BB 08-23-24

 BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 8

Aug 23, 2024

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

  • FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  Having a common language enables students to respond to a variety of scenarios in a consistent manner.  We invite you to mimic some of the vocabulary we use at school.  Two important questions that we ask are:  Do you want to live in a place where there’s lots of love?  Students can reference 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a for practical ways to do this.  A corollary question is:  Do you want to live in a place where there’s lots of wisdom?  The Proverbs offer a rich resource for comparing those who are wise with those who are foolish.  We focused as a school on Proverbs 2:1-15 on Friday during Forum.

 

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  •  Tues, 8/27: HOME varsity games vs Crossroads Christian
    • Varsity boys soccer (MACC grass fields at 3:30)
    • Varsity girls volleyball (MACC gym at 3:30)
  • Fri, 8/30: AWAY varsity games @ Cresset Christian
    • Varsity boys soccer (4:30)
    • Varsity girls volleyball (5:15)

 

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Mon, 9/2:  Labor day, NO SCHOOL
  • Thurs, 9/12:  8:00am – TK Scarf Ceremony:  TK students will find out which house they are in!  Parents welcome!
  • Thurs , 9/19:  SCHOOL PICTURES:  Lower school
  • Fri, 9/20:  SCHOOL PICTURES:  Upper school
  • Fri, 9/27:  END of 1st QUARTER
  • Mon, 9/30 – Fri, 10/4:  FALL BREAK

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

This Week
  • TK had a fantastic second week of school! We spent much of our time outside thanks to the beautiful weather we were blessed with this week. A highlight of the week was going on a treasure hunt. We looked for the “X” to mark the spot and the treasure we found was God’s Word, the Bible. We look forward to diving into God’s Word next week with the Creation story. Students continued memorizing Ecc. 9:10. In math, we continue learning number jingles and skywriting for numbers 5-8. Students also were able to create a graph to find out how many boys and girls are in each class and practiced counting from 1-5 using teddy bears, pattern blocks, and linking cubes. We read several books this week to practice our listening skills and continued learning what it means to be a good student in the classroom. We are looking forward to another great week next week!

 

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 4th

  • Students did a great job in PE this week listening to instructions and following directions. Students got a chance to compete in several relay races and to complete several soccer drills. I was very impressed with how kind students were to one another!

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-3rd
  • Students did a great job in music this week demonstrating that they can follow music room rules and procedures. Students worked on “Non Nobis” and “Trust and Obey”. Students also worked on the first verse of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”

4th 

  • Students did a great job in music this week demonstrating that they can follow music room rules and procedures. Students worked on “Non Nobis” and “Trust and Obey”. Students also worked on the first verse of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”

Lower School Art (Mrs. Fairchild)

3rd and 4th Art 
  • We continued studying Michelangelo’s life and art. The students have discovered what happened to his nose, but they have not yet learned the significance of it later in his life. Be sure to ask your student what happened to  Michelangelo’s nose to make it flat.

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week:
  • Our kindergarten scholars have had yet another great week here at Bradford! In math, we learned how to write the numbers 1-5, how to count from 1-25, how to make towers for the numbers 1-9, and how to place an object on a graph. In phonics, we practiced the sounds of the single-letter phonograms: a, c, d, o, g, and qu, and we started to learn the beginning cursive-letter strokes. In history, we continued our discussion on creation and introduced our B.C. history fact song, the continent song, and the ocean song. The students also finished working on their ‘seven days of creation’ wheels. In science, we sang the days of creation song, and we discussed the properties of light through a prism. 
Memory Work: 
  • Proverbs 1:7

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

This Week: 
  • We’ve enjoyed our forum time where the kids are memorizing (or reviewing) The Pledge of Allegiance, Quote from The Declaration of Independence, and the preambles to both the US and NC constitution. We are also studying the Bible and books of the Bible as well as the creation story. In math the students are identifying the attributes of pattern blocks,telling time, solving word problems, counting by 10s, and practicing their double facts. The students are working hard to write with beautiful cursive handwriting. We drew a lion in art this week. Be sure to display your child’s artwork and ask them to explain their artistic thought process for how they embellished their drawing. In science we are studying creation and drawing a representation of what God created on days 1 – 3. Next week we will continue with days 4 – 6. We studied The Liberty Bell in history and have started our book about Leif The Lucky. We continue to learn about nouns related to people and common nouns verses proper nouns.
Memory Work:   
  • Proverbs 12:15

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

This Week: 
  • The emphasis in second grade this week has been on listening and following instructions and focusing on the task at hand.  Both skills will enable the students to excel in future assignments.  Small details like a capital letter and end mark on a sentence seem small, but they are important.  In math we have been reviewing telling time to the half hour.  In Latin we learned to ask our classmates their name and tell them our name.  Be sure to listen to the CD at home to help the students become familiar with Latin words.  The students enjoyed learning about life on the prairie with Noah in our second book, Prairie School by Avi.  It is hard for the students to imagine a home like Noah’s that had no books.  How thankful we are for the access we have to books.  We added the next verse to our history song – The Fall in the Garden.  The students are such eager learners and having them in our classes is such a delight.
Memory Work: 
  • Review Proverbs 1:7 and I Corinthians 13:4-8a

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

This Week
  • Third-grade dove into the world of the Greeks and the Trojans. After reading the first three chapters of The Trojan Horse, students began forming opinions on what really caused the Greeks to go to war. Was it because the Trojans took Helen, their beloved queen, or was it because they were tired of paying tolls to cross the Aegean Sea? They also wanted to know why the Trojans  would be foolish enough to accept the strange parting gift of a  large wooden horse from their enemies, especially after being at war for so long!  In math, we learned about rounding to the nearest ten and hundred. We tested the best strategies for determining all the possible combinations for a given set of numbers, and looked for patterns as we worked. Using a KWO, students retold a piece of expository writing in their own words using only their KWO’s. Curious to know what a KWO is? Just ask! Each day your students dig deeper into God’s words, such as 1 Corinthians 10:31, and discover just how orderly this magnificent world in which we live really is. Rest up, we have a wonderful year ahead!
Upcoming Memory Work:
  • Proverbs 25:28

 

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

This Week
  • This week 4th grade covered nearly 600 years of barbarian invasions.  The Roman Empire had grown too large and eventually fell to the Visigoth’s.  In Grammar, students continued to crack the code of the English language.  We reviewed the eight parts of speech, and the four sentence types.  Students are gaining confidence in math as we finished out chapter one on place values.  Lastly, we studied the parts of a seed, discovered that seeds can stay dormant for over 3,000 years, and recorded our findings in our botany books.  Another full week of growing in the knowledge of God’s creation.

LOGIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Bennington

5th Band
  •  Students did a great job this week learning/practicing the rules and procedures for Band. Students were able to make mouthpiece sounds this week and even learned how to put their instruments together to play their first note. Students did a great job plating various rhythm lines with their mouthpieces. 
6th-8th Band
  • Students did a great job this week reviewing/practicing the rules and procedures for Band. Students completed a “Back To School Playing Boot Camp” to get them back on track with their playing post summer break! We also spent time getting students caught up that switched instruments over the summer. 
9th – 10th Band
  • Students did a great job this week reviewing/practicing the rules and procedures for Band. Students completed a “Back To School Playing Boot Camp” to get them back on track with their playing post summer break! Students also started working on their two octave Concert F scale. 

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Chorus
  • 5th Chorus – We continued to solidify our understanding of the grand staff and the names of the notes. We sang through the different parts and harmonies of Doxology and then practiced writing our own songs. The challenge for this weekend is to see if you can make up a song to go along with this week’s memory verse!
  • 6th-8th Chorus – We continued to practice using solfeggio in learning songs. We also worked on tuning, hearing our notes in relation to others, and singing our parts independent of the other parts. We began learning the hymn God, My King, Thy Might Confessing. Singing tests begin next week.

Miss Stevenson and Mrs. Bennington

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • 5th/6th – The girls  did a great job running the mile this week. We completed a base-line assessment for how many push-ups and sit-ups each girl could do in a minute. I was very impressed with how hard each girl worked this week. We ended our time together this week with a round of Flag Tag. 
  • 7th/8th girls – On Monday we played ultimate frisbee, and on Wednesday we reviewed running form and then ran a timed mile. Every single girl improved her time from last week!

