02-15-2024

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 26

Feb 15, 2024

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

  • Enrollment Deadlines:
    • TODAY:  Inform the office in writing if your child will not return for 2024/2025 school year.  Notices that come in after this date are subject to the contract opt-out fee of $500.
    • Fri, 3/1:  Deadline for NC Opportunity Scholarship applications
    • Ongoing:  Financial Aid Application
  • Parenting Conference:  Fri 3/1 – Sat 3/2 – Register here!

 

LOWER SCHOOL:
  • FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  Book recommendation:  Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Set in the mid  1800’s, this book about a young boy growing up on a farm in upstate New York puts feet on the previously mentioned  idea of “desirable difficulty”.  Alamanzo, the main character, learns alongside his father, sometimes getting very specific instructions concerning  the chores and sometimes being left to the struggle of figuring out the way ahead (for example, when breaking young oxen).  This is an enjoyable read-aloud for the whole family, which is a practice that I highly recommend for as long as your children are under your roof.  Shared stories shape our moral imagination and give common language to families as they grow through developmental stages together.

UPCOMING

  • Fri, 2/16:  Teacher workday (no school)
  • Mon, 2/19:  Presidents Day (no school)
  • Tues, 2/20:  Senior Thesis Pre-panels begin
  • Tues, 2/20 Varsity Girls Soccer Practice (3-5pm, MACC soccer fields)
  • Thurs, 2/22
    • Varsity Boys Tennis Practice (3-4pm, 2nd St. tennis courts)
    • Varsity Girls Soccer Practice (3-5pm, MACC soccer fields)
  • Fri, 2/23 Varsity Girls Soccer Practice (3-5pm, MACC soccer fields)

 

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Tues, 2/27:  3rd grade field trip to Morehead Planetarium
  • Thurs, 2/29:  3rd – 4th grade, Bradford Night 2.0, 7pm
  • Fri, 3/1 – Sat, 3/2:  PARENTING CONFERENCE – at lower school campus – Register now!
  • Tues, 3/5: First Varsity Girls soccer game of the season (HOME)
  • Fri, 3/8: 
    • End of 3rd quarter – NOON DISMISSAL
    •  First Varsity Boys Tennis match & a varsity girls soccer game (AWAY)
  • Week of 3/11:  SPRING BREAK
  • Wed, 3/13 – Wed, 3/20:  SENIOR TRIP to Grand Canyon
  • Fri, 3/29: Good Friday (no school)
  • Mon, 4/1: Easter Monday (no school)
  • Fri, 4/5: Quo Vadis? – 4th grade will make a visit to the upper school to see “where they are going” next year
  • Tues, 4/16:  
    • Senior Thesis defenses begin!
    • CLT10 – 10th graders
  • Thurs, 4/18:  tentative Uniform sale
  • Wed, 4/24:  CLT – 12th graders
  • Wed, 5/1:  Teacher Appreciation Day
  • Thurs, 5/2:  Bradford Games (upper school competition)
  • Fri, 5/3:  Teacher workday (no school)
  • Mon, 5/6 – Tues, 5/7:  Standardized testing for 3rd – 5th grades
  • Wed, 5/8:  Standardized testing for 6th – 8th grades
  • Thurs, 5/16:  Tentative Fine Arts evening, upper school
  • Tues, 5/21:
    • 5:45 pm – Info Meeting for Band (rising 5th grade and new students)
    • 7:00 pm – Sports Award Ceremony (at lower school campus)
  • Thurs, 5/23:  
    • TK Last day of school and celebration
    • Tentative Band Concert and Patriotic Program
  • Mon, 5/27:  Memorial Day (no school)
  • Wed, 5/29:
    • Verse Bee (lower school)
    • Junior/Senior Gala (White House on Washington)
  • Thurs, 5/30:  Baccalaureate
  • Fri, 5/31:  
    • Last Day of school – Noon dismissal
    • 7pm – Graduation

 

    

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

This Week
  • TK enjoyed a week full of fun and loving our friends! We continued to sing Proverbs 17:17 to be reminded that “a friend loves at all times.” A highlight of the week was making & decorating heart shaped cookies in the kitchen and passing out Valentine treats to friends. In math this week, we continued using our dimes to count by tens and practiced paying for items with dimes. Our letters this week were M and N. We worked on identifying these letters and their similar sounds. A few of our centers this week included Valentine cutting practice, a Valentine journal entry about how we show love, comparing the story in 2 different books, and reviewing math concepts learned. In our Bible story our focus this week was the love Jesus has for children and how the Bible tells us we should have a heart like a child. Mrs. Bennington began teaching TK students the sign language motions to Jesus Loves Me. Next week we will learn about Zaccheus. 

