BB 12-12-25

 BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE 21

Dec 12, 2025

 

FROM THE OFFICE

IMPORTANT NOTES:  

  • HOT LUNCH:  You can continue supporting the Seniors’ fundraising efforts for their trip to  Rome by ordering hot lunches!  Order HOT LUNCH by Sunday night for the following Thursday!  
  • Bradford Archer Store:  Need ideas for Christmas?  Get Archer gear!  Bradford Archer Store  
  • Archer Spirit Day:  Bradford students can show their Archer spirit by wearing house shirts or new Archer gear to school instead of their uniform.  We have set aside a day in January…be sure to listen to Monday’s Zipcast to find out the date!  

LOWER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • FROM MRS. MITCHELL:  Classical and Christian, part 2:  the dialectic or logic stage.   A quick Google search gives a reasonable definition of this stage of learning:  “Dialectic is a method of argument, discussion, or reasoning that involves examining opposing ideas to find a higher truth.”  Though these skills can begin in the late grammar stage, they peak in the “tween” years.  If students are hanging on to a belief in Santa Claus, they may want to examine texts that give a historical background for this seemingly mythical character.  They may ask probing questions about whether Jesus was just a mythical character or how they can know that the scriptures are reliable.  An important training tool at this stage is to learn to ask questions respectfully.  Parents can appreciate that questioning family beliefs is not necessarily defiance but the process needed to examine a truth more deeply in order to make it your own.  Build in family time that moves beyond story telling to asking questions of the text that lead to further exploration together.  Build a library of reliable resources online and/or ask your pastor for recommendations.
  • Lower School Christmas Party SignUpGenius – Thank you to those who signed up in the past week.  We only need 6 more contributions.

 

UPPER SCHOOL IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • FROM DR. SMITH: Our students did an outstanding job with their declamation assignments last month. Their hard work and God-given abilities were abundantly on display, and we thank God for both. I know you will not want to miss the Christmas concerts Tue. the 16th with the 5th and 6th graders (7-8:30 at First Baptist Mebane) and Thurs. the 18th with the 7th-12th graders (7-8:30 at Mebane Presbyterian Church). Please note the different sites! Mrs. Bennington and Mrs. Johnston have been working diligently with the students all semester, so be sure and come out celebrating Christmas and enjoying the fruits of all of their labors. 
  • Eighth grade parents, be on the lookout for an opportunity to sign-up for the Eight Grade Interviews coming in January. 

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Tues, 12/16:  7:00 pm –  5th / 6th grade Christmas Concert at Upper School Campus (First Baptist)
  • Wed, 12/17:  8:00 TK Nativity Play, coffee and donuts reception for parents
  • Thurs, 12/18:
    • 1:45 – Alumni Panel (upper school)
    • 7:00 pm – 7th – 12th grade Christmas Concert at Mebane Presbyterian Church
  • Fri, 12/19:  Last day of Q2, Christmas celebration.  NOON dismissal for all students

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Week of 1/5:  Intensive Short Term (IST) week for 9th – 12th grades
  • Thurs, 1/8:  Coffee and Conversation
  • Fri, 1/9:  Basketball Games vs GCA at 3539 Alamance Road, Burlington
  • Mon, 1/19:  MLK day – no school
  • Fri, 1/23:  Spelling Bee 4th – 8th
  • Week of 2/2:  Senior Thesis Pre-panels
  • Wed, 2/4:  CLT10 for 9th – 10th grades
  • Thurs, 2/5: Coffee and Conversation
  • Fri, 2/13:  Teacher workday – no school
  • Sun, 2/15:  Opt-out deadline
  • Mon, 2/16:  Presidents Day – no school
  • Thurs, 2/19:  CLT for 12th, 7pm 5th – 6th Patriotic Program
  • Thurs 2/26:  Upper School Career Day
  • Thurs, 3/5:  Coffee and Conversation
  • Mon 3/9 – Thurs 3/19:  SENIOR TRIP TO ROME
  • Wed 3/11:  Soccer Tournament lower school
  • Fri, 3/13:  Last day of Q3.  Report cards
  • Week of 3/16:  SPRING BREAK

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten  (Mrs. Grubb and Mrs. Weber)

TK students enjoyed decorating Christmas themed rice krispy treats this week.The highlight was definitely being able to enjoy them on Thursday! We also continued working on the TK nativity program for next week. The students are eager to show what we have been practicing next Wednesday, December 18th. We did not have any new math lessons this week in order to have extra rehearsal time, but we used our center time this week to review math concepts. We will introduce new concepts when we return from Christmas break. Our letters of the week this week were G and Q. At this point, we have learned: L, E, F, H, T, I, U, C, O, G, and Q. See if your child can identify each! We will finish our letters of the week during the 3rd quarter. Students also worked on a nativity book which came home yesterday. See if your child can tell you the story! A few of our centers included: a Christmas journal entry, ordering numbers 0-10 and playing the missing number game, playing Bingo, and identifying beginning sounds. Our focus in the Bible this week was the shepherds. The shepherds were the first people to find out Jesus had been born. Next week we will focus on the Wise Men in the story of Jesus’s birth. 

 

Lower School Art (Mrs. Knight)

3rd & 4th
  • Students worked diligently on the Christmas surprise as we seek to finish these up before break. We continued to learn about Vermeer and studied several of his famous paintings including The Milkmaid. We learned a bit about his use of ultramarine blue, a pigment that came from “beyond the sea.” This pigment is made from crushed lapis lazuli from the mountains of Afghanistan and at times cost more than gold! 

Lower School P.E.  (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th
  • Kindergarten, first, and  third grade students did a great job in  indoor P.E. this week playing  Christmas Bingo. Second and fourth grade students did a great job  playing Dodgeball and Trivia games. . 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-4th
  • Students did a great job singing both verses of “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. Please ask your student to sing this beautiful hymn for you at home. 

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera and Miss Burdeshaw)

This Week:

Our kindergarten scholars had a wonderful week! In math, we learned how to problem solve to find a pattern. We also reviewed how to identify a pattern and the different shapes we’ve learned so far. In phonics, we started our new reader, “To the Rim of the Map,” and introduced  the phonograms: ee, er, oo, and or. In history, we discussed a man named Julius Caesar, who was a general during the Roman Empire. In art and science, we continued our unit on measurement by working on our Mr. Gallon Man project. The students have enjoyed learning about what makes up a gallon. We can’t believe that Christmas break is almost upon us! Praise God for his faithfulness in bringing us thus far!

Memory Work:

1 Corinthians 14:40 and review

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

This Week: 
  • We started the exciting world of place value this week. The students think the thousand cube is really cool. They  like working with the ten rods and 10 frames . The students reached sentence writing rule number 11 this week and were able to test their knowledge of finding nouns in sentences. The students enjoy looking up our weekly Bible verse in the Bible and learned that Psalms is right near the middle of the Bible next to Proverbs. Help your child look the Bible verses up at home in your family Bible. We are talking about the coming of Jesus every chance we get.  In science we learned about the Tufted Titmouse. It is the rockstar bird with a mohawk and the favorite of some of the students. We colored pictures of the Titmouse in art. We continued our reading of Lexi’s Hope. The students are learning about Squanto who was a great friend to the pilgrims. What an amazing, and at times, very sad life he had! Through our spelling program, the students have now learned over 200 of the most common words!
Memory Work:  
  • Psalm 1:1-6
Upcoming:      
  • Christmas Break: Friday December 19  ½ day. Return Monday, January 5th.

2nd Grade (Miss Verroi & Mrs. Eng)

This Week: 

We continue with our normal weekly subjects, but we are also spending time focusing on the birth of Christ. Latin has been extra exciting as we are learning Christmas words and have learned to sing Joy to the World in Latin!  We concluded our reading of Sarah, Plain and Tall and will watch the movie next week.  The students have now learned 640 words in our spelling program (they started in first grade).  These words and their derivatives include more than 70% of all the words we read and write!  We hope you enjoy their two-point paragraph about two special Christmas traditions.   As teachers we enjoy seeing the student’s excitement at celebrating the Birth of Christ – truly our best present of all is Jesus.  

Upcoming:      
  • Winter Reading Adventure.  Our goal is for the students to read 1,000 pages during winter.  

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

This Week   

In history, we learned about the Classical Period, and its roots in ancient Greece, as well as its continuing influence on modern society. Much of the early politics, art, philosophy, literature, and theater derives from this “Golden Age” in Athens. Pericles, the most famous politician at that time, helped Athens to become the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. Athen’s growing influence caused the Spartans to feel threatened. Thus, leading to the Peloponnesian War, which lasted for 30 years. Athens was eventually conquered by Sparta. Students had the opportunity to compare the ancient Greek city-states of Athens of Sparta, and discovered they were vastly different. In science, we continued learning about Archimedes. In math, we finished up the chapter about division, and in Latin we reviewed with some games! 

Upcoming Memory Work:

Review Quarter 2 Verses

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

This week, our 4th-grade class explored the architectural beauty and historical significance of several iconic European cathedrals and compared the differences between the Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. In math, we continued honing our division skills by tackling real-world word problems, deepening our understanding of how division functions in various contexts. In language arts, we defined and practiced replacing antecedents with their proper pronouns. We had rich discussions of literature– finishing Rolf and the Viking Bow– and in forum exploring the meaning of receiving and preparing for Christ during advent season. Your students continue to amaze us with their insights into these deep topics; it is where we see their maturity and spiritual growth most clearly. We absorbed a wealth of new knowledge this week and are eager to finish the second quarter on a strong note.

 

LOGIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Bennington

5th-6th Band
  • Fifth grade students worked hard this week on their concert music. A lot of progress is being made and we are looking forward to showing all of their hard work at our Christmas Concert this Tuesday, December 16th. Please encourage your students to continue practicing their music at home. 
  • Sixth grade students did a great job this week with their concert music. This is an exciting group to work with. A lot of progress is being made and we are looking forward to showing all of their hard work at our Christmas Concert this Tuesday, December 16th. Please  continue to encourage your child to practice at home. 
7th-8th Band
  • Seventh and eighth grade students did a great job working on the pieces, “Canon for Christmas”, “Sleigh Ride”,  and “Beyond the Bell Carol”.  Students are making really good progress and we are looking forward to showing all of their hard work at our Christmas Concert this Thursday, December 18th.. This group of students has a lot of potential and at-home practice is helping each student have more confidence in their playing. Please continue to encourage your child to practice at home. 

Mrs. Johnston

5th – 8th Choir
  • 5th and 6th Grades put on the finishing touches to their concert music. We are getting excited for the concert next Tuesday!
  • 7th and 8th Grades continued to fine tune the parts, working on finishing memorization and solidifying the shaky parts. We are looking forward to the concert next Thursday!

Miss Pugsley 

5th-8th Girls’ PE
  • This week we started playing basketball and handball! 

 

5th Grade (Mrs. LaTour and Miss Johnston) 

This Week
  •  The students did well this week, considering the odd schedule we had! They are wrapping up their moon phase project and preparing for their science test! We continued reading about the Lovelace’s journey across the ocean to the New World. The students also took their vocabulary test for literature class. In grammar we learned about run-on sentences, comma splices, and different methods to form a compound sentence while avoiding grammatical errors. In history, we learned more about the economics of the thirteen colonies- the trading and taxes that set the stage for the Revolutionary War. The students should continue to be working on their wax museum projects and making good headway on their research. As the quarter is coming to an end, I pray that they will continue working hard and not give in to the temptations of laziness.
Memory Work:

Proverbs 15:1-2,4

Upcoming:

Science Test on Monday! 

Mrs. Knight

5th Art
  • In art this week, fifth graders received back their quizzes on Vermeer. They did an excellent job recalling the facts we’ve learned about this artist of the quarter. They continued working on their Christmas surprise. We are beginning a new project that will continue until February: The Sons of the American Revolution poster contest. Each student chose an event from the Revolutionary War to depict on a poster. Research began this week. We plan to work on this project in class for the next couple months. Students will compete at the school level first and then can advance to the county, state, and even national levels. 

6th Grade (Mrs. McDorman and Miss Pugsley)

6th Reading and Literature
  • We continued reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and joined the other sixth-grade class to read through the script while collaboratively adding stage directions for our lighthearted Christmas play.
6th Grammar and Writing
  • Students completed their creative stories, wrote a first-person personal narrative, and learned how to correctly join two independent clauses using a connective adverb.
6th Bible
  • Students compared the Gospel accounts of Christ’s birth, noting both their distinct emphases and their unique witness to the coming of the promised Messiah.
6th History
  • As we wrapped up our study of the Civil War, students enjoyed a special lecture from Mr. Nathantel Johnston, whose deep knowledge brought clarity and insight to the war’s conclusion. The students were highly engaged, asking thoughtful questions and demonstrating genuine interest in the discussion.
6th Science
  • This week we completed the Quarter 2 Science exam and recapped what we have talked about so far! The students enjoyed making model bacteria together.
6th Logic
  • This week we completed our fallacy quiz and prepared for the Quarter 2 exam next week!

Mrs. Crotts

6th Math
  • Students faced down chapter 7!  They are working to translate fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions.

Mrs. Wright

6th Latin
  • This week the students are wrapping up Cap. V.  As stated in previous weeks, this is an especially difficult chapter grammatically and they have been working hard to understand and apply each concept.  They are ready to put all of it together and take the pensa for this chapter next week.  Again, would you ask your student to read some Latin to you? Celebrate their progress—they’ve earned it!

Mrs. Palmer

6th Art
  • Students continued to work on their oil pastel Christmas themed drawings this week. Our focus has been on using the medium correctly, color matching and accuracy.   

Dr. Wright

7th Omnibus
  • 7th graders continue to learn and associate key dates and events from both Greek and Old Testament history.   Second  drafts of Greek research papers are due Tuesday 12/16,  and in-class presentations will be Wednesday 12/17.  First drafts of Burlington Writers’ Narratives have been turned in as of Friday 12/12. 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Science
  • The students have been working hard to wrap up work on the rough drafts of their formal lab reports. There are many complex skills involved in crafting a formal lab report including: electronic creation of tables and graphs, evaluation of several weeks of observations, and application of previous knowledge to data analysis. They are doing a great job! 
  • Rough drafts are due on Tuesday, December 16th.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we started solving for an unknown in 2-step equations. This is a foundational skill for all future math courses. Daily practice of this skill is key to mastering this concept. We also introduced circle calculations for the first time, which will feature prominently in our second semester geometry work with cylinders.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Students continued to work on their oil pastel Christmas themed drawings this week. Our focus has been on using the medium correctly, color matching and accuracy.   

Mrs. Wright

7th Latin
  • This week the students are wrapping up Cap. V.  As stated in previous weeks, this is an especially difficult chapter grammatically and they have been working hard to understand and apply each concept.  They are ready to put all of it together and take the pensa for this chapter next week.  Again, would you ask your student to read some Latin to you? Celebrate their progress—they’ve earned it!
7th Logic
  • This week the 7th grade Logic class discussed the Straw Man Fallacy and then spent time in review of all the Red Herring fallacies in preparation for their upcoming test next week.

Dr. Wright

8th Omnibus 
  • 8th graders continue to read and discuss themes of Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring.   Final drafts of biographical research papers are due Tuesday, and in-class presentations will also begin that day.  First drafts of Burlington Writers’ Narratives have been turned in as of Friday 12/12.  

