BB 10-17-25

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE 14

Oct 17, 2025

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

  • Sweaters:  Remember, as has been announced for a few weeks, students are required to wear the sweater with their dress uniform in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.  There are still students who are missing them.  Please take care of this right away!
  • 2nd Quarter Required Supplies:  Leiden, it is your turn to bring in the required supplies.  Each Leiden student needs to bring the following items:  3 (individual) bottles of Softsoap, 3 boxes of tissues, 3 rolls of paper towels
  • Hot lunch:  Remember to order your HOT LUNCH by Sunday night for the following Thursday!  Our Seniors are raising funds for their class trip.
  • Mark your calendars!  Parents Days are coming up on November 6-7th.  This is an important opportunity for any parent or grandparent to sit in on Upper School classes.  You don’t have to have a kid in the class in order to sign up!  This is a great way for parents with younger students  to have a sneak peek at the exciting things coming their way.  A SignUp list will be coming soon!
  • SOCKTOBER:  Sock collections will take place through November 7th!  ($5 donations are also welcome.)  See the details in 10-10-25 Bradford Bulletin
  • HOUSE SOCIALS:  These are important events for building community, making new friends, and reconnecting with old ones.  Leiden’s house social is tonight with a large crowd planning to attend!  We hope all of the other house socials will be blessed with a great crowd, lots of fun and fellowship!  

 

LOWER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  The conferences on Wednesday of this week were mutually encouraging for parents and teachers.  We’re very grateful that so many of you took time out of your busy schedules to meet with our staff.  Though this is the only formal time during the year for parent/teacher conferences, our teachers are always willing to engage with you about questions, concerns, successes, and triumphs that involve the growth of these young hearts and minds.  We look forward to continuing our conversations at the upcoming house socials!
  • Just a few more volunteers needed for these upcoming events…

 

UPPER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • All Fall sports team seasons have concluded except for Varsity Boys and Girls Cross Country. If your season has concluded, follow the directions from coaches to attend team pictures, turn in team uniforms and make every effort to enjoy team parties together!
  • There is not currently a MS Boys Basketball coach. If a qualified volunteer is not found soon, we will have to cancel the upcoming MS Boys Basketball season.
  • Varsity basketball tryouts are set to start during the week of October 27-31.
  • The varsity girls will practice from 3-5pm on M/Tu/W/Th. Their practices on Monday and Wednesday will be at Eastside Baptist Church. Their practices on Tuesday and Thursday will be at the Old Rec.
  • The varsity boys will practice on M/Tu/W/F. Their practices on Tuesday will be from 3-5pm at the Old Rec. Their practices on Monday, Wednesday and Friday will be at Eastside Baptist Church and practices will end at 6pm. A study hall at school will be offered to players from 3-4:15pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.
  • MS Girls basketball tryouts are set to begin the following week on November 3rd. MS Girls will practice from 3-5pm on Mondays (at Eastside Baptist Church) and Thursdays (at the Old Rec).

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Tues, 10/21:  FIELD TRIP:  2nd grade to Mebane Train Display
  • Fri, 10/24:
    • XC – State Championships in Charlotte
    • 5:30 – Austerfield House Social
  • NEW TIME Sat, 10/25:  3:30 – Scrooby House Social

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Thurs, 10/30:  
    • Make-up Picture day and lower school House pictures!  (K – 4th grade students must wear their dress uniform.)
    • 11th Grade – College Info Night (for students and parents)
  • Fri, 10/31:  Greek Olympics at Lower School
  • Thurs, 11/6:  Upper School – Parents Day 
  • Fri, 11/7:  Upper School – Parents Day
  • Tues, 11/11:  Veterans Day – no school
  • Thurs, 11/13:  
    • Coffee and Conversation with Mr. Johnston
    • 3rd – 4th grades – Bradford Night Program, 6:30p
  • Fri, 11/14:  5th grade – Hobbit Day
  • Tues, 11/25:  Thanksgiving Feast Day and Activities
  • Wed, 11/26 – Fri, 11/28:  Thanksgiving Holiday (no school)
  • Mon, 12/1 – Applications open for the 26/27 school year!
  • Tues, 12/16:  5th / 6th grade Christmas Concert
  • Thurs, 12/18:
    • Alumni Panel (upper school)
    • NEW DATE  7th – 12th grade Christmas Concert
  • Fri, 12/19:  Last day of Q2, Christmas celebration.  NOON dismissal for all students

