00 pm – 7th – 12th grade Christmas Concert at Mebane Presbyterian Church
  • Fri, 12/19:  Last day of Q2, Christmas celebration.  NOON dismissal for all students

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

We had several different areas of focus in TK this week. It was a wonderful week filled with new letters of the week, Veterans Day activities, learning Christmas songs, and learning about germs! We discussed what a veteran is this week and identified the veterans in our lives. We are thankful for veterans! A highlight was having Mrs. Amador’s father visit our class. He is a Marine Corp. veteran and brought uniforms and dog tags to show the TK students and talk about the military. Students were able to make their own veterans book to bring home. Our letters of the week this week were H and T. We have learned 5 letters so far and will add 2 more next week. We are focusing on identifying each letter, writing the letter properly, and the sound the letter makes. In math this week, we practiced identifying shapes, sorted items in various ways, and ordered number cards and identified a missing number. A few of our centers this week included: building letters with wood pieces, playing the missing number game with a partner, and drawing compound words. Our vocabulary words this week were: sneeze, cough, sick, well, flu and illness. We discussed many ways to keep germs to ourselves and learned how easily germs can spread with 2 science experiments. I pray we can all continue to stay healthy! In the Bible this week we read about a new king that was chosen when God’s people made it to the promised land. David was chosen as king because of his heart, not because of any of his physical attributes. We discussed how often our words and actions are a reflection of our hearts and how we should honor God with our words and actions. Next week we will continue learning about David. In music this week students learned Joy to the World and reviewed Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Next week, students will learn Away in a Manger. These songs are helping us prepare for the TK Christmas program coming in December!

Lower School Art (Mrs. Knight)

3rd & 4th
  • Mrs. Knight missed her 3rd and 4th grade students this week as we were out for Veterans’ Day and on Thursday students practiced for Bradford Night. 

Lower School P.E.  (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th
  • Kindergarten through second students did a great job in P.E. this week running several relay races and playing several tag games.  Third through fourth grade missed P.E. this week due to practices for Bradford Night.

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th
  • Students did a great job working on “Praise to the Lord”, “Non Nobis”, and “And Can It Be”. Fourth grade students did a great job playing the  “Doxology” for memory on the recorder. Third and Fourth grade students did an amazing job at their Bradford Night performance last night! Students worked hard preparing for the performance and all of their hard work paid off. Well done!

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week: 

Our kindergarten scholars had a shorter week due to being off for Veterans Day! We are very thankful towards those who have served our country. In math, we learned how to look at a tally chart and identify greater than and less than. We also reviewed several previous math concepts. In phonics, we continued our reader, Pan and the Mad Man, and reviewed all of our single-letter phonograms and cursive letters. In history, we finished discussing the biblical figure, King David. God used David mightily for his glory and the nation of Israel. In science, we learned about clouds and the different types of weather. The students had the opportunity to color in a cloud wheel and listen to a story about hurricanes. It is amazing that we are already halfway through the second quarter! God has been so faithful to bring us thus far. 

Memory Work: 

1 Corinthians 10:13 and review

1st Grade (Mrs. Cantaffa & Mrs. Smith)

This Week: 
  • In math this week we have been doing much review to prepare for the assessments on Thursday and Friday. The students have learned many different ways to add and subtract, model problems and memorize facts over the last four chapters. In Science, we have started our classification series to learn about vertebrates verses invertebrates, and various kinds of animals. The students  enjoyed making fall themed art with leaf rubbings. They were excited to see their recent art was on display in the hallway for Bradford night. The students have finished reviewing all their lowercase letters in cursive and are working on how to correctly put those letters together while forming phonograms. In history, the students continue to learn about the Pilgrims, which is a perfect lead-in to Thanksgiving week coming up shortly. The students are learning to thank God for all they have. Frog and Toad generated more laughs this week as Toad made himself sick trying to make Frog feel better. They help to teach the students what true friends do for one another. The students enjoyed seeing the 3rd and 4th graders do their final rehearsal for Bradford Night on Thursday. With Veterans Day being on Tuesday, we talked about how we should be grateful for their sacrifices. Thank you for your service, Veterans and many thanks to their families who kept things together at home!
Memory Work: 
  • Romans 12:1-2 
Upcoming:      
  • Bradford Feast Tuesday November 25th