Mrs. Wright

8th Latin
  • This week the students have finished Cap. V.  As stated in previous weeks, this is an especially difficult chapter grammatically and they have been working hard to understand and apply each concept.  This week they put all of the concepts together and took the pensa.  Again, would you ask your student to read some Latin to you? Celebrate their progress—they’ve earned it!

Mrs. Frueh

8th Science
  • We continued our study of Newton’s three laws of motion with a closer look at Newton’s First Law and the role of unbalanced forces on changes in velocity.  Ask your student how Newton’s First Law can be used to explain the magician’s tablecloth trick, seatbelt design, and dizziness. We had a lot of fun putting Newton’s First law to the test in class by spinning eggs and playing dizzy bat!
8th Algebra I
  • We ended our semester with a final exam that covered all of the concepts learned in the first six units of our course, including evaluating algebraic expressions; solving for an unknown in equations, inequalities, and proportions; graphing functions; and writing linear equations in slope-intercept form.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • This week students worked on finishing up their charcoal animal drawings. Our focus has been on obtaining a range of grayscale, blending and creating detail. 

Mr. Crotts

8th Logic
  • We have completed another unit of study and taken our final exam!

RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

From the COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

9th-12th: 

  • 11th and 12th graders are concluding dual enrollment semester classes taken through colleges.  Students have taken classes from Alamance Community College, Liberty University, and Union University.  Classes varied from graphic design and art to  communication and media to physics to history and creative writing.

  • Elective time is valuable during the 11th and 12th grade years.  In addition to the dual enrollment classes of Apologetics & Philosophy, Greek, and Senior Literature taken while at Bradford and credited by Judson College at Southeastern, students may take numerous other college level classes.  They may take classes related to their area of interest or use the opportunity to take classes about subjects outside of their comfort zone to broaden their skills and interests.  Dual enrollment classes are free at Alamance Community College and students may take classes by pre-approval through other colleges and will be partially reimbursed after receiving a satisfactory grade.  Some students have worked to receive more than 15 college credit hours.

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • Students spent time preparing for their upcoming test. We reviewed vocabulary and recent grammar concepts (irregular and stem-changing verbs). Students will have a chapter test next week. 

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • Students completed their overview of the French Revolution and Napoleon’s rise to emperor. Next week, we will briefly recap some of the major battles in the conflict especially pitting France and England versus one another. Our focus however will be on reviewing for a test next Thursday.

Ms. Oldham

9th Rhetoric I
  • Students finished the rough drafts of their research papers. They have worked hard and I am excited to read their hard work. 

Dr. Byrd 

9th Bible Survey 

  • This week we have finished the life of Job. We have been challenged to learn about the Sovereignty of God in our lives. We are beginning the book of Proverbs.
  • Students are memorizing Psalm 1. 

Mrs. Frueh

9th Biology
  • This week the students took a quiz on the structure and function of cell organelles. Then we honed in on one of the most important cellular structures: the plasma membrane. We studied the unique molecular structure of the cell membrane, a phospholipid bilayer. This structure reflects God’s perfect design for life by controlling both active and passive transport of important biomolecules into and out of the cell.

Mrs. Frueh

9th Geometry
  • We took our Unit 5 exam and then started our last unit of the quarter: a mini unit on transformations. We learned how to graph translations. Next week, we will discuss rotations and reflections of polygons on the coordinate plane. This skill has many practical applications in the fields of graphic design, video-game programming, and architecture.

Mrs. Crotts

9th Literature
  • After reading and writing about themes in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the students had the privilege of watching the BBC movie version of the work.  Students are to turn in creative writing assignments by Tuesday, December 16.

Mrs. Fairchild 

9th – 11th Art Foundations
  • Our students are doing a mini mock trial on Diego Velazquez’s painting  Las Meninas. They will be debating whether the King and Queen are being painted or the princess is being painted. The teams have found some surprising details and information in their research, but the test will be whether they can use the information to form a logical argument. This assignment is preparing them for the major art mock trial coming up at the end of their second semester.