 

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 4th
  • Students did a great job demonstrating skills that they have learned throughout the year this week in P.E. with their classroom teachers. 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-3rd
  • Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade students did a great job in music this week reviewing songs from the third quarter. Third grade did a great job working on songs for Bradford Night 2.0. 
4th 
  • Fourth grade did a great job this week working on songs for Bradford Night 2.0. 

Lower School Art (Mrs. Palmer)

3rd
  • This week students learned beginning color theory.  We talked about primary, secondary, complementary, warm and cool colors and neutrals.  We will be using some of this color theory in an upcoming project. 
4th
  • This week we did not have art due to no school on Friday. 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week: Our kindergartners were full of energy and very excited to celebrate Valentine’s Day this past Wednesday. In math, we learned how to divide a shape into fourths, how to add ten to a number, and how to count by 10’s from a single-digit number. In phonics, we started our new reader “The Dog, the Hog, the Rat, the Ram, the Hen, and the Big Big Din.” In history, we discussed the medieval period and put together a Joan of Arc motion puppet.  

Memory Work: 
  • Isaiah 40:28 and review

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

This Week: 
  • We had a fun, short week with Wednesday being Valentine’s Day and Thursday being a field trip. In history we will begin the book The Courage of Sarah Noble. It is based on a true story of a little 8 year old girl who came in 1707 to cook for her father while he built the first house in New Milford. She learns that to be afraid, but still be brave is the greatest courage of all. It is a story of faith, courage, and friendship. We also read a kids’ Voice of the Martyr’s book from which the students learned about Valentinus and the real reason for Valentine’s Day. In math we began telling and showing time to five-minute intervals as well as  adding three two-digit numbers with a sum greater than 100. The students got some hands-on practice identifying the capacity of containers such as cups, pints, quarts, and gallons in the kitchen. The students enjoyed all the Valentine’s decorations, drawing pictures, decorating bags, making Valentine’s, and handing out their little Valentine’s to each other.  They were very excited to give you the gifts they made. The field trip to The Museum of Life and Science was a great way to experience some of the vertebrates and invertebrates they studied, the animals we talked about when studying classifications, as well as weather patterns we will be learning about. Many thanks to all the parents who volunteered to drive and chaperone!
Memory Work:  
  • Philippians 4:19-20, Catechism 16
Upcoming:      
  • February 19 (Monday) -No School for President’s Day
  • March 8th (Friday)  – Dr. Seuss Day, Half Day, and end of the quarter 
  • March 11 – 15 – Spring Break

 

2nd Grade (Mrs. Hedgecock & Mrs. Eng)

This Week: 
  • Valentine’s Day was such a delight – it is always fun to see the students sharing with their classmates.  We even had a fun “Pal-entine” game for P.E.  The students wrote a two-point paragraph about two people/pets they love.  Their ability to write paragraphs is improving nicely. We started our study of Moses in history and our memory verse. After being in Genesis for the first 21 history cards, we have moved into the book of Exodus.   We can see God’s plan in keeping Moses safe despite the Pharaoh ordering all the Israelite baby boys be killed at birth.   We look forward to continuing our study of Moses for the next three weeks.  In grammar we reviewed the capitalization rules and learned about subject pronouns.  We will continue to work on our editing skills to look for spelling and capitalization errors in our own writing as well as in other texts.  
Memory Work: 
  • Hebrews 11:23-29
Upcoming:      
  • Animal Habitat/Model due March 5   

 

