BB 04.09.21

 BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XIII, ISSUE 28

APRIL 9, 2021

 

FROM THE OFFICE

Please review the dates below carefully and mark your calendars!

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Monday, 4/12:  Girls’ soccer practice
  • Tuesday, 4/13:   
    • CLT testing for 11th graders
    • Girls’ volleyball practice
    • XC practice
  • Thursday, 4/14:
    • Girls’ volleyball practice
    • XC practice
  • Friday, 4/15:
    • Girls’ soccer practice

 

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • 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
  • Monday, 5/31:  Memorial Day – no school
  • Friday, 6/4:  Last day of school.  Graduation!

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Grubb)

Bible
  • TK students learned about the Ascension of Jesus Christ to His Heaven.  Students were able to identify Christ’s home as Heaven and how Jesus has made a way for us all to be able to spend eternity in Heaven.    
Theme Adventure
  •  This week TK students transplanted their seedlings to the garden outside.  Students weeded the garden, cleaned out debris and planted the seedlings they have been caring for since March.  Each day TK will visit the garden and water their plants, observe, and record their observations.  We are looking forward to a tasty harvest in May! 
Literacy
  •  Students are learning to blend sounds which is another step toward reading readiness.  They are doing well with this concept as we learn to have fun with sounds! 
  • Students have learned that words put in proper order make a sentence.  Students created sentences and then counted how many words made up each sentence. 
  • Students continue to work on reading comprehension.  Teachers are reading stories and asking questions about the story.  For a challenge we will ask the students to think about and share things that could happen in the story with the addition of different types of characters or if the setting were to change.  
Math
  • Students worked with a shape matrix again this week. They independently could identify and claim 3 attributes of a shape. 
  • Students copied more complex designs on geoboards with colored bands. 
  • Students were challenged to measure objects using nonstandard units of measurement. 
Arts and Sciences
  • Students created beautiful flowers using pastel tissue paper and glue.  They will be on display in the classrooms for the next few weeks. 

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

This Week
  • Who says math isn’t fun? Alligators are not just for swamps! Our young scholars laughed their way through learning comparison symbols as they drew teeth in the alligator’s mouth to show the open mouth always eats the greater number. We identified one half, one third, and one sixth of a frosted cake made of pattern blocks. Our students have been looking forward to our magnum opus: the human body project. We introduced the respiratory system in art and created a model to show how air fills up the lungs when we breathe. In science we learned the parts of the circulatory system and colored our hearts to add to our human model. This quarter we will be singing and chanting our way through the main body systems.
Memory
  • Mathew 6:9-13

 

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

This Week
  •  Our First Grade students have been having a wonderful, warm spring week. In math, we have been jumping into the world of estimation and rounding numbers to the nearest ten. In phonics, we have been reading “Serving in the Shadow of Death”, a more advanced reader that tells the story of a young girl and her mother caring for the needs of those sick with plague in 13th century London. We are also covering some of our cursive penmanship from the beginning of the year once again. In grammar, we are introducing the students to another form of speech: adjectives! In history, we are continuing to study American history and specifically the life of Abraham Lincoln. In art, we have been admiring the paintings of Mary Cassatt and even trying our hand at reproducing some for ourselves. The students are enjoying playtime in the warm weather, especially now that both first grade classes are able to mingle while playing outside.
Memory Work:  
  • The students will be working on memorizing Psalm 67 over the next three weeks or so.
Upcoming:
  • Science – Cloud Observation

 

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

This Week
  • What a wonderful short week back! We have been so thankful for the beautiful weather and extra learning time outside these last few days. This week, students have been introduced to King Tutankhamon in History. They have loved learning about his brief reign, and how the items that were found in his tomb help us to understand the way that Egyptians lived during this time. See if your child can tell you how old Tutankhamon was when he became king! It has been a joy to see students connecting our reading to these true historical events, and having a better understanding of the history because of reading The Curse of King Tut’s Mummy as a class. We are working this week to finish our King Tut book in Reading, and students will be completing a book report fully in cursive at the end of the week! 
Memory Work: 
  • Hebrews 11:23-29
Upcoming:
  • 4-21-2021 Latin Test

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Garner)

This Week
  • It has been a beautiful week inside and outside the classroom. We have thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather this week. To celebrate this, we painted a bouquet of tulips with watercolors. Our class did a really nice job on this project. We also enjoyed reading about Paul’s exciting capture of the Phantom and her colt in our novel, Misty of Chincoteague. It has been interesting to learn more about horses and their personalities. In language arts, we have embarked on our new writing style, poetry. Our class worked on writing acrostic and limerick poems. We really enjoyed presenting our works to the class. It was very heartwarming to watch them collaborate and brainstorm ideas.
Memory Work:
  • John 14: 6
Upcoming:
  • Tests: 
    • 4/13- Grammar Ch. 15
    • 4/16- Spelling O-3, Latin Ch. 26, Destruction of Jerusalem, Math (Written and Division/Multiplication Facts)