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Transitional Kindergarten  (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

We enjoyed the lovely fall weather this week in TK. One of our focuses this week was talking about ways we can care for God’s world. We took a walk on trails here at school and collected any trash we saw as a way to care for our school. Students also learned about recycling and played a recycling game in centers. We moved in the Bible to the story of Joseph. We focused on God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness to others. Students made a mosaic colorful paper coat to tie into the robe that Joseph was given by his dad. TK students were tasked with tearing paper to build muscle and then used that paper to make a mosaic. This month we are learning Psalm 119:105. In math this week students worked on acting out story problems using teddy bears, ordering numbers 1-5 and played the missing number game. It was so wonderful to be able to talk with many of you on Wednesday. Thank you for joining us for parent conference day. It is a joy to spend each day with your children!

Lower School Art (Mrs. Knight)

3rd
  • In art this week students were introduced to Jan Vermeer, the artist of the quarter and worked on their Greek soldier compositions.  Finally, we were able to get to colored pencils after some hard work sketching!
4th
  • Fourth graders were introduced to Jan Vermeer and worked diligently on their Viking ship sketches. 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th

  • Students did a great job working on “Non Nobis” this week. Second through fourth grade students are doing so much better staying confident when they separate into parts. Students also made progress memorizing the first verse of “Praise to the Lord”. Fourth grade students started learning the “Doxology” on their recorders. 

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th 

  • Students did not have P.E. this week due to parent/ teacher conferences. 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week:

Our kindergarten scholars had an exciting week here at school. They enjoyed having their pictures taken for picture day- there were lots of big smiles! In math, we learned how to count, write, and compare 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. We also learned how to read their number names. In phonics, we reviewed the cursive letters p, r, s, t, u, and w, and their respective phonograms. Many of the students now know how to write their name in cursive! In history, we discussed the biblical figure Moses, and how he helped set God’s people free from slavery in Egypt. In art, we learned how to draw a cat and a mouse. In science, we introduced our new unit on trees. The students had the opportunity to label the different parts of a tree and color them in. As fall is upon us, we are thankful for such beautiful weather and to see how the leaves are changing colors!

Memory Work:

Genesis 1:1 and review

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

This Week:

The first grade teachers enjoyed having an opportunity to spend some time with many parents during the parent teacher conferences. We appreciate your encouragement and partnership in the education of your children! In math this week the students learned about several different ways to solve a subtraction problems; including counting on, using a model, and using 0 in addition and subtraction. The students began their layers of the Earth packets. Ask them to share the layers of the Earth song with you. In art, the students learned about 6 different water color techniques and methods for blending watercolors. We read another funny Frog & Toad story this week in which the students learned that it is good to remain calm and not overreact when frustrated. Additionally, many students were able to read the speaking lines of various characters, which they loved. In history, we began our study of Pocohontas. On Tuesday we had the honor of learning about the American flag from 4 gentlemen associated with the military (veterans, or a son of veterans). They kindly volunteer to teach kids every year under the program, “Flags for First”. On Thursday, the students were excited to have their picture taken and I saw some great smiles!

