BB 2018-12-07

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XI, ISSUE 15

DECEMBER 7th, 2018

FROM THE OFFICE

UPCOMING

  • Mon, 12/10:  
    • PICTURE PROOFS DUE!  **Please sign up on the office door or let me know if you would like to order a house picture.  
    • MS Girls basketball vs Hayworth
  • Tues, 12/11:  HS Girls basketball vs CPLA
  • Thurs, 12/12:  7th – 8th grade to sing for 1st Baptist
  • Thurs, 12/13:  
    • 7th – 8th – sing at 1st Presbyterian in Burlington
    • 1st – 3rd grades field trip:  Nutcracker
      • Permission slips will go home next week, but for planning purposes:  departure will be around 8:30. The show begins at 9:30, lasting for approximately 1 hour.  Students should return to Bradford around 11:00. Cost is $5 per ticket.
  • Fri, 12/14:  JV boys and HS girls basketball games vs Noble (at Positive Attitude Youth Center, Burlington)
  • NEW DATE:  Tuesday, 12/18  Middle school Christmas Concert, 7:00 pm, at DTC
  • Fri, 12/21:  Christmas celebration; noon dismissal

FYI

  • TIMELINE for CURRENTLY ENROLLED STUDENTS
    • JANUARY
      • You will receive an email from TADS inviting you to LOGIN to your account and verify your information and make any updates.
      • You will be asked to confirm your child’s enrollment and submit a $500 contract deposit for each child.  That deposit is due by MARCH 31st.  You will also be asked to confirm your financial agreement for 2019/2020.
      • You should begin your financial aid application as soon as possible if you plan to apply.
    • MARCH
      • All currently enrolled students should have completed re-enrollment verification and submitted contract deposits.
      • REMINDER: For those families on the payment plan, there is no auto draft in March.
      • You should complete your re-enrollment verification, deposit, and tuition agreement by Mar. 31st.  
      • All financial aid applications should be complete with supporting documentation.

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Luther)

Bible
  • This week we learned about Gabriel’s visit to Mary, Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and Jesus’ birth.  We emphasized why we celebrate Christmas. The children have a toy nativity set to play within the classroom. They have been acting out the story and becoming familiar with the thrill, joy, and hope that our Savior is born!
Theme Adventure
  • This week we focused on the difference between light and dark.  This was taught through the brightness Gabriel showed when visiting Mary, the star that penetrated the night and shone brightly to lead the shepherds and Jesus being the light of the world.  We saw how light penetrates the dark and makes things known. This was all supported through the poem and illustrations of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost and illuminating letters in the classroom.  
  • Next week we will spend a few days in the kitchen with a local professional baker learning to mix colors in icing and creating our very own Christmas cookies!
Literacy
  • TK has been learning about onset and rime.  They are learning to identify word families by studying the word itself and listening skills.  
  • Next week we will build on this skill by matching and combining onset and rime.  We will be breaking down simple words and learning how to put the sounds together.  
Math
  • This week we learned to compare objects by weight using a balance in the classroom.  The TK students were thrilled to learn what was inside the mystery containers that we weighed.  
  • We also identified and created a more complex pattern of ABB.  
Arts and Sciences
  • TK has begun creating artistic items for Christmas (we cannot give away special creative secrets here)!
  • The students also saw how fire and small amounts of light can create such a large difference in darkness.  

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

Language Arts
  • We continued working with the short /i/ sound (as in igloo) and differentiated between /a/, /e/, and /i/ in the middle of words. Students reviewed the special exhibit words:  was, not, his, they, that, and with. We continued reading Bad Meg! and introduced the next reader To the Rim of the Map. In handwriting, students are continuing to practice lower case letters and writing short, one-syllable words.
Math
  • Creating a line of symmetry; cutting designs to create symmetrical pieces
  • Identifying and writing one half; cutting cookies to show one half (and eating one half)
  • Estimating and measuring capacity
  • Writing two digit numbers for a set of objects and ordering two-digit numbers
  • Identifying Odd and Even numbers
  • Numbering a clock face and showing the time to the hour
History
  • The Babylonian captivity or exile refers to the time period in Israel’s history when Jews were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. This period of captivity, exile, return, and restoration of the Jewish nation was a fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies. God used Babylon as His agent of judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him.
Science
  • We continued our  study of measurement by estimating length, learning the linear equivalents, and metric measurements. Students practiced measuring using a variety of items including links, sticks, and even their hands before determining it is best to have a standard system of measurement.
Music
  • This week we began class with our video lesson with the title, “Melody By Steps and Leaps.” Then, we enjoyed warming up our voices and singing our Christmas quarterly hymns.  Finally, as we colored, we listened to parts of, “The Messiah,” by Handel.
Art
  • Our scholars finished up their Mr. Gallon Man. We also discussed Michelangelo, his background, his artistic style, and his greatest works. Students then listened to music composed by Handel as they attempted to copy two of Michelangelo’s paintings from the Sistine Chapel using watercolor.
P.E.
  • We continued practicing our locomotor movements. Students are gaining mastery of large movements and balance while using opposite limbs to cross the midline of their bodies and controlling their speed.
Memory Work:
  • Isaiah 9:6-7

