BB 05-19-2023

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XV, ISSUE 35

MAY 19, 2023

 

FROM THE OFFICE

  • SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATIONS:  We will soon be opening the camps up to the public, so please go ahead and reserve your spots TODAY!
  • PARENT SUMMER READING SHELF:  If you borrowed a book from the parent shelf in the school library, please return it ASAP so others may enjoy it this summer.  Thank you!
  • VBS:  For those who want to send their young students to Vacation Bible School, there is one sponsored by Grace Reformed Baptist Church (where lower school campus is located) the week of July 17th.  You can register your kids here.  (This is a different link than the one I sent last week, but either will work.)  

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Tues, 5/23:  7:00 pm, Spring Concert and Art display (upper school)
  • Thurs, 5/25: 
    • 10:30 – TK ceremony – auditorium
    • 7:00 Patriotic Program (3rd – 5th grades)

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Mon, 5/29:  Memorial Day, no school
  • Wed, 5/31:  Verse Bee (lower school), Jr/Sr Gala (evening)
  • Thurs, 6/1:  Baccalaureate, upper school, 9a.m.
  • Fri, 6/2:  Last day of school – noon dismissal for all students, Graduation (7:00 pm)

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Hicks and Mrs. Grubb)

TK had a fun filled dinosaur week this week! We themed our lessons and activities around dinosaurs for the week and even made a dino dessert. It was our last time in the kitchen for the year! We finished lowercase letters with letters v, z, and x as well as their capital partners. In math this week students learned about spheres and learned how to play the game dominos. We wrapped up all we have learned in the Bible by reading “The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross.” Students also were in the sanctuary daily practicing for their performance on the last day. We are looking forward to sharing all we have learned with you!

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 5th
  • Students rotated through several stations today in preparation for Field Day. Students had a great time playing cornhole, shooting hoops, and learning how to do a routine with Chinese jump ropes. Students also had a great time learning the Bradford Rules for playing tetherball. 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-2nd 

  • Kindergarten, First and Second grade students worked on the first four verses of  “It Is Well With My Soul” and the first verse of “To God Be the Glory”. Students also enjoyed reading and singing hymns from the church hymnals.
3rd
  • Third grade  worked  on singing the  first and fourth verses of, “My Country Tis Of Thee”, the first verse and fourth verse of the “Amazing Grace”, and the first verse of the “Star Spangled Banner ”. All of these pieces will need to be memorized for the Patriotic Program on May 25th.  Students are doing a great job and we are looking forward to performing. 
4th-5th
  • Students did a great job working the entire “My Country Tis of Thee” on their recorders. Students also worked on singing the first and fourth verse of “My Country Tis of Thee”, the first verse of “Amazing Grace”, and the first verse of the “Star Spangled Banner”.  All of these pieces will need to be memorized for the Patriotic Program on May 25th.  Students are doing a great job and we are looking forward to performing. 

 

Lower School Art (Mrs. Palmer)

3rd 
  • Students worked on completing their one point perspective drawings.  We inked in our drawings and added color.   These works of art, along with several others from the last two quarters, will be displayed for the Patriotic Program – please come by and check out your student’s hard work!
4th
  • Students worked on completing their self portrait drawings.  They inked in their  drawings and painted.   These works of art, along with several others from the last two quarters, will be displayed for the Patriotic Program – please come by and check out your student’s hard work!
5th
  • Students worked on completing their self portrait drawings.   They inked in their  drawings and painted.   These works of art, along with several others from the last two quarters, will be displayed for the Patriotic Program – please come by and check out your student’s hard work!

Kindergarten (Miss Burdeshaw and Mrs. Rivera)

This Week:

Our kindergarten scholars are working hard to finish up this school year! In math, we learned to identify and count by hundreds, tens, and ones, to write addition and subtraction fact families, to represent numbers to 500 using pictures, and to estimate and weigh objects using nonstandard units. In spelling and phonics, we did a new word list and another “I Can Read” book. In history we learned about our first president, George Washington, and in art/science we continued the study of our body systems. 