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

This Week
  • Students learned that by 146 B.C. Rome had risen to a world power. Greek culture and influence had spread throughout the known world, thus allowing commonalities in culture, religion, and government. Relying heavily on Greek innovations, the Romans built upon these advancements and continued to spread their rule over surrounding areas. During the three Punic Wars, the Romans destroyed its biggest rival, Carthage, allowing them to become a superpower and expand their empire into Northern Africa. Students are beginning to learn about the culture in which Christ lived while he walked on the earth. In math, students continue to solve division problems, convert improper fractions into mixed numbers, and identify and name quadrilaterals. We are taking the mystery out of Latin cases by adding the study of accusative case endings which simply indicates it is the direct object in the sentence.  We’ve introduced the future tense verb endings in Latin, and practiced conjugating verbs in the future tense. This tied in nicely with Grammar as we studied the three simple verb tenses, past, present, and future, and stressed the importance of being consistent in our use of tense when we write. 
Memory Work:
  • Psalm 19:13
Upcoming:
  • Teacher Workday 2/16 – No School
  • President’s Day 2/19 – No School
  • Planet Project Due 2/26
  • Morehead Planetarium Field Trip 2/27
  • Bradford Night 2/29

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram and Miss Abrahamsen) 

This Week

The fourth grade worked hard during this short week. In math, we are spending some focused time studying exponents, square roots, and working with decimals and fractions. Latin brought us to a new declension for adjectives and nouns- the third declension! From the Mixed-up Files has initiated discussions about what responsibility really is and how we accept the consequences of our own actions- whether those consequences are good or bad; we also discussed how we can responsibly respond when we have been irresponsible. The students’ have continued to work hard preparing for Bradford Night which is in just two weeks!!  Enjoy your long weekend!

Upcoming: 
  • Matt 5:17-18 due Friday, February 23
  • No School- Friday, February 16 and Monday, February 19
  • Thursday, February 29- Bradford Night 2.0

 

LOGIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Bennington

5th-6th Band
  • Students did a great job in Band this week reviewing all of the exercises that we have worked on to date. Practice Records will be due on Tuesday. 
7th-9th Band 
  • Students did a great job in Band this week reviewing all of the exercises that we have worked on to date. Practice Records will be due on Tuesday. 

Mrs. Campbell

5th-8th Chorus
  • Students continue to work at creating a blended sound and sing in harmony. Practice records are due Thursday, 2/22.

Mr. Webster

5th-8th Boys’ PE
  • This week we went bowling and played hockey. 

Miss Stevenson

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • This week the middle school took a trip to Buffaloe Lanes.

 

5th Grade (Mrs. Owens) 

This Week
  • The students have had a wonderful week of learning more about the War for Independence.  We took a closer look at the Battle of Bunker Hill.  Ask your student if the battle really took place on Bunker Hill.  In math we continued to work on writing fractions as decimals and percents and writing decimals as fractions.  The students continued to work on pattern four sentences in grammar that consist of predicate nouns.  We also began to work on taking two words and forming a contraction.  We are nearing the end of Duel in the Wilderness and George Washington is getting ready to make his way back to Virginia after meeting with the French Commanders.  We are focusing on comprehension in our reading to make sure we really understand what is taking place in the story.  
Memory Work:
  • Philippians 2:9-11 (due next week)
Upcoming:
  • Poster Contest – April 19th (an email went out today with more information)

Mrs. Palmer

5th Art
  • We have been talking about the medium of charcoal this past week. We talked about value, contrast, blending and creating highlights and shadows. 
Mrs. Kromhout
5th Latin
  • Fifth grade Latin students had fun spending a little extra time learning some of the derivatives from this week’s Latin vocabulary list and writing a story with the words! We also reviewed for and took our chapter 14 quiz and began chapter 15. 

 

6th Grade (Miss Stevenson)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We are continuing to work our way through The Hiding Place.
6th Grammar and Writing
  • We are working on the last few capitalization and capitalizations rules before we move on to our next minor writing assignment for the quarter.
6th Bible
  • We are taking a small detour from the New Testament to read Exodus.
6th History
  • Cowboys and the West was the topic of discussion in History this week. 
6th Science
  • Sixth grade is working hard to learn the different organelles of plant and animal cells. I will be assigning the cell project next week that will be due early in the fourth quarter. More information to follow.
6th Logic
  • We looked at the difference between weak and strong generalizations and analogies. 

Mrs. Frueh

6th Math
  • After learning last week how to solve for an unknown in an algebraic equation, the students had the opportunity to put these skills into practice this week when solving fractional equations and implied ratio problems.

