BB 01-15-2021

 BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XIII, ISSUE 17

JANUARY 15,  2021

 

FROM THE OFFICE

We are thankful for the ability to return to school in-person.  We do not take this for granted and we endeavor to guard the privilege carefully.  

Please note that the interest for enrollment in 21/22 is very high.  We are processing a lot of inquiries and applications already.  Your deadline for letting us know if you plan to withdraw your child for the 21/22 school year is February 15th.  You must let us know in writing.  We will begin awarding spots to new applicants very soon thereafter.  We anticipate filling most classes with waiting lists for several.  

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Monday, 1/18:  MLK day – NO SCHOOL
  • Friday, 1/22:  Spelling bee**  (see note below if your child is participating)
    • **For 4th -8th graders who are participating in the school spelling bee:  It is on Friday, 1/22 at 12:30.  One parent is allowed to attend per student.  We will arrange to transport 6th – 8th grade participants to the main campus.  If you plan to attend, you may pick your child up at the downtown campus at 12:10 (or we can provide the ride – it’s up to you.)  Those students will be dismissed from the main campus at the end of the day.  They will not return to the downtown campus.

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • First week of February:  Used Uniform Sale – if weather is permitting to allow it to be outside.
  • Monday, 2/15:  DEADLINE to opt-out for the 21/22 school year.  If you do not plan to send your child to Bradford in 21/22, you must let the office know in writing by 2/15 to avoid a $500 penalty.  Please review the tuition agreement that you signed when you enrolled your child in 20/21.  

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Grubb)

Bible
  •   This week TK learned about John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus.  
Theme Adventure
  •  TK students made snow in class and used it as a handwriting tool.  Students also created snow storms in a jar in the science lab! 
Literacy
  •  TK students continue to work on identifying beginning and final sounds of words. 
  • Students learned about action verbs! They enjoyed playing Simon Says and Charades. 
Math
  •  TK students continued to identify and create AB and ABB patterns using linking cubes.
  • Students also continued to practice paying for items using pennies in the TK store.   
  • Students were introduced to comparing objects by weight in the TK classroom.  They enjoyed using the balancing scales to determine which mystery objects were the heaviest.   
Arts and Sciences
  • TK students learned about rhythm in music class this week.  Next week they will play percussive instruments and try to match rhythms with Mr. Davis. 

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

This week:
  • Kindergarten has started the quarter strong! In history we read the firsthand account of the destruction of the Temple written by the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. The Temple served as the center of Judaism. The Temple’s sacred relics were taken to Rome where they were displayed in celebration of the victory.  We began with dividing squares in half and labeling it with the fraction symbol. Students know that the bottom number tells us into how many pieces we cut the whole. We studied our -2 math facts and reinforced the concept of even and odd numbers. Finishing out the week, we learned how to count using tally marks. Students completed another spelling list, preparing them for future spelling bees! They discovered and drew a picture using the vanishing point, and we began our study of the solar system. Next week we will take a closer look at the moon. If you can have your student start observing the moon at night, it will help with our discussions!  
Memory Work:
  • Romans 11:33-36

 

1st Grade (Mrs. Morgan & Mr. Law)

This Week
  •  It has been an excellent first week back for the 1st Grade students of Mrs. Morgan’s and Mr. Law’s classes! Jaws dropped when the students were introduced to their first 100-problem math fact practice sheets. However, as the week progressed, students were pleasantly surprised to see that it is possible to complete these fact sheets in five minutes or less, with a little determination. In spelling and phonics, the students have been adding to their “Learning Logs” all the words and sounds they are mastering in their pursuit of being expert readers and spellers. In history, we were treated to the exciting, true story of Edward Van Alstyne, a boy living in colonial times, and his family’s experience in the French and Indian War. We are now moving on to our study of Benjamin Franklin. Finally, in art, the students learned about drawing overlapping shapes and lines by drawing a cityscape. 1st Grade is chugging along in the new year and picking up steam!
Memory Work:  
  • Jeremiah 9:23-24
Upcoming:
  • The Layers of the Earth

 

2nd Grade (Mrs. Jones & Mrs. Batten)

This Week
  • Second grade wrapped our study of the Biblical character, Joseph this week. We read about the death of his father, Jacob and the elaborate burial he received because of Joseph. Ask your child what was so special about the way Jacob was buried. The story of Joseph is a fascinating glimpse into the world of Ancient Egypt. The students were surprised to learn that two important characters in Biblical history were actually mummified in Egypt.  In science the students are beginning to learn about the scientific method. To practice using it they performed an experiment using just eggs, water and salt. Ask your child what happened when they put the egg in the water. We will be conducting experiments over the next few weeks to help them learn each step in the scientific method. 
Memory Work: 
  • Hebrews 11:1-3
Upcoming:
  • 1-20 Latin Test

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Garner)

