BB 04-10-26

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE 35

April 10, 2026

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

  • NC Opportunity Scholarship:  It is time to renew your scholarships!  Please login to MyPortal and complete the renewal process no later than April 15th! 
  • Re-enrollment Packets in FACTS:  due April 30th (refer to email from Bradford office for details)
  • Austerfield:  It’s time to bring in your required extra supplies!  3 boxes of tissue, 3 hand soap pumps, 3 Clorox wipes per student.  You can deliver them to either campus – wherever your student is.
  • Bradford Archers Athletic Vision Meeting:  Mon, 4/13 at 6:30 pm
    • What: Bradford Academy is hosting an Athletics Vision Night to discuss opportunities for the year(s) ahead.
    • Where: First Baptist Church of Mebane (upper campus) sanctuary
    • Who: parents of 3rd-6th students, parents with older students are also welcome to attend

LOWER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

Kindergarten – 2nd grade parents,  Mark your calendars for 04/23 at 6:30:  Bradford Night 2.  This event highlights selections from both the classical and Christian foundation of our curriculum and you won’t want to miss it!

UPPER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Senior Thesis Adjudication
Date and Time Student Topic
M 4/13 12:30 Miriam Van Farowe Christian Resistance to Materialism and Overconsumption
1:35 Bryanna Jolly The Importance of Intergenerational Relationships and Discipleship
T 4/14 12:30 Alex Berchulc CRISPR and the Christian
W 4/15 12:30 Dafne Jimenez Social Media
Th 4/16 12:30 Noah Gilbert Mass Immigration and “Loving Thy Neighbor”
1:35 Henry Holmes What Makes a Praiseworthy Man
F 4/17 12:30 Aiden Mattioli Monetary Wealth and the Pursuit of it
1:35 Reagan Johnson Loneliness

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Week of 4/13:  
    • Senior Thesis adjudications in the afternoons
    • 6:30 – Athletics Vision Meeting (3rd – 6th grade students and parents) at Upper School
  • Wed, 4/15:  Deadline to renew NCOS
  • Thurs, 4/16: 
    • Varsity Girls Soccer HOME game at MACC (3:30pm)
    • 5:30 – 7:30 Art Contest Reception: See Mrs. Knight’s 5th grade note for details!
  • Fri, 4/17:  Senior dinner and trip highlights at Mr. and Mrs. Johnston’s home

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Mon, 4/20 – Tues 4/21:  Juniors’ trip to Williamsburg 
  • Thurs, 4/23:  
    • Art class field trip and Shakespeare in the Park – partial 9th, 10th and 11th
    • 6:30 – K – 2nd Bradford Night
  • Fri, 4/24:  
    • 1st grade Field Trip to Cane Creek
    • 5th grade Field Trip to Monticello
  • Sat, 4/25:  Burlington Writer’s Club Award Ceremony
  • Thurs, 4/30:  Bradford Games (7th – 12th). Kickball tournament (5th – 6th)
  • Fri, 5/1:  Teacher work day – no school
  • Tues, 5/5: 7th CLT testing
  • Wed, 5/6:  8th CLT testing
  • Thurs, 5/7:  
    • 6th grade:  Field trip to NC Transportation Museum
    • 12:00 – National Day of Prayer (chorale and choir students will participate) – all parents are welcome to join us at Mebane Presbyterian Church
  • Fri, 5/8:  
    • Teacher appreciation day
    • Student Council Presidential Elections
  • Tues, 5/12:  Student Council Elections
  • Tues – Wed, 5/12 – 5/13:  3rd – 6th CLT testing
  • Tues, 5/19:
    • 5:45 Rising 5th and new student:  Band meeting
    • 7:00 – Sports Award Ceremony (Varsity sports)
  • Thurs, 5/21:  
    • Last day of TK
    • 5:30 – 6:30  – Upper school Art display at upper school campus
    • 6:45 – Doors open at Mebane Presbyterian Church for the concert
    • 7:00 – Patriotic Program (5th – 12th) at Mebane Presbyterian
  • Mon, 5/25:  Memorial Day – no school
  • Wed, 5/27:  
    • Lower school Verse Bee (times to be announced)
    • 11th – 12th Gala
  • Thurs, 5/28:  10:00 Baccalaureate
  • Fri, 5/29:  LAST day of school  
    • Noon dismissal
    • 7pm – Graduation

SUMMER:

