BB 02-23-24

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 27

Feb 23, 2024

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

LOWER SCHOOL:
  • FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  Generally speaking, student compliance to the  uniform policy is very high at the Lower School.  Uniformity makes life simple.  Here are a few things to note:  
    • Sweaters and vests are required in 2nd & 3rd quarter, but not in 1st & 4th quarter
    • All hair accessories should be in Bradford colors or neutral colors
    • All hair color should be natural (meaning no tinting,  dying or “fairy” hair)
    • Gentlemen should be mindful of keeping shirts tucked in on Fridays

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • 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!

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • 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 great week this week. One of our focuses this week was on dental health. We discussed visiting the dentist and how to ensure we are properly taking care of our teeth. Students were even introduced to vocabulary words to go along with dental health. Our letters this week were V and W. We focused on forming these letters and learning their sounds. In math we practice comparing numbers to find the least and greatest number and compared items by weight using the balance with various classroom items. A few of our centers this week included: identifying rhyming words, building letters with play dough, building compound words, identifying beginning sounds, and changing beginning sounds to make different words in a word family. This week we read the story of Zaccheus in the Bible and learned a song to help us remember the story. We talked about Jesus and his redeeming love. Next week we will read about the prodigal son. 

 

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 4th
  • Students did a great job in P.E. this week playing various tag and team building games. 

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 worked on a new project based on color theory.  We talked about warm and cool colors and focused on oil pastels.  
4th
  • Students worked with texture this week.  We recreated pen and ink textures and talked about variations in line weights. 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week: 
  • Our kindergarten scholars were excited to spend another week reading their sixth reader. This one focused on a victorious Roman general and his spoils of war, which caused a big, big din. The story is illustrated to mimic mosaic art. The students had the opportunity to see how tile work was done while completing their Justinian pictures. In math, we learned how to add ten to a number, compared and ordered numbers to 100 by making a human number line, and practiced counting by 100’s to one thousand. In science, we continued our journey through space as we explored each planet in the solar system. Students have also been busy charting the phases of the moon on their moon chart. They are looking forward to sharing their charts with their classmates at the end of the month. In two weeks, we’ll be celebrating Dr. Seuss Day, which is on the last day of the quarter. We have some extra special guests coming to read to our kinders on Reading Day, which is on March 7th.
Memory Work: 
  • Isaiah 40:28 and review

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

This Week: 
  • We were welcomed back to school with little hints of spring. We are starting to see sprigs of green and budding daffodils in the recess area. In math we are telling time in 5 min intervals, adding three two digit numbers, measuring by the half inch and progressing with our adding and subtracting skills. In history we are continuing to read about Sarah Noble and her time living with Tall John’s Native American family. In Science we are studying the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Such a beautiful creation from God. We are hoping to see one of these birds at our bird feeder soon. We are enjoying our reading of Frog and Toad- The Dream. Frog and Toad keep us laughing and we love to read about their adventures. In grammar we are mastering common/proper nouns, identifying nouns, verbs, and pronouns in sentences and using correct punctuation. This quarter is flying by and we are now first and a half graders! 
Memory Work:  
  • Continue with James 1:19-20
Upcoming:      
  • Reading Day Thursday, March 7
  • Dr. Seuss Day Friday, March 8  (Dismissal at noon)

 

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

This Week: 
  • Helping students learn the value and joy of hiding God’s Word in their hearts is one of the joys of life at Bradford Academy.  Hebrews 11 goes along with our history lessons and takes us deeper into the great men/women of faith in the Bible.  This week we are memorizing Hebrews 11:24-27 and working to understand the dangers of the passing pleasures of sin.  In math we are using all the facts we have learned over the past year and a half to find the sum of three addends and to subtract two- and three-digit numbers.  Other math lessons have included the likelihood of an event happening and different strategies to solve math problems.  This week we learned how to work backward to find an answer.   Each day is filled with adventures as we join Winnie-the-Pooh and friends in the Hundred Acre Woods.  By answering comprehension questions in complete sentences, the students are laying a good foundation not only for reading comprehension but also for well written sentences.
Memory Work: 
  • Hebrews 11: 1-27

 

