BB 01-22-2021

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XIII, ISSUE 18

JANUARY 22, 2021

FROM THE OFFICE

Another week of in-person learning is complete and for that we are very thankful!

A couple of reminders:

Please be on time! Arriving at school even 5 minutes late has a negative impact for your child and their class. Teachers buy up every moment they can to reinforce facts and concepts, so even as they are walking in the building, the teacher is engaging the class in review. When your child arrives late, they are missing valuable aspects of their education…plus it is a disruption to the class. We know things happen from time to time, but if you are habitually late, we would encourage you to take a few moments this weekend to think through your morning routines and make the necessary tweaks to enable you to arrive in a timely manner.
Remember those yellow car tags! It helps the ladies during dismissal to keep things flowing smoothly and quickly. Thank you.

UPCOMING

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

First week of February: (Exact day TBA, weather-permitting) Used Uniform Sale
2/1: Financial Aid applications due
2/12: Teacher workday
2/15: President’s day. No school.
2/15: Deadline: If your child will not return in the fall, you must let us know by this date. If you decide after this date that your child will not return in the fall, you will be liable for a $500 fee.

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Grubb)

Bible

TK students learned about how Jesus chose the disciples to assist in His ministry after he was Baptized.

Theme Adventure

This week TK learned about different qualities of water and got to experiment with water each day. They learned to pour, strain, identify water that was clear versus cloudy, and predicted whether items would sink or float.

Literacy

Students identified rhyming words and created rhyming sentences.
TK began to learn to identify nouns by classifying items and pictures as a person, place, or thing.
Students created their own stories in small groups. Their task was to complete a make-believe story using a familiar animal as the main character. Once the students completed their collective story they acted out the story using toy animals.
TK has been working on identifying common signs found in the community. The students also created their own sign this week as a reminder to wash their hands. As you drive and go out in the community be sure to point out signs to your child and ask them to identify what the sign says. Pretty soon they will be identifying the signs for you!

Math

TK enjoyed exploring Geoboards in the classroom and centers this week.
Students continued to create and identify AB and ABB color patterns.

Arts and Sciences

Students created signs this week to remind them to wash their hands.
TK enjoyed daily science experiments using water.

Lower School P.E. (Mr. Davis)

K – 5th: This week the students worked on hurdle relays to build their speed and hand/eye coordination.

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

This Week

We enjoyed a wonderful second week in kindergarten. Although it was a short week, we still packed in a lot of learning! Students learned how to add two digit numbers when they visited the “Bradford Kindermart”. They needed to use the correct amount of money to purchase two items. We have been using our rulers to create straight lines. In math, students will use their rulers to draw lines of particular lengths. In art they used their rulers to create lines leading to the vanishing point of a drawing. They finished their garden drawings, and attempted to complete a second one independently while enjoying our hymn of the quarter “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. It was a touching experience to see them belt out the words along with music as they happily created their own vanishing point drawings of gardens. In science, we continued to explore God’s faithfulness in the creation around us. Students may start looking up at the sky with new wonder as we continue our study of the solar system. This week we focused on the phases of the moon. If you are able, encourage your student to observe the moon “change shape” each night.

Memory Work

Romans 11:33-36

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

This Week

In 1st Grade, the students have been enjoying a number of activities and discoveries. Our math curriculum has taken us into the world of subtraction, which has been very exciting for the children. In reading/phonics, the students have been learning about the “sh” sounds like “ci”, “ti”, and “si”. Grammar has been a major area of study this week. The students are learning about what makes a sentence correct and complete along with the various uses for pronouns. In history, we have been studying the remarkable life of Benjamin Franklin. The boys and girls were amazed at the stories of his experiments with electricity. In science, we have been covering the layers of the earth beneath our feet. We even learned a little song to help us remember. Finally, in art, the boys and girls drew beautiful impressions of the painting “Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh. We can’t wait to send them home so you can all see what a great job they have done!

Memory Work:

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Upcoming:

Science – Studying the American Robin

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

This Week

Second grade began reading My Father’s Dragon, their first fantasy book. We talked about the different genres of books and how it is important to read all kinds of stories. In this book Elmer Elevator goes on a journey to a wild island where he runs into all sorts of dangerous animals. Ask your child about some of the strange items he packed for his adventure. In history we are taking a break from the Bible to study what was going on in Egypt in the time period between Genesis and Exodus. This week the students learned about the Second Intermediate Period, which is one of the weaker times in Egyptian history. Battles for power and ineffective leadership meant very little progress was made for several hundred years. In preparation for our upcoming Mummification project we conducted a science experiment to learn about how the ancient Egyptians preserved bodies. We covered apple slices with various minerals to see which one will best keep the apple from rotting. Next week we will dig the apples out to discover the results.

Memory Work:

Hebrews 11:1-5

3rd Grade (Mrs. Garner)

This Week

Third grade has started our next chapter book, Detectives in Togas. Set back in Roman time, the story is about school aged boys that find themselves wrapped up in mystery. We are all captivated by the suspenseful plot and we find ourselves eager to read more at the end of every chapter! Another text that is new to us this week is our Latin Libellus. In this book, we learn to translate Latin sentences to provide us more information on the history card that we are studying that week. We were a little overwhelmed during our first lesson, but the students did a wonderful job of persevering through the work. Our science continues to be atoms, molecules, and elements. We all marveled at the intricacies of God’s handiwork. Please make sure that your child is reviewing their chemistry study guide every night, in preparation for their test on February 5th.