2nd Grade (Miss Verroi & Mrs. Eng)

This Week:  

From our history lesson to our study of the Middle East, we have seen God working in history. What is history?  History is the story of God working all things together for HIS glory.   Our history lesson and Bible verse are both about the birth and sacrifice of Isaac.  What an inspiration for us to choose to have faith and obedience like Abraham. We have been working on an attitude of gratitude by writing ten things each day that we are thankful for.  This has really helped us realize just how much we have to thank God for.  In keeping with being thankful we learned to say “thank you” in Latin.  Encourage your students to use “tibi gratias ago” often around the house as they work to memorize this new phrase.  They also learned to say please and excuse me “amabo te and “ignosce mihi”.  The highlight of the week was sharing their Middle East projects. The students did a great job researching their assigned country and then sharing what they learned with their classmates.  We can see God’s working in history as the first Syrian president visited Washington this week and it is beneficial for the students to be familiar with this part of the world.  

3rd Grade (Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Meredith)

This Week: 

Students added the last two parts of speech to their sentence question and answer flow. The parts of speech help you understand how words function in a sentence and how sentences are structured. Knowing the parts of speech also helps you communicate more effectively and convey your thoughts with precision. In math, we concluded our multiplication facts and practiced using a bar model to multiply. In history, we learned about the prophets of God and why He sent them. The prophets were sent to encourage faithfulness and to warn the people of the consequences of sin and the need for repentance. While Israel and Judah both fell, God left a remnant of those who remained faithful.  We discussed how thankful we are that God had a rescue plan and redeems those who are in Christ Jesus. Finally, we hosted Bradford Night on Thursday, and we presented our Greek God projects during the day! 

Upcoming Memory Work: 

Psalm 84:10 (repeat from this week)

Upcoming: 

Thanksgiving Feast November 25, 2025

4th Grade (Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Rankin) 

Week 6 Feudal System

This week, our time has been devoted largely to preparing for our Bradford Night presentations. The students have shown an incredible amount of patience, endurance, perseverance, and excellence, and we all feel a great sense of pride in what they’ve accomplished. We hope you enjoy the performance and are excited for you to share in celebrating their hard work.  Students are looking forward to turning their attention to their history project, creatively demonstrating  symbolic meaning through their heraldry shield, and exploring the details of castles through their constructions or reports. We began our study of feudalism this week, discussing how it helped create order and protection during a chaotic period in history. In math, we learned the properties of division and how division relates to multiplication.  We’ll finish up the week on Friday with a trip to the Upper School to see the Fifth Grade production of The Hobbit, and celebrate Bradford Night success with some treats and time to begin our projects. It has been a busy and rewarding week!

Upcoming  Memory Work: 

1 Corinthians 3:11-13

 

LOGIC SCHOOL

Mrs. Bennington

5th-6th Band
  • Fifth grade students worked hard this week on their concert music. A lot of progress is being made. Please encourage your students to continue practicing their music at home. 
  • Sixth grade students did a great job this week with their concert music. Students had fun learning individual parts and then putting parts together. This is an exciting group to work with. Please continue to encourage your child to practice at home. 
7th-8th Band
  • Seventh and eighth grade students did a great job working on the piece, “Cannon for Christmas”. Students are making really good progress. Students also worked on “Beyond the Bell Carol”. This group of students has a lot of potential and at home practice is helping each student have more confidence in their playing. 

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Choir

Choirs this week continued to do full reads of concert music. We also had our first memory checks to see how much music has been memorized thus far.

Miss Pugsley 

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • In PE, the girls played Capture the Flag, practicing teamwork, strategy, and quick decision-making while enjoying active competition.

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Miss Johnston) 

This Week
  •  This week has been full of excitement as we gear up for Hobbit Day! We finished The Hobbit last week, and today the students did an amazing job acting out Chapters 1 and 2. Their creativity and confidence truly shined! In the afternoon, we celebrated with a festive hobbit feast and even created our own miniature hobbit holes, such a fun project! In math, we wrapped up our Chapter 5 test on Wednesday, and we’ll be jumping into a brand-new chapter next week. I’m proud of how hard everyone has worked!

Memory Work:

Isaiah 40:5-6

Upcoming:

Mrs. Knight

5th Art
  • Fifth graders used the watercolor techniques we’ve been practicing to paint watercolor leaves. 

