BB 2018-11-20

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XI, ISSUE 13

FROM THE OFFICE

 

UPCOMING

  • Tues, 26:  
    • Varsity girls – away bball game
    • Wrestling club
  • Thurs, 29:
    • JV boys – HOME bball game @ 3:30
    • NO wrestling club
  • Fri, 30:  JV boys – AWAY bball at BCA, 4:00

 

FYI

  • Vote for your favorite metaphor!  (See final page)
  • THANKSGIVING BREAK:  Wed – Fri.  Have a blessed time with your family, reflecting upon the many kindnesses and mercies of the Lord that we daily enjoy!
  • UNIFORM TIP of the WEEK:  Bradford uniforms have no navy blue items.  If your child wears navy blue items, they are out of uniform.  Please ensure that your child has only the approved items in the approved colors.  

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Luther)

Bible
  • This week we learned about David being chosen as king.  God looked at the heart of David and not on his outward appearance.  
Theme Adventure
  • TK enjoyed creating spice blends using herbs collected from the TK garden!  
  • TK practiced using manners in a pretend restaurant to help prepare for Thanksgiving.
Literacy
  • TK has been mastering compound words.
  • They will be introduced to counting syllables next week!
  • The students continue to learn how to read text from left to right.  Whether it is by practice in a reader or modeled by a teacher, TK is already using good reading skills that will enhance their learning.
Math
  • This week TK continued to practice identifying shapes according to name, size, and color.  
  • They continued practice using pennies and using them as money.  
  • TK was introduced to clocks  and telling time to the nearest hour on an analog and digital clock.  We will continue to work with this in the coming weeks!
Arts and Sciences
  • The TK garden is now closed for the season with a couple of hard freezes over the past week.  The TK students harvested spices and dried them. This week we were able to create spice blends using a mortar and pestle.  TK added the spice blend to butter. The students tried plain buttered bread and seasoned butter bread to compare and contrast the difference herbs can make in foods we eat.
  • With Thanksgiving approaching, TK got to observe science at work in baking.  TK students were involved in creating a bread recipe. The excitement surrounding the bread was not baking or eating it.  The students were able to witness and be involved in the immediate chemical reaction that makes bread rise!
  • We would like to thank the Lord for his goodness, grace and mercy on the TK program.  We are thankful for all of the parents of these precious children. Without you the children would not receive such a rich experience in our classes. We are blessed in abundance with opportunity to teach and enjoy learning.  It is a joy to be a part of your child’s education and life!

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

Language Arts
  • Our kindergarten scholars read Pan and the  Mad Man again. We discussed how stories tell about events which happen over time and in a certain order. They ordered the main events in the book and got to illustrate their favorite page from the book. We reviewed the target sounds :a and e, as found in the middle of a word. After Thanksgiving break, we will be reading our second book: Bad Meg.
  • Sixth grader, Noah Curtsinger, engages the kindergarten class with his dramatic reading of Dr. Seuss during lunch time.
Math
  • Telling Time to the Hour, Counting by 2’s, and Counting Dimes.
History
  • No history due to the holiday.
Science
  • We continued our study of the weather and seasons. Weathermen predict the weather and our students had fun predicting the weather for the next few days. The meteorologists uses many of the things we’ve just learned about like air pressure, seasons, and atmospheric conditions to make their forecast.
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, we began class with prayer and practiced our songs for Bradford Night. Then, we had a video lesson about rhythm and duration. We spent the rest of class coloring and enjoying listening to the music of our quarterly composer, Handel.
  • This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.
Art
  • We finished up our weaving projects, leaf rubbings and creation magnets to display for Bradford Night.
P.E.
  • No P.E. due to the weather. We took a field trip to the second grade class to see their maps of Egypt. Third grade displayed their impressive dioramas of the Greek gods and their Greek armor. Our kindergarteners can’t wait to start a more comprehensive study of Egypt and Greece.
Memory Work:
  • 1 Corinthians 10:13

 

1st Grade (Mrs. Campbell)