 

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Mrs. Kromhout) 

This Week
  •  The students are doing a fantastic job getting into all the rhythms of the school year! Our small hero Bilbo and his fellow dwarf travelers nearly got sat upon and squished into jelly by trolls, but the combination of the trolls’ foolishness and Gandalf’s wittiness saved the day. Ask your students what advice they might give to the trolls! In writing, the students have made their second KWO and will write a paragraph about the Spanish Explorers next week. In math, we reviewed the concepts we have learned this far, students took their first test, and we began working with decimals. We completed chapter 1 of Latin by focusing on reviewing grammar this week; we will usually do a chapter of Latin each week, but some weeks like this one we will stretch out to two weeks if there is something especially important to review! I think we have a solid Latin grammar base now upon which we can build throughout the year. In history, the students learned about Columbus’ daring decision to sail the opposite direction across the globe in hopes of finding the riches of the east. Students also received their wax museum characters! 
Memory Work:
  • Next week’s verse: Romans 12:3-5

Mrs. Palmer

5th Art
  • We have continued to learn about and review facts about Michelangelo, our artist of the quarter.  Students were able to imitate Michelangelo and his painting approach in the Sistine Chapel.  We also began our first charcoal project this week. 

6th Grade (Miss Stevenson)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We are continuing to work our way through Sign of the Beaver.
6th Grammar and Writing
  • For Grammar and Writing this week I introduced MLA formatting regarding how to set up a Google doc/Microsoft Word document. The rough draft of the Narrative Essay was due on Friday. The final draft is due Friday, August 30.
6th Bible
  • We are continuing to work through Matthew.
6th History
  • This week we took a look at the Jacksonian Democracy.
6th Science
  • We are working on notes about the scientific method. This week we discussed the four variables when running a scientific experiment.
6th Logic
  • This week we spent time learning about the red herring fallacy.
6th Latin
  • Students took a quiz on Latin vowels and reviewed to prepare for a quiz on Latin consonants next week.

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math
  • 6th Graders concluded chapter one!  They reviewed and took their first test.  To celebrate, after discussing any issues with the test, we enjoyed a few minutes of playing GIANT checkers and chess outside.

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • Students continued to review what we have learned about Michelangelo, our artist of the quarter.   We also began our first project:  a charcoal shoe drawing.

Dr. Wright

7th Grammar and Writing 
  • Students have submitted first drafts of their Gilgamesh compare-contrast essays and received my written feedback.  The final draft of those essays is now due Friday August 30th.  In-class worksheets on parallelism and the correct use of “they’re/their/there” have complemented basic review of essay form.
7th Omnibus
  • Literature and Bible/Theology:  We discussed the good themes in Gilgamesh (friendship, mortality), and noted how God’s common grace means we can find limited, enduring goodness in every culture.  Copies of The Code of Hammurabi have been passed out and students have some short reflection questions due Wednesday August 28th.  We have also discussed suzerain-vassal treaty format at length, and students will have a quiz on that format Wednesday the 28th.  Ask your student!
7th Logic
  • Students have received their logic workbooks and we have been working in class on introductory lessons on informal logic.  Generally speaking we will not have homework in this subject.  

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • This week’s classes included a thorough review of the scientific method, including how to distinguish between an independent and dependent variable, as well as the difference between an experimental group and a control group. We put our knowledge to the test by analyzing the experiments carried out by Dr. Christiaan Eijkman in the Dutch East Indies. These experiments earned him the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1929 for the discovery of the true cause of beriberi, a nerve disorder that affected many people in southeast Asia in the late 19th century. Ask your student if they can describe the results of Dr. Eijkman’s experiments and how it has influenced the food industry today.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week was all about reviewing concepts learned in previous years of math class, including place value, factors, divisibility, and geometric definitions.  We also practiced solving for the unknown in various types of problems, including both whole number problems and decimal problems. The students learned that the commutative properties of addition and multiplication make it much easier to solve for the unknown in these types of problems than it is in subtraction or division problems.  We wrapped up the week with our first cumulative test.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Students continued to review what we have learned about our artist of the quarter, Michelangelo.  We also begin our first project which focuses on the use of line.  Students will be creating their own original comic strips. 

Miss Johnston

7th Latin
  • The students finished chapter 2 and I gave them time to review the chapter on their own and as a class. We played some fun (and helpful) review games and mastered our vocab and present tense endings! We had our chapter 2 test and all of the students did a great job! 