Memory Work:

Psalm 18:28 and review 

 

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

This Week:

This is a full week of learning and fun! We have been practicing all of our Bible verses to make sure we have them solidly hidden in our hearts and to prepare for the Bible Bee. We have been watching our caterpillars’ bodies change into chrysalis. In art we colored a picture of the butterfly life cycle. In science we are reading The Sunflower Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs and planting sunflower seeds in hope of having a crop of seeds to harvest next school year in August. In math we had our final tests of 1st grade and finished strong! In reading we are finishing up the Frog and Toad Are Friends book. We are working on our last spelling list of the year. In history we discovered George Washington had 3 hoe cakes and 3 cups for tea for breakfast. We had fun reading to the TK kids on Tuesday!

Memory Work: 

All Bible Verses

Upcoming:
  • May 29th – Memorial Day
  • May 30th – Class Bible Bee
  • May 31st – School Bible Bee

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

This Week

This was a week of conquering!  Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. Our Latin scholars conquered their last Latin assessment (75+ words) and generally did so with excellence! We are all working diligently to conquer the review of all memory verses in preparation for the Verse Bee. Based on our last 100 X Fact assessment, students made great progress in conquering Multiplication Mountain. On the playground, students are conquering double-dutch jump rope and tetherball. These budding artists also made good progress on their self-portraits, and we look forward to sending those home for you to enjoy. As the year draws to a close, we have been reading and writing prolifically. Students are enjoying several stories at the same time and are reading fluently in Little House in the Big Woods. Their writing skills have been on display in sentence composition, essays/stories, dictation, and copy work. We are so pleased with the hard work and perseverance these soon-to-be third graders are displaying even up to the end of the year. 

Memory Work/Upcoming: 
  • Please review all Bible verses at home.
  • May 31, 2023– Bible Verse Bee 

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

This Week
  • In 325 A.D., Constantine summoned nearly 300 Christian leaders to discuss the disputed doctrine of Arianism. Out of these discussions, what we now know today as the Nicene Creed, was constructed. The Nicene Creed is the most universally accepted foundational document among Christians across denominations and states, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten not made, one in being with the Father.” Students discussed the importance of this doctrine to their faith as well as the importance of knowing God’s word so that we do not fall prey to false teachings. In math, students learned to add and subtract fractions with uncommon denominators, measure and identify the three types of triangles, and had some fun with fractions by doubling our scratch made pancake recipe! Second breakfast was delicious! We look forward to seeing you all at the Patriotic Program next week!

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram and Mrs. Lawson) 

This Week
  •  We had a wonderful week practicing our Speech for the Patriotic Program.  I am so proud of the students and their hard work.  We have played many games that create opportunities to feel comfortable in front of an audience, working on memory, eye contact, voice, and hand movements.  We completed a new chapter in Latin with many new vocabulary words, learned new math skills, and completed an exam.  We finished our last events exam in History and talked about our favorite cards.  

5th Grade (Mrs. Owens) 

This Week

We are back to a normal week after finishing our testing last week.  After studying the Treaty of Paris we thought that our time of frustration between the English and Americans came to an end, however we have now started learning about the War of 1812 and are seeing that was not the case.  Our math curriculum this week has included finding a whole when a fraction is known, estimating area, and finding a whole when a percent is known.  We are also finishing up our last Latin chapter this week, then we will take the rest of the year to review and continue to work on translating sentences.  Lastly, the students have been hard at work writing their body paragraphs for their research paper.  The students have worked hard this week and we all can see the finish line in sight.  

Memory Work:

  • Proverbs 15:16-17 (this week)
  • Review all old verses to get ready for the Bible Bee
Upcoming:
  • Research Paper due: Friday, May 26th
  • Verse Bee: Wednesday, May 31st

 

LOGIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Bennington

6th-8th Band
  • Students spent a lot of time this week fine tuning our pieces for the Fine Arts Night. The pieces are starting to really take shape and we are looking forward to performing. Please continue to practice at home all of the concepts that we have worked on in class as we lead up to the concert. I am so proud of the progress that these students have made and I am really looking forward to showing you their progress at the Fine Arts Night this coming Tuesday, May 23rd. Please remember that students need to arrive at 6pm, the doors will open to all guests at 6:45pm, and the concert will start at 7pm. 

Mrs. Sarah Johnston

6th-8th Choir

We are just a few days away from the Fine Arts Night (May 23rd)! The music is sounding good, and we are looking forward to performing! Please continue to review your music, paying close attention to the small changes we made this week regarding articulation and breathing. As a reminder: Call Time for students is 6PM, doors open to guests at 6:45PM. All are welcome to come – it will be an enjoyable evening.

Mr. Davis

6th -8th Boys’ PE
  • This week the boys played kickball and dodge ball for PE.

Miss Stevenson

6th-8th Girls’ PE
  • During the senior theses over the next couple of weeks, 6th grade will be staying inside to watch the seniors present. 7th and 8th grade girls will be in Mr. Davis’ class with the boys.
6th Reading and Literature
  • We have officially finished Around the World in 80 Days! On Monday we watched the 1988 cartoon rendition of the book. 
6th Grammar and Writing
  • I handed back the students’ fictional stories this week. They all did a wonderful job! There are definitely areas that they can improve on in the future, but overall, I was very pleased with their work.
6th Bible
  • This week we read Philippians and Colossians.
6th History
  • Our card this week was about the Space Race.
6th Science
  • Due to the senior theses, we took a break from Science this week.
6th Logic
  • This week in Logic, we discussed exigency, repetition, transfer, and snob appeal.

Mrs. Frueh

6th Grade Math
  • The students tackled some difficult concepts this week, including calculating the surface area of a sphere. They also learned how to transform mathematical formulas to solve for a particular unknown and how to calculate the slope of a line on the coordinate plane. All of these skills are forming a solid foundation for their future math education.

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • Students created clay flowers and this week we were able to paint these flower creations.  We talked about various techniques to be used in painting.  We also reviewed our artists of the quarter this week. 

Miss Windes

6th Grade Latin
  • After a full week away from Latin, sixth graders reviewed on Tuesday and took their chapter 9 test on Thursday! 

Mrs. Crotts

7th Grammar and Writing

During grammar and writing this week, the class worked on a “mini” research paper on the life of C.S. Lewis.  We focused on 2 areas: citation and strong verb and adjective usage.

7th Grade Omnibus
  • Students spent half of Omnibus time this week researching 3 areas about C.S. Lewis’ life: his childhood, his education and conversion, and his writings.  The second half of the class time we listened to an audio version of C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle–a tie in to Revelation which was the last Bible book we read this semester.  They were challenged to listen for any fallacies characters might have used to convince and persuade another character toward an action and also ears peeled for strong verbs and adjectives.  Rough drafts of the research paper were due Friday and the final, polished draft are expected on Wednesday, May 24.

Take note of what they have read this year: Gilgamesh, The Code of Hammurabi, Genesis, Exodus, I & II Kings, I & II Samuel, ‘Til We Have Faces, Odyssey, The Best Things in Life, Chosen by God, Isaiah, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, Romans, Minor Prophets of the Old Testament, Aeneid, Julius Caesar, Epistles of the New Testament, Screwtape Letters, Holiness of God, Plutarch’s Lives (selections), Revelation, The Last Battle.

7th Logic

As mentioned above, we listened for fallacies that characters used in The Last Battle.  Also, students became “fallacy detectives” as they had to read excerpts from select stories and detect fallacies.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science
  • The students are working hard researching an astronomy topic of their choice. They will present what they’ve learned about their topic to the class over the next two weeks.
7th Grade Pre-Algebra
  • The students added many valuable geometric tools to their math toolbox this week as they learned to calculate the volume and surface area of pyramids, cones, and spheres.  We also learned how to use multiple unit multipliers to make conversions of volume between the metric and English measurement systems.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • This week students reviewed artists of the quarter.  Students also worked on drawing a scene from a favorite book.  Please join us next week for the Fine Arts’ Night to see your student’s artwork!

Miss Windes

7th Grade Latin
  • Seventh grade students began learning a new set of irregular verbs and about compound verbs in both Latin and English. 

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus
  • History: We are wrapping up our history for the year with a quick look at the Renaissance and Reformation of the 14th-17th centuries. Next week we will do a final review and then take our last test on Friday!
  • Literature: We finished Athanasius’ On the Incarnation this week with a short test and excellent discussion over the main points Athanasius made. We began Midsummer Night’s Dream on Friday, our last text of the year! 
  • Composition: The students finished their Macbeth literary analysis essays this week and turned them in on Friday. They also did an exercise in grading an old literary analysis essay as they worked on polishing their own. 
8th Grade Latin
  • Eighth graders learned about more irregular verbs and negative commands, and then began working on their final project of translating a fairy tale! 

Mrs. Frueh

8th Grade Science
  • The students have had fun this week learning how to balance chemical equations. They have also learned the five different classifications of chemical reactions and how to recognize the type by the chemical equation.
8th Grade Algebra I
  • This week we learned how to use the exponential functions on our calculators to calculate exponential growth and compound interest. We also learned how to calculate variables that vary directly and inversely.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • This week students reviewed artists of the quarter.  Students also worked on a sketchbook drawing.  Please join us next week for the Fine Arts’ Night to see your student’s artwork!

Mr. Davis

8th Logic

This week the students listened to the senior thesis for class. 

 

RHETORIC SCHOOL

From COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

Juniors:

  • No pressure, but I am open to meet before the end of the year if you and your students would like to talk through their direction and progress in the college search process. Otherwise, these items are helpful to think about and talk through and make sure there is beginning to be a clear path! 
    • Career/college interests; what general path are you pursuing?
    • What colleges are you currently thinking about applying to?
    • Have you visited the colleges you want to apply to or do you have a plan for when you will visit?
    • Test scores – on track with colleges you are interested in? A plan to raise test scores if not? 
    • Do you have a system to keep track of everything?
    • Have you talked about finances and discussed expectations/a plan for paying for college?
  • Let me know if you have any questions about the process and if there is any way I can be of help to you!

A couple resources that I would recommend: 

  • This podcast – 5 Things Juniors Should Do Now – has excellent tips and information on test prep, financial aid, and generally how juniors and their families can be preparing for senior year and college applications (also on Spotify and I’m sure other places; from Getting In: A College Coach Conversation)
  • This blog post has several helpful tips and goes a bit more in depth about summer preparations. I highly recommend starting on college essays, resume/activity list, asking for letters of recommendation, and getting organized with dates and deadlines over the summer! 

 

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Advanced Art 
  • Last week’s mock trial in art class was a success.  Their research helped them to understand the sovereignty of God and His ability to use ruling authorities, even evil ones, to work out His wise plan for His glory. The winning team argued that Holbein’s painting was about the division of church and state. It was, however, very close and the panel found only one point difference between the two teams.

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • Students presented their Spanish country cultural projects. These were wonderful and we learned a lot about quite a few Spanish-speaking countries!

Dr. James

9th Geometry
  • This week we are continuing our introduction to trigonometry.
  • Next week we will review material, and the students will take their last test of the class.

Mrs. Hicks

9th Biology
  • This week students presented their Endangered Species Project! They did a great job. We are planning to wrap up the year over the next few weeks with an escape room, dissection, and some other activities!

Dr. Smith

9th Theology
  • Students took a test on Wednesday that covered the rise of Modern Biblical Criticism, its relationship to the Protestant Reformation, and some of the other developments and key people in the 17th and 18th centuries. 

Mrs. Crotts

9th  Literature

The fury and scurry of year’s end is evident!  9th graders completed Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird this week.  They also chose parts and began reading a script of the work.  Amidst reading, they were to present research gleaned on what a mockingbird is and who is/are the mockingbird(s) in the story.  Take note of what they’ve read this year: Westminster Confessions, Of Plymouth Plantation (selections), The Social Contract (overview), Pilgrim’s Progress, A Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, review of Tom Sawyer & Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little Women, The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, The Old Man and the Sea, & To Kill a Mockingbird.

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students finished their overview of the European theatre of WW2 events and took a quiz on Friday that will further prepare them for next Friday’s unit test. We have begun to work our way through the Pacific theatre, beginning with campaigns involving the Solomon Islands (Coral Sea, later Guadalcanal) and the Battle of Midway.