This Week
  • Third grade has wasted no time getting right back to work after our wonderfully long holiday break. Math this week introduced us to equivalent fractions and division word problems. Chapter ten in our grammar gave us two new parts of speech: conjunctions and interjections.  In Latin, we were introduced to the challenging skill of parsing nouns and verbs, which will be useful in translating sentences in the next chapter. In science, we kicked off our study of chemistry learning about how the Greeks (Empedocles, Democritus, and Aristotle) played a huge role in chemistry’s foundation. Finally, we enjoyed ending our intense week by integrating art and history with making an “Alexander the Great” portrait onto a clay coin. 
Memory Work:
  • Psalm 19: 1-2 (Next week: verses 3-4)
Upcoming:
  • NO School on Monday, 1/18
  • 1/19- Start reading Detectives in Togas and begin our Libellus (Latin History Reader)
  • 1/27- Math Test (Written and Facts),  History Timeline and Review Test, Latin Ch. 17 Test
  • 2/5- Chemistry Test

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram) 

This Week
  •  We are studying the Magna Carta this week and enjoyed talking about why it was needed as well as King John’s response to the Barons.  We are practicing ordinal numbers in Latin and worked on translations this week.  We used our English knowledge to label how the words are being used in the sentences.  Math has been a lot of fun.  The students have added to their knowledge of fractions and we worked on analyzing graphs.  We are working on our Spelling Bee words in class and look forward to our class bee soon! 
Science
  •  We began an knw study with Earth Science this week.  We talked about glaciers and completed a project looking at how glaciers are formed.  The students are looking forward to making crystals in class and other hands on projects.
Memory Work:
  • Ephesians 4: 4-6
  • Matthew 5: 10-12
Upcoming:
  • Classroom Spelling Bee!  Details coming soon!

 

5th Grade (Ms. Vogus) 

This Week
  • We have had an excellent first week back. We have talked about God’s creation. We read through Genesis 1 in forum. In science, we talked about the phases of the moon, constellations, the sun’s light on earth, and what you can learn about God by observing His creation. In history, we learned about the French and Indian War. The students enjoyed reading an excerpt from George Washington’s journal and learning about the battles between General Wolfe and General Montcalm. In grammar we reviewed sentence patterns 1 and 2 and wrote a persuasive writing sample. I am looking forward to the rest of the quarter! 
Memory Work:
  • Philippians 2:1-2
Upcoming:
  • Spelling Bee
  • No school on Monday. 

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

Mr. Batten

Language Arts
  • We began reading Around the World in 80 Days, which corresponds to our time period we are studying in history. We also began learning how to compare and contrast two subjects in essays in order to make our persuasive essays more detailed. This will lead us into our third persuasive essay of the year. 
History
  • We learned about Black Leadership emerging in the South after the Civil War, which included a look at the lives of Booker T Washington and George Washington Carver. In addition, we took a history test on our last 3 cards. 
Science
  • We have continued learning about genetics through a study of genotypes, phenotypes, and punnett squares.
6th Logic
  • We learned about the Whole to Part and Either-Or fallacies. Students practiced identifying them, and talked about where they may see these used most often. 
7th Logic
  • We began our unit of fallacies of presumption! Students started by evaluating Descartes famous “I think therefore I am” statement to see where it may be making presumptions. 
8th Logic
  • We slowed down this week to review everything we have learned about syllogisms thus far. In addition, we began preparing for our next debates!
Upcoming:
  • We will continue to memorize 1 John 3, take a science quiz, and do our class Spelling Bee!

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • Our study of work and energy concluded with a test on Friday.  Next we are moving onto a study of momentum – inertia in motion.
Precalculus
  • We’ve learned how special right triangles relate to the unit circle.  Now we have several methods to evaluate trig functions of any angle.  Next we will look at graphs of trig functions.
Geometry 
  • Students are writing some basic triangle congruence proofs.   There is a variety of style and construction in proofs – something that is unique to this topic.

 

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Grade Advanced Art
  • The students are back in the classroom and back at work on their oil painting.  The impressionist style painting is stretching their abilities and helping them to try different techniques.

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • We have started studying the layers of Earth’s atmosphere and the students are beginning to see the great care that God has taken in protecting our extraordinary planet from the myriad dangers of our solar system: meteors, solar wind, solar storms, and cosmic radiation. We are learning how each of the atmosphere’s 5 major and 3 minor layers is uniquely beneficial to humanity on Earth.
8th Grade Science:
  • This week has been dedicated to examining inside the atom and learning about the different subatomic particles. We are realizing that the more we learn about the atom, the more questions we have! The focus this week has been on familiarizing ourselves with how an atom’s subatomic particles are related to its place on the periodic table.

