BB 05-02-25

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 39

MAY 2, 2025

 

FROM THE OFFICE

FOR ALL: 
  • **NO HOT LUNCH:  Thurs, 5/8 for TK – 6th graders
  • IMMUNIZATIONS:  REQUIREMENT – All students in rising Kindergarten, 7th grade and 12th grade are required to receive and submit updated immunizations.  These must be on file with the school prior to the first day of the 25/26 school year.  Please schedule appointments and submit the records via TADS.  
  • Bradford Summer Soccer Camps: scheduled for the week of JUNE 23rd-27th, registration coming soon!
    • Rising K5-6th grade: 8:30am-12:30pm, MACC baseball fields, $125/wk or $35/day
    • Rising 7th-12th grade: 6:00-8:00pm, MACC baseball fields, $125/wk or $35/day
LOWER SCHOOL- IMPORTANT NOTES:
  • 4th Graders:  Band Mtg on Tues, 5/20 at 5:45 pm – Please reply to the survey Mrs. Mitchell sent this week.  
  • Field Day SIGN UP GENIUS – Volunteer to help out the last ½ day of the school year.
UPPER SCHOOL- IMPORTANT NOTES:
HOT LUNCH on Thursdays: 
  • The weekly menu locks at midnight on Sunday night – so be sure to place your orders and check out in time. Once your account is set up, it should be easy for the rest of the year! ORDER HERE  
FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  

The Lord has blessed us with teachers who are dedicated to training up the next generation in the fear and admonition of the Lord and dedicated to Bradford’s core values of agape (volitional love) arete, (excellence or virtue) and logos (Christ, the Logos, the Bible, and words in general).  Thank you for all the ways you encourage our staff along the way, and especially this week as we have honored them for their work.  Being a teacher is a spiritual calling and not for the faint of heart!  Our staff delights to do their work for the glory of God and for the good of your children.  Thank you for all the expressions of love that flowed into the classrooms today! 

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:
  • Mon, 5/5:
    • 3rd -7th grade CLT – standardized testing
  • Tues, 5/6:
    • 3rd – 6th grade CLT – standardized testing
    • 8th grade CLT – standardized testing
  • Thurs, 5/8: 
    • All day – Bradford Games (for 7-12th grades)
    • NEW 6:30-8:30pm – 9th-12th grade swing dance at the upper school picnic shelter, guys bring a drink to share and girls bring a dessert
  • Fri, 5/9:  Teacher workday
    • Varsity girls playoff game – maybe at home!
UPCOMING:
  •  Fri, 5/16: 
    • 12:30 – 2:30 – Career Afternoon
    • NEW 6:00 – 8:00 pm – 7th – 12th grades – Bonfire at lower school campus
  •  Tues, 5/20:  
    • 5:45 – Band meeting for Rising 5th grade students – lower school 
    • NEW 6:00 – Class of 2026 Senior Trip Meeting #1 – lower school auditorium
    • 7:00 – Sports Award Ceremony – lower school pavilion
  • Thurs, 5/22:  
    • TK last day of school
    • 7:00 – Spring Fine Arts Program:  Upper school at Mebane Presbyterian
  • Mon, 5/26:  Memorial Day – no school
  • Wed, 5/28:
    • K – 4th grades:  Verse Bee   
      • K – 1st:  9:00 
      • 2nd – 3rd:  10:00
      • 4th: 11:00
    • 4:45p – 11th – 12th grades:  Gala at the White House on Washington
  • Thurs, 5/29:
    • 10:00 – Baccalaureate (upper school)
  • Fri, 5/30:  Last day of school!
    • NEW 6:45 – Seniors breakfast with Mr. Johnston at Hursey’s
    • 8:30 – Kindergarten certificate ceremony
    • All students dismissed at 12:00 pm
    • Graduation, 7pm

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

       

TK students enjoyed a fun week of bear activities and lessons. The students loved bringing their bears to school to show and having them participate in centers! In math this week, we continued with the game of war and introduced face cards. We also practiced identifying left and right and measured items using linking cubes. Students learned to write lowercase letters r, n, and m as well as reviewed the capital partners. We are continuing to watch our classroom caterpillars grow! They have eaten a lot this week and are quite large. We expect them to all be making their chrysalis by next week. A few of our centers this week included: making caterpillars out of clothespins (which we will turn into butterflies soon), reading Corduroy, sorting buttons, practicing dividing by sharing, sorting items by beginning sounds, and reviewing writing lowercase letters learned so far. We read this week about God sending the Holy Spirit and Pentecost and how many believed during that time. Next week we will read the story of Paul. 