Mrs. Bennington

9th-11th Band 
  •  Students did a great job working on the pieces, “Canon for Christmas”,  “Beyond the Bell Carol”, “Auld Lang Syne”, “Sleigh Ride”, and “All Is Calm”.  Students are making really good progress and we are really looking forward to showcasing all of their hard work at the Christmas Concert this Thursday, December 18th.. This group of students has a lot of potential and at home practice is helping each student have more confidence in their playing. Please continue to encourage your child to practice at home. 

Mrs. Johnston

9th-11th Chorus & Bradford Chorale
  • The choirs continued to fine tune the parts, working on finishing memorization and solidifying the shaky parts. We are looking forward to the concert next Thursday!

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week we reviewed oxidation numbers and concluded our introduction to chemical equations, including how to balance them and glean information from them. 
  • Next week the students will take their last test of Q2. 

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Students spent time preparing for their upcoming test. We reviewed vocabulary and recent grammar concepts (por y para, mandatos). Students will have a chapter test next week.  Additionally, students wrote in the target language and focused on using correct grammar.  

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • We’ve just about completed our unit on complex numbers.  In addition to performing operations with complex numbers, we’ve been learning a few techniques (completing the square and the quadratic formula)  to solve equations that produce complex solutions. 

Mrs. Crotts

10th Literature
  • After assigning parts, students began reading Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.  (It is rather humorous to hear a Shakespearian play set in Italy read in Southern accents! :))  Students turned in final drafts of their author research papers, a personal psalm, and also the quarterly creative writing assignments.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric II
  •  Students took a final vocab quiz for the quarter as well as worked on studying for their final exam on Tuesday. 

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students took a geography quiz on the ancient Greco-Persian world. We are concluding our reading of Thucydides and learning some of the important stories of how democracy developed in Athens. Students will take a test next Wednesday on the ancient Greek city-states of Sparta and Athens.

Dr. Smith

10th Historical Theology 

 

  • We have begun looking at the conflict between Augustine and Pelagius in the 5th century A. D. over the doctrine of salvation that has governed discussions about that doctrine ever since. Students are learning about the two men’s beliefs about humans, sin and what Jesus accomplished or did not accomplish in his life, death, resurrection and ascension. 

Mrs. Byrd

11th Precalculus
  • We’ve completed our study of log and exponential functions and have begun a unit on basic trigonometry.  We are expanding our concept of trig beyond an acute triangle to include the concept of a trig function which is periodic and can be represented by a circle.  This necessitates the need for a new representation of angle measure – the radian.  We are becoming more comfortable with radian measure and locating and naming angles of more than 90 degrees.

Miss Oldham

11th Literature
  •  Students took their final exam this week. They have their final papers and presentations on Monday. 

Mrs. Wright

11th NT Greek
  • The Greek students have really reached a milestone this week!  They have finished chapter 14, which means that they have learned nearly all the information needed about nouns and are ready to move onto verbs!   Please, congratulate your students on their accomplishments and encourage them as they study for their upcoming cumulative exam next week.

Mr. Webster

11th History
  •  This week we finished chapter 9 of the High Middle Ages. The students finished the week by taking their unit test. 

Dr. Smith

11th-12th Apologetics
  • We have been looking at James Sire’s treatment of deism and naturalism in The Universe Next Door. Students are not only learning about deism and naturalism but also learning how biblical Christianity thoroughly refutes these two worldview perspectives.

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • Students completed a geography quiz while continuing to complete their study of the French Revolution. Students will take a test next Wednesday.

Ms. Oldham

12th Literature
  •   Students took their final exams. 
12th Rhetoric III
  •  Seniors have a Christmas recitation on Friday the 19th at both the Lower Campus (8am) and Upper Campus (11am). We would love to have parents come if you are available. 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • We are nearing the end of our unit on Analytical Applications of Differentiation.  We are learning to visualize and sketch position, derivative, and second derivative graphs based on one of the others. If is helpful for us to be able to connect graphical images to our algebra.