 

1st Grade (Mrs. Campbell)

Language Arts
  • Phonics target: AI/AY (wait/pray)
  • Phonics primer: The Brave Monk – read aloud and reading comprehension activities
Math
  • This week we practiced identifying halves, fourths, and eighths of a whole, creating and reading a bar graph, making an organized list to solve a problem, measuring with color tiles, sums of 11 addition facts, and fact and written assessments.
History
  • Our class completed the exciting journey we’ve traveled with the Pilgrims which began in Scrooby, England and ended with the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth colony.  In honor of Governor William Bradford, students discussed the following quote and created a pop-up book: “As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea, in some sort, to our whole nation.” -William Bradford
Science
  • What makes a bird a bird?  We explored this question and discovered that it isn’t wings or the ability to fly and make a nest that sets these creatures apart, but rather their unique design feature of feathers.  We then labeled the primary physical features of bird, tried to identify it by its features (short beak, small body, plain crown, etc.), and colored it accordingly.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. Next, we had a history of hymns based on the Christmas hymn, “Good Christian Men Rejoice,”and then enjoyed singing our quarterly Christmas hymns. We spent the last half of class watching a historical video about the life of our quarterly composer, George Frideric Handel.
Art
  • We continued to practice overlapping by drawing a city skyline, producing the effect of some towers being further in the distance than others.  The students then added features such as trees, clouds, roads and paths. We also began learning about the life and art of Michelangelo, our artist of the quarter.
P.E.
  • This week we started learning the basics of basketball.
Memory Work:  
  • Psalm 1:1-4

 

2nd Grade (Mrs. Jones)

Language Arts
  • In Grammar the students are continuing to learn how to diagram sentences. This week they were introduced to the simple subject, complete subject, simple predicate and complete predicate.
  • We finished Sarah, Plain and Tall this week. Second grade has enjoyed getting to learn about life on the prairie and how different it was from life on the coast of Maine.
  • They have learned lower case cursive letters: l, h, k, t, e, i, u, j, p, a, d, and c
  • Ask them how many different words they can write using only the cursive letters that they have learned so far.
Math
  • Subtraction Facts: Subtracting a number from 10
  • Constructing a number line
  • Adding two digit numbers
  • Drawing and measuring line segments to the nearest half inch
History
  • The Middle Kingdom in Egypt- This week we divided up the timeline of Ancient Egypt into the three main parts that Egyptologists use. Each student got to arrange the timeline labels in the correct order so that they have a more concrete understanding of when specific events take place. They also learned about hieroglyphics this week and used stamps to spell out their name.
Science
  • We reviewed the scientific method and then put it into practice with our first experiment. Ask your child about how to create the three states of matter using just water. They also  learned two new songs to help them remember the scientific method and states of matter.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. Next, we had a history of hymns based on the Christmas hymn, “Good Christian Men Rejoice,”and then enjoyed singing our quarterly Christmas hymns. We spent the last half of class watching a historical video about the life of our quarterly composer, George Frideric Handel.  
Art
  • We continued to read about and discuss our artist of the quarter, Michelangelo. The students picked up where they left off with their Sistine Chapel page, but this time they were permitted to use the top of their desk instead of the bottom!
P.E.
  • This week we started learning the basics of basketball.
Memory Work:
  • Proverbs 25:6-18

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Mitchell)