Memory Work: 

Isaiah 40:8

Upcoming:      
  • Greek Olympics October 31st

2nd Grade (Miss Verroi & Mrs. Eng)

This Week: 

It was another busy week in 2nd grade.  In history we started our study of Abraham.  Our memory verse from Hebrews 11:8 to 10 fits perfectly with our history study of Abraham’s faith.  The students are doing well learning to find Hebrews and Genesis in their Bibles.  The students enjoyed the poem “If” by our poet of the quarter – Rudyard Kipling.  We look forward to reading more of his poetry and stories over the coming weeks.  A highlight of the week was our science class. We learned about God’s creation on Day Three.  Our young scientists are doing an experiment to see which seeds will grow.  They also made some beautiful leaf rubbings and learned a song with the parts of a plant.  I am sure you will hear them singing that over the next few months.  It was great to meet with many of you on Wednesday for the Parent Conferences.  We are delighted to be a part of God’s plan for your child’s life.  

Upcoming:
  • Field Trip October 21 – Mebane Train Display 
  • Middle East Project due 11/12/2025

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

This Week:

This week, we wrote about our two favorite animals. It is our hope that students enjoy the writing process! In math, we learned how to do repeated subtraction in division and about equal groups.  In grammar, we learned about subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns and understood pronouns. We finished the week learning about physics and one of our scientists of the quarter: Archimedes.  Archimedes was a famous Greek mathematician and brilliant inventor. Students will get a chance to build and operate one of his inventions at the end of this quarter!  Our studying and applying reminds us that we catch glimpses of God’s unchanging character, order, and logic in the world all around us! 

Upcoming Memory Work:

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10

Upcoming:
  • Greek God Project due 11/13/2025

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

This Week

This week, students explored the Carolingian Dynasty, discussing how Pepin’s decision granted the pope significant power over kings. In Science, we began our study of Earth sciences, focusing on the “Goldilocks Zone”—the perfect position of our planet in the solar system. This sparked meaningful reflection on God’s amazing care for His people, as we considered how vast the universe is, yet how intentionally He placed us in just the right environment to enjoy His creation. In Math, students continued working with multiplication properties and gained a glimpse of how these properties—particularly the Distributive Property—lay a foundation for future algebraic concepts. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting with parents on Wednesday and are so thankful to be partnering with you in your child’s learning. Have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming  Memory Work:

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

LOGIC SCHOOL

Mrs. Bennington

5th Band
  • Students did a great job this week on their test on “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Students are doing a great job mastering songs that incorporate their first three notes.  We will be starting on our fourth and fifth notes next week. Students will also start receiving  Christmas Concert next week. 
6th Band 
  • Students did a great job with exercises in Unit 2 this week. Students were able to successfully play exercises in two part harmony. Students will start receiving Christmas Concert Music next week. 
7th-8th Band
  • Students did a great job this week learning their Concert Ab scale and exercises based on this scale. Students are getting stronger at appropriately applying their key signatures to their music. Students also learned how to count rhythms in a different time signature. Students worked hard to learn how to count rhythms in “cut time” so that they could then apply that knowledge to their new Christmas Concert music.  

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Choir

All Choirs began reading concert music this week.

Miss Pugsley 

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • The girls continued to hone their soccer skills by practicing a drill that focused on proper spacing and field awareness. They worked on maintaining positioning to improve teamwork and game flow.

 

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Miss Johnston) 

This Week
  •  It’s been a lively week in 5th grade! In math, we’ve been mastering division by using visual models. In history, our journey across the Atlantic continued as we studied the Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth, imagining what it must have been like to step onto a brand-new world. In literature, we’re deep into The Hobbit, now in Chapter 14, and the excitement is building as Bilbo’s adventure nears its climax! Students have also received their Wax Museum figure assignments, and we can’t wait to see these historical heroes and heroines come to life early next quarter. We’ve already begun preparations for our much-anticipated Hobbit Day celebration on November 14th, which will be a day full of feasting and fun straight out of Middle-earth.
Memory Work:

Romans 12:20-21

Upcoming: 

Hobbit Day- November 14th

Mrs. Knight

5th Art
  • In art this week students continued to work on their sketch inspired by Vermeer’s use of linear perspective. Listening and following directions has led to some amazing sketches as we have to determine which lines point to the vanishing point. 

