BB 04-01-2021

 BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XIII, ISSUE 27

APRIL 1, 2021

 

FROM THE OFFICE

As you know, we are no longer required to do health screenings for each child at morning drop off.  It, therefore, becomes very important for parents to check their children before bringing them to school.  

When you drop off your child each morning, you are, in effect, saying that your child has:

  • No close contact with a positive case
  • No one in household is awaiting test results due to symptoms 
  • NONE of the following symptoms:
    • Fever, sore throat, runny nose 
    • Difficulty breathing, cough (If cough due to asthma, then ask: is it a change from their baseline?)
    • Lost of taste or smell
    • Diarrhea or vomiting
    • Sudden onset of severe headache

Your cooperation and help in these matters will be key in helping our students to finish out the year successfully, so thank you!  

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:
  • Monday, 4/5 :  No School
  • Friday, 4/9:  Quo Vadis?  – This event is for 5th graders.  More details to come.

 

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:
  • Tuesday, 4/13:  CLT testing for 11th graders
  • Wednesday, 4/28:  CLT10 testing for 9th and 10th graders
  • Friday, 5/7:  Teacher Appreciation Day
  • Thursday, 5/13:  BRADFORD GAMES – for upper school
  • Friday, 5/14:  Teacher workday
  • Tuesday, 5/25 – Thursday, 5/27:  STANDARDIZED TESTING (1st – 8th grades) ***Please do not schedule trips or appointments during this week.***
  • Thursday, 5/27:  TK Last Day
  • Friday, 6/4:  Last day of school.  Graduation!

 

FROM THE DEAN’S OFFICE

This morning we held a special Forum so that Mr. Johnston could continue opening up the gospel message to the Lower School students.  He began reading at Isaiah 52:13, giving clues as to the ancient prophecy about Jesus’ identity and mission.  He ended today’s reading at Isaiah 53:5, pointing out how the person and work of Jesus checked all the boxes that God had laid out for him.  Students were reminded of the sinful inclinations in our hearts that we cannot fix, the needful judgment of God because of His holiness, and Jesus’ willingness to fulfill the role of messiah (the Christ) for our salvation.  While the good news of the resurrection was hinted at, Mr. Johnston left off with the crucifixion.  (There was an audible sigh of disappointment when he wrapped it up.) We hope that all families will participate in a resurrection Sunday service in order to experience the life-changing culmination of the story together.  You may want to check websites of local churches to see how they are handling Easter services this year. 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Grubb)

Bible
  •   This week concluded the story of Easter.  Students learned the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection.  When we return from Easter holiday we will examine Christ’s ascension and where we stand as a people before Him.  
Theme Adventure
  •  TK students spent some time Thursday in the kitchen preparing, baking and eating resurrection rolls!  We use this recipe to tell the story of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. 
Literacy
  • Students continue to work on blending sounds together.  
  • Students were challenged to act out a story and describe how the story would change if a surprise character or  guest would  show up in the story.  They also described how the story would change if the characters were different animals.  
Math
  •  Students focused on comparing lengths of objects using nonstandard units of measurement.    

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

This Week
  •  We spent this week focusing on the resurrection story and the events of Holy Week. Students listened to the story of Benjamin’s Box which tells the details of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection through the eyes of a young boy.  We then showed the students various objects that represented specific events during the Holy Week. In math, students learned the plus nine math facts, measured our room using feet (of all sizes), and reviewed previously taught concepts. We finished our study of the Renaissance by learning about Leonardo’s inventions and painting our very own renditions of parts of Micahael Angelo’s  Sistine Chapel. In phonics, we are reading about Daniel and the lions’ den. In 605 to 586 B.C., the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, took captive Daniel and his friends after besieging the city of Jerusalem. Daniel grew in favor with the king, advancing to the position of top advisor. However, there were men jealous of Daniel and sought to destroy him. Standing firm in his faith, God protected Daniel from harm. In art, we read a touching story of courage and love called the Rag Coat, and then created our own rag coat paper doll. We hope you enjoy this special time together remembering our Savior. 
Memory Work:
  • Mathew 6:9-13