Language Arts
  • Reading:  Greek myths:  Midas; Sisyphus; Danaus, Perseus and the Gorgon
  • Writing: A few  students are finalizing their keyword paragraph from last week; we began to brainstorm plot ideas for the Burlington Writer’s Contest.  Entries will be submitted in February.
  • Grammar:  Subject, possessive and object pronouns.  Students learned songs to help them categorize the many pronouns in the English language.
Math
  • Finding elapsed time and converting minutes into hours and minutes in order to tell when an event will end; writing story problems for addition, subtraction and equal groups sentences; identifying lines of symmetry; drawing a reflection across a line of symmetry; written assessment.
History
  • Persian Wars:  We will spend two weeks on this card, so there will be no new card or test next week.  Our study focuses on the 3 decisive battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis. We will also look into the scriptures to see where Persian kings make their appearance.
Science
  • Test on the phases of the moon; final preparations for planet presentations and beginning of presentations; study of constellation flip books for the next test on 12/19.
Latin
  • 2nd conjugation verbs.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. Next, we had a history of hymns based on the Christmas hymn, “Good Christian Men Rejoice,”and then enjoyed singing our quarterly Christmas hymns. We spent the last half of class watching a historical video about the life of our quarterly composer, George Frideric Handel.  
Art
  • Students continued a drawing and watercolor project, which will be a surprise for one lucky recipient.
P.E.
  • This week we started learning the basics of basketball.
Memory Work:
  • Psalm 84:10

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Hamilton)

Language Arts
  • Reading: Students continue to greatly enjoy reading The Adventures of Robin Hood. With more reading being completed at home, students should always be ready for a pop quiz!
  • Writing: In the next few weeks, students will be shifting their focus from creative toward academic writing by composing, editing, and re-editing a five-paragraph essay.
  • Grammar: We enjoyed coming up with a myriad of interjections, and also learned about conjunctions and compound subjects and verbs. Students are doing a fantastic job coming up with intriguing sentences using our vocabulary words. We also began our review of capitalization and punctuation rules.
Math
  • Students learned to read and write whole numbers in expanded notation, to solve multiple-step word problems, and to find an average.
History
  • Cathedrals of Europe: Students are greatly enjoying learning about the architectural advances of the Middle Ages, such as thin and tall walls made of glass, pointed arches, and flying buttresses.
Science
  • Fourth graders continued learning about the processes of distillation, filtration, and centrifuge, and discussed the problem of unsafe water throughout the world. Also, we began working with unsaturated, saturated, and supersaturated solutions. During our lab time, students were incredibly excited to witness different instances of CO2 release, such as in a yeast-inflated balloon and Alka-Seltzer “rockets.”
Latin
  • Chapter 12: This week it was all about ablative prepositions. Student teams were challenged to come up with as many Latin prepositional phrases as possible in a limited amount of time.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. Then, we worked on learning to play the song, “Good King Wenceslas,” on our recorders. We spent the last half of class watching a historical video about the life of our quarterly composer, George Frideric Handel.  
Art
  • We prepared for our Friday trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art, looking at paintings and noticing the colors, subjects, and stories in each of the paintings.
P.E.
  • This week we started learning the basics of basketball.
Memory Work:
  • Matthew 5:1-4

 

5th Grade (Ms. Windes)

Language Arts
  • Reading: Bilbo’s plunder of a single cup from Smaug caused Smaug to fly to Laketown to take revenge on the city. As fire spread across the town, the grim-voiced man, Bard, stood his ground and shot an arrow into Smaug’s single weak spot that Bilbo had discovered. Smaug is destroyed, but the newly unguarded treasure trove brings more misery and conflict than peace.
  • Writing: Students are making good progress on their stories, practicing creating a vivid setting, developing strong and well-rounded characters, and keeping their plot focused on the main thing their characters want.
  • Grammar: Compound subject nouns and verbs, along with classifying sentences.
Math
  • We learned about subtracting mixed numbers with regrouping, dividing by a decimal number, and dividing by fractions. We  have spent a little extra time on math this week reviewing and brushing up on the several new concepts the students have learned recently. Students should be working slowly and carefully through their math lessons to have as few corrections as possible!
History
  • Students enjoyed acting out trading between the southern colonies, middle colonies, New England colonies, the West Indies, Africa, and England. We discussed mercantilism, the fancy word for a mother country trading with its colonies.
Science:
  • We are getting deeper into our study of the periodic table by learning more about Groups 1 and 2; students also learned about electron shells, valence electrons, and the effect the electrons have on an element’s behavior.
Latin
  • After reviewing the third conjugation verbs, students learned a new set of vocabulary and reviewed all four conjugations in the present tense.
  • Upcoming: Thursday, 12/13: Chapter 13 Test
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer. Next, we had a history of hymns based on the Christmas hymn, “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” and then enjoyed singing our quarterly Christmas hymns. We spent the last half of class watching a historical video about the life of our quarterly composer, George Frideric Handel.  
Art
  • Students finished their charcoal pieces beautifully, adding the reflection of the moon and trees in the lake.
P.E.
  • This week we started learning the basics of basketball.
Memory Work:
  • This week: Isaiah 40: 6-8
  • Next week: Psalm 51:10-12