Memory Work:

Psalm 19:1-4 (next week: verses 5 and 6)

Upcoming:

1/28 Tests:
- Spelling List N-4
- Grammar Chapter 11
- History “Rome Rises to World Power”

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram)

This Week

We have finished a lovely week learning about Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Summa Theologica (a summation of theological knowledge). We have had wonderful class discussions about his life and work. The students have spent a lot of time parsing and reviewing Latin vocabulary this week. Roman Numerals have been added to our knowledge along with Latin vocabulary of ordinal and cardinal numbers. It is impressive to see students using their English knowledge of parts of speech to identify the correct grammar translation for Latin sentences. Math has been comprehensive this week. We are taking our understanding of place value to identify a fraction in the tenth and hundredth place as well as changing a decimal to a fraction. We are reading a wonderful biography of Benjamin West, our featured artist this quarter, and learning about how he used the resources around him in nature to create paints in a variety of colors.

Science

Earth Science continues this week with our study of glaciers, icebergs, and rocks.

Memory Work:

Matthew 5:10-12

Upcoming:

Matthew 5: 13-16

5th Grade (Ms. Vogus)

This Week

We have had a short week but a good one! We completed the spelling! Congratulations to the fifth graders who made it to the school bee. In Latin we are learning a lot of interesting grammar concepts, such as how to form a question in Latin and how to spot an imperative sentence. In literature we are continuing Johnny Tremain. The students are enjoying this novel. Lastly, in history we are learning about the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts.

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

Mr. Batten

Language Arts

Students continued to make their way through Around the World in 80 Days. We’ve looked at ways in which Passepartout has shown himself to be prideful, and discussed what other sins that may lead one to.

History

We studied the Age of Industry and learned about the lives of Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D Rockefeller. In addition to learning historical facts about their rise to power/wealth, we examined personal traits that each person may have had in common.

Science

We wrapped up our study on punnett squares and sex linked traits, and reviewed for next week’s quiz. Students learned how hemophilia and color-blindness are passed from generation to generation.

6th Logic

We began our unit on the fallacies of generalization by discussing what the term means, talked about where we generalize in our personal lives, and discussed whether or not it is always a bad thing to generalize.

7th Logic

We’ve been delving into fallacies of presumption through learning about False Dilemmas. We talked about where we are seeing this in culture today, namely in discussions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

8th Logic

We are continuing on with syllogisms by learning how to translate arguments in ordinary language into categorical form to better analyze their validity.

Upcoming:

We will continue to memorize 1 John 3, take a science quiz, and begin to review for an upcoming quiz in logic.

Mrs. Byrd

Physics

After completing our unit on work and energy, we are now learning about momentum and impulse force. This covers things like moving objects and how energy is transferred in a collision.

Precalculus

We are learning to visualize trig ratios as periodic functions and to see how their graphical forms are helpful in various applications.

Geometry

Our study of triangle proofs is nearly complete. The class has done well learning the structure and style of writing a simple proof.

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey

This week we finished the book of Ezekiel. We were encouraged to think that during the exile in Babylon for the Jews, Jeremiah ministered back in Jerusalem. Ezekiel ministered among the exiles at the settlement near the Chebar River. Daniel ministered among the officials of the court of Babylon. God has his servants doing His work in all places.
Students also took a test and are working on the book analysis project due March 2
No new memory work has been assigned until next week.

Mr. Davis

6th – 10th Grade

This week the students worked on strength and speed training, followed by a new game called Monster Ball! It was a great week of fun and exercise!

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:

As we finish our study of Earth’s atmosphere, we spent some time this week investigating the topic of climate change and its causes, both natural and man-made. We talked about how the science of climate change can get muddied in the waters of politics and about ways that we can think critically regarding the rhetoric used when discussing this topic. We also discussed the various responses to climate change we see in our culture, from alarmism to denial to innovation, as well as the role of biblical stewardship in caring for our atmosphere.
We will take a Unit Test on Thursday, January 28th.

8th Grade Science:

We wrapped up our study of the structure and organization of matter this week with a look at the different ways atoms have been modeled over the centuries, from the very simple Dalton Model of the early 1800s, to the Electron Cloud Model we often use today. The students have become well-versed in using chemical symbols to identify the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom, as well as reversing that process to create chemical symbols of their own.
We will take a Unit Test on Tuesday, January 26th.

Mr. Hamilton

9th Logic

This week we continued working to become fluent in developing proofs of formal arguments.

9th Historic Theology

After learning about the rise of the Roman church and Augustine’s lasting influence, we turned our attention to the East-West schism.

10th History

We began our march through the Peloponnesian War this week, guided on our way by the great historian Thucydides.

10th Literature

In addition to our study of the Iliad, we worked hard on creative writing this week, learning more about what makes fiction and poetry valuable.