Language Arts
  • Phonics target: Long vowels; Syllabication and Alphabetical order
Math
  • Fact and concept review; Adding to 10
History
  • Our class continues to enjoy the fascinating story of the brave Pilgrims!  After reading about the crossing of the Atlantic on the Mayflower, we drew a map of the boat and used our five senses to imagine what life was like for the 102 pilgrims on the 9 week journey.  Wearing their Pilgrim hats, each student boarded the “Mayflower” and experienced the journey by tasting dried fruit, ship bread, and salted meat (beef jerky). They also enjoyed being sprayed by water during a treacherous storm!
Science
  • We listened to the song of our bird of the month, the Carolina Chickadee, along with discovering some fun facts and imitating the unique colors of this smallest North American chickadee.  The students enjoy using recess as a time for bird-watching with binoculars and recording their discoveries in journals.
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, first grade missed our regular music class because we were practicing for Bradford Night, in the sanctuary, with all the other students.
  • This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.
Art
  • Students put the finishing touches on their bird drawings using color pencils and crayon.
P.E.
  • Due to Bradford Night and Thanksgiving, we did not have P.E.
Memory Work:  
  • Romans 12:1,2

 

2nd Grade (Mrs. Jones)

Language Arts
  • Cursive letters l, h, k, t, e, i, u, j
  • We finished reading Encyclopedia Brown this week.
  • Plural Nouns: regular and irregular
Math
  • Multiplying by 0, 1, 7 and 10,
  • Reading a Fahrenheit thermometer to the nearest degree
  • Identifying the freezing and boiling points of water
  • Using comparison symbols
History
  • The students did such a wonderful job creating their Ancient Egypt 3D maps. After presenting the maps to their own classmates on Tuesday, the students welcomed all other the grades to the classroom on Wednesday. Each second grader explained how they made their maps and what their favorite part was. They also had to answer any questions that their schoolmates might have had for them. It was encouraging to see and hear just how much the second graders have learned about Egypt so far this year.
Science
  • The insect moment that the students have been waiting for for months finally arrived this week. The two large egg sacks that Elijah found in his yard hatched and out came 50+ baby Praying Mantises. The students were all amazed to see so many babies hopping around in the box.
  • This week completes our study of insects. I hope your child has developed a fascination and respect for these tiny creatures that God made.
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, we began class with prayer and practiced our music for Bradford Night. Then, we had a history of hymns about the song, “We Gather Together.” Then, we spent the rest of class time watching a video of Handel’s, “Messiah.”
  • ,This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.
Art
  • We finally finished up the Last Supper recreations! The students also painted an “Egyptian Sunset” using only warm colors. Ask your child how they made all the shades between yellow and red. Afterwards, they added texture to their painting by spreading a paint/salt/glue mixture to the bottom.
P.E.
  • Due to Bradford Night and Thanksgiving, we did not have P.E.
Memory Work:  
  • Proverbs 25:6-13

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Mitchell)

  • This week was a unique experience in your student’s Bradford education and I’m always very grateful for it.  Though we continue to squeeze in some of the core curriculum, students are immersed in skills such as public speaking and public performance.  These include:
    • How and when to stand and sit; how to be alert for clues that tell you when to stand/sit
    • Speaking and singing with clear diction and proper volume as well as word emphasis
    • How to handle momentary boredom when others are being instructed; patience
    • Hosting students who came to see our dioramas; speaking to small groups of various ages; using clear explanations; answering questions
    • Setting up a room for display in a pleasing and functional manner; displaying artwork
    • Being good hosts during the after-program time
  • Students were also exposed to the delights that await them in future grades in the Academy
    • All were excited about learning a recitation or song that they heard in the years to come
    • We also enjoyed touring our in-house art gallery and seeing the potential they can reach with watercolors and other art mediums
    • Ideas were garnered for future science projects as creativity was on display.
  • 3rd graders finished out the week by spending a ½ hour as reading buddies with both Kindergarten classes.
  • Monday  will mostly be a review and catch up day before our Thanksgiving Feast on Tuesday.  All are looking forward to the promised reenactment of the “Death of Achilles” chapter from Black Ships Before Troy.
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, we began class with prayer and practiced our music for Bradford Night. Then, we had a history of hymns about the song, “We Gather Together.” Then, we spent the rest of class time watching a video of Handel’s, “Messiah.”
  • ,This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Hamilton)