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • This week we began a new project.  We will be using the medium of oil pastel to create complementary color works of art.  We talked about several methods of blending, color mixing, sgraffito and creating tints and tones with oil pastel. 

Mrs. Crotts

7th Grammar
  • The class pursued the antithesis lesson from The Lost Tools of Writing.  The students defined antithesis and shared examples. 
7th Omnibus
  • Literature: The class concluded the read-aloud of Julius Caesar.  We also had the privilege of using Miss Oldham’s Shakespeare vocabulary dictionary!  They began work on scene memory work/presentations.
  • History/Bible:  7th graders had the privilege of hearing 2 presentations from the 10th graders on Greek and Roman gods.

Mr. Johnston

7th Logic
  • Logic students finished up our section on Fallacies of Presumption.  The last two fallacies were the Fallacy of Composition and the Fallacy of Division.  The students previously encountered these errors in reasoning under the names Part to Whole Fallacy and Whole to Part Fallacy.  We will review next week and have a section test next Thursday.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • This week, we continued our study of the geocentric and heliocentric models of the universe with a look at the models put forth by Copernicus, Kepler, and Tycho Brahe. Next week, we’ll take an in-depth look at the evidence Galileo gathered to support heliocentrism.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week the students have been laying a strong foundation for next year’s algebra course. We practiced graphing linear equations, translating linguistic statements into algebraic expressions, and using algebraic properties to manipulate equations.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Students worked this week on a new project using oil pastels.  We will be creating a Van Gogh work of art using this medium.  We talked about several techniques including heavy and light blending,  color mixing and creating tints and tones. 

 

Mrs. Kromhout

8th Omnibus
  • History: In history this week we finished learning about the Vikings and reviewed for our test which will be next Wednesday!
  • Literature: We came to the end of The Two Towers this week, the students took a short quiz over the whole book, and then did a fantastic job leading eight minute discussions about a theme or character(s) of their choice! They explored themes such as hope, despair, trust, respect, fear, and more. 
  • Composition: We have not had a lot of time for writing this week, but worked a bit on our run on sentence practice and literary theme essays. 

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • The students practiced reading atomic symbols this week in order to determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a particular atom or ion. We also learned about the development of atomic models over the last two centuries. We are approaching this study of atoms with humility knowing that there is still much man does not know or understand about atoms.
8th Algebra I
  • The students learned how to use the slope-intercept form of linear equations to graph on the coordinate plane. This form (y = mx + b) allows for the quick identification of both the slope and the y-intercept of the line so a graph can be drawn. We also practiced solving for consecutive integers, as well as consecutive odd and even integers.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • This week we began a new project using the medium of pen and ink.  We talked about hatching, cross hatching and stippling.  Students will be creating hyper realistic eye drawings. 

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We went bowling on Monday and practiced for our unit test.

 

RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

Sophomores and Juniors:
  • Thales College (whose rep came to speak at our school in November) is offering an open house on Saturday, March 2nd from 11am-1pm!
    •  Thales offers a unique program, focusing on making their liberal arts education both affordable and practical in part through co-ops and internships for each program. They currently offer programs in entrepreneurial business, mechanical engineering, and classical education. 
    • If students are interested in Thales, this is a fantastic opportunity to be on campus, meet with professors, and ask any questions they may have!
    • RSVP here: Thales College – Events
Juniors: 
  • Juniors took the CLT on Thursday! This test can count as their standardized test for college admissions at many colleges, especially many liberal arts colleges and faith-based institutions. You can see the full list of colleges that accept the CLT here: https://www.cltexam.com/colleges/ 
  • Juniors continue to practice for the SAT on Tuesday afternoons; check in with your junior to see how their preparations are going. Depending on their goals and where they want to attend college, some have a higher goal for their SAT scores. Khan Academy is a great resource, and students can also take practice tests online.
Seniors:

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • Students worked on test review this week.  We reviewed the present progressive, vocabulary and when to use the verbs “ser” and “estar.”  

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students completed their Antebellum history unit and will review next week before taking a test on Friday (2/23).