  • Week of June 22-26: Bradford Summer Soccer Camps
    • Rising K5-Rising 6th Grade = 8:30a-12:30p at Walker Field and Old Rec gym 
    • Rising 7th-Rising 12th Grade = 6:30p-8:30p at MACC Baseball Fields
    • Same Prices as last year: $35/day, $125/wk
    • Registration coming soon! And other summer sports camps being developed
  • Saturday, July 4th:  City of Mebane Parade and celebration downtown
  • Saturday, July 25th:  7pm – Sockpuppets game – 40% of sales go to Bradford.  Purchase tickets here

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

The theme for this week in TK was bugs! Students were especially excited to venture outside to hunt for bugs with magnifying glasses. Students spotted many ants, a ladybug, and a spider web to name a few. We also read several bug themed books, learned facts about bugs and pretended to be bugs. A few of our bug activities included: putting the target number of pretend bugs in a jar, going on a bug scavenger hunt and making bug fossils using Play Doh. In math this week students practiced making ABC patterns, told stories using teddy bear counters and pattern blocks, and were introduced to nickels. TK students learned a new song to help them remember how to count by 5’s. Students were introduced to lowercase letters l, t, and h and reviewed their capital partners. A few of our centers included: a butterfly connect the dots, building words using word families, writing letters using colored cereal, and building compound words. We read this week about Jesus’s ascension into heaven. We focused on Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

Lower School Art (Mrs. Knight)

3rd
  • Third graders have been working on some animal sketches the last two weeks. We completed a mouse on Tuesday and began working on a tortoise. We are using various techniques to seek to create realistic representations of the animals. 
4th
  • This week in art fourth graders completed their chipmunk sketch using several art techniques including contour lines, shading, and texture.

Lower School P.E.  (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th
  • Students did a great job in PE this week. Kindergarten and first grade  played  a wide variety of tag games. First, second, third, and fourth grade continued with their kickball unit. All students had to work on taking turns and following instructions so that the games could be fair and fun. 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th
  • Kindergarten through second grade students did a great job working on Bradford Night material during part of PE this week as well as during music. Students are working really hard to memorize all of their songs. All Bradford students sang through the first three verses of  “It Is Well With My Soul”. Third and fourth grade students continued with recorder songs. Fourth grade also learned about instrument families and listened to recordings of different instruments. 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week: 

Our kindergarten scholars were excited to be at school after the long Easter weekend. In math, we learned how to write the numbers 11-17 and how to order and compare numbers up to 12. In phonics, we introduced a new reader, “In a Camel’s Eye,” and a new ten word spelling list. In art, we continued working on our looms. The students have enjoyed the weaving process and picking different colors for their decorative pot holders.  In science, we continued to discuss mammals and work on our lap books. As a reminder, please continue reviewing bible verses from the whole year. Our upcoming Bible Bee is the last week of May!

Memory Work: 

Ephesians 6:1-3 and review

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

This Week: 

This week in math, we began Chapter 11 in our Sadlier curriculum, where students are learning how to add ten to a number. This concept helps them recognize patterns in our number system and strengthens their understanding of place value. Students are learning that when adding ten, the tens place increases while the ones place stays the same. We will continue practicing this skill to build confidence and fluency.In phonics, we are continuing to review and practice our phonograms. It is important that students are able to quickly recognize these phonograms within words as they grow in both reading and writing. Consistent practice will help develop strong decoding skills and support their overall literacy development. During reading time, we enjoyed another Frog and Toad story together. Students practiced listening carefully and engaging with the story, as well as discussing important themes and ideas. In writing, we began learning about autobiographies. Students are being introduced to the idea of writing about their own lives, focusing on simple personal experiences and events. In science, students had fun learning how to draw a bird as we continue our study of the brown pelican, our bird of the month. This activity helped them observe details and better understand the characteristics of birds. As we continue practicing cursive, students are reminded to slow down and focus on proper letter formation. Taking time to form each letter correctly is essential in developing neat and consistent handwriting.

Memory Work:  

Next week’s verse –  2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Upcoming:   
  • State Project Due – Monday, April 20, 2026
  • Bradford Night – Thursday, April 23, 2026
  • Field Trip – Friday, April 24, 2026

2nd Grade (Miss Verroi & Mrs. Eng)

This Week: 

The final quarter has gotten off to a great start in second grade as the students continue to lay a solid foundation for future academic success.  They can see their progress and now appreciate all their hard work and understand how the small details all add up to a lot of knowledge.  In Bible memorization we are back to Hebrews 11 and will finish that chapter the last few weeks of school. In verses 30 and 31 this week we learned about the amazing way God led the Israelites to conquer Jericho. The students have worked hard to master writing three point paragraphs, and are now applying their writing skills to descriptive paragraphs. In math we learned to make change with coins, add and subtract money under one dollar, and began using paper money. In grammar, we have begun practicing with present, past, and future verb tenses.  We appreciate all the help you give your child on their nightly homework and pray it is a blessing for you to see their progress.  

