BB 2019-03-29

BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XI, ISSUE 25

March  29th, 2019

 

FROM THE OFFICE

It has been a wonderfully busy week here at Bradford as we kick off the 4th quarter!  Our 5th – 6th grades enjoyed beautiful weather for their Williamsