BB 12-2-2022

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XV, ISSUE 15

Dec 02, 2022

 

FROM THE OFFICE

All are invited! Join us for the Christmas Concert performed by our 6th – 8th grade band and chorus, as well our high school chorale.  Thursday, 12/8 at 7pm at the lower school campus.  (Please enter by the front doors closest to 3rd St.)

 

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Mon, 12/5:  7:40am – Upper School Archer’s Prayer group 
  • Tues, 12/6:  JV and V boys basketball games, AWAY
  • Thurs, 12/8:  
    • 7:50am – Lower School Archer’s Prayer group
    • 4th – 5th grades:  Walkerdance Nutcracker
    • 7pm Christmas Concert (6th – 8th grades and Bradford Chorale) at lower school campus – All are invited!

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • Fri, 12/16:  Christmas celebration.  NOON DISMISSAL.  No afterschool care.

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Rich and Mrs. Grubb)

TK enjoyed a wonderful week back from Thanksgiving break. Our main focus this week was studying the story of Jesus’ birth! We read this Bible story many times and learned that we will be acting this story out for family and friends. TK students were each given a role and we began practicing for our play that will happen in 2 weeks. In math, we introduced telling time on a clock to the hour.  Our letter of the week this week was C. The students were excited to learn we have 5 students in TK with the special letter of C. We also introduced a new concept called word families. Ask your student about the -OG family! It has words like dog, log, hog, and fog. Word families are another tool in reading readiness. We will continue to build on this concept over the next several weeks.  Next week we will continue rehearsing for our nativity play and will be in the kitchen making rice krispy treats. 

Lower School P.E. (Mrs. Bennington)

K – 5th

  • Students worked on  characteristics of good listening skills and following directions. We spent time this week discussing how important it is to be metally fit as well as physically fit. We talked about how music is used to help us think and feel certain things depending on the style of the music. We did a listening and drawing activity to put this idea to the test. We then discussed how music is used to help us engage in physical activity. Some music is used to get us pumped up mentally and physically to exercise, while some is used to help us cool down. 

 

Lower School Music (Mrs. Bennington)

K-3rd 
  • Kindergarten, First and Second grade students enjoyed discussing how well they performed at their  Bradford Night performance before Thanksgiving break. Kindergarten through third worked on “Good Christian Men Rejoice” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. 
4th-5th
  • Fourth and  fifth grade students worked on the duet “Jolly Old Saint Nick”. Students have been asked to practice at least three times, for ten minutes,  before our next Music Class. Students are making great progress and practice will increase the rate at which we can improve.  Fifth also started working on some Christmas Carols that they will sing with TK at the TK Nativity performance on Wednesday 12/14. 

Lower School Art (Mrs. Palmer)

3rd 
  • This week we worked on a special Christmas piece of art in watercolor.  We worked on placement, precision and will be working on using our medium correctly next week.
4th
  • This week we worked on a special Christmas piece of art in watercolor.  We worked on placement, precision and will be working on using our medium correctly next week.
5th
  • This week we worked on a special Christmas piece of art using acrylic paint.  We worked on placement, precision and will continue to work on correctly using our paint next week. 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Lopes and Mrs. Rivera)

This Week
  •  Our kindergarten students have had some fun math lessons this week! We’ve been learning about the line of symmetry that divides a whole into two equal parts. We’ve practiced folding paper, drawing half a shape, then cutting it out to magically create a whole shape! We’ve also learned how to count dimes and pennies together. Art has taken us all week, as the students have been working on their potholder weavings. Thank you to the parents who were able to volunteer their time to help us in the mornings! We can’t wait for you to see what your students have created. We also started a new book, which is a little more complicated than the ones we have been reading. Please make sure you are reading with your student at home! You can let them read any level one book you have at home, anything to encourage them to keep reading.
Memory Work:
  • John 14:6

 

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

This Week
  •  This week the first graders have been rocketing ahead in math, learning about adding two digit numbers together (with the aid of dimes and pennies to help). Also, in both math and art we are learning about and using symmetry. In reading, we have been putting more phonogram sounds together to decode longer words with vowel dipthongs and our reader is  “The Black Flag”. Our students have made great strides in their reading and comprehension skills.  In grammar, we are gearing up for a noun test that will challenge the students to remember all the things nouns do in sentences. In science, we are learning more details about how the Lord made different animals; reptiles, birds, amphibians, mammals, fish, and even insects and conclude the week with a test.  In history, we are really enjoying the exciting stories of the Pilgrims journeying to Holland.
Memory Work:  
  • Psalms 1:1-6