 

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

This Week
  •  This week we have been reading from the Bible, focusing on the events of Holy Week and the resurrection story. We have been discussing the truths that we can find in the scriptures that we are reading. In Art we practiced using two different types of  blending techniques with watercolor paints. In Math we are working on finding half in an even set of objects and we are beginning to master our -7 facts. Students read and acted out the book “Queen of the Sea” which depicted Queen Elizabeth and her heroic efforts to defend England from an attack made by Spain. In Science we are discussing clouds and have a new song to help us remember the 4 main types of clouds. Get out and look up in the sky and discover what type of clouds you see. In Grammar we are mastering our study of nouns and verbs and how to form a complete sentence. Students now know the difference between a complete sentence and a fragment. We are developing our use and understanding of the different types of punctuation used in sentences. 
Memory Work:  
  • Reviewing all memory verses and 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

 

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

This Week
  • Second grade has shifted from our Bible History to learning about Amenhotep and Monotheism this week in History. We are studying how King Amenhotep IV changed the whole religious system in Ancient Egypt. Ask your child and see if they remember what word means to worship only one god! In reading, we have continued reading The Curse of King Tut’s Mummy this week. We are learning about how Howard Carter is searching for the hidden tomb of King Tut. The students have enjoyed being able to connect our reading book and history card for this week. In grammar, we have been introducing students to contractions. See if your child can remember any that we learned this week. We have also begun our study of our featured artist, Mary Cassatt, this week in art. Students are working on “mimicking” one of her famous works “The Boating Party”. 
Memory Work: 
  • Hebrews 11:23-29
Upcoming:
  • Multiplication (x3) Fact Assessment

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Garner)

This Week
  • Our class is memorizing twenty Latin prepositions and we are doing a fantastic job! We are starting to use our Latin vocabulary to identify Latin roots in our spelling words and in various texts. As we come to a word that we are not familiar with, looking for a Latin root is another tool to help us with our comprehension. During this week, our class has spent significant time reading various accounts in our Bibles about Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. We had lots of discussion about how His death and resurrection was the only possible  way for our redemption. How great was His love for us!
Memory Work:
  • Psalm 20: 7-9
Upcoming:
  • Tests
    • 4/8- Latin Ch. 25
    • 4/9- History Timeline and Review, Math Facts and Written

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram) 

This Week
  •  We have finished an exciting week learning about dividing large numbers and dividing fractions.  We also learned how to reduce fractions to their lowest terms.  We are learning about Cassatt in our art study and recreated a section of one of her paintings.  The students are continuing their literature study reading  King Arthur.  We have enjoyed learning about how to define a hero and many character qualities.  We are beginning our study of the Reformation.  I am looking forward to many wonderful learning experiences over the next few weeks.
Science
  •  Physics is off to a great start.  We are exploring many concepts using keva blocks, and quick science experiments.  The students are ready to begin their group projects with great enthusiasm.
Memory Work:
  • Review Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 Verses

 

5th Grade (Ms. Vogus) 

This Week
  • We have a short but a good week in 5th grade. We are continuing to work on our body systems project in science. In forum we spent time talking about the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus in preparation of Easter. In literature we are continuing to read Treasure Island. In math we learned how to cross multiply. Lastly, we learned about some of the great accomplishments and attributes of America’s founding fathers. I am looking forward to the next few weeks of learning. 
Memory Work:
  • 1 Samuel 2: 1-8
Upcoming:
  • Body System Project due April 9th 