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

This Week

In science, we dove deeper into the periodic table and learned that the unique number of protons distinguishes one element from another. Students drew their own atomic models for the first eight elements and are looking forward to conducting their own experiments. In history, we learned about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. The prophecy spoken by Jesus in the Gospels, “not one stone left upon another,” foresaw the complete dismantling of the temple by the Romans, led by General Titus, who would later become emperor of Rome.  After months of fighting, the city was breached and the Second Temple was burned. Titus carried out this destruction with such thoroughness that the temple was completely reduced to rubble, as foretold by Jesus. This event marked the end of the Jewish revolt and had profound religious and cultural consequences for the Jewish people. Much of the population was massacred and the rest were enslaved or exiled. To celebrate this victory, Titus’s brother, Domitian, erected the Arch of Titus, which still stands in the Roman Forum today. The arch depicts the sacred treasures, including the golden menorah,  being carried by the Romans during a triumphal procession. In 130 AD, the Roman emperor, Hardian, rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city renaming it Aelia Capitolina, which stood until Constantine the Great granted Christianity legal status in 313 AD. 

Upcoming Memory:
  • Matthew 7:14

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

Week 3 Martin Luther Begins the Reformation 

This week in fourth grade, we took time to read and study the life and legacy of Martin Luther. After completing our history worksheets, students engaged with a piece of historical fiction based on Luther’s life. This narrative approach helped students connect more personally with God’s work through Luther and better understand the events that led to the Protestant Reformation. 

In math, we continued our studies in measurement, introducing Metric Units. In Latin we reviewed our demonstrative pronouns, a challenge that seemed daunting at first, but the study and application of pattern has helped them master these conjugations. Students polished their friendly letters, and we put those in the mail to send to friends and family.  Science brought hands-on excitement as we studied Newton’s Four Laws of Motion and saw these forces in action. Students recorded their hypotheses and documented their final results, practicing the scientific method through observation and analysis. We continue to have a lot of good conversations about wisdom in Forum– ask your kids what it means to be wise!

Upcoming  Memory Work: 

Psalm 94:16-19

LOGIC SCHOOL

Mrs. Bennington

5th-6th Band
  • Students did a great job this week rehearsing music for the May Concert. Students will have a playing  test on the piece, “Simple Gifts” on Tuesday 4/14. Just a reminder our Spring Concert will be Thursday May 21, 2026 at 7pm at Mebane Presbyterian. 
7th-8th Band
  • Students did a great job this week rehearsing music for the May Concert. Students will have a playing  test on the piece, “Kentucky 1800” on Tuesday 4/14. Just a reminder our Spring Concert will be Thursday May 21, 2026 at 7pm at Mebane Presbyterian. 

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Choirs
  • We continue to work through our concert music. There will be a memory check next week on The Star-Spangled Banner for all classes. I also encouraged the students to listen to a recording of The President’s Own (Marine Band) performance of The Star-Spangled Banner.

Miss Pugsley 

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • This week the girls ran a mile and had a plank competition.

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Miss Johnston) 

This Week
  • This week we began a new unit in math, we covered the Constitution in history and learned how to write business letters in grammar class. We continued our adventure alongside Jim in our book Treasure Island and have thoroughly enjoyed this story, so far! We are looking forward to our trip to Monticello in two weeks!
Memory Work: 

1 Samuel 2: 5-6

Upcoming: 

Monticello Field Trip- 04/24

Mrs. Knight

5th Art
  • In art this week, fifth graders learned about the life of Pierre August Renoir, the artist of the quarter. We began a painting in the Impressionist style, seeking to recreate his Seine at Asnieres. The students’ hard work on their SAR posters paid off as the judges from the local chapter were so pleased, they decided to take EVERY SINGLE POSTER to compete at the county level! County-wide judging will occur early next week and all are invited to a reception at Alamance Arts on Thursday, April 16 from 5:30-7:30. 

 

6th Grade (Mrs. McDorman and Miss Pugsley)

6th Grammar and Writing
  • We introduced sentence Pattern 6, focusing on identifying and understanding object complement nouns. Students also continued developing their rough draft research papers, applying structure, organization, and clarity to their writing.
6th Bible
  • We discussed the Gospel of Luke and are beginning to explore its key themes and historical background to deepen our understanding of the text.
6th History
  • This week we moved into the era of the Great Depression, examining its causes, including the stock market crash of 1929, widespread bank failures, and economic instability. Students also began to understand its impact on daily life, including unemployment, poverty, and the government’s response through programs like the New Deal.
6th Science
  • This week we started our unit on Genetics! We talked about heredity (how parents pass traits to their offspring), chromosomes, and DNA structure. 
6th Logic
  • This week we prepped for our Making Assumptions test next week.

