BB 01-10-25

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 24

JAN 10, 2025

FROM THE OFFICE

FOR ALL:

NC Opportunity Scholarship for 24/25: Please make sure you accept the scholarship by TODAY!
ENROLLMENT TASKS: Preparations for the 25/26 school year enrollment are underway. We will be sending tasks and reminders each week to keep you informed.
- New students: Complete an application for younger siblings you plan to enroll.
- Current TK Students: If your student is in TK this year…
  - Fill out this form to let us know if you want to select Kindergarten half day or full day for next year.
  - Set up your NC Opportunity Scholarship (NCOS) account. Go HERE to learn how.
  - February 1st: Apply for the scholarship
- Returning students:
  - If your student is receiving the NCOS this year, please follow instructions sent in your email from the state about steps you need to take to renew it for the 25/26 school year.
  - If you did not apply for the NCOS previously, please set up an account. Go HERE to learn how. Plan to submit your application on February 1st.
  - NOTE: If you need financial assistance, you must apply for the NC Opportunity Scholarship.
- Students not returning: Submit a letter in writing to office@bradfordacademy.org no later than February 15th.

LOWER SCHOOL- IMPORTANT NOTES:

4th Grade: Please complete this form for your child to attend the Spelling Bee on January 24th.

UPPER SCHOOL- IMPORTANT NOTES:

PE Uniform: It is winter and cold temperatures are here! Please provide PE uniform sweatpants for your child. Teachers will take students outside as much as possible. Your student should have appropriate clothing for the colder temperatures.

HOT LUNCH on Thursdays:

The weekly menu locks at midnight on Sunday night – so be sure to place your orders and check out in time. Once your account is set up, it should be easy for the rest of the year! ORDER HERE

FROM MRS. MITCHELL:

The Zipcast word of the week is winter and appropriately so! A couple of action items pertaining to the weather that would be a great encouragement to our staff: please make every effort to be on time, so that our staff can enter the building at 7:55 along with the children. Students should be unpacked and ready to learn at 8:00 sharp. Secondly, please make decisions for your children about appropriate clothing. If the “feels like” temperature is 30 degrees, we will go out for recess and exercise. Teachers are moms as well and we worry about sending kids out for recess without coats, hats, and gloves.

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

Mon, 1/13: HOME Basketball game Varsity Boys vs New Garden Friends (MACC, 3:45pm)
Wed, 1/15: TK / Kindergarten: Prospective Parent Open House – If you have friends or family wanting to learn more about our TK and Kindergarten programs, please tell them to call the main office at 919-563-9001 to schedule a tour!
Fri, 1/17: AWAY Basketball games vs Lee Christian, Varsity Girls (5pm) + Varsity Boys (6:30pm)

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

Mon, 1/20: MLK Observed, no school
Tues, 1/21: HOME Basketball game Varsity Boys vs Grace Christian Academy (MACC, 4pm)
Thurs, 1/23: HOME Basketball games
- Middle School Girls (MACC, 3pm)
- Middle School Boys (4pm)
Fri, 1/24:
- Spelling Bee for 4th – 8th grades
- AWAY Basketball game Varsity Boys vs New Garden Friends 6:30pm
Wed, 2/12: 9th grade CLT10 standardized test
Fri, 2/14: Teacher Workday, no school
Sat, 2/15: Contract Opt-Out deadline
Mon, 2/17: Presidents Day observed, no school
Thurs, 2/20:
- 11th grade: CLT standardized test
- 7pm – Patriotic Program for 5th – 6th grades
Wed 2/26 – Fri 2/28: 10th – 11th grade to Washington DC
Week of March 9th: Senior trip!
Fri, 3/14: Reading day, Pi Day, end of 3rd quarter

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

This Week

TK students were excited to get back into their school routines this week! We enjoyed lots of time inside due to the frigid weather but students were excited to practice writing letters in pretend snow and even created a snow storm in a jar. It was the perfect week for these fun winter activities. We spent time this week reviewing concepts and memory work from the first and second quarter. Our letters this week were J and S. It is fun to see all the various items students bring for show and tell. In math this week we worked on paying for items using pennies, copying & identifying patterns, and weighing items using a balance. A few of our centers included: a journal about what we did over Christmas break, distinguishing real from make believe books, learning about signs, and drawing Mat Man. We picked up reading the Bible this week and learned about John the Baptist and his role in preparing the way for Jesus. This month our memory verse is Proverbs 3:5-6.