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

Mr. Batten

Language Arts
  • We spent the week reading about the incredible life of Corrie ten Boom in The Hiding Place. Students are learning about how Europe felt leading up to WW2. In addition, we started learning about Sonnets, and began our fourth persuasive essay of the year. 
History
  • We reviewed for, and took a quiz on our last few cards, focusing primarily on WW1, the Roaring 20’s and the Great Depression. 
Science
  • We continued our discussion of Physics terms by learning about friction.
6th Logic
  • We discussed Francis Bacon’s Four Idols of logic, reviewed fallacies, and practiced cross examinations. 
7th Logic
  • We read Susan B Anthony’s On Women’s Right to Vote to learn how to properly define terms in a debate. Students then debated the topics they’ve been preparing for the last week. 
8th Logic
  • We spent the week debating! Students have done a lot of research for our third Lincoln-Douglas style debate. They are improving rapidly!
Upcoming:
  • We will continue to memorize 1 John 4, move into discussions about WW2.

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • In our study of optics, we are learning about real and virtual images, and how light rays behave with concave mirrors.  Next we will see how light refracts through lenses and how this can be used to focus light beams and correct vision.
Precalculus
  • We’ve completed our March Madness probability project and are watching our bracket pool to see who our top finisher will be.  It’s been interesting to see how quickly rankings can change.  We have also begun to consider some analytic trig topics.
Geometry 
  • This week we concluded our study of surface area and began to consider lines and angles in circles.

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • The Lord blessed our study of the Gospel of Luke. We saw the humanity of Jesus and his love for sinners. Luke 19:10 – “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
  • When we return, we will study the book of Acts. 
  • Verse Memory: Matthew 11:28 and test on Haggai, Zechariah, Matthew, and Mark. 

 

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Grade Advanced Art:  Our class started their next  oil painting project.  They are working on copying a few Norman Rockwell portraits.  The students are coming up with some interesting stories to go with each character.

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • Our focus this week has been on the spatial relationships between the Earth, moon, and sun. We learned that Earth’s seasons are caused by the TILT of the Earth, not by the distance between the Earth and the sun, a common misconception. The students were surprised to learn that Earth is actually at its farthest point from the sun (aphelion)  in July. We also used a lamp and ball to demonstrate the phases of the moon and to learn why we see different phases from Earth. The students should be getting out to see the moon daily and recording their observations in their moon log. Fortunately, the moon will be out during the daylight hours all this week so they should have no trouble finding it before bedtime.
8th Grade Science:
  • We had an opportunity to take a closer look at the kinetics behind our “Elephant’s Toothpaste” experiment (the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide). We discussed the factors that affect the rate of a chemical reaction, including activation energy, concentration, temperature, surface area, and the use of catalysts. We were able to observe most of these factors at play in our own experiment. The students are also continuing to practice balancing chemical equations.

 

Mr. Hamilton

9th Logic
  •  This week we continued working on the conditional and reductio proofs.
9th Historic Theology
  • We have made our way to the Reformation, where we are learning about emerging Protestant confessions from Switzerland.
10th History
  • Our study of Roman history is moving from the Republic to the Empire, as Rome is acquiring lands and populations and finding it difficult to control them.
10th Literature
  • We are greatly loving our reading of George MacDonald’s Phantastes, a powerful early fantasy work that greatly influenced C.S. Lewis and friends.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • This week we examined the evidence (or lack thereof!) for Darwinism, as well as the movement known as Intelligent Design.
12th History
  • More discussion this week of the emerging postmodern period.
12th Literature
  • After Daisy Miller, we turned to modernist poetry, noting the dramatic changes taking place in the genre, but also appreciating how fragmentation of form and experimentation with subject matter reveal the postmodern self.

 

Mrs. Hamilton

Logic School Music
  • Theory: Students began learning to play I-IV-V-I chord progressions in the keys of C, F, G, and D major on the piano. 
  • Performance: Students were excited to begin working on their ensemble pieces. We are hopeful for an exciting instrumental performance at the end of the year.
  • Music History: We continued being amazed at the perfection and the sheer beauty of the music of Mozart. 
Music History Elective (Baroque to Modern)
  • This week’s focus was on Mahler’s symphonies, Sibelius’s Violin Concerto (Maxim Vengerov’s interpretation), as well as the vast orchestral and pianistic repertoire of Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Medtner. Next week, we will begin our study of the impressionist (symbolist) movement with the music of Debussy and Ravel.