Teddy Bear week was a hit! Next week our theme will be Mother’s Day and we will be reading classic children’s stories. There will not be show & tell next week. The following week will be dinosaur week! 

As a reminder, the last day of TK is Thursday, May 22nd. This will be a fun outside day for the TK students. We would love for parents to join us at the shelter at 11 am on this day to recognize each student and celebrate the year. Grandparents and other family members are welcome to join us as well. If you would like to purchase a summer packet for your child, please let me know and/or send $10 in your child’s black folder if you have not done so already. Summer packets will be distributed on the last day of school. 

 

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 4th
  •  Students did a great job this week working on a multitude of activities. Classes completed  various relays, tag games, kickball, and corn hole competitions.  

 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th 
  •  Students did a great job this week working on our last hymn of the quarter, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”. We spent a lot of time on the first verse. Please encourage your child to sing this beautiful hymn for you at home.  It has brought so much joy to me to hear students come into music talking about how they have been singing hymns at home with their families. 

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week
  • Our kindergarten scholars have had yet another great week here at Bradford! We can’t believe it is already May! In math, we learned how to count pennies and nickels, how to subtract a number from ten, how to order events by time, and we also had a review day. In phonics, we spent a final week reading through “In A Camel’s Eye,” and we introduced four new multi-letter phonograms. In history, we discussed the thirteen British  colonies, which were recognized in the 17th and 18th centuries. In art and science, we continued working on our human body project and spent time coloring different body part worksheets. The students also had the opportunity to make a lung craft, which demonstrated how the lungs expand and contract. We are looking forward to the week of May 19th, which is our community helper week! If you are interested in volunteering, please feel free to email your child’s respective teacher. 
Memory Work:   
  •  John 1:1 and review all verses for our upcoming Bible Bee at the end of the quarter

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

This Week
  • This week in first grade was full of rich learning and hands-on discovery, all pointing back to God’s order and creativity in the world around us. In Math, we practiced subtracting 4, drawing pictures to solve word problems, and using comparison symbols such as greater than and less than. We also worked on writing numbers in expanded form and reading and interpreting pictographs. The students began exploring fractions, learning how to write a fraction to show a part of a set and picturing fractional parts visually. These mathematical concepts remind us that God is a God of order, not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and that even numbers and patterns reflect His perfect design. In Reading, we read Quothe the Prophet, which introduced the students to the story of Moses and Pharaoh. We reflected on how God used Moses, an ordinary man, to do extraordinary things when he trusted God’s plan (Exodus 3–14). The students were reminded that they too can be used by God to do good things when they walk in obedience. In Grammar, we enjoyed reading the humorous poem Mr. Nobody and used it to review when to use capitalization properly. Just as our words matter, so do the ways we use them, and we are reminded in Ephesians 4:29 to let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. In History, we continued learning about Benjamin Franklin, a man full of curiosity and ingenuity. We discussed how God gives each of us unique interests and talents to bless others and serve our communities (1 Peter 4:10). In Art, we explored Egyptian Hieroglyphics, learning about the way ancient Egyptians used symbols to tell stories. After connecting this to our reading, the students enjoyed writing their own names in hieroglyphics. It was a beautiful reminder that God knows us by name and writes our names on His heart (Isaiah 49:16). In Science, we continued learning about the scientific method. This week, we tested which ice cube would melt first—one in water, one sprinkled with sugar, and one sprinkled with salt. Through our experiment, the students discovered how changing variables affects outcomes. We tied this back to how God calls us to be curious and seek understanding (Proverbs 4:7), always looking to the world He created with wonder and gratitude. As always, it’s a joy to see your children grow in wisdom and joy each week. We are so thankful for the opportunity to teach them through God’s truth.
 