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 4th

Students did a great job this week completing various physical activities that focused on following instructions.

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th

Students did a great job this week working on our first hymn of the quarter, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. Students have enjoyed learning about the meaning of each verse as well as learning about why the composer wrote the hymn. Third and Fourth grade students also worked on reviewing the first two notes for recorder as well as learning the third note. Students will begin playing recognizable songs this quarter on their recorders.

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week

Our kindergarten scholars have had a great week back from Christmas break! In math, we learned how to count dimes, how to count by 2’s, how to tell time to the hour, how to estimate the capacity of containers, how to subtract a number from itself, and the subtraction of zero facts. In phonics, we reviewed all the phonograms from the last two quarters and started our new reader, “To the Rim of the Map.” In science, we introduced our new section on the moon, and we learned about its eight different phases. The students also learned a fun song about our planets and their different qualities. We hope that you all have a safe and wonderful snowy weekend!

Memory Work:

Romans 11:33-36 and review

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

This Week

Welcome back! Our first week after Christmas break has been filled with blessings and a renewed sense of purpose, even as we navigated two, two-hour delays at the start. The students embraced the week with enthusiasm, and we are so proud of their effort and joy in learning! In Math, we worked on sums of 10, reviewed our math facts, and enjoyed a game of “Skip Making 10” to strengthen our skills. Through a hands-on activity of cutting apples and graphing our favorite kinds, we explored bar graphs and fractions, marveling at the order and design God has placed in creation. In Reading, we enjoyed the story of Red Hood, which sparked meaningful discussions and helped us grow in understanding and communication. In History, we continued our journey through Pilgrim Stories, reflecting on the perseverance and faith of the Pilgrims as they sought to honor God in the New World. Science introduced us to our Bird of the Month: the American Robin. We were reminded of God’s care for all His creatures and His provision for even the smallest among us. Grammar lessons this week centered on pronouns, as we worked to improve our ability to use language well, reflecting the truth and beauty of God’s Word. It has been a joyful and productive start to the new year. Thank you for partnering with us in this journey of cultivating hearts and minds for the glory of God. Enjoy the snow over the weekend!

Memory Work:

Jeremiah 9:23-24

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

This Week

The third quarter is off to a great start in second grade. Our theme has been “snow” even though we didn’t necessarily plan it that way. It is a delight to see how God works all things out. Our Bible verse in Proverbs 25 talks about snow, our spelling list has the word snow, we are writing a two-point paragraph on fun activities in the snow, The Year poem we are writing says that January brings the snow, and we even had a snowball fight in the classroom! Our challenge in math this week is memorizing the x 7 facts, and the students are making good progress – it is good for them to see their improvement as this encourages them to tackle hard problems in the future. We have enjoyed reading “Stuart Little” and learning about a mouse in New York City. We look forward to seeing the students’ museum pieces.

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

This Week

Our first week back, students launched into writing using the Story Sequence Outline. We are discovering key story elements such as plot, character, setting, conflict, and resolution. These tools will help your students when they submit their own stories to the Burlington Writers Club contest later this month. Through the story of Nehemiah and his return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, we learned how you can accomplish anything when you align yourself with the will and plan of God. Only God can do the impossible. God allowed Nehemiah to not only win the favor of King Artaxerxes, but he financed his entire journey. In Latin, we continued working with the imperfect tense, and they are gradually getting more proficient at parsing those verbs and nouns in order to translate. Although we often face difficult challenges, we can learn from Nehemiah the importance of focusing on God who is our hope and strength. It is only then that we can rest as we take refuge in His unchanging love.
Burlington Writers Club Submissions – Due 1/22/25

3rd Grade Art – We kicked off this semester with studying our Featured Artist, N.C. Wyeth. The students were amazed at the beauty of his work and his ability to capture a spirit of adventure in his work.