 

Ms. Hutchison

7th Grade Omnibus
  • History:  We are almost finished with Herodotus, and have learned quite a bit about the resolve, tenacity, clever military strategy and desire for freedom that led the Greeks to victory over the Persians in the 5th century BC.  To complement our understanding of the great Athenian general, Themistocles, we have also read a bit about Plutarch’s assessment of his character and influence in Plutarch’s Lives. 
  • Literature:  We continue to enjoy reading Lewis’s Till We Have Faces.  This week, our class had a lively and interesting discussion about whether or not Orual loved her sister, Psyche.  When comparing her “love” to the Bible’s definition, we discovered that it’s possible to have mixed motives in our relationships with others, and, at times, Godly love (agape) looks quite different from a superficial understanding of love.
  • Bible:     We had our final written recitation of 2 Timothy 4:2-5 this week.

 

9th Grade Biology
  • Biology students concluded Module 7 with a lively round of Teams, Games and Tournaments on Monday…..shout out to the winners: Brooke Garrett,  Alyssa Sconzo and Catie Collie!  Students then took a unit test on cell division and the processes of mitosis and meiosis.  We will begin our study of genetics after Easter break.

 

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week we talked about entropy, and the students learned how to calculate changes in entropy and Gibbs free energy.
  • Next week we will review thermodynamics, and the students will take their first test of Q4. 

 

Miss Oldham

9th Grade Literature
  • We are wrapping up our discussions on A Tale of Two Cities. 
9th Grade History
  • Students are working on their history research papers. 
11th Grade Literature
  • We are wrapping up our discussions on The Faerie Queene. 
11th Grade History
  • Students are working on their history research papers. 
10th Rhetoric I
  • Students are working on their final speeches. They have upcoming due dates and deadlines for them to be aware of. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Students are revising their theses. 

 

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • This week we took a quiz on the artist Mary Cassat.  We also did some drawing “en plein air” (outside) and students drew something they observed in nature. 
7th Art
  • This week we took a quiz on the artist Mary Cassat.  We also did some drawing “en plein air” (outside) and students drew something they observed in nature. 
8th Art
  • This week took a quiz on the artist Mary Cassat.  We began working on a small study of a detailed eye in colored pencil. 
9th Spanish 
  •  This week we received our study guide for an upcoming Chapter 5 test.  We worked on listening comprehension and verb conjugations, as well as reviewed plenty of vocabulary.
10th Spanish
  • This week we added some new vocabulary.  We worked on preterit conjugations.  Students also had some time to work on their group skits which are due as a quiz grade on April 13th.

Mr. Palmer

6th Math
  • This week we reviewed for a test and took a test. We also worked with using proportions to find percentages.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we began working with algebraic expressions. There will be a test after Easter break.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we learned how to divide polynomials. There will be a test after Easter break.
10th Algebra II
  • This week we worked with adding and multiplying functions. We also worked with parabolas.
11th / 12th NT Greek
  • This week we learned the aorist tense of greek.

 

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus
  • History: We continue to learn about the major kings of the High Middle Ages, specifically England and France this week. The students started researching a king of their choice to present to the class!
  • Literature: We continue reading The Canterbury Tales; this week Chaucer entertained us with the fascinating Wife of Bath’s Tale and the Clerk’s Tale. The two tales are a good juxtaposition to each other, both giving a different perspective on women and marriage. 
  • Composition: We have been working on style this week, reviewing principles from The Elements of Style and practicing those in our edits. 
6th Grade LATIN
  • 6th graders have been learning about and using prepositions as well as practicing their new vocabulary. They will have a test next Thursday (4/8). 
7th Grade LATIN
  • 7th graders learned new dative constructions and practiced translating with them. They will have a test this coming Tuesday (4/6). 
8th Grade LATIN
  • Eighth graders learned a new set of vocabulary words as well as fourth declension endings.