6th Grade (Mrs. McDorman and Miss Pugsley)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We wrapped up Across Five Aprils this week and used the novel’s final chapters as a springboard for a reflective writing exercise, inviting students to connect the characters’ struggles, growth, and moral choices to their own lives. This helped them process the story’s themes while practicing clear, thoughtful written expression.
6th Grammar and Writing
  • In grammar, we reviewed the rules for forming singular and plural possessive nouns and continued practicing full sentence classification. 
6th Bible
  • Students continued reading through the Gospels, making thoughtful comparisons across the accounts and gaining a deeper understanding of God’s unfolding plan. This helped them see the unity of Scripture and the purpose behind Christ’s ministry.
6th History
  • We studied the Civil War and discussed the difficult choices families faced as brothers sometimes found themselves on opposing sides of the conflict. This gave students a more personal understanding of the war’s emotional and relational cost.
6th Science
  • This week, we reviewed Bacterial Structure. The students have a quiz coming up on Tuesday.
6th Logic
  • We paused our study of fallacies for one week. The 6th-grade students participated in a values debate on a moral dilemma from our literature book, Across Five Aprils. The students considered whether the main character, Jethro, ought to have hidden and fed his cousin, Eb, who deserted the Union army during the Civil War. I was impressed by the student’s ability not only to make arguments, but to explain why some good arguments were more compelling than others because of a fundamental value (For example, students said things like “because Eb is his cousin, he should always take care of him,” or “morality is more important than Eb’s health.”)

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math
  • Ms. Pugsley’s 6th graders concluded Chapter 5 by completing the Chapter Review and the Chapter 5 Test.  They balanced the week well with Veterans Day off and their first declamation in the midst!

Mrs. Palmer

6th Art
  • Students worked on finishing up their colored pencil still life drawings. We continue to review our artist of the quarter, Johannes Vermeer as well. 

Dr. Wright

7th Omnibus
  •  Students continue to read through Homer’s Odyssey, with vocab quizzes on Tuesday and a summarizing quiz on Thursday of each week.  Topics for our Greek Cultural Research Papers have been chosen, and students are working on gathering sources and formatting their bibliography.  Class declamation was Thursday of this week, and finalists will advance to all-school declamation, held on Nov. 25th.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  •  Due to Veteran’s Day and Declamation, we did not meet for science this week. Students should be studying for the upcoming unit test that will take place on Thursday, November 20th.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we continued to build our skills in evaluating exponential expressions, solving for fractional parts of a number, and calculating the surface area of geometric solids. We are currently working only with numerical solutions, but all of these skills are getting the students ready for the introduction of letters representing unknowns as we head toward calculating algebraic solutions in the near future.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • We continued to work on our charcoal architecture drawings this week. Students have done a wonderful job with these. They have honed in on contrast, detail and chiaroscuro (the play of light and dark). 

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus 
  • 8th graders have submitted first drafts for parts one, two, and three of their biographical research papers.  This week we finished our reading of Beowulf, and our reading of Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring will begin this weekend.  Reading requirements do increase at this time of the Omnibus 2 year, due to students’ growing capacity, as well as the nature of Tolkien’s writing.  Class declamation was Thursday of this week, and finalists will advance to all-school declamation, held on Nov. 25th

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • Students spent time this week reviewing everything we’ve learned in our unit on the Kinetic Theory of Matter. Our unit test will take place on Wednesday, November 19th.
8th Algebra I
  • We have continued our study of linear equations with lessons on finding the equations of parallel and perpendicular lines. Ask your student how they can tell if two lines are parallel or perpendicular just by looking at their equations.
  • Starting next week, we will use graphing calculators (or graphing calculator apps) to determine lines of best fit for scatter plots of data.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • Students finished up all magazine projects and these are proudly displayed at upper campus. We began working on a charcoal project as well as reviewed our artist of the quarter, Johannes Vermeer.  

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • Our class had a holiday on Tuesday and enjoyed judging speeches on Thursday.

RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th: 

Upper school students should add to their 1) Activity List, 2) complete and submit scholarship essays (Herzog Bill of Rights Essay is due November 21 and Thales College Essay Contest is due December 1st), and 3) make a list of colleges to research and  visit over each school break.

Seniors: 

Seniors should 1) complete any forms or updates to early college applications and regular college applications.  2) Write “thank you” notes to the recommenders!