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram) 

This Week
  • We have finished a fabulous week.  In Math we worked on long division problems and graphs.  The students enjoyed creating their own graphs with their own questions.  In Latin we reviewed sentence patterns and learned many new vocabulary words.  I enjoyed watching their creativity in art this week with watercolor painting  and sketching.  We are learning many new techniques we plan to apply to a special art project coming up.  The students learned about Martin Luther and the start of the Reformation.   We are looking forward to starting our final study with the Reformation in History.  The students studied many paintings by Mary Cassatt and we learned more about her life reading her biography.  We ended our week practicing all of our verses we learned this year.
Science
  •  We are using Keva Blocks to create models that demonstrate many of our Physics concepts and completed notebook pages to share our new learning.
Memory Work:
  • Lamentations 3: 22-25
Upcoming:
  • Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 Verse Mastery Quiz

 

5th Grade (Ms. Vogus) 

This Week
  • We have had a fantastic week in 5th grade! We finished up our body systems project in science. In literature we began creating a common place book to use while we read Treasure Island. In math the students worked hard and learned how to find the area of a circle and find a missing number in an equation. We have also been practicing Bible verses in preparation for the Bible Bee. We ended the week with a tour of the upper school school campus. 
Memory Work:
  • 1 Samuel 2: 1-8
Upcoming:
  • Art Project

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

Mr. Batten

Language Arts
  • Students are continuing to work through The Hiding Place and are becoming more and more interested in the life of Corrie ten Boom. We discussed the Christian’s place in WW2, and devised plans for secret hiding places in our own homes. 
History
  • We delved into WW2 by discussing fascisim, learning who the key leaders were in the war, and understanding Hitler’s “Blitzkrieg.” In addition, we talked about why so many young Americans were eager to join a bloody war. 
Science
  • We continued our discussion of physics, and worked on calculating acceleration. 
6th Logic
  • We discussed how to properly use examples in argumentation to ensure students have examined possible counterexamples and anomalies. 
7th Logic
  • We discussed how to properly use examples in argumentation to ensure students have examined possible counterexamples and anomalies. 
8th Logic
  • We finished our final debate of the last round, had a vibrant discussion about it, and moved into using examples in argumentation. Students began preparing for their next debate by having a mock debate with me, and other students.  
Upcoming:
  • We will finish memorizing 1 John 4, and go deeper into the atrocities of WW2 in both The Hiding Place and in our history curriculum. 

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • After practicing more with ray tracing and mirrors, we are now considering how light behaves when traveling through converging and diverging lenses.  
Precalculus
  • Owen Williams had the highest ranking bracket in our class – correctly selecting Baylor as this year’s NCAA Tournament Champion. Congratulations and enjoy your lunch time prize!  We are moving through a study of Analytic Trig which involves using trig identities to simplify expressions and solving trig equations.   
Geometry 
  • The class is looking at subsets of circles, lines that intersect circles, and angles that are formed in relationship to circles. 

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • This week we have finished the books of Acts and Romans. In Romans we were able to learn about justification by faith and the implications of that work for the believer.
  • Bible memory: Acts 1:8 and Romans 1:16
  • On April 20 and 22 students will be presenting on their book analysis project. 

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • Our astronomy studies this week have been focused on the complex relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. The students have learned how the alignment of these three bodies can produce a solar or lunar eclipse, depending on which body is casting a shadow. Ask your student why we don’t experience eclipses every month during New Moon and Full Moon. We also learned how the gravitational relationship between these three bodies leads to ocean tides on Earth. We will take a deeper look at tides next week. Students should continue to work on their moon logs, as well as their 4th quarter astronomy project.
8th Grade Science:
  • We are wrapping up our study of chemistry this week with an investigation of acids and bases. The students learned how acids and bases are related to the auto-ionization of polar water molecules. They had a great time producing our own colorful pH scale with some household products and a homemade red cabbage indicator solution. 

 

Mr. Hamilton

9th Logic
  • This week we worked on building real-world arguments using propositional logic.
9th Historic Theology
  • We took our test on the Reformation and early Protestant confessions this week.
10th History
  • More work on the development of the Roman empire this week, with special attention paid to the great caesars. 
10th Literature
  • We wrapped up Phantastes this week, working hard to understand its structure, themes, and underlying theology.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • This week we examined the moral argument for God and reviewed the intelligent design movement.
12th History
  • We continued our discussion of changes in the modern period.
12th Literature
  • More with T.S. Eliot: this week, The Wasteland and Four Quartets.