Language Arts
  • Literature: The Adventures of Robin Hood–students are greatly enjoying getting to know the heroes and villains of our new reading adventure.
  • Writing: After individual consultations, students are making great strides toward improving their stories from our unit, Writing from Pictures, making them more dramatic and vivid to the reader. Although it is always difficult to see a first draft of a precious writing project being “vandalized” by a red pen, fourth graders are learning that good writing takes time, effort, and humility!
Math
  • Students learned to add and subtract fractions with common denominators and to do short division;  students also reviewed the Metric and the U.S. Customary systems and completed several measuring projects.
History
  • The East-West Schism of 1054. Students were challenged to understand the importance of this sad event in history which caused the formation of two independent churches: the Roman Catholic in the West and the Eastern Orthodox in the East. We observed major differences in their creeds, communion practices, dress, icons and decorations of churches, priesthood, leadership, and architectural styles.
Science
  • Using LEGO pieces, students were able to visualize and understand the structure of elements, molecules, compounds, and mixtures. We also were able to complete our “elephant toothpaste” demonstration, separating molecules using hydrogen peroxide and soap. Students also made their own “goo” with properties of both a liquid and a solid. Students also began working with different kinds of mixtures–solutions, suspensions, and colloids.
Latin
  • Students had a chance to pause and review all of the pronouns we have learned in the last four chapters. Students are doing a great job parsing and translating challenging sentences, including those in our Latin History Reader–Libellus.
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, we began class with prayer, and we played on our recorders, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” in groups of two or three, memorized. Then, we ran through signing, “The BC History Fact Song,” and spent the rest of class enjoying a video of Handel’s, “Messiah.”
  • This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.
Art
  • Students polished and finished their colored pencil apples this week.
P.E.
  • Due to Bradford Night and Thanksgiving, we did not have P.E.
Memory Work
  • Psalm 23
  • Bradford Night song

 

5th Grade (Ms. Windes)

Language Arts
  • Reading: After Bilbo hatches a brilliant plan to smuggle all the dwarves out of the wood elves’ palace, the travelers find themselves in Laketown with the men and women of Laketown cheering at the supposed return of the king under the mountain. Their high spirits are dampened by the thought of the dragon, and they set off towards the Lonely Mountain. We are beginning to compare the leadership of Thorin, Bilbo, and the Master of the town.\
  • Besides polishing poems, students are preparing to write a short creative story.
  • Grammar: The class focused on verb/noun agreement this week.
Math
  • Students learned  to find a percent of a number, rename fractions by multiplying by one, and find unknowns in fraction and decimal problems. Continue to work carefully to have less corrections!
History
  • This week we learned in brief about the formation of each of the thirteen colonies, from Jamestown in 1607 to Georgia in 1733. We studied some of the differences between the southern, middle, and northern colonies.
  • Upcoming: Friday, 11/30: First Great Awakening Test
Science
  • Aside from a learning to identify acids and bases using litmus paper, students continued to review the definitions for atoms, elements, compounds, molecules, and mixtures. We also began taking a closer look at the periodic table of elements; students were shocked to find out that hydrogen does not have a neutron in its nucleus and that there are only 92 kinds of atoms, and not 118 as listed on the periodic table. Students seem very excited to continue to dive deeper into the incredible world of chemistry.
Latin
  • We learned the future perfect endings and a new set of adverbs to use in translations.
  • Upcoming: Thursday, 11/29: Ch. 7-10 Vocabulary Review Quiz
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, we began class with prayer, and practiced our music for Bradford Night. Then, we enjoyed watching a video of Handel’s, “Messiah.”
  • This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.
Art
  • Students polished their compasses as well as their block and chess piece pencil drawings.
P.E.
  • This week in P.E. we did an indoor workout and Coach Palmer’s version of “4 Corners.”
Memory Work
  • This week: Isaiah 40:1-2

 

6th Grade (Mrs. Garrett)