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math
  • Students are learning how to translate fractions to decimals to percents.

Mrs. Wright

6th Latin
  • Mrs. McDorman’s class continues into their fourth and final week of capitulum VIII.  This week they took the pensa.  Ms. Pugsley’s class is in week three of four of capitulum VIlI studying relative and demonstrative pronouns.  Both classes are doing great work!

Mrs. Palmer

6th Art
  • Students reviewed all four artists of the quarter this week. We also began an oil pastel project. Students will focus on accuracy, color matching and a variety of oil pastel techniques they have learned.   

Dr. Wright

7th Omnibus
  • Students are hard at work in Virgil’s Aeneid, and have finished their summaries of all chapters in 1 and 2 Samuel. 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • The students were excited to choose their astronomy project topics this week. For the next few weeks, your child should be reading diligently about their chosen topic in preparation for taking research notes. It is highly recommended that students visit a local library to request research books on their chosen topic. They will present their research to the class in May.
7th Pre-Algebra
  •  We have continued building our algebra skills this week by working through some advanced ratio problems, as well as multiplying exponential expressions with variable bases. The students were introduced to their first exponent rule: The Product Rule of Exponents. They will add this rule to their toolbox for simplifying algebraic expressions.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Students reviewed all four artists of the quarter this week. We continued working on pen and ink animal drawings this week. Each student has done well to incorporate hatching, cross hatching and stippling to achieve a high level of detail. 

Mrs. Wright

7th Latin
  • The 7th grade Latin class is finishing up Capitulum VIII and their study of relative and demonstrative pronouns.  They will take the pensa for this chapter on Tuesday of next week.  
7th Logic
  • The 7th grade Logic class is finishing the chapter on fallacies of induction.  This week they worked with the fallacy of false cause and the fallacy of false precision.  

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus 
  • Plague week has concluded, with Death taking all but one student in the 8th grade.  Many funerals were conducted. Students are studying the 1300s, and finished both Henry V  and our excerpts from The Canterbury Tales and Dante’s Inferno.  

Mrs. Wright

8th Latin
  • The 8th grade Latin class is in week three of four of capitulum VIlI,  studying relative and demonstrative pronouns.  

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • We continued our study of the periodic table this week with a study of the history and organization of the table of elements. We discussed the patterns that Dmitri Mendeleev discovered when he first arranged the elements by atomic mass. We also discussed the periodic trends that are evident when you look at the horizontal periods and vertical groups of the table.
8th Algebra I
  • It was an exciting week in Algebra as we learned how to factor polynomials. We first practiced factoring simple trinomials with a leading coefficient of 1. Then we learned to use the Australian Method to factor more difficult trinomials with leading coefficients greater than 1.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • This week we reviewed all four artists of the quarter. Students continued to work on colored pencil eye drawings. We are working on hyperrealism, color matching and layering of the medium. 

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We learned about enthymemes, which are arguments with unstated but assumed statements.

RHETORIC SCHOOL

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th:  Do you know…

  • What is the difference between a university and a college?
    • A college is focused on one type of degree level. Colleges generally do not have graduate programs, but there are exceptions!  Because they are focused on one type of degree, colleges often have smaller class sizes and provide students with personalized attention from faculty. Colleges are more devoted to undergraduate teaching and less devoted to research.
    • Universities are larger institutions that offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Graduate programs at universities lead to master’s degrees and PhDs. Many universities also have schools for law, medicine, or business.
  • What are the differences between small, medium and large colleges/universities?
    • Small colleges refer to institutions with fewer than 4,000 undergraduate students, offering a personalized education experience with smaller class sizes and closer relationships with professors. They focus on undergraduate education.
    • Medium colleges typically have a student body size between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduates providing a mix of small class sizes and large lecture courses, making them appealing for students seeking both personal attention and a variety of programs.
    • Large colleges have high enrollment exceeding 35,000 students, and offer a wide variety of majors, extracurricular activities, and resources. They can provide a vibrant campus life, but may also have larger class sizes, which can affect personal attention from faculty.

Next week:

1) What is the difference between a B.A. & a B.S. degrees? 2) How do classical Christian colleges compare with classical colleges?

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • Students learned about the preterite tense of -AR verbs and how to conjugate them. We continued to practice with the two irregular verbs, “saber,” and “conocer.” We also learned new vocabulary and continued to review past vocabulary. 

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students learned about some of the major leaders of WW2 along with the (mis)calculations that began the war and marked the first couple of years. Next week we will pick up with the events of Pearl Harbor.