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

This Week

Welcome back! We hope you had a joyful Christmas break filled with meaningful family time. We pray your hearts were filled with a renewed hope as we celebrated the birth of Christ, our ultimate Savior.
Winter has truly arrived, and despite two late starts, we’ve begun the 3rd quarter strong! In class, we’ve been exploring the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his commitment to a life of poverty, mastering the correct use of quotations in writing, solving challenging math problems with the tools we’ve gained so far, and deepening our understanding of God’s creation by studying the Earth’s various spheres.
Students are also hard at work on their submissions for the Burlington Writers Club, demonstrating creativity and dedication.
The third quarter is known to be our most rigorous academic period, with many new and challenging concepts on the horizon. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage your children to persevere and remain steadfast, even when the material becomes demanding. Together, we can help them thrive and grow!
4th Grade Art – We kicked off this semester with studying our Featured Artist, N.C. Wyeth. The students were amazed at the beauty of his work and his ability to capture a spirit of adventure in his work.

LOGIC SCHOOL

Mrs. Bennington

5th-10th Band

Introductory Band- Students did a great job this week getting back into playing after a long break. We spent time this week reviewing skills learned to date. We reinforced our first five notes and our ability to play rhythms that incorporated quarter notes/rests, half notes/rests, and whole notes/ rests.
Intermediate Band – Students did a great job this week getting back into playing after a long break. We spent time this week reviewing skills learned to date. We focused heavily on applying key signatures and accidentals to our warm-ups. We also spent time on our Concert Bb scale and exercises that helped reinforce our ability to play our Concert Bb scale. Students worked hard on applying various articulation patterns to their Concert Bb scale as well.
Advanced Band- We did not meet this week due to IST. Looking forward to having this class next week!

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Chorus, Bradford Chorale

5th Chorus – we began basic piano this week, learning how the Grand Staff relates to the piano. We got oriented with the piano keyboard, working with where the fingers are placed and note intervals. We will be spending the month of January working on learning basic piano to better reinforce overall music reading and listening skills.
6th-8th Chorus – we learned You Are Holy (Prince of Peace) by Michael W. Smith, reviewing sight-reading skills and working on independence of parts. We also revisited The Battle Hymn of the Republic. It is remarkable how much more confident the overall sound was after all the hard work last semester!
Chorale – We began learning the Star-Spangled Banner. We were delighted to have more students join, and we will also be spending several rehearsals learning to work as a new group.

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Miss Johnston)

This Week

We have enjoyed our first week back together after break! We began a new chapter in math as we are learning how to multiply fractions. We are almost done with our book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and are excited to begin Duel in the Wilderness next week! We enjoyed studying about the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Intolerable Acts, Quartering Act, and the Boston Tea Party in history! We even enjoyed seeing where some common English phrases originated such as “cat out of the bag” or “under the weather”. We are also looking forward to and preparing for our class spelling bee next Friday!

Memory Work:

Philippians 2:1-2

6th Grade (Miss Stevenson)

6th Reading and Literature

We started reading Something Greater Than Gold, a biography about Eric Liddell this week.

6th Grammar and Writing

On Monday I assigned our major writing assignment for the third quarter! This quarter is a fictional story with a maximum word count of 1,000 words. This assignment will double as the students’ submission for the Burlington Writers Club.

6th Bible

We are continuing to work our way through the gospel of John.

6th History

This week in History we discussed the emergence of black leadership in the South after the Civil War. We specifically looked at the work of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.

6th Science

Third quarter is Cell Biology time in sixth grade! This week reviewed the Kingdoms and hierarchical organization of living things. Next week we begin to learn about the organelles of plant and animal cells. Information about the big cell project is coming soon!