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

This Week
  • This week students  discovered that being a fair leader does not always agree with everyone. Julius Caesar established laws, such as banning the sale of people into slavery due to debts and making the taxes fair between the nobility and common man. In doing so, he was resented among the wealthy senators for cleaning up their corruption. On March 15, known as the Ides of March, those same senators  devised and executed  a plot to assassinate him. Brutus, his own friend, thrust a blow that would help end his life. In math, students practiced their spatial reasoning skills by creating quadrilaterals using tangrams. This will begin to lay a foundation for geometry. In Latin, we used our super sleuth skills to decode messages from Latin into English. We realized that English relies on syntax while Latin uses endings to convey the message to its readers. In writing, we added the use of ordinal words to help communicate the steps on how to make chocolate chip cookies. It was a full week! 
Memory Work:
  • Review Psalm 19
Upcoming:
  • 2/26- Planet Projects DUE
  • 2/27- Moorehead Planetarium Field Trip

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram and Miss Abrahamsen) 

This Week
  • Fourth graders came back from the long weekend ready to work hard. In math, we are continuing to nail down and review foundational concepts; we also focused on review in both Latin and Spelling this week. Our literature studies brought us to really stop and consider character development in a story; the students identified a couple of character traits for each of the main characters and found supporting evidence from the story to “prove” the existence of those traits. We also started some regular extended practices for Bradford Night this week; the kids are looking forward to presenting the things they have learned.
Upcoming: 
  • Thursday, February 29- Bradford Night 2.0
  • Matt 5:1-18 due Thursday, 3/7

 

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. Students demonstrated that they could correctly play accents and dynamic contrasts on their test on 2.25. Practice Records will be due on Thursday, 2/29. 
7th-9th Band 
  • Students did a great job in Band this week working on technical exercises to extend their range. Students will have a test on Thursday, 2/29 on  warm-up set 1, option 3 (Woodwinds and Percussion) and option 5 ( Brass).  Practice Records will be due on Thursday, 2/29. 

Mrs. Campbell

5th-8th Chorus
  • We continue using canons (rounds) to foster confidence in working as a team within a choral section, along with dictation exercises. Practice records due Thursday, 2/29!

Mr. Webster

5th-8th Boys’ PE
  • The 5th-6th grade boys played hockey and the 7th-8th grade boys played soccer. 

Miss Stevenson

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • The girls played dodgeball this week.

 

5th Grade (Mrs. Owens) 

This Week
  • We are already over halfway through the third quarter.  In math, our students are continuing to work on converting decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals.  This week and next we are continuing to study the War for Independence.  This week we have read parts of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence.  In Duel in the Wilderness, George Washington and his group are slowly making their way back to Virginia after having some frustrating conversations with the French.  In Science the students have been studying a few early astronomers and have been comparing the geocentric and heliocentric model of the universe.  
Memory Work:
  • Philippians 2:9-11 (this week)
  • Philippians 2: 12-13 (next week)

Mrs. Palmer

5th Art
  • Students worked with the medium of charcoal this week.  We worked on blending and shading as well as looking for value.
Mrs. Kromhout
5th Latin
  • Fifth graders are working on learning a challenging set of compound verb vocabulary! Their test will be next Thursday. We are also working on reviewing the ch. 12-15 vocabulary in preparation for our vocabulary review test the following week! 

 

6th Grade (Miss Stevenson)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We are continuing to work our way through The Hiding Place.
6th Grammar and Writing
  • Over the next few weeks we will be working on the third essay in Lost Tools of Writing. This persuasive essay will use comparing two things to strengthen the argument. 
6th Bible
  • We spent this week looking at the life of Moses. Even though that is not technically part of the New Testament survey for 6th grade, several students had questions about Moses’ life after reading Matthew-Luke, so we are taking the time to read about him so that the students will hopefully have a better understanding of why Jesus refers to him so often.
6th History
  • This week we learned about the Spanish-American War.
6th Science
  • I introduced the cell project to the students this week. It will be due on Monday, March 25. 
6th Logic
  • This week in Logic we discussed the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, especially as it relates to statistics. 

Mrs. Frueh

6th Math
  • We have spent a lot of time lately practicing “of-is” problems (ie: “35% of 80 is what number?”). These problems are a great example of the close relationship between language and math. We put our “translation” skills to work turning these written sentences into algebraic equations that can be solved. 