Ms. Oldham

9th Rhetoric I
  •  We talked about how to deliver a speech in preparation for their first speeches on April 22nd. 

Dr. Byrd 

9th Bible Survey 

  • We have finished the books of Mark and Luke and are beginning to look at the Gospel of John.

Mrs. Frueh

9th Biology
  • We concluded our Genetics Unit this week by studying the inheritance patterns evident in pedigrees. Next week we will create our own family pedigrees for traits such as freckles, dimples, and the ability to taste PTC. Our Genetics exam will take place next Friday.

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • We are reviewing a subject that the students are very familiar with from past math classes: surface area of polyhedrons, cylinders, pyramids, and cones. While this is a challenging concept, the students are approaching it with great confidence as they’ve practiced it at a more basic level for several years.

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • 9th graders worked from each of their outlines to develop essays about the theme of the mockingbird in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Mrs. Fairchild 

9th – 11th Art Foundations
  • Our students have been finalizing their arguments and creating their slide presentations for the Art Mock Trial which will be held on 4/28. Additionally, we are preparing for our upcoming field trip on 4/23 to the NCMA. This will be in combination with a Shakespeare event. Please be sure to send in permission slips and pay the fee for the students to eat.

Mrs. Bennington

9th-11th Band 
  • Students did a great job this week rehearsing music for the May Concert. Students will have a playing  test on the piece, “Kentucky 1800” on Tuesday 4/14. Just a reminder our Spring Concert will be Thursday May 21, 2026 at 7pm at Mebane Presbyterian.  

Mrs. Johnston

Bradford Chorale
  • We continue to work through our concert music. There will be a memory check next week on The Star-Spangled Banner for all classes. I also encouraged the students to listen to a recording of The President’s Own (Marine Band) performance of The Star-Spangled Banner.

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week the students took their first test of Q4, and we started lessons on chemical kinetics. 
  • Next week we will continue our discussions of chemical kinetics and equilibria. 

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Students continued to work with the subjunctive mood this week. We practiced with many subjunctive scenarios. We reviewed past vocabulary as well as worked on a variety of conjugations.  

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • We are midway through a unit on Rational Functions. This week we’ve learned to multiply and divide, add and subtract rational expressions as well as solve rational equations.

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • 10th graders completed reading George MacDonald’s Phantastes.  They also each presented a study on the word “shadow” comparing its use as a personified character in the story and then how it is used in the Bible.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric II
  •  Students worked on their Teeny Tiny Thesis Annotated Bibliographies this week. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students continued to read and discuss Josephus’ Jewish War. Students are working to further develop their summary writing by briefly but accurately organizing a road map and then quickly writing their essay. Herod’s life provided massive discussion and learning opportunities. We will resume our study of the decline and fall of the Roman Republic next week. 

Dr. Smith

10th Historical Theology 
  • We concluded our study of the basic differences between Arminianism, Calvinism and Roman Catholicism, and have now begun our study of how the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics helped to fuel the embracing of human reason as the foundation for all knowledge, which has been the root basis for Western culture over the past 250 plus years.  
11th Precalculus
  • Topics for this week included matrix operations as well as methods to find and use inverse matrices.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  • Students continued to mine Lewis’s The Great Divorce for theological nuggets.  

Mrs. Wright

11th NT Greek
  • The NT Greek students were introduced to the 2nd Aorist tense last week and continued working with this past tense throughout this week.  

Mr. Webster

11th History
  •  This week we did an overview of the governments of England, France, Italy, and Germany in the Late Middle Ages. The students also took a quiz on the first half of the unit, which primarily focused on the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War. 

Dr. Smith

11th-12th Apologetics
  • We have begun chapters 2 and 3 of Strange New World. In these chapters, Carl Trueman explains the role that Jean Jacques Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the Romanticist literary figures played in spreading the notion that our inner feelings are what define us as humans, and how such a belief manifests itself today.  

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Seniors completed a summary quiz of WW1 and have now begun to discuss WW2 causes, leaders and early events of the conflict.

Ms. Oldham

12th Literature
  •   Students continued to discuss 1984. They will need to complete this during Thesis Defense week as there will be no literature class next week. 
12th Rhetoric III
  •  Seniors are preparing for their defenses. This is an exciting and nerve-wracking time, so please be in prayer for them as they prepare and look forward to next week. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • This week we’ve learned to find volume using triangular and semicircular cross sections.  We also introduced the “washer method” for finding volume.  This is our final topic in our course.  We will wrap up this unit next week and then begin reviewing for the AP exam/final course exam.  Very proud of the students for their perseverance this year.