 

6th Grade (Mrs. McDorman and Miss Pugsley)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We began reading the first three chapters of Across Five Aprils, discussing the heavy burden on the president as the nation faces the possibility of civil war. Our conversation also explored how rightly ordering one’s affections shapes both actions and thoughts.
6th Grammar and Writing
  • We reviewed the parts of speech along with different sentence structures, types, and patterns to strengthen our understanding of grammar and clear communication.
6th Bible
  • We enjoyed reading through Matthew and reflecting on the ministry of Christ—seeing how His teaching, miracles, and compassion revealed the heart of God.
6th History
  • We continued our journey through U.S. history, traveling westward along the Oregon Trail and exploring the challenges and hopes of those seeking a new life on the frontier.
6th Science
  • Students learned about the Kingdom Monera, exploring its characteristics and types of organisms it includes. They recorded key information and definitions in their Cornell notes for review and reference.
6th Logic
  • Students learned about the logical fallacy ad hominem, which occurs when someone attacks the person making an argument instead of addressing the argument itself. They discussed examples and how this fallacy weakens reasoning and respectful dialogue.
6th Math
  • We covered the distributive property and practiced applying properties to evaluate algebraic expressions and write equivalent expressions with confidence and accuracy.

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math
  • Ms. Pugsley’s 6th grade completed a majority of Chapter 4 this week and will begin review and take the Chapter 4 test next week.  This chapter included the order of operations, algebraic expressions, and properties.

Mrs. Wright

6th Latin
  • This week the 6th grade Latin students translated the final section of chapter three and focused their efforts on understanding the use of the direct object with interrogative and relative pronouns.  At the end of the week they took a practice test in preparation for their test at the beginning of next week. 

Mrs. Palmer

6th Art
  • Students took a quiz this week on the artist of the quarter, Vermeer. We worked on colored pencil small studies in which students looked at a still life and worked to blend, color match and create realism. 

Dr. Wright

7th Omnibus
  • Students continue rehearsals for the Odyssey play.  We are reading through The Odyssey – students should expect to read two books (chapters) per week, and to have a vocabulary quiz and a content quiz each week.  We continue to memorize and practice declamation speeches, in preparation for in-class declamation November 13. 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • This week we started learning about the layers of the Earth, including the difference between the compositional and mechanical layers of the Earth.
  • Additionally, our soil project is well underway. Ask your student if they were surprised which of their five soils had their first bean sprouts.
7th Pre-Algebra
  •  The focus this week was on adding and subtracting fractions, including mixed numbers. We practiced a few different methods of subtracting mixed numbers, including borrowing and making the subtrahend whole. We discussed the wisdom used to discern when each method would make the most sense.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Johannes Vermeer is our artist of the quarter. Students took a quiz about this art this week. Ask your students what they now know about him! We also learned about and worked on imitating examples of Greek order architecture. 

Mrs. Wright

7th Latin
  • This week the 7th grade Latin students translated the final section of chapter three and focused their efforts on understanding the use of the direct object with interrogative and relative pronouns.  At the end of the week they took a practice test in preparation for their test at the beginning of next week.  
7th Logic
  •   This week the 7th grade Logic class learned about the Snob Appeal and spent a day in cumulative review.  

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus 
  • We are finishing our discussions of factors which led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.  Students are drafting their biographical research papers on historical figures from that time period.  Students have received their copy of St. Benedict’s Rule. We continue to memorize and practice declamation speeches, in preparation for in-class declamation November 13. 

Mrs. Wright

8th Latin
  • This week the 8th grade Latin students translated the final section of chapter three and focused their efforts on understanding the use of the direct object with interrogative and relative pronouns.  At the end of the week they took a practice test in preparation for their test at the beginning of next week. 

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • We reviewed the structure of the three phases of matter, in light of the kinetic theory of matter. Ask your student to explain how the kinetic theory of matter relates to the movement of particles within solids, liquids, and gases.
8th Algebra I
  • We faced a very challenging topic this week: solving two-variable equations for y. This is a brand new skill that initially doesn’t seem to make much sense to students who are new to algebra and are used to getting a simple answer as a “solution” for every problem. This skill doesn’t arrive at a solution, but simply rearranges the unknowns to solve for a particular variable, in this case the output (y). By the end of the week, everyone was feeling much better about this new and difficult skill.
  • We ended the week with a unit test.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • Students took a quiz this week on the artist of the quarter, Vermeer. We continued to work on our famous artwork magazine projects. This is a slow and tedious project but these are coming along. I am excited to see these come to completion and proudly displayed at upper campus.  

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We are learning how to define concepts or terms by various methods. Some things we can name or point to an example (e.g., “that’s a cow”). In other cases synonyms are helpful in giving definitions. Genus and difference is another way – bags are a genus, while backpacks or handbags give a difference among bags within the genus.

RHETORIC SCHOOL

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th:

Seniors
  • Seniors are completing early applications for various colleges.  If you have not already requested a teacher, boss or mentor to write and submit a recommendation, do so ASAP!  Complete Activity Sheets and share those with your recommenders to better equip them in the process.
  • Seniors should consider taking the SAT & ACT in the Fall and possibly in the Spring since colleges take “super scores”–the best of scores from each section over all of the test attempts.  Practice tests are available through Khan Academy, College Board (SAT) and ACT.
Juniors 
  • Senior Preview Night is fast approaching!  It is scheduled for October 30 from 5 PM-6 PM in Room 305.  This is an opportunity for 11th graders AND parents to hear about the college application process, the Junior/Senior Gala, the Senior Thesis and the Senior Trip.
  • Sign up for the ACT!​  In order for Bradford and you to receive the benefits of the NC Opportunity Scholarship 11th Graders need to take the ACT.  This is a test that we do not sponsor, so you will need to sign up for and take it on your own.  Visit act.org to register and view locations and dates.  Please select a date prior to the end of the school year — February or April are good opportunities;. Thank you!
Sophomores & Freshman
  • Continue filling out Activity Sheets with volunteer work, paid work, hobbies, lessons, clubs, sports, awards, etc.
  • Consider visiting at least 2 colleges during travels or free time–possibly on a weekend or during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Spring, or Summer Breaks.

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • This week we added a new verb to our ongoing list this week, the verb “estar.” We worked through these new verb conjugations and compared and contrasted this verb to the other verb “to be” in Spanish. Additionally, we added new vocabulary and reviewed past vocabulary. 

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students are beginning to dig into a couple of units which will focus on political developments across Europe and the new world between 1600-1800. This week we considered Europe’s general setting of absolute monarchy at the beginning of that era and how England would significantly develop parliamentary rule alongside a monarch in England. Students will take a quiz on that material on Tuesday before moving into the American Revolution.

Ms. Oldham

9th Rhetoric I
  • Students began their research assignment for this quarter. I did send an email regarding this assignment, please let me know if you did not receive it. 

Dr. Byrd 

9th Bible Survey 
  • We have finished the book of Ruth. Now we are studying the book of I Samuel. We will learn the call of Samuel,  the subjectivity of King Saul, the faith of David, and most of all, the providence of God.
  • Memory verse for October 22: I Samuel 12:23

Mrs. Frueh

9th Biology
  • We started studying Module 3 this week: Kingdom Protista. This kingdom of mostly single-celled protozoans and algae is one that is unfamiliar to many students who may not realize the stunning diversity of microscopic organisms that can be found in water, soil, and even inside their own bodies. While the vast majority of protists are harmless, and in fact many are beneficial to humans, there are a few protists that are dangerous to humans. Ask your budding biologist to describe how Kingdom Protista is organized.