New Testament Survey
  • A daily reminder of God’s faithfulness was the centerpiece of our worship this week. The students recited their verses and learned more of God’s power, providence and sustaining mercies from before the creation of the earth until eternity.
Literature
  • The class read The Dancing Men, a short story involving Sherlock Holmes and one of his classic mysteries. The students formed groups of four to rewrite the ending in their own manner using dialogue and a narrator.
Math
  • Prime factorization and Least Common Multiples
History
  • The 1949 Gold Rush and California’s magnetic pull from around the world filled the students’ imagination this past week as they read stories of families travelling the world to pan for gold. Eureka!
Science
  • After reviewing the DNA double helix, two teams carefully constructed 9 foot long models, as well as a donut helix for fun. The students presented their animal and plant cell models as well, and enjoyed tasting some of the more “dessert-like” models.
Writing/Grammar
  • The class crafted beautiful poetry reflected on some of the topics they have learned thus far in sixth grade from art, music, literature to history. Mr. Davis then taught them how to turn their poetry into song.
  • The students wrote to their pen pals in South Africa this week, practicing the proper form of a friendly letter as well as courteous correspondence skills.
Latin
  • Students reviewed their present, future, and imperfect tense helping verbs as well as how to match an adjective to a noun.
Music
  • Last week, Tuesday, November 13, we began class with prayer, and practiced our music for Bradford Night. Then, we enjoyed watching a video of Handel’s, “Messiah.”
  • This Tuesday, November 20, music class was cancelled because of the Bradford Thanksgiving Feast.
Art
  • The students finished up their watercolor leaves, and placed them next to a tree and tire swing which several students painted reaching over 11 feet tall. The colors of each leaf displayed the unique creativity of our Maker and His abundant love for this world.
Logic
  • The class peered into the idea of assumptions and how they can lead to faulty thinking.
P.E.
  • This week in P.E. we did an indoor workout and Coach Palmer’s version of “4 Corners.”
Memory Work
  • Faithfulness verses, The Gettysburg Address

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • We continue to study Newton’s Laws of Motion. This week we’ve been calculating friction – a force that opposes motion.   On Monday we will start constructing “egg protection devices”. We will have a 20 foot drop test to see which device can best protect the egg from gravitational force 🙂
Precalculus
  • We’ve concluded our study of exponent and log functions by looking at various science, business, and social science models in which these functions are used to make predictions.  There will be a test on Monday.
Geometry
  • Our class is working through a brief study of logic.  This will lead us into constructing our own geometry proofs.

 

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • We have learned about the righteous judgment of God in the book of Amos. The study of the book of Psalms has encouraged us. We have discussed the various genres in the book from lament to thanksgiving. The class has taken the challenge to read the books of I and II Chronicles over the Thanksgiving Break. They are also working on their project on the book of Daniel. They will present their work right before Christmas.

 

Mrs. Dovan

8th Omnibus
  • Literature / Composition: A short week for Omnibus!  Students are in process of reading their presenting their encomium essays and we anticipate beginning The Song of Roland over the weekend.
  • History:  Our history lessons have provided context for Beowulf and the beginning of the English language.  We’re studying the end of the Roman Empire and the rise of Germanic Kings throughout modern Western Europe.  This week we began Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, moving our focus specifically to the Christianizing of the British Isles.
  • Theology:  We finished On the Incarnation this week!  Athanasius leaves his reader with anticipating Christ’s second coming.
11th Elective – Creative Writing
  • The poetry chapbooks are done, and the students selected poems from their books to recite for the class on Friday.

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • The students learned this week to distinguish between weight and mass, and to explain the role of mass in determining the strength of gravity. We also discussed the uniqueness of Earth’s moon and how our moon’s large size plays a major role in making Earth a habitable planet. They pointed out how this is yet another confirmation of an ordered, created universe.
  • Unfortunately, the overcast weather has made moon observations difficult. Students should continue filling out their daily moon log, using an almanac site such as timeanddate.com, if necessary. The skies should be clear enough for moon observations during the Thanksgiving break.
8th Grade Science:
  • This week, the students learned the “grammar” of reading and writing chemical symbols. They can now look at a chemical symbol and identify the element; the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons; and whether it is an isotope or an ion.  They also learned to write their own chemical symbols given only the numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
  • Daily periodic table quizzes will begin after Thanksgiving.