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus 
  • History:  Our first history test was Tuesday, and students should have scores by early next week.  We continue to focus on the fourth century Council of Nicaea.  Our martyrdom of Polycarp reenactment last week was a smashing success, and future performances may occur if the teacher is appropriately bribed. 
  • Literature:  This week we have focused on the Nicene Creed’s form and content.  Students returned Eusebius books and received their own copies (to keep) of Athanasius the Great’s On the Incarnation.  
  • Composition:  In-class worksheets on parallelism and the correct use of “they’re/their/there” have complemented basic review of essay form.  The history test on Tuesday included two short essays. 

Miss Johnston

8th Latin
  • The 8th graders worked hard on review! We did some translations and reviewed charts and grammar rules,  particularly Direct Object, Indirect Object, present, future and imperfect endings and chapter vocab. 

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • We had a lot of fun this week investigating the difference between the physical and chemical properties of matter. The students performed an electrolysis experiment that demonstrated the role that moving electrons has in separating the hydrogen and oxygen atoms of a water molecule. Ask your student what they learned from the experiment. You could also see if they could explain the connection between our experiment and the color of the Statue of LIberty!
8th Algebra I
  • We wrapped up our first unit on linear functions with a unit test. The students are becoming fluent in the language of algebra and they’re learning how to recognize functions both by their domain and range, as well as by their graph. We ended the week with a lesson on the Domain of Real Numbers. The students are becoming well-practiced at identifying the various subsets of numbers within the Domain of Real Numbers. Ask your student if they can explain to you the difference between a rational and an irrational number.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • Students continued to review what we have learned about our artist of the quarter, Michelangelo.  We also began our first project – an up close look at the face of Michelangelo’s David that will be completed in a monochromatic color scheme. 

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We are working on a glossary of all logic terms and concepts for 6th-9th grade logic courses.

RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th: 

  • For any students interested in NC State (9th-12th!): NC State hosts an open house each year offering the opportunity to meet with specific academic departments and over 100 sessions about various topics! This event requires pre-registration and fills up – register asap if you are interested! 
    • This would be excellent for 9th-10th graders interested in starting to see what college is like and get an idea of what colleges are out there
    • The open house is also excellent for 11th-12th graders wanting to get a closer look at NC State – this is a rare opportunity to get to meet with academic departments
  • NC State Open House: Saturday, October 19th, 9am-2pm  REGISTER HERE 

Seniors: 

Upcoming for seniors:

Thursday, August 29, 5-6 pm: Senior College Info Night

  •  Seniors and their parents are invited to learn more about the nitty gritty of the pieces of college applications, how to use Common App, important dates and deadlines for financial aid applications, and more. 

Thursday, September 5, 1:30-2:45pm and Friday, September 13, 12:30-1:45pm: Interviewing and Resumes with Dr. Meredith

  • Seniors will meet with Dr. Meredith to learn how to write a resume and how to interview effectively. Dr. Meredith is also willing to meet with seniors individually to help them edit and revise their own resumes. 

Individual meetings: I have begun meeting with seniors individually to help them with college applications; we will meet at least once a month over the next few months, and more often as needed. Parents, if you have questions or would like to meet, also feel free to reach out!

 Mrs. Palmer 
9th Spanish 
  • Students took their first vocabulary quiz this week. We also focused on learning higher numbers in Spanish as well as learned Spanish pronouns, noun and article agreement and the verb “ser.”  

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • We are close to wrapping up our first unit this week with a few lessons on measuring, adding, and classifying angles. We also learned about the importance of not making assumptions about geometric drawings, but instead looking for specific markings of angle size and congruency. We will take our first unit test next week.

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • We completed our first unit covering early European adventurers, technological advancements and conquests. Students are reviewing for their first test and also preparing for a fun water balloon battle reenactment.

Mr. Crotts

9th Logic
  • We are working on a glossary of all logic terms and concepts for 6th-9th grade logic courses.

Dr. and Mrs. James

9th Biology
  • The Catch a Herptile Project is well underway.  Six animals have been presented, and I have been impressed with how well the students have done. 
  • We began a discussion of arthropods this week and should conclude it next week.