 

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

This Week
  • The goal in second grade the next few weeks is to finish well.  The students have grown so much since August, and it is such a joy to share in this year of their lives.  We are studying the life of King David and challenge the students to also choose to obey and follow God’s will.  A big part of that is hiding God’s Word in their hearts and it is amazing how many Bible verses the students have learned.  We have finished our Latin curriculum and will enjoy a few fun review activities over the next few weeks.  Writing a personality poem and descriptive paragraph have allowed the students to use the many grammar skills they have learned as well as using their think-to-spell skills along with their creativity.  As we continue to memorize all the multiplication facts, we started on the x 9s this week.  This would be a great activity to continue to work on over the summer so the students have a quick recall of all the math facts.  We have also learned to identify fractional parts of a set.  We are enjoying our adventures with Laura and Mary in their Big Woods of Wisconsin.  Once we finish this book it would be a great summer activity to read the others books in this set, which are available at the public library.  We hope everyone is enjoying solving the mysteries that Encyclopedia Brown is solving – this is another great set of books to read over the summer, which are also available at the public library.  We encourage you to set some goals for summer reading for your child and enjoy some adventures with them.

 

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

This Week
  • We have finished another successful week of learning in third grade! In history, we made it to 286 A.D. and the split of the Roman Empire by Diocletian. He had the wisdom to understand that ruling an empire that large required the need for clear communication, and since they lacked that he split the empire into two parts: East and West. However, Diocletian also refused to give God the glory and instead decided to establish himself as a god, requiring everyone to worship him. Since Christians refused to worship anyone but the one true God, this caused some of the worst persecution against them. Shortly after Diocletian, Constantine came to rule and ended the persecution of Christians with the Edict of Milan. In math, students learned to calculate the area of a rectangle and reviewed previous concepts in preparation for testing next week. We are almost finished with our Latin study and created several compound words using prepositions and verbs.  We’ve also added several stylistic techniques to our writing as students learn how to summarize multiple informative texts. It was another full week in the fourth quarter! 
Upcoming
  • Review Quarter 1 Verses

4th Grade (Mrs. McDorman and Mrs. Rankin) 

This Week
  • We enjoyed a busy week in fourth grade. In history, we studied the life of John Calvin and how he influenced the Reformation along with his counterparts Huss, Zwingli, and Wycliff. Math lessons focused on customary measurement conversions. In writing, we guided students through the process of researching and outlining biography reports. They practiced organizing information, developing topic sentences, and using transitions—skills that strengthen both their academic writing and critical thinking. Our grammar work reinforced these lessons by focusing on sentence structure, including correcting run-ons and fragments. Students explored Newton’s Second Law of Motion and continued documenting in their science journals. We participated in the National Day of Prayer by spending time praying for our nation’s leaders, pastors, and families in our Bradford community. It was a meaningful time of reflection that helped build a sense of unity and purpose. Finally, we began our last novel of the year: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Students are enjoying the mystery, independence, and wit of Claudia and Jamie’s adventure in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s been a joy to see your children grow—in intellect, character, and confidence—and we look forward to finishing the year strong.
Upcoming:  

5/5- CLT Testing

 

LOGIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Bennington

5th-10th Band

 

  •  Students did a great job again this week working through sections of their concert music. We focused on making good sounds, blending, maintaining proper balance, nice attacks and releases, intonation, dynamics, and expression. We are having a lot of fun in class working together to create something beautiful. I am very excited for these students to be able to showcase all of their hard work this semester at the Spring Concert on Thursday May 22nd. 

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Chorus, Bradford Chorale
  • 5th Chorus – We are solidifying memory as well as working in hand motions and expression in our music.
  • 6h-8th Chorus – We put Mendelssohn to the piano accompaniment and it is starting to take beautiful shape. We also tested our memory on Beethoven.
  • Bradford Chorale – A wonderful performance at the National Day of Prayer Service! Thank you to all who were a part of that! Up next: May 22 Spring Concert!