 

Mr. Hamilton

9th Logic
  • This week we worked hard to learn about the rules of inference and their place in logical proofs.
9th Historic Theology
  • It was an interesting week in theology, as we examined Augustine’s major contributions to the Western church, including his views on church authority and grace.
10th History
  • We used history class this week to focus on the background to the Iliad as well as our Burlington Writers club entries.
10th Literature
  • We had a great time learning about Homer’s Iliad in literature class this week, in particular the debate over who wrote it down and when.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • Our focus in apologetics this week was on the balance we must have between emphasizing God’s words and our own in apologetic encounters.
12th History
  • More developments in 19th-century European history: Britain’s continued influence over the developing world, plus the atrocities committed by Belgium in the Congo.
12th Literature
  • Our reading of Huck Finn has been incredibly rewarding, as we have appreciated Twain’s masterful use of dialect, his insightful knowledge of local culture, and, of course, his humor.

 

Mrs. Hamilton

Logic School Music
  • In theory, students continued learning to write major scales (C, G, and F) and began learning dotted rhythms. 
  • In performance, students began learning to play the C major scale in one and two octaves, with correct fingering in both hands.  
  • In history, after a very brief overview of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the music of the early Classic period, students began learning about the importance and influence of Joseph Haydn. 
Music History Elective (Baroque to Modern)
  • After our immersion in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, we began learning about an instrumental composer of the later Romantic era –Johannes Brahms. 

 

Ms. Hutchison

7th Grade Omnibus
  • History:  This week in History class, 7th graders began their study of the reign of King Solomon in the book of 1 Kings.  We watched an interesting documentary, filmed only a few months ago, of the compound on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which added to our understanding of the structure of Solomon’s Temple. The Temple which David planned and Solomon built stood in the same spot thousands of years ago. 
  • Literature:  Our rehearsals for The Odyssey play are underway, and almost all of the casting for the play is complete.  Auditions today will determine one final casting role.  Students are excitedly preparing for an entertaining production of Homer’s epic poem during the fourth quarter, Lord willing.  We concluded our week with a unit test on The Odyssey.
  • Bible:  Third quarter finds us plunging into 2 Timothy, chapter 3.  Students have begun preparing for their first recitation of the quarter by memorizing 2 Timothy 3:14-17.  We are being challenged to “continue in what we have learned”.
9th Grade Biology
  • Biology students have begun their study of the cell: its component parts and the physiology of the individual structures that make up these complex, microscopic building blocks of life.  

 

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week the students learned about stoichiometry, percent composition, and percent yield.
  • Next week we have no school on Monday, but the students will have a practice sheet to guide their preparation for the first test of Q3, which is Wednesday.

 

Miss Oldham

9th Grade Literature
  • We continued our discussion of Pride and Prejudice and started to focus on characterization in the novel. 
9th Grade History
  • We are studying the impacts of the Industrial Revolution. 
11th Grade Literature
  • We wrapped up our discussion of C.S. Lewis’s book The Great Divorce which elicited some deep conversations and thoughts from the students. We will begin The Prince when we return from break. 
11th Grade History
  • Students are beginning the research for their history projects. 
10th Rhetoric I
  • Students are writing their first of many speeches for this quarter. They were allowed to pick their own topics. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Students are working through their research for their thesis. All due dates have been loaded onto Google Classroom, so there are no surprises. 

 

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • This week we talked about our artist of the quarter, Benjamin West.  We looked at some of his well known works.  We also started a small scale study in colored pencil of an Italian landscape.
7th Art
  • This week we talked about our artist of the quarter, Benjamin West.  We looked at some of his well known works.  We also started talking about our next medium, watercolor.
8th Art
  • This week we talked about our artist of the quarter, Benjamin West.  We looked at some of his well known works.  We also started talking about our next medium, oil pastels.
9th Spanish 
  •  This week we reviewed past vocabulary and  verbs.  We also added a new verb, “ir – to go” and worked through its conjugations.  We reviewed numbers as well.
10th Spanish
  • This week we reviewed past vocabulary.  We talked about relative pronouns and how to use them correctly.  

Mr. Palmer

6th Math
  • This week we worked with functions and reviewed for a test. We then took the test. 
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we worked with mixed numbers, reviewed for a test and took a test.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we worked with adding and subtracting terms with negative exponents, reviewed for a test, and took a test.
10th Algebra II
  • This week we reviewed for a test and took a test.
11th / 12th NT Greek
  • This week we took a Greek Vocab Quiz and began learning about Greek verbs.

 

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus
  • History: In history this week, the students have been doing a fantastic job presenting the information they researched and organized last week during their remote learning week. We have learned about castles, cathedrals, medieval medical practices, medieval warfare, and more! 
  • Literature: We continue reading The Two Towers and have had some great discussions about the nature of evil, friendship, and the nature of the two brothers, Boromir and Faramir. 
  • Composition: The students wrote another poem and we also began discussing our next essay, a literary analysis of a theme from The Two Towers. 
6th Grade LATIN
  • Sixth graders did a mega review of all that we learned last semester as well as beginning the grammar and vocabulary from chapter nine. 
7th Grade LATIN
  • Seventh grade Latin students practiced more translations, some with the more detailed parse and classify method as well as doing a more natural reading method. 
8th Grade LATIN
  • In eight grade Latin, we reviewed and practiced our new set of vocabulary words and reviewed grammar through translations.