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • This week 9th Graders learned more about the political atmosphere that led to John Bunyan’s arrest and imprisonment.  This class is creative and dramatic–they reenacted several of the important scenes of Pilgrim’s Progress on Thursday.  Students were assigned a plot map that will be due Wednesday.  They were also informed about the author research paper due on December 6 (author selection, Sept. 13, rough draft, Nov. 22).

Dr. Byrd 

9th Bible 
  • We finished the book of Genesis learning about God’s creation, the fall, Abraham and the other Patriarchs. We learned how God makes a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). 
  • We will be setting a date for our first test.
  • Students are also keeping a spiritual journal for prayer requests and reflections. 
  • Scripture Memory: Exodus 34:6

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week we reviewed their first test and began a section on measurement.  The students learned about sources for experimental error and learned how to identify whether it was instrument or human error. 
  • Next week we will finish our section on measurement, and the students will have their second test of Q2. 

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Students took their first vocabulary quiz this week.  We have been focusing on several review concepts from past Spanish lessons such as vocabulary and regular and stem changing verbs.  We also introduced the imperfect tense this past week. 

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • We finished our first unit – a review of algebra basics and took our first test.  Next we will begin a unit on linear functions.

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • This week we concluded Aesop’s Fables and jumped into the world of Proverbs.  They were assigned an essay to compare and contrast these works and share which method of wisdom literature is more powerful.  We will also begin working on a creative writing project and discuss a specific type of poetry.  Also, they were informed about the author research paper due on December 6 (select author by 9/13, rough draft due by 11/22).

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric I
  •  We have begun to learn the first canon of Rhetoric and the students got their first written speeches. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students  began our first major unit on ancient Israel, particularly focusing on the patriarchs and Moses. We’ll consider the plagues of Egypt, their significance and historicity before learning about the archaeological evidence for the historicity of Joshua.
10th PE
  • Students completed a second week of ultimate frisbee competition. They are growing in skill, gameplay and team building.

Dr. Smith

10th Historical Theology
  • Students began reading on the importance of the doctrine of creation for not only a right understanding of Christian theology, but also a right understanding of what constitutes a Christian view of history and the writing of history. In addition, they began reading about the importance of distinguishing between knowing and being. In particular, they learned of the importance of being preceding knowing, and that because God is the creator who creates our being, then all our knowing is dependent on God.  The implications of these truths will continue to be explored through the rest of the year.

Mrs. Palmer

11th Spanish III
  • Students took their first vocabulary quiz this week.  We reviewed definite and indefinite articles this week as well as practiced responding to Spanish questions in full sentences.  

Mrs. Byrd

11th Precalculus
  • We spent the week studying different representations of functions, function notation, identifying domain and range of functions, and locating critical points on functions.  Next week we will learn how to transform graphs of equations of functions as well as combine and compose functions.
11th Physics
  • We’re wrapping up our first unit on the basics of one dimensional motion.  After our first test next week, we will start looking at vertical one dimensional motion and consider how objects behave in free fall.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  • Students wrapped up City of God with an in class essay. Next up, Dante’s Divine Comedy. 

Dr. Smith

11th NT Greek
  • Students continued learning vocabulary and some of the basic rules of Greek grammar. They were introduced to noun cases that help guide the student in understanding the structure of Greek sentences and guide their translations. 

Mr. Webster

11th-12th Systematic Theology
  • This week we covered the introduction to systematic theology and chapter 2 of Grudem, which covers the nature of the word of God. 
11th History
  • This week I introduced Medieval history and gave some of the background history of where we will be picking up, which is about 310 AD. The students also took their first quiz on the nature of church history. 

Mrs. Fairchild

12th Art Portfolio
  • We have started our drawing and the students are learning that they will have  to work as a team to make this project a success. They are looking forward to bringing out the details in their drawing of some of their favorite Mebane shops.

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Seniors are completing their first unit in modern history, particularly focusing on understanding European motivations,  justifications and battles. Seniors will join the freshman class on Monday to reenact one of the most famous battles of Spanish conquest.

Miss Oldham

12th Literature
  • We continued to work through Milton’s Paradise Lost. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Seniors are nailing down topics and mentors. Please be in prayer for them as they begin this process. It is long and arduous, but the Lord will sustain them! 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • Topics for this week included using various algebraic methods to determine the value of limits as well as identifying different types of discontinuities and determining how they affect limits.