Mr. Crotts

9th Logic
  • We have one lesson remaining!
  • Our class has pressed-on through some very tough concepts in Intermediate Logic

 

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • Students learned to identify and evaluate functions, determine domain and range and express it in interval notation, and convert decimal numbers into binary numbers and vice versa.

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • This week we are studying the Pauline epistles. We have finished the Prison Epistles and will finish the Pastoral Epistles. How thankful we can be for these portions of Scripture. 
  • Students are finishing up their book reports. 

Mrs. Crotts

10th  Literature
  • 10th graders are steaming through these final weeks:  they completed reading Animal Farm–a book missed in years past–as well as two activities to aid summary and focus.  Each had to draw a “plot map” indicating the setting, plot, major events and characters in the book.  Also, each had to complete a “character sketch” and link a character to the historical figure represented (i.e. Boxer, the hard working horse, represents the people/workers in Russia.)

Take note of what they’ve  read this year—Aesop’s Fables, Proverbs, Job, Iliad, The Clouds, Hippocratic Oath, Republic (selections), Psalms, Mythologies, Phantastes, Metamorphoses (selections),  Plutarch’s Lives (selections), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,  & Animal Farm

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week we continued our discussion of acids and bases, and the students measured pH of items they brought to class. 
  • Next week the students will take their acid-base test and prepare for the final exam.

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students completed their final lecture on the Roman republic and are almost finished reading Josephus. Last week students began to review for their final by taking a geography quiz and this week students took another quiz that helped them to review important dates, capitals and terms for next week’s final.
10th PE
  • Students completed a randomized card-deck workout while also playing games of soccer and dodgeball this week.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric I
  • Students prepared for their teeny, tiny thesis presentations next week. We talked specifically about how to cite, how to format a bibliography, and how to interact in a cross-examination. I’ve encouraged them to watch at least one senior thesis this week to get a feel for what will happen with them. 

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Students presented their Spanish country cultural projects. These were wonderful and we learned a lot about quite a few Spanish-speaking countries!

Mrs. Byrd

11th Physics
  •  We’ve looked at properties of magnetism, the earth’s magnetic field, and magnetic induction as it relates to power generation.
11th Precalculus
  • We’ve concluded a unit on sequences and series and began a study of conic sections.  This week we’ve studied two basic conics – circles and parabolas.

Dr. James

11th Geography
  • This week students presented countries they had researched, and we discussed the dispersal of peoples after the flood and the tower of Babel, including the Table of Nations in Genesis 10.
  • Next week we will learn from a guest speaker about Malawi, and the students will present another country they have researched.

Miss Oldham

11th Grade Literature
  • Students are delving into the satirical world of Don Quixote. They also did final presentations on Friday over their authors and are looking forward to their final in-class essay next Friday 5/26. 

Dr. Smith

11th NT Greek
  • Students continue to translate 1John.

Mr. Webster

11th Grade History
  • This week we started our last unit on the Protestant Reformation. We learned about the beginning of the Reformation and some specific doctrines that were taught by the Reformers. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • We’re continuing a review of this year in preparation for the CLEP exam.

Mrs. Hicks

12th Anatomy
  • This week we wrapped up The Immune and Lymphatic Systems. We also went to Appalachian State to visit the nursing lab and connect concepts we learned in Anatomy. 

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Students have dived into understanding the themes and “order of operations” in the Pacific Theatre. This week we were able to consider the early campaigns for naval and air superiority and we traced how those battles gave America the upper hand and the ability to pursue offensive operations across the Pacific in route towards Tokyo.

Miss Oldham

12th Grade Literature
  • Students are continuing to traverse Orwell’s dystopian “future” of 1984 and are constantly drawing connections with today’s world. Their final in-class essay is on Friday 5/26. 
12th Grade Shakespeare Elective
  • Students finished their final play last week. This week we watched 9th Biology presentations and they took a field trip to App State. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Thesis defenses began this week! Six down, three to go! Please continue to be in prayer for the seniors who have not given their defenses yet. I know they’re nervous and are counting down the days until they’re completely finished.