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • Students continued their oil pastel complementary color still life drawings.  We are working on color mixing, blending, accuracy in laying down color and creating depth. 

Mrs. Crotts

7th Grammar
  • Students were assigned a brief project to design and write a newspaper.  They chose an editor, assistants, reporters and artists.  They have to conduct interviews with a few select upperclassmen about their favorite and also least favorite books that they have read.  They have to report on Spring sports and also take surveys about select questions and opinions.  The final result needs to be grammatically correct and filled with creativity and clear communication.
7th Omnibus
  • Literature: Students eagerly prepared and presented scenes that they memorized or modernized from Julius Caesar.
  • History/Bible: We began reading and discussing C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.  Also, we reviewed ancient Roman history in preparation for a quiz next week.

Mr. Johnston

7th Logic
  • The 7th Graders  completed Chapter 4: Fallacies of Presupposition with a section test. Next week we move on to Fallacies of Induction.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • We continued discussing the discoveries of Nicolas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler. We saw that, individually, none of these men had all the knowledge needed to draw definitive conclusions about the universe, but by building on the work of each of these individuals, Galileo Galilei was able to provide definitive confirmation of the heliocentric model. This reiterates the fact that science is a collective endeavor conducted globally over centuries of time.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • The students are doing a great job translating their own English sentences into algebraic equations and then putting all of their algebra skills to use to solve for the unknown value. We also reviewed for and took a cumulative test. Only one more math exam is left in the third quarter!

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Students began a new project this week.  In the fourth quarter we will be learning about Vincent Van Gogh.  We started an oil pastel project in which we will mimic Van Gogh’s short brush strokes and bright colors.  

 

Mrs. Kromhout

8th Omnibus
  • History: Students took their two part history test this week, completing a map quiz, timeline, and fill in the blank portion on Wednesday and then writing an open note essay on Friday. The essay is challenging the students to pull together the facts we have been learning into three organized paragraphs to answer a prompt. 
  • Literature: We started reading Return of the King this week, many readers favorite book of the trilogy! The students have also done a fantastic job leading eight minute discussions on The Two Towers on a topic of their choice.
  • Composition: We are just beginning a literary theme essay on a theme of the students’ choice from anywhere in the LOTR trilogy; students have chosen to write about friendship, mercy, hardship, despair, wisdom, leadership, and more. I am excited to read their final essays!

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • We wrapped up our study of the atom this week by looking at some of the 20th century discoveries made in the field of chemistry and physics, including the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and Quantum Theory. The students were fascinated to learn more about the impact of chemistry research on important 20th century events, such as the Manhattan Project and the conclusion of World War II.
  • Our last test of the quarter will take place next Tuesday, February 27th.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we practiced solving systems of equations using all the tools we’ve gathered so far: substitution, elimination, and linear graphing. The students are becoming proficient at identifying when each tool would be most useful. We ended the week with a cumulative test. Only one more math exam is left in the third quarter!

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • We have been hard at work on our pen and ink eye drawings this week.  Students have been focused on obtaining value through varying techniques such as stippling, hatching and cross hatching. 

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We have been finishing our unit on syllogisms and prepared for our test today (Friday).

 

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 last Thursday, and should have received their scores yesterday! 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.
  • The deadline to register for the March 9th SAT is TODAY, Friday, February 23
  • The deadline to register for the April 13th ACT is March 8th

 

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • This week we focused on test review and took our chapter 5 test.  We began new vocabulary and reviewed past concepts as well. 

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students began a brief overview of the major political and military leaders of the American Civil War, including familiarizing themselves with early photographs to recognize these leaders. They took a quiz on Friday that covered this material.

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • After being introduced to the three trigonometric ratios last week (Sine, Cosine, and Tangent), the students learned how to use the inverse of each ratio to solve for an unknown angle. Our final test of the quarter will take place next Wednesday.

Mr. Crotts

9th Logic
  • At last, our tough unit on formal proofs is over and we are now learning the much easier concept of truth trees.

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Advanced Art
  • We are continuing our work with oil painting.  This week we began copying some of the impressionist masters and their famous portraits. This is definitely stretching them by working with a new medium and style.  So far, they are doing a great job and next week we will apply the finishing brushstrokes for the final result.