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Miss Johnston) 

This Week
  •   It feels like it has been a while since we have had a full, uninterrupted week of learning, and we have enjoyed getting back into our normal routines this week! We have studied Lewis and Clark’s expedition this week and have enjoyed reading their journals as we look deeper into what their travels entailed. We have been trekking through Treasure Island this week and are making great progress! We completed our final spelling/grammar section of the year this week! We are wrapping up our Louisiana Purchase writing assignments and are squeezing in as much CLT prep as possible this week. CLTs are early next week, so we have spent much time taking the practice test and talking about what topics we can study before Monday. 
Memory Work:  
  • Proverbs 27:17/Proverbs 17:17

 

6th Grade (Miss Stevenson)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We are continuing to work our way through Around the World in 80 Days. Fogg and company are currently in Japan. 
6th Grammar and Writing
  • Students are (hopefully) continuing to work on the final draft of their compare/contrast essay. Final drafts are due Wednesday, May 7.
6th Bible
  • This week we read Philippians and Colossians. 
6th History
  •  This week in History we discussed the Cold War, the Korean War, and the War in Vietnam. We spent most of our time talking about the Cold War as it leads nicely into our next card on the Space Race. 
6th Science
  • In Science this week we discussed alleles, genes, chromosomes, monohybrid crosses with punnett squares, and homozygous/heterozygous dominant and recessive traits.
6th Logic
  • This week in Logic we discussed the logical fallacies of transfer and snob appeal. 
6th Latin
  •   We finally made it to Chapter 8 in Latin! This chapter is about second verb conjugations and the perfect tense. 

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math
  • Math students worked with conversion charts to translate between metric and customary units.

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  •  Students worked this week on their complementary color oil pastel drawings.  These are coming along nicely and students are aiming to recreate what they see using good technique and color theory!

Dr. Wright

7th Composition 
  •  Students have begun a series of questions reviewing major themes of all books we have read this year.  
7th Omnibus – Literature, History, Bible
  • Students continued to reflect on the gospel accounts of Christ’s resurrection.  Copies of Screwtape Letters, along with reading plans, were distributed.  
7th Logic
  •   Students had their second major assessment on informal fallacies.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • We wrapped up our unit on the Earth and Moon with a unit test on moon phases, eclipses, tides, and seasons. Students are putting the finishing touches on their astronomy projects, which will be presented over the next few weeks.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • Our focus this week was on reviewing major concepts in measurement, geometry, and probability. We reviewed the difference between measurement in the metric system and in the U.S. Customary System, as well as the different types of polygons and how they are named. We also learned how to calculate probability for both independent and dependent events.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • We continued to work on our colored pencil botanical drawings this week.  Students have been hard at work focusing in on detail and blending their colors. 

Miss Johnston

7th Latin
  •   We spent this week reviewing for our upcoming chapter test!  

 

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus 
  • History:     Students completed a major test, and continue work on their biographical research papers.  First draft of the paper (preferable printed at home, not at the school) is due Monday, May 5. 
  • Literature:   We continue our journey through Tolkien’s Return of the King.  
  • Composition:   Biographical research papers will also yield grades in Composition.  Additionally, students continue aggressively to build their vocabulary with terms from literature readings.  

Miss Johnston

8th Latin
  •  We took our chapter test and spent some time reviewing past chapters. 

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • We have continued our study of the periodic table and its organization. We started discussing the metals found on the periodic table. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be learning about the six different groups of metals, the non-metals, and the metalloids, and how their physical and chemical properties can be predicted by their location on the periodic table.
8th Algebra I
  • Our focus this week was on operations with radicals. After practicing simplifying radicals, we also learned how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide radical expressions.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  •  Students wrapped up their watercolor landscape paintings this week.  We are moving on to our final project of the year!

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We have been learning how to test a syllogism for validity.

RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th: 

  • Career Day is Friday, May 16 at the Upper School.  We will hear from a variety of careers including graphic design, education, aeronautics, accounting, nursing, occupational therapy, and public safety.
  • In addition to electives offered at Bradford, rising 11th and 12th graders are signing up for electives at Alamance Community College for the summer and fall sessions.  Some are signing up for online classes through dual enrollment opportunities with Liberty University and Colorado Christian University.
  • Rising 11th and 12th graders are encouraged to visit at least 2 colleges this summer.  And they are also encouraged to  speak with teachers about their alma maters or schools that they would recommend.

 

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • Students spent this week working on new vocabulary and learning about reflexive verbs.  We compared and contrasted reflexive verbs and verbs like gustar.  Students practiced with this grammar point and with vocabulary new and old.  

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • We wrapped up our penultimate geometry unit on the surface area and volume of geometric solids with a unit test. We’ll start circle geometry next week.