 

6th Grade (Mrs. Garrett)

New Testament Survey
  • The Acts of the Apostles and Luke’s role in revealing the progression of the early church brought many questions and discussion this week in class. The students also learned much about the connection between the Old and New Testament.
Literature
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens captured the imagination of the students as they were transported to the past, present and future of Christmas for Scrooge. The students look forward to presenting a play based on Dickens’ work.
Math
  • Multiplication and division of decimals, along with addition and subtraction. In addition, metric units were practiced this week.
History
  • The opening of the Oregon Territory
  • Upcoming Test: Friday, 12/14
Science
  • Bacteria, viruses and prokaryotes
  • Upcoming test: Thursday, 12/13
Writing/Grammar
  • After practicing correcting double negatives, and transforming adjectives to their comparative and superlative forms, the students took an assessment to test their grammar knowledge.
Latin
  • We learned the perfect tense this week, reviewing other tense endings and practicing translating from English to Latin and Latin to English.
  • Upcoming: Tuesday, 12/11: Chapter 8 test
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer. Next, we had a history of hymns based on the Christmas hymn, “Good Christian Men Rejoice,”and then enjoyed singing our quarterly Christmas hymns. We spent the last half of class watching a historical video about the life of our quarterly composer, George Frideric Handel.  
Art
  • The rule of thirds in many famous paintings, the use of angles, the source of light and other properties of art came into focus this week as the class prepared for their field trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art. The featured artist at the museum was Georgia O’Keefe. The span of O’Keeffe’s long career was apparent. She struggled with being one of the first prominent female artists but her art only displays boldness, vigor and optimism for the future.
Logic
  • The class  practiced their sound off this week, and reviewed the fallacies covered thus far.
P.E.
  • This week we started learning the basics of basketball.
Memory Work:
  • I John 1-2:2, History Song

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • The class has completed making their egg protecting prototypes.  We will test the devices and judge their relative success with various calculations a week from Wednesday.  Meanwhile, we are also commencing a study of Energy and Work.
Pre-calculus
  • We have begun a study of trigonometry. In addition to the trig ratios we learned in Geometry class, we are expanding our understanding to include trig functions.
Geometry
  • The Geometry class is learning to construct our own proofs for some simple theorems.  We will begin to specifically look at triangle proofs. There will be a cumulative test on first semester material on Wednesday.

 

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • This week we have been challenged by the conviction, prayers, and action of Ezra. The class is working on a project on the book of Daniel that will be due at the end of the quarter. We are thankful for the Old Testament.

 

Mrs. Dovan

8th Omnibus
  • Literature / Composition: We finished Song of Roland this week.  Our next reading is Robin Hood!
  • History:  We also finished our selections from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People.  The students wrote refutations & confirmations of a miraculous healing and enjoyed debating their arguments.  
  • Theology:  As we reflect on our reading of Roland and God’s faithfulness to move the gospel forward into new nations (Bede), students will be discussing religious violence when we return next week.
11th Elective – Creative Writing
  • In preparing for the final projects, students have been reading and discussing selections from Flannery O’Connor, James Joyce, Wendell Berry, and Kate Chopin to understand the scope of a short story.  