 

2nd Grade (Ms. Hedgecock & Mrs. Batten)

This Week
  • Students have worked very hard this week coming back from Thanksgiving break, and we have spent lots of time reviewing daily procedures. In history, this week we have taken a step out of Biblical history and have moved back into Egyptian history with our study of the Middle Kingdom. Students learned all about the three big cultural advances that were made during this time: irrigation projects, trade with Syria and Palestine, and better Hieroglyphics. We had a lot of fun trying to “write like an Egyptian” throughout the week! In math, we have been working on learning our multiples of sevens and have even learned a song to help us remember them all. See if your child can sing you this song as they are reviewing at home! In reading, we have been introduced to a new series based on the life of a brilliant fifth grade boy named Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown as he works to solve detective cases for other children in the neighborhood. These cases are fun and challenging to understand, so students are working on the skill of summarizing as we are working through our comprehension questions with each chapter.  
Memory Work: 
  • Proverbs 25:14-16 (this week)
  • Proverbs 25:17-18 (next week)

 

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

This Week
  • Your students have now memorized 100 words in Latin. They can conjugate verbs, decline nouns, and translate Latin sentences.  Ask your students how nouns and adjectives show that they agree with one another in Latin! We began multiplying using an algorithm that will come in handy as we continue to solve harder and bigger math problems. Using a variety of strategies to attack problems helps us to get faster in solving them. We wrapped up our moon observations with the last quarter moon, and students  have turned in their projects. We would love for them to continue observing the moon as we complete our study of the solar system these last two weeks of the second quarter.  In writing, we added -ly openers and alliteration to improve our writing style. We rounded out our study of Greek myths by listening to a reading of the Fall of Icarus.  As we continue to work on our writing skills, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of  those skills taught when we enter the Burlington Writer’s Contest. Without explanation, students had to listen and illustrate the poem. We explained how artists make choices that change how we think about these myths and legends. Sometimes our small choices can have a big impact!
Memory Work:
  • Psalm 84: 11-12
  • Countries of Southern Europe
Upcoming:
  • Christmas Celebration: December 16 – Noon Dismissal

 

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

This Week
  • We have enjoyed a wonderful week learning about compound sentences, compound verbs, and compound subjects.  The students read a new story in writing and worked on incorporating strong verbs, because clause and who/which clauses in their writing.  In Latin this week we worked on reviewing many accusative and ablative prepositions and translating Latin History in Libellas.  Math was a  joy as we learned how to take our knowledge with fractions and apply it to story problems.  William the Conqueror took center stage this week as we studied the Battle of Hastings and created our own version of the Bayeux Tapestry. We finished the week learning how to finger knit and will apply this skill to many fiber crafts.
Memory Work:
  • Recitation of Matthew 5: 1-9
Upcoming:
  • BWC Final Typed Copy Due Dec. 9th (details sent by email)
  • Field Trip Dec. 8th (details sent by email)

 

5th Grade (Mrs. Owens) 

This Week
  • This week we started reading and discussing our next book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  This ties in nicely with our history lessons on the Salem Witch Trials and the 13 colonies.  In math we have learned to find the circumference of a circle, divide by a decimal, and divide by a fraction.  The students continue to amaze me with their mental math facts.  In grammar we are focusing on simple sentences, simple compound subject sentences, and simple compound verb sentences.  This will continue to help the students as they are working on their second draft of their creative writing story.  
Memory Work:
  • Isaiah 40: 3-4 (this week)
  • Isaiah 40:5-6 (next week)
Upcoming:
  • Thursday, December 1st – Lower School Archer’s Prayer group
  • 2nd draft of creative writing story – due Monday, December 5th
  • Thursday, December 8th – Walkerdance Nutcracker

 

LOGIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Bennington

6th-8th Band
  • Students turned in their fifth practice record and  received their sixth  practice record to start documenting weekly practice and assignments.  We discussed the importance of at-home practice and the expectations for effective practice. Practice records need to be turned in every Tuesday for a grade. We spent a lot of time this week working on music for the December concert. Students are doing well playing multiple parts at the same time. We are looking forward to our first concert this coming Thursday 12/8. . 