Mrs. Hicks

9th Biology
  • This week we finished studying genetics. We learned about pedigrees. We practiced making and analyzing them in class. On Thursday, we played a review game as preparation for the test on Tuesday, 2/27.

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • 9th Graders plunged into the world of The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitgerald.  We discussed the author’s background and events that shaped his life and influenced this book.  Gatsby happens in the summer of 1922–the roaring twenties are revving up with all of its wildness and emptiness.  Students have to write a brief essay about one element of symbolism found in the book: the green searchlight, the billboard with giant glasses and eyes, the bluejay, West Egg & East Egg, etc.  They will include the essays in a newspaper that encompasses the culture–fashion, world events, bootlegging, etc.

Dr. Byrd

9th-10th Bible Survey
  • This week we have begun studying the book of Ezra. We have seen how God directed Cyrus to send the Jewish people back to Jerusalem; this was a fulfillment of what had been prophesied by Jeremiah. God fulfills His word. The people return even with the articles of the temple that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar. We have seen how Ezra was a man who set his heart to study God’s word and to do and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. He is a great example of what a godly leader should be like.
  • Bible Memory: Zeph. 3:17

 

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week we started a short section regarding the properties of solids, liquids, and solutions.
  • Next week we will finish the section, and the students will take their last test of Q3 leading up to the final.

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • This week students worked on their group skits all in the target language.  We also focused on reviewing for our upcoming chapter test on 2/28.  

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • Determining the nature of solutions to quadratic equations using the discriminant, basic features of functions,  combined variation, and fractional distances have been our topics for this week. 

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • Students received essay rough drafts; they polished these and turned them back in.  We are rounding out the third quarter by studying and reading C.S. Lewis’ Phantastes.  In the next week and a half students will complete a word study on “shadow” using Biblical references and on a separate strain will also compile a newspaper of interviews concerning upperclassmen’s favorite and least favorite books that they have read.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric I
  • Students delivered tribute speeches this week. They have a vocab quiz coming up on March 5th. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students finished their study of the Peloponnesian War, read their last except from Thucydides, and reviewed unit material for a test next Tuesday (2/27).
10th PE
  • Students enjoyed a couple of days of basketball in the Old Rec Center this week.

Mrs. Byrd

11th Precalculus
  • Students considered some applications involving right triangles and simple harmonic motion.  We also began to look at some more complex trig identities and how they might be used to simplify an expression or to find some missing information.
11th Physics
  • We transitioned from looking at various properties of sound waves to properties of light waves.  We sought to answer the questions of how light travels in a vacuum and how light can exist as both a wave and a particle.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  • Students worked on their Medieval Day characters. We also discussed the differences between myths, legends, and fairytales. 

Mr. Webster

11th History
  • This week the students took their unit test on the High Middle Ages, which focused on church reform and the Crusades. 

Mrs. Palmer

11th-12th Elective: Design/Color Theory 
  • Students took a typography quiz this week.  They also continued to work on their book cover redesign.  We will soon be working on designing a logo based on specific requirements.  

Dr. Smith

11th-12th Apologetics & Philosophy
  • Students continued their Bible memory work in Ephesians by writing out 2:6-10 and are discussing Eastern Pantheistic Monism this week. Not sure what that is? Be sure and ask them. I am sure they will be delighted to tell you about it! This group continues to engage very seriously with the subject material and ask great questions. They are a delight to teach. Thank you, parents for the work you have done.

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Students analyzed Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, and his argument against secession. We began to learn the hymn Give to our God Immortal Praise.

Miss Oldham

12th Literature
  • Because the students have prepanels this week, we’re doing short stories. This week we read and discussed “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and wrote a creative short story in a similar style. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Students have prepanels for the next two weeks. These are to prepare them for their final defenses in April. They’ve done an excellent job so far!

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • Students spent the week taking a practice AP calculus exam.  Next, we will take up our last unit on Applications of Integration and then begin a comprehensive review and preparation for the exam.

Mrs. Hicks

12th Anatomy
  • This week we wrapped up studying the neurological system and the senses. We also started on the endocrine system. We will continue this for the next few weeks until spring break!