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • We took an in-depth look this week at how the gravitational effects of the moon and sun cause fluctuations in tides on Earth, depending on the phase of the moon. Many students were able to think back to weeks spent at the beach where they noticed that sometimes the high tide was very high and low tide was very low (spring tide), but at other times there was not a dramatic difference between high and low tide (neap tide).  
  • The last portion of the moon unit will be discussing the secular theories behind the origin of the moon. The Moon Unit Test will be taken on December 18th. Moon phase logs are due on December 13th.
8th Grade Science:
  • We are getting deeper into our study of the periodic table. This week’s focus was on the properties of transition metals and the metalloids. We learned that, while metals are very conductive, metalloids, such as silicon, have the unique property of semi-conductivity.
  • Periodic Table Quiz on Metalloids: December 11th
  • Periodic Table Quiz on Non-Metals: December 13th
  • Chemistry Unit Exam: December 18th

 

Mr. Hamilton

7th Grammar/Comp
  • This week we are reviewing for our end-of-quarter quizzes, which cover the basics of good style.
7th Omnibus
  • We’ve picked up Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and are busy preparing for our annual dramatic reading. This year we have upgraded our annual Greek drama-mask project, and so far the results have been exciting!
9th History
  • In 9th history we continued to look at social developments in the 19th century. This week we focused on Romanticism as an artistic and cultural movement.
9th Literature
  • We’ve finished our study of Pride and Prejudice and have come away with a genuine appreciation for Jane Austen’s classic novel, as well as a new-found understanding of the value of good literature.
9th Theology
  • This week we continued working to understand what the Bible has to say about forms of government and economic theory.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • As the semester draws to a close, we are examining 20th century developments in epistemology and philosophy of action.

 

Dr. James

9th/10th Biology
  • This week we had our third test of Q2, covering and introduction to ecology.  We also began our next topic . . . Kingdom Fungi. Students also began presentations on their research topics for Q2.
  • Next week we will wrap up our consideration of Kingdom Fungi and will finish the remaining research presentations.

 

Mr. Johnston

8th Latin
  • Completed 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.

 

Mr. Miller

7th Latin
  • The students had a vocab quiz this week and we practiced writing the irregular verbs “eo, ire” and “fero, ferre” in the perfect tense.
8th Logic
  • We continued practicing how to write categorical syllogisms, both in “schema” form and as normal sentences.
10th Literature
  • This week we read together in class Euripides famous play The Bacchae, which is about the god Dionysus and the trouble he causes for those who refuse to acknowledge him.
10th History
  • We finished discussing Books 8-9 of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, which are about friendship. He distinguishes between three types of friendship, those based on virtue, utility, or pleasure. He stresses that the ones based on a common pursuit of virtue and love for the other person as such are the only true friendships.
10th Rhetoric
  • This week we read what Aristotle has to say about deliberative and display rhetoric in preparation for the final speeches the guys will have to give at the end of the quarter.
11th Literature
  • After many weeks spent with Dante the pilgrim, we finally made it all the way to the heights of heaven where the fullness of God’s presence resides! It was quite a powerful, beautiful journey as presented by Dante the poet, and we learned a lot about theology and the medieval worldview along the way.
11th History
  • This week the students began reading and presenting on two different medieval mystics, Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich. These two women provide a very different theological method and perspective than the scholastics we have read so far, focused more on the mystery of God and depicting this through (sometimes strange) images, analogies, and visions.
NT Greek
  • We finally got to Greek verbs this week! We began by learning some basics of the verb system and then focusing on present, active, indicative verb endings.

 

Mrs. Palmer

7th Art
  • We began our charcoal architecture drawings, starting with grids, and slowly added detail. They’re going to look great!
8th Art
  • We began our charcoal landscape drawings, starting with grids, and slowly added detail. They’re going to look great!
9th Spanish
  • We worked on a new irregular verb (ir=to go) and learned its conjugations. We added some new vocabulary, we worked on our listening skills, and students created mini dialogues in which they practiced speaking. We also practiced our Spanish Christmas carol, “Ángeles cantando están” (Angels We Have Heard on High).

 

Mr. Palmer

7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we reviewed how to  add mixed numbers and calculate the volume of an object.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we worked  on adding rational expressions with equal and unequal denominators.
7th/8th P.E.
  • This week we began learning the basics of basketball.
9th Intermediate Logic
  • This week we learned “rules of inference” and how to identify them within a argument.

 

Mr. Davis

7th and 8th Grade Choir
  • This week the students will be finalizing their Christmas Concert. Next week they will be leading the Christmas Concert for a luncheon at First Baptist Church on Wednesday, December 12 and at a luncheon for First Presbyterian Church in Burlington on Thursday, December 13.
11th Grade Introduction to Church Worship
  • This week the students worked on writing original worship material as well as building a theological foundation for worship. Next week the students will be recording their own original music in class.