Mrs. Thrasher

6th-8th Choir
  • After a fun, successful time caroling downtown with part of our group, we turned our attention to next week’s Christmas concert at Main Campus (see the upcoming events above). We spent almost all of our time this week focused on getting their concert pieces in shape to perform. We also squeezed in some time listening to a couple of amazing but ambitious pieces that we may try to sing in the future. The students have practiced a lot, and we are excited to see it all come together when we join forces with the high school Chorale and the middle school band next week. 

Mr. Davis

6th -8th Boys’ PE
  • This week the students were tested on the mile run. 

Miss Stevenson

6th-8th Girls’ PE
  • This week we played dodgeball.
6th Reading and Literature
  • This week we wrapped up Across Five Aprils and began reading A Christmas Carol. 
6th Grammar and Writing
  • This week we looked into our next comma rule: put a comma after an introductory adverb.
6th Bible
  • We are continuing to work our way through the Gospel of John.
6th History
  • This week we discussed the battle of Gettysburg.
6th Science
  • This week we reviewed the structure of bacteria. 
6th Logic
  • This week we talked about loaded questions and again had the opportunity to sit in on Mr. Johnston’s paideia. 

Miss Windes

6th Grade Latin
  • 6th grade is making excellent progress with translating longer passages and stories! Next week we will learn the dative case and indirect objects and they will have one final test before Christmas break. 

Mrs. Frueh

6th Grade Math
  • Some call it Bridge Notation. Others call it the Factor-Label Method or Dimensional Analysis. Whatever you call it, the students are learning the usefulness of using labeled rates to solve for an unknown measure or to convert between units. This is a practical skill that will be useful not only in everyday life, but also in any advanced physics, chemistry, or biology course.

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • Students have been doing an excellent job with their medium of colored pencil over the past several weeks.  We have been working on a Pieter Bruegel inspired Italian landscape (this artist of the quarter of ours was also inspired by Italian landscapes).  Layering, keeping a keen eye out for details, blending and using colored pencils correctly has been our focus.

 

Mrs. Crotts

7th Grammar and Writing
  • Students were challenged to focus on using examples of literary terms from their recent quiz on such in the ”Daily Journaling”.
  • We began listening to the audio of C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with the assignment to write down 3 literary term examples for each chapter.  ( alliteration, assonance, parallelism, onomatopoeia…) 
7th Grade Omnibus
  • Philosophy: Students read aloud selections of author Peter Kreeft’s The Best Things in Life–Socrates challenges the simple thinking of Felicia  Flake and Peter Pragma.  
  • Bible/History:  The week concludes with a quiz on the book of Isaiah–extra credit for listening to and discovering passages from Isaiah found in Handel’s Messiah.
  • Literature: We began listening to the audio of C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with the assignment to write down 3 literary term examples.  ( alliteration, assonance, parallelism, onomatopoeia…) 
7th Logic
  • Students were divided into groups with the task of reviewing logical fallacies of appeals to emotion.  At the conclusion of next week, each group will present examples of how they used one or more of the fallacies to gain a Christmas gift in years past and also present an example of these fallacies in current advertisements for Christmas gifts.
  • We also discussed the appeal to think logically from author Peter Kreeft in The Best Things in Life.

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science
  • This week, we had a large unit review and then took our quarterly unit test on the Structure of the Earth and Plate Tectonics. The students are all looking forward to the mini unit on Earthquakes and Volcanoes that we’ll complete in December.
7th Grade Pre-Algebra
  • This week included more review of fractions, decimals, and percents. We also reviewed for and took our eighth cumulative test of the year.

Mrs. Palmer 

7th Art
  • Students wrapped up their unit on charcoal and we will be rounding out the quarter with a Christmas watercolor piece.  Our focus will be on translucency, proper water to paint ratio, color mixing and precision. 

Miss Windes

7th Grade Latin
  • Seventh graders reviewed for their final test of the quarter which will cover third declension nouns, endings, and i-stem patterns. 

 

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus
  • History: In history this week, we finished our unit on Charlemagne and the Carolingians and began learning about the Viking invasions of the 8th-11th centuries. 
  • Literature: We continue reading Fellowship of the Ring! We are getting acquainted with the characters and the history and backstory of the ring. 
  • Composition: The students are nearly finished with their Beowulf essays; we are especially focusing with this essay on the style of our writing – eliminating to be verbs, writing as clearly and concisely as possible, and continuing to use a strong organizational structure. 
8th Grade Latin
  • We have had fun singing some Latin Christmas carols this week even as we begin the last chapter of the book! We will begin Latin Alive, volume 2 in the new year! 