11th Philosophy/Apologetics

This week we worked on foundations for argumentation, comparing and analyzing worldviews, and approaches to apologetics.

12th History

Our focus this week was on the further rise of feminism in the late 19th century and society’s multifarious reaction to it.

12th Literature

As we continue to journey along with Huck Finn in Twain’s classic novel, we are noting various themes, such as the humanity and equality of all men and the centrality of nature, as well as Twain’s masterful use of dialect and his rich and colorful characterization.

Mrs. Hamilton

Logic School Music

Theory: Students continued working on writing and playing major scales, while also beginning to understand the circle of fifths and the way it relates to the order of sharps and flats. We also enjoyed working with a music notation software, Noteflight, where each student began composing his or her own simple melody.
Performance: Students enjoyed choosing and practicing solo piano pieces they will be working on this quarter.

Music History Elective (Baroque to Modern)

After concluding Wagner, students enjoyed learning about Johannes Brahms. Students focused on his symphonic output with his two piano concertos and the finale from his Fourth symphony. We also began looking at the emergence of music from Russia, with works by Glinka and the Mighty Five. Students are looking forward to our next major composer, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Ms. Hutchison

7th Grade Omnibus

History: We have delved into our study of 1 and 2 Kings in earnest this week. How providential that we are studying the not-so-peaceful transfer of power between various kings in the ancient nation of Israel during the week of our nation’s Presidential inauguration, which we watched live this week. Seventh graders spent time reflecting on the inauguration and are beginning to consider what accounts for peaceful, civil transitions in leadership. Israel’s divided kingdom leads us into a period of intense struggle for God’s people. Simultaneously, we are beginning to consider the ancient Greeks and their rise to “greatness” from a period of cultural and economic depression.
Literature: Our literature studies continue to focus on Homer’s Odyssey. We are diligently learning lines for our upcoming play and groups have been formed to oversee sets and props, costumes and backstage. We will soon begin Sophocles’s Theban Trilogy.
Bible: Wisdom: we’re talking a lot about it these days. Learning from the victories and defeats of Israel ‘s and Judah’s kings, our seventh grade students are beginning to see a clear connection between fearing the Lord and blessing. The Scripture verses we are working to memorize are 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Paul, here, is admonishing Timothy to CONTINUE in what he has learned; encouraging him to be wise.

9th Grade Biology

Biology students are working in teams to research cellular components. They will present their research to their classmates next week.

Dr. James

10th Chemistry

In this shorter week the students took their first test of Q3.
Next week we will begin a study of gases and gas laws.

Miss Oldham

9th Grade Literature

Students are continuing their studies of Pride and Prejudice.

9th Grade History

We are learning about the Industrial Revolution and students have begun to research their final projects.

11th Grade Literature

Students are wrapping up their essays for The Great Divorce and we are beginning The Prince.

11th Grade History

Students are looking at the Middle Ages and beginning to research their final semester project.

10th Rhetoric I

Watching the presidential inauguration allowed us to discuss the final canon of rhetoric: delivery. Students also have their first speeches due on Monday.

12th Rhetoric II

Students are continuing to work on their theses. All due dates are written in Google Classroom, so they can track what needs to be done when.

Mrs. Palmer

6th Art

This week we took a quiz on our artist of the quarter, Benjamin West. We also worked on our small scale colored pencil Italian landscape drawings.

7th Art

This week we took a quiz on our artist of the quarter, Benjamin West. We also finished up our charcoal drawings before beginning our watercolor unit.

8th Art

This week we took a quiz on our artist of the quarter, Benjamin West. We also worked on our oil pastel landscapes.

9th Spanish

This week we worked on new vocabulary. We conjugated two new types of irregular verbs (e:ie and o:ue). We also practiced writing in Spanish.

10th Spanish

This week we reviewed past verb conjugations and focused on some irregular verbs in several tenses. We also added new vocabulary and practiced with preterit and imperfect.

Mr. Palmer

6th Math

This week we worked with ratios and learned how to form equations from word problems. We will have a test next week.

7th Pre-Algebra

This week we worked on solving 2-step equations. We also practiced with word problems. Next week we will have a test.

8th Algebra I

This week we worked with square roots and prisms. Next week we will have a test.

10th Algebra II

This week we worked with complex fractions and advanced substitution.

11th / 12th NT Greek

This week we continued working with the present tense verbs. We will have a quiz next week.

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus

History: The students finished up their presentations this week, and we learned more about medieval life.
Literature: We came to the end of The Two Towers, discussing Gollum’s pitiable state, the persistence of Sam, and other themes from the book.
Composition: The students continue to write poetry as well as beginning on a literary theme analysis essay; each one is exploring and writing a thesis statement based on a theme from The Two Towers.

6th Grade LATIN

Sixth graders learned a new set of vocabulary words, discussed the three main uses of the ablative case, and practiced some translations.

7th Grade LATIN

Seventh grade Latin students completed a translation about the Roman education system, reviewed third declension adjectives, began a new set of vocabulary, and learned about third conjugation -io verbs.

8th Grade LATIN

This was a short week for eighth grade Latin, but we reviewed sentence patterns and vocabulary.