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • We used our proof writing skills this week to prove two more theorems for our resource journals: The Triangle Sum Theorem and the Triangle Exterior Angle Theorem. We also reviewed how to construct lines on the coordinate plane using slope-intercept form (y = mx + b).

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • Students were given due dates of assignments for this new quarter.  This quarter flies with holidays and surrounding events!  The class will read Frankenstein and Pride and Prejudice and possibly Little Women.  They will also visit the Mebane Library to give an opportunity to do research in preparation for a presentation on a selected author from the Modern Literature time period.

Mrs. Fairchild 

9th – 11th Art Foundations
  • This week held further discussions from the book Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcy. The students wrestled with the problem of the fact value dichotomy and how the world wants to split truth into two categories. Values typically refers to a view that a person believes is private, subjective and relative like morals, theology and aesthetics.  Facts refer to public, objective and universal like scientific facts that can be empirically tested and universally valid. This is crucial for them to understand when it comes to discussing standards for beauty and art.

Mrs. Bennington

9th-11th Band 
  •  Students did a great job this week learning their Concert Ab scale and exercises based on this scale. Students are getting stronger at appropriately applying their key signatures to their music. Students also learned how to count rhythms in a different time signature. Students worked hard to learn how to count rhythms in “cut time” so that they could then apply that knowledge to their new Christmas Concert music.  

Mrs. Johnston

9th-11th Chorus 

Chorale continued writing out their individual parts for Star Wars. We also began reading through concert music.

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • We began a series of lessons on the periodic table, including how it came to be organized in its present form and how students can derive information such as reactivity, atomic radii, and electonegativity from looking at it. 
  • Next week we will discuss properties that are common to elements according to their group.

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Preterite and imperfect tenses were what we worked through this past week. We compared and contrasted these tenses as well as continued to add new verbs within these tenses. Students took a vocabulary quiz and we continued to review past vocabulary. 

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • This week we’ve been learning about absolute value functions, inequalities, and piecewise functions.

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • 10th graders were given due dates of assignments for this new quarter.  This quarter flies with holidays and surrounding events!  The class will conclude reading the Iliad and give presentations on the work.  Also, they will visit the Mebane Library to do research on authors of mythology for a research paper.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric II
  •  Students received their first speech assignment, due on October 30th. We also looked at a few speeches to analyze their arguments. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students considered the topics of God’s sovereignty, fate, personal responsibility, shocking evil, and a smidge of diplomacy in our reading and discussion on how Cyrus the great rose to the throne of Persia. We’ve briefly studied some highlights from Persia in order to connect or study of ancient Israel to our upcoming work on Ancient Greece.

Dr. Smith

10th Historical Theology 
  • We have been reviewing our first quarter material this week.
11th Precalculus
  • We’ve been working on various techniques to find the real zeros of polynomial functions.  We also started to consider locating imaginary zeros.  While the term is misleading, we learned that imaginary zeros actually exist in a third dimension coming up out of the traditional cartesian (2D) plane.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  •  Students began Purgatorio, Dante’s second journey in his Divine Comedy. This is one of my favorites! 

Mr. Webster

11th History
  •  This week we picked up in the 8th century with Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire. The students took a quiz on Charlemagne on Friday. 

Dr. Smith

11th-12th Apologetics
  • We have been reviewing our first quarter material this week. 

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Having overviewed our constitution and the compromises needed to secure it, we are studying the early challenges and applications of its use in the work of our first seven presidents.

Ms. Oldham

12th Literature
  •   Students took a test over The Red Badge of Courage and will begin Hamlet on Monday. 
12th Rhetoric III
  •  First drafts have been turned in and returned to the students. We talked one-on-one about their papers and the comments I left them. I am excited about these theses! The students have chosen some interesting topics. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • We concluded out unit on basic differentiation this week.  Next, we will learn how to differentiate more complex functions – inverse functions, composite functions, inverse trig functions, and higher order derivatives.