 

Mr. Hamilton

7th Grammar/Comp
  • This week we spent more time on writing sentences that are definite, concrete, and specific, as well as learning the art of omitting needless words.
7th Omnibus
  • We wrapped up our initial study of the classical period of Greek history by discussing Greek philosophy, architecture, and religion.
9th History
  • We are taking our time in our study of foundational American documents, paying special attention to a proper understanding of the Constitution and the way our government branches function.
9th Literature
  • Students are greatly enjoying our reading of Pride and Prejudice. As we are reading through this classic novel of manners, we are paying special attention to character development, Austen’s use of dialogue, and her exploration of key themes.
9th Theology
  • This week in theology we made an effort to understand government and economics from a biblical point of view.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • This week we had our quarter mid-term, which focused on questions related to the philosophies of Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Marx, and Kierkegaard.

 

Dr. James

9th/10th Biology
  • This week we finished our introduction to plant physiology, and the students took their second test of the quarter.
  • Next week we will begin our study of ecology, which looks at the interactions of various species with other species and with their local environment.

 

Mr. Johnston

8th Latin
  • Began Chapter 18 vocabulary and grammar.
7th Logic
  • Students continue looking at the main category of informal fallacies, Fallacies of Relevance.  We have discussed Ad Hominem, Tu Quoque, and Genetic fallacies.

 

Mrs. Fairchild

Our class finished their watercolor paintings of animals which ties in nicely with some of their recent studies in Biology.  Additionally, a few students have continued to work on their VFW art contest entry.

 

Mr. Miller

7th Latin
  • This week we finished up chapter 17 with a quiz on the grammatical concepts covered in it.
8th Logic
  • This week we had a test on lessons 12-18 and then moved onto the next lessons. We are beginning to study categorical syllogisms now, starting with a discussion of the difference between a premise and a conclusion.
10th Literature
  • We spent some time discussing Greek drama, starting with tragedy and the Greek tragedian Euripides, in preparation for after Thanksgiving when we will read through his play The Bacchae.
10th History
  • We continue to make our way slowly through Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. This week we finished book 5, which is about the moral virtue of “justice,” and began reading book 6, which is about the intellectual virtue of “prudence.”
10th Rhetoric
  • We watched some examples of good rhetoric this week and analyzed their distinctive characteristics.
11th Literature
  • We are almost done with Dante’s Purgatory! The pilgrim has just made it to the top of Mount Purgatory, where he finally meets Beatrice in the earthly paradise (the Garden of Eden).
11th History
  • We continued studying questions in Thomas Aquinas’ Summa related to the nature of God and also the nature of humans. The students each looked more closely at one specific topic and presented it to the class.
NT Greek
  • We began learning about the relative pronoun (who, whom, which, etc.) in Greek and how it is formed in a sentence.

 

Mrs. Palmer

7th Art
  • We continued on with our Greek architecture small sketches which included columns and acanthus leaves.
8th Art
  • We continued on with our charcoal landscape sketches.
9th Spanish
  • We worked on all regular verb conjugations and added two irregular verbs this week. We took a conjugation quiz and listened to our fotonovela (Spanish video) again.

 

Mr. Palmer

7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we learned how to solve basic algebraic equations and how to plot points on a graph.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we continued learning how to factor multivariable equations. We also learned about proportions and how to better work with problems that have negative exponents.
7th/8th P.E.
  • This week in P.E. we did an indoor workout and Coach Palmer’s version of “4 Corners.”
9th Intermediate Logic
  • This week we worked on understanding and working through dilemas. Next week we will have a quiz and a test after Thanksgiving.

 

Metaphorically Speaking

Original Metaphors by 11th Grade Creative Writing

1

I fell to my knees with relief as the arms of forgiveness embraced my broken frame.

 2

Her future was a knocked-over can of pencil shavings.

 3

The epic music washed over me in a rush of adrenaline and motivation, like the beating wall of warmth radiating from a fire.

 4

Her hopes blew away like a dandelion in the wind.

 

5

Cool shivers ran up the spines of marigold as a frost approached.

 6  

Our laughs cackled like a campfire; wearing through the night and only being put out by the cold spell of sleep.

 7

Tears slowly faded to become merely stains on the face while soft smiles gradually returned, as the gentle glow of the sunrise which peeks above the horizon after days of rainstorms.

VOTE for your favorite: mdovan@bradfordacademy.org

*Last week’s winner: “The mountain reached up and touched the heavens with its snow capped finger.” by Olivia White