6th Logic

Due to the couple of two-hour delays, we did not get to Logic this week.

6th Latin

Students reviewed and took a quiz on the vocabulary from last semester this week. Next week we will jump into transitive vs intransitive Latin verbs.

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math

Students ventured into chapter 7 this week. Much of the first four lessons were reviewing foundational information about fractions and decimals.

Mrs. Palmer

6th Art

This week students learned about their new artist of the quarter, N.C. Wyeth. We also began working with watercolor in preparation for our next project.

Dr. Wright

7th Composition

We continue to work on short story narratives and figures of speech – particularly the synecdoche.

7th Omnibus – Literature, History, Bible

Major themes from Oedipus Rex, classical Greek history, and the spelling bee preparation are taking our time.

7th Logic

We have taken large strides through page 106 of the workbook; students now identify ten of the informal fallacies.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science

We started the new semester with our final Earth science unit of the year: Rocks and Minerals. We discussed what criteria a substance must meet in order to be defined as a mineral. We also discussed what tests geologists can perform both in the field and in the laboratory in order to determine the identity of an unknown mineral. If students have interesting rocks or minerals at home, they are encouraged to bring them into class in order to further our discussion and investigation.

7th Pre-Algebra

This week we advanced our understanding of proportions, ratios and percentages. Now that students have a solid understanding of these concepts, we started applying them to more advanced problems such as mixed number ratios or solving for an unknown in a system of similar triangles.

Mrs. Palmer

7th Art

Students learned about their new artist of the quarter, N.C. Wyeth. We also began our next medium in preparation for our upcoming project.

Miss Johnston

7th Latin

This week we continued to work on chapter 6. They are studying and preparing for their chapter test next week.

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus

History: We are studying the Carolingian renaissance, the Muslim expansion, and Anglo-Saxon burials.
Literature: Students received their copies of Augustine’s Confessions. We are also preparing for the spelling bee.
Composition: Figures of speech, particularly the synecdoche, and the Burlington Writers’ contest are taking our time.

Miss Johnston

8th Latin

We started our new chapter. We have begun learning the new vocab and the grammar rules.

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science

We started our study of forces with a look at the revolutionary work of Isaac Newton. We discussed the universal law of gravitation, as well as the laws of motion. The students will be able to put these principles into action as they work on the design for their self-propelled vehicles. Ask your student about their vehicle design.

8th Algebra I

We started the new semester with a unit on graphing and solving inequalities and absolute value equations. We practiced translating verbal statements into mathematical statements and then into graphical representations.

Mrs. Palmer

8th Art

We finally wrapped up our famous artwork magazine collages this week. These look wonderful and are proudly displayed at upper campus!

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic

We had class on Monday, welcoming our new classmate & reviewing our first semester.

RHETORIC SCHOOL

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th:

The new year offers new opportunities–sign up to take the SAT and ACT. Visit College Board to learn more about future test dates and locations.
Seniors continue to finalize college applications and spring scholarship applications. So far seniors have been accepted to Anderson College, Bob Jones University, Elon University, Liberty University, Regent University, etc. It will be exciting to learn where they attend!
Juniors will resume individual college match meetings on Tuesdays during study hall. Beginning next week, juniors will meet as a group on Thursdays to discuss major themes of College Match: A Blueprint for Choosing the Best School for You, by Steven R. Antonoff, Ph. D. Topics include
- College Planning Values Assessment (January 16)
- Knowing Yourself (January 23)
- What are You Looking for in a College (January 30)
- College Visits (February 6)
- Building a College List (February 13)
- The Admissions Process Revealed (February 20)

9th – 12th grades

This week was part two of Intensive Short Term.

9th grade continued to study Technology.
10th – 11th grades continued to study Civics.
12th grade: Seniors peer reviewed each other’s theses. They received dates for prepanels and I am working on scheduling final thesis defenses in April. Please be on the lookout for those calendar invites. Please also respond to my email about Media Release Consent if you have not.