Mrs. Frueh

8th Grade Science
  • We started our unit on Motion this week. We introduced a lot of new vocabulary to start the unit off. The students should now be able to distinguish between scalars and vectors, distance and displacement, and speed and velocity. We were then able to apply the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for the resultant in two-dimensional displacement problems. 
8th Grade Algebra I
  • It was exciting this week to start using the substitution axiom to solve systems of equations. We talked about the practical applications of systems of equations in business and engineering. It is tempting to look at algebra and lament that you’ll “never use this stuff in real life”, but systems of equations can be used to optimize profit and productivity in multiple fields.

Mrs. Palmer 

8th Art
  • As we have progressed through this semester students have worked hard to make progress on their magazine clipping famous portraits.  I am truly amazed at how students have regarded the portraits assigned to them and have obtained excellent detail.  We cannot wait to share their hard work!

Mr. Davis

8th Logic
  • This week the students took a quiz and test on lessons 12-18. 

 

RHETORIC SCHOOL

From COLLEGE COUNSELING Office:

Juniors:

  • Juniors should be receiving their PSAT scores soon! In January and February we will plan to have SAT study sessions once a week in the afternoon to study for the SAT 
    • I recommend that all students take at least the SAT or ACT in March, though they could also take both tests
    • Taking the tests in March will give them time to evaluate where they are and make appropriate study goals for taking the test again either later in the spring or in August
    • The goal is to have a strong score in hand by October before they apply to colleges
      • Applying to many college’s scholarships requires applying to the college in October or November to qualify!

Seniors:

  • This continues to be a busy season! My door is always open for parents and students. 
  • Parents, remind your students they need to ask for letters of recommendation and transcripts early! 
    • Transcripts: 
      • Email Mr. Johnston at least a week before you need your transcript
      • Include a list of any electives you have taken outside of Bradford 
    • Letters of recommendation:
      • Ask the writer at least two weeks (preferably a month!) before you need the letter
      • Be clear about when you need the letter of recommendation and where the writer should submit the recommendation
      • Thank your writer when they have completed their letter
  • Some seniors have recently needed transcripts from Southeastern and ACC

Mrs. Palmer 

9th Spanish 
  • Ninth grade Spanish students have spent this week reviewing for a chapter test.  They took their test which included the following concepts:  the verbs tener and venir, possessive adjectives, descriptive adjectives, chapter vocabulary and conjugating AR, ER and IR verbs. 

Dr. James

9th Geometry
  • This week the students are actively building their bridges, and we are working on proofs.  
  • Next week we will continue with both of these activities.  At the end of the week the bridges will be judged on design, functionality, and strength.

Mrs. Hicks

9th Biology
  • Students continued their study of The Cell this week. Students will have a test next Thursday to wrap up this unit. We will use the last week before Christmas break to review information from 1st and 2nd quarters.

Dr. Smith

9th Theology
  • This week we have emphasized the importance of the doctrine of creation or the doctrine of God the Creator. Their memory passage was Genesis 1:1-5. We noted how God created by his Word and Spirit, that all creation is under the control of God and dependent on God–there are no exceptions. Furthermore, we noted that in creating, God made distinctions between realities, that all realities are only known in relation to and distinct from other realities, and that a temporal sequential order marks creation. In our book Creeds and Confessions we are in chapter nine, and discussing the difficulties the church faced when persecution led some to renounce the Christian faith only to want to return to the church when threats to their life ceased. We also have discussed whether baptism and the Lord’s Supper are effective or not based on the moral character of the man administering them.  

Mrs. Crotts

9th Grade Literature
  •  “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”  –Elizabeth Bennet  

What fun we are having reading and discussing Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Assignments coming up–Quiz and Writing: Add a character OR Write a brief bio of Jane Austen.

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Grade Advanced Art
  • The students completed their first art mock trial on Tuesday.  This was a simplified version to help them practice and prepare for the final one at the end of the year.  As expected, the students strongly disagreed with their opponents. As the evidence was presented the arguments became more intense. They learned the benefits of listening carefully to the other side of the argument and to check it for any weaknesses or errors.  It became very clear that their choice of words mattered. Additionally, we discussed afterwards a few strategies on how they could improve and use their research and facts differently to strengthen their arguments.

Coach Johnston

9th History
  • The students completed their unit review of the US Constitution material and took a unit test this past week. We will begin to study the French Revolution and its effects in Europe alongside  the application and development of new technology in America.