Juniors: 

In addition to updating the Activity List, completing scholarship essays mentioned above, and making a list of colleges to research and visit, juniors should make a list of shadowing opportunities to pursue over the next semester and next summer break.

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • We learned all three verb types (AR, ER and IR) and how to conjugate them this week. Students practiced with both new and old vocabulary and we learned about descriptive adjectives. 

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students had an abbreviated week due to honoring Veteran’s Day. We continued to move forward with our material on the American War of Independence. We will conclude that material and review next Tuesday before taking a unit test next Thursday (11/20).

Ms. Oldham

9th Rhetoric I
  •  Students continued to work on their notecards this week. It’s a crucial step for their research and will help the writing portion go more smoothly. 

Dr. Byrd 

9th Bible Survey 
  • This week the Lord has helped us to learn about how the He ministers to us in discouragement through the life of Elijah, particularly in I Kings 19. We also had a test on Judges – I Kings. 
  • Students have begun reading for the Book project.
  • Memory Verses: Psalm 1:1-3 

Mrs. Frueh

9th Biology
  • We took a deep dive into organic chemistry this week. The students were introduced to the basic molecular structures of carbohydrates and lipids, including building them with molecular model kits. We will look closely at proteins and nucleic acids next week.
  • Our next module exam will take place on Friday, November 21st.

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • We wrapped up our unit on Triangle Congruence with a unit test this week. We’ll move on to quadrilaterals next week.

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • 9th graders had a short week in literature class.  They were out of school for Veterans Day on Tuesday, and faced down the challenge of declamation Thursday.  They also spent class time working on author research presentations due next week–November 20.

Mrs. Bennington

9th-11th Band 
  •  The Advanced Band students did not have Band this week. Students are encouraged to continue practicing their concert music at home so that we will be ready for rehearsals next week! 

Mrs. Johnston

9th-11th Chorus 

Bradford Chorale continues to work through concert music, focusing on blending and balance of sound. The 9th-11th class did not meet this week due to the Veteran’s Day holiday and Declamation speeches.

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • I hope you enjoyed the Veterans’ Day Holiday.  This week we are continuing our studies of bonding between atoms. 
  • Next week we will conclude this study, and the students will take their second test of Q2. 

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Comparing and contrasting the three tenses we have learned so far (preterite, imperfect and present) was the name of the game this week.  We also reviewed both old and new vocabulary and students took a vocabulary quiz. 

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • We’ve learned to solve quadratic equations by factoring.  We spent time learning various factoring methods and reinforced our knowledge with a game.

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • 10th Graders spent time reading Psalm 1-10 aloud this week.  We are listening for the poetic side of this wonderful book of the Old Testament.  In December they will write a psalm–a hymn of lament, contrition or praise to be sung corporately.  Additionally they practiced for declamation and also briefly spent time working on the rough drafts of the author research paper.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric II
  •  Students practiced Declamation speeches this week. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students read and discussed the events of the first and second years of the Peloponnesian War, while concluding their summary note material on the organization and history of Ancient Sparta.

Dr. Smith

10th Historical Theology 
  • Students are studying about how the church initially arrived at its formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity and engaged in a debate about the writing of history.
11th Precalculus
  • Topics for this week included – applications of exponential functions, properties of logarithmic functions, and graphs of logarithmic functions.  Next we will learn how to solve various types of exponent and log equations.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  •  Students continued with Shakespeare’s Othello. 

Mrs. Wright

11th NT Greek
  • The 11th grade Greek students took a test this week in chapters 10 and 11.  The class then moved into chapter 12, continuing to learn about the personal pronoun in Greek.  

Mr. Webster

11th History
  •  This week we began a new unit on the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). We had to push back our unit test to next Wednesday, so in the meantime we’re beginning this new unit. 

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Students concluded their unit on the events of America’s early republic and took a test this week. 

Ms. Oldham

12th Literature
  •   Seniors wrapped up Hamlet this week and will have an in-class essay on Monday. 
12th Rhetoric III
  •  Seniors have a second draft due on the 21st. I know they have been working, I’ve seen progress in several of them. Thank you for your continued prayers as they work on their theses. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • Topics for this week included related rates, local linearization, and L’Hospital’s Rule.  Next we will consider some contextual applications of differentiation including extrema, inflection points, and optimization problems.