Mr. Crotts

9th Logic
  • We have been working on how to brainstorm and doodle out an argument with supporting evidence.

Dr. and Mrs. James

9th Biology
  •  This week students gave presentations on biologists who had made some of the discoveries that we talked about in class.  We also began an in-depth study of the Scriptures describing God as Creator.
  • Next week we will continue our study of God as Creator.

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • 9th Graders worked through essay rough draft editing: simple editing involved searching for basic grammar mistakes, and then deeper editing focused on making clear transitions between proofs and also elevating vocabulary and phrasing.  They played the “dictionary game.”  This game involves one student selecting a word from the dictionary; four students writing down what they think the definition is and the rest of the class voting on which of the four definitions are closest to the true definition.  Finally we discussed “writer’s block.”  Suggested remedies include–standing up to get your blood flowing, look outside, do something different for 5 minutes, and revisit your outline, then write down 1 word for each proof, then expand to a sentence, then include quotes to support your points, then fill in your paper.  We discussed how mathematically inclined brains like lists and word counts and the creative, literary brain simply likes to write and how to blend both types of thinking.

Dr. Byrd 

9th Bible 
  •  Students took a test. We have finished the Prison Epistles of Paul.
  • Verse Memory – II Cor. 13:14

 

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students have almost completed our study of WW2. We will finish and review on Monday before taking a test on Wednesday. After that, we will look at the modern civil rights movement of the 1950s-60s.

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students completed their unit on the Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic and also completed the reading of Josephus’ Jewish War this week. Students took a test this past Thursday. We have a little bit of new ground to cover and then we will begin our end of year review prior to the final exam.

Coach Johnston

9/10th PE
  • Students have worked on learning basic skills, gameplay and scoring of a new sport, tennis, this week. It has been a lot of fun to see the students growing in their ability to hit and control the ball. The weather, particularly the breeze we had this week, was so good!

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week the students took their second test of Q2, and we began a study of acid-base chemistry.
  • Next week we will continue our study of acid-base chemistry.

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • This week students reviewed past grammar and vocabulary.  We spent time working through reading, writing, listening and speaking in the target language.  

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • We’ve spent the week learning how to manipulate the equations of Conic Sections into standard graphing form by completing the square.  Next week we will begin a unit on matrix operations

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • 10th Grade continued work on their essays specifically searching Biblical responses to deism in light of Jules Verne’s beliefs and how his beliefs show in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.   Also, students spent time sharing examples of Verne’s allusions to mythology.  Also we discussed how to attack “writer’s block.”  Suggested remedies include–standing up to get your blood flowing, look outside, do something different for 5 minutes, and revisit your outline, then write down 1 word for each proof, then expand to a sentence, then include quotes to support your points, then fill in your paper.  We discussed how mathematically inclined brains like lists and word counts and the creative, literary brain likes to simply write and how to blend both types of thinking.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric I
  • Students worked on their final drafts for their Teeny Tiny Thesis. 

Dr. Smith

10th Historical Theology
  • We continue reading and discussing J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Students have received comments from me on their first draft of their Teeny Tiny Thesis project that they are doing for both me and Miss Oldham.

Mrs. Palmer

11th Spanish III
  •  Students worked this week on reviewing perfect tenses.  We also spent time going back over past vocabulary and past tenses in preparation for our upcoming final.  

Mrs. Byrd

11th Precalculus
  • We completed our unit on matrix operations and began a study of arithmetic and geometric sequences and series
11th Physics
  • We concluded our unit on static charges.  Next we will consider current electricity and power generation.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  •   Students continued with Romeo and Juliet. 

Dr. Smith

11th NT Greek
  • Students are learning about the use of the Aorist and future passive verbs as well as participles.

Coach Johnston

12th History
  •  Students completed a brief research and presentation assignment from WW2 this week. I appreciate how much they are able to find and put together into a clear summary to present to one another in class! We will finish WW2 history next week (including a test) and then we will move into a unit on the Cold War.

Miss Oldham

12th Literature
  •    Students began 1984 and we are having some wonderful discussions. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  •  Our AP/Final exam is about a week away.  Our content review is complete.  Now we are taking a couple of practice tests to get our speed and question interpretation skills sharpened.