 

Mrs. Byrd

10th Algebra II
  • Completing the square, English to metric unit conversions,  and solving ideal gas law problems have been a few of our topics for the week.  We also spent some time trying to grasp a bit about imaginary numbers – numbers that actually exist in a plane perpendicular to the real number plane.

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • This week we concluded the life and ministry of Elijah. We saw how he went to heaven in a whirlwind and Elisha saw him no more. He would be mightily used by the Lord and do many miracles.  The students are learned about an overview of the book of II Kings. 
  • No Scripture memory has been assigned. 

Mrs. Crotts

10th Grade Literature
  • We discussed the book of Psalm and how the Psalters were used to aid Christians in corporate worship, and highlighted church groups that still use Psalters today.  We discussed the value of this book; it is a grand collection of ancient Israel’s emotions and prayers in song–worship and supplication to a merciful and holy God.  The students were assigned to write a psalm and to use parallelism and also antithetical examples.  The week concludes with a quiz.

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week the students learned about oxidation numbers and were  introduced to chemical nomenclature. 
  • Next week we will continue with nomenclature and the students will learn how to balance chemical  equations.

Coach Johnston

10th History
  • Students have continued to read the introduction to Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War. This week our focus was on a list of important Greek vocab terms as well as reading about and summarizing the organization and influence of the city-states, Athens and Sparta, at the beginning of the war.
10th PE
  • Students continued to workout each day in preparation for fitness tests. We played a couple of dodgeball games that gave students new situations  to challenge them in applying rules, space and intelligence to compete both individually and collectively for the best outcome in the game.

Miss Oldham

10th Rhetoric I
  • Students worked on their final speeches that are due next week. We also wrapped up Twelve Angry Men and discussed the importance of rhetoric in the real world. 

Mrs. Palmer 

10th Spanish
  • Students spent the past week reviewing for the chapter test that they took on Friday.  They took their test which included the following concepts:  the imperfect tense and its conjugations, comparing and contrasting preterite and imperfect tenses, chapter vocabulary and forming adverbs. 

Mrs. Byrd

11th Physics
  • We spent time this week reviewing the major concepts of first semester in preparation for a semester test.  Students also worked on their egg drop protection devices – testing and modifying their designs.
11th Precalculus
  • Logarithmic functions were introduced this week as a way to “undo” an exponent.  We considered their behavior graphically, algebraically, as well as some of their “laws” as they relate to exponents.

Dr. James

11th Personal Finance
  • This week the students were introduced to retirement plans and various investment vehicles. 
  • Next week the students will take their test on retirement/investment, and the students will be introduced to global economics.

Miss Oldham

11th Grade Literature
  • Students began Romeo and Juliet, one of my personal favorites! I am very excited to walk through this play with this class and discussing the ideas Shakespeare presents. 

Dr. Smith

11th NT Greek
  • Students reviewed for their 150 word vocabulary test on Monday and took it on Wednesday. Tomorrow we begin chapter 14 and the use of relative pronouns. The previous chapter addressed demonstrative pronouns. Students who have mastered the vocabulary to this point (and most of them have) have now mastered 64% of the words in the New Testament. As they continue to work on translations, they are getting practical experience in working through how New Testament sentences are structured.   

Mr. Webster

11th Grade History
  • This week we went over life in medieval cities as well as the rise and influence of universities. Next week we will finish chapter 9  and take our unit test on Friday.

 

Mrs. Byrd

12th Calculus
  • Students spent the week learning to find critical points in functions and then testing them to see if they are extrema or points of inflection.  We are seeking to connect graphical representations to our algebra – the new challenge is working with first or second derivative graphs rather than function graphs.

Mrs. Hicks

12th Anatomy
  • We continued our study of The Respiratory System this week. Students will have a test next Thursday and we will wrap up this unit. The last week before Christmas break we will review what we learned in 1st and 2nd quarters!

Coach Johnston

12th History
  • The students completed their unit review of the US Constitution material and took a unit test this past week. A good question to ask them is: what things made the US Constitution better than the Articles of Confederation? We will briefly complete a study overview of the French Revolution and its effects in Europe while also drawing out observations from  the application and development of new technology in America.

Miss Oldham

12th Grade Literature
  • Students gave presentations on their author research projects and then we began The Importance of Being Earnest. 
12th Grade Shakespeare Elective
  • Students worked on their final projects and continued Antony and Cleopatra. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Students received back their rough drafts and they were very rough. Please pray that they can finish this race well and to the glory of God. Only one and a half more weeks until their final drafts are due.