 

Mrs. Hamilton

Logic School Music
  • After concluding our study of Mozart, students learned to play a basic chord progression (I-IV-V-I) on the piano and composed a simple yet original melody above it. In performance, students are greatly enjoying getting to know their new ensemble pieces. Even hearing them play the first few measures together in their ensembles has been a treat! 
Music History Elective (Baroque to Modern)
  • Our focus this week has been the French impressionist and avant-garde movements, where we continued to study the music of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Erik Satie. At the end of the week, students enjoyed learning about a Finnish composer–Jean Sibelius–and his violin concerto. Students also enjoyed learning about Russian virtuoso violinist Maxim Vengerov and watched excerpts from a documentary about him – Playing by Heart. 

 

Ms. Hutchison

7th Grade Omnibus
  • History/;  Our lengthy study of Herodotus’s account of the major events of the Greco-Persian War has come to an end.  We have studied a bit about the life and “accomplishments” of Alexander the Great and are preparing to begin learning about the development of Rome, from a small, insignificant village to a mighty Republic and then to the vast Roman Empire of the first century AD.    Students are also working on developing a persuasive essay on whether or not they believe the Persians should have attempted to conquer Greece.  We are learning about how to add an “exordium” (or attention-grabber) at the beginning of a persuasive essay and will work on using lively verbs in our writing.
  • Literature:  Our seventh grade students continue to enjoy Till We Have Faces and are working hard on their upcoming theatrical adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.  Our play will be performed on Wednesday, May 19 at 11:15 at the Downtown Campus.
  • Bible:  In our discussion of “great” leaders in ancient empires and nations, we have once again looked at the Biblical theme of pride and the danger of pride.  It is clear, from our study of ancient civilizations, that pride does indeed go before the fall of mighty men.  My prayer for our young people is that they will learn to humbly serve one another with the love that only God can give them for one another. 
9th Grade Biology
  • Biology students have begun their study of Mendelian genetics this week.  We are having fun learning how to use Punnett squares to predict physical traits in offspring.

 

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week the students reviewed material on thermodynamics, worked practice problems, and took their first test of Q4. 
  • Next week we will begin our study of reaction kinetics, or the study of reaction rates. 

 

Miss Oldham

9th Grade Literature
  • We wrapped up our discussion on A Tale of Two Cities and students have their final essays due on Monday. 
9th Grade History
  • Students have a rough draft due on April 30th, which is the same day as their Art field trip, so I have encouraged them to get this completed before the due date. 
11th Grade Literature
  • Students have wrapped up The Faerie Queene and began Arthurian Legends. 
11th Grade History
  • Students have a rough draft due on April 30th that they have been working on since January. 
10th Rhetoric I
  • Students have been working on their final speeches. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Students have been working on their final thesis draft, which is due on April 30th. 

 

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • This week we worked on complementary colors.  We drew outside (plein air) where we used complementary colors to draw what we saw in nature.
7th Art
  • This week we worked on our small study flower drawings.  We talked about gray scale, contrast and looking for highlights and shadows.
8th Art
  • This week we continued working on small scale eye drawings in colored pencil.  We also began working on drawing  noses and mouths in color.
9th Spanish 
  •  This week we reviewed for and took our Chapter 5 test.  
10th Spanish
  • This week we reviewed preterit, added new vocabulary words, and students worked on their Spanish skits that will be due next week. 

 

Mr. Palmer

6th Math
  • This week we began working with basic algebra terms and how to add the like-terms. 
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we prepared for a test and took a test.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we prepared for a test and took a test.
10th Algebra II
  • This week we worked with converting repeating decimals into fractions.
11th / 12th NT Greek
  • This week we continued working with the past tense of Greek.

 

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus
  • History: We continue to study the kingdoms of the High Middle Ages, this week learning about the reconquista in Spain, the Holy Roman Empire in Germany, and other kingdoms in eastern Europe. 
  • Literature: After finishing our discussion of women and wives in The Clerk’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s Tale, we began Macbeth, Shakespeare’s tragedy about ambition, power, fate, and the question of what corrupts someone enough to do what was before unthinkable. 
  • Composition: We practiced fixing run ons and fragments this week and made our final edits on our literary theme essays. 
6th Grade LATIN
  • 6th graders reviewed on Tuesday and took their test on Thursday. 
7th Grade LATIN
  • In 7th grade Latin , students reviewed the dative constructions before taking their test on Thursday.
8th Grade LATIN
  • 8th graders continued to practice using the 4th declension and learn their new set of vocabulary.