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • It was an exciting week in geometry as the students were introduced to the three basic trigonometric ratios: sine, cosine, and tangent. They have already learned to use ratios to solve for the sides of 30-60-90 triangles and 45-45-90 triangles. After learning how to use the trigonometric ratios, the students should feel confident solving for unknowns in any right triangle. We also talked about how to use trigonometric ratios to solve practical problems in everyday life.

Mr. Crotts

9th Logic
  • We completed our first unit of the new semester and took our comprehensive test on using rules of inference and replacement for formal proofs.

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Advanced Art
  • The students completed their first original landscape painting.  After learning about oil paints, solvents and mediums they took on this challenge and found they really enjoyed working with oil paints. We are looking forward to working on oil portraits next week!

Mrs. Hicks

9th Biology
  • This week we started learning about genetics! We spent some time completing activities on punnets squares. We will continue studying this next week!

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • Students completed reading and discussion of a biography of Sergeant York; we focused on linguists and language development and languages that are not officially written.  Also we  highlighted the value of grammar rules and “proper” English amidst awareness of “slang” and “underground language.”

Dr. Byrd

9th-10th Bible Survey
  • We have finished the books of Zephaniah and Habakkuk this week. We have learned about the character and love of God from these books. Habakkuk shows us faith tested, faith taught, and faith triumphant. 
  • Memory Verse: Ezra 7:10

 

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week the students took  their second test of Q2, covering gas laws. 
  • Next week we will begin a section on properties of liquids and solutions.

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Students have been working on their skits in the target language.  They will present these next week.  They also received a study guide for their next upcoming test.  

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • This week we covered solving systems of three equations, graphing solutions to sets of  “and/or” one dimensional inequalities, working on distance, rate, time problems with an upstream/downstream river current twist, and graphing solutions to systems of two dimensional inequalities.

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • 10th graders completed their presentations on Greek and Roman gods for the 7th grade class.  They also learned about George MacDonald and history behind his beliefs and his book, Phantastes.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric I
  • Students worked on final speeches this week. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students took notes on the Peloponnesian War unit material while discussing four major speeches that Thucydides couples together as the leaders of Sparta and the city of Athens decide what to do with the defeated captives following a city siege. One side will execute everyone while the other chooses that same course of action only to change its mind and pardon the prisoners. Why did they do that and what can we learn from the four speeches that determined these outcomes?
10th PE
  • Students completed two more days of playing indoor soccer (futsal) and continued to learn more about movement, space, controlling the ball, communication and scoring.

Mrs. Byrd

11th Precalculus
  • Inverse trig functions have been our focus for the week.  We’ve learned to use them to find missing angles, how to graph them, how to interpret their domain and range with respect to their parent functions, and how to solve composition of function problems.
11th Physics
  • This week we’ve focused on sound waves – learning various types and properties.  We had fun experimenting with Boomwhackers and seeing how the frequency of the note compares to its wavelength.  We also learned what causes the Doppler effect, watched it demonstrated, and learned how to solve problems using the Dopper equation.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  • Students began to look at Arthurian Legends. This is one of my favorite units and I am excited to see where it takes us! 

Mr. Webster

11th History
  • This week the students took a quiz and we finished the unit by going over the Crusades. 

Mrs. Palmer

11th-12th Elective: Color Theory/Design
  • This week we have continued on with typography.  Students designed their own font based solely on one word.  Students are also hard at work on redesigning a book cover. 

Dr. Smith

11th-12th Apologetics & Philosophy
  • Students continue reading and discussing James Sire’s The Universe Next Door. This week we have been discussing existentialism, both in its theistic and atheistic manifestations during the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Students read and discussed Alexander Stephen’s Cornerstone Speech and Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address. Students were assigned to come up with at least three Bible verses/passages that would disprove Stephen’s assertion that God/the Bible made different races of mankind.

Miss Oldham

12th Literature
  • Students wrapped up As I Lay Dying. We will be taking it easy during prepanels for these next two weeks. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Prepanels begin on Wednesday of next week. The seniors are both eager and nervous. Please be in prayer for them at this juncture, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • Students wrapped up our unit on differential equations.  Next we will begin our final topic of the year – Applications of Integration.  We are also beginning more intense AP practice.

Mrs. Hicks

12th Anatomy
  • This week we started the neurological system, including senses. Students completed a senses project where they were assigned a certain sense to present on in class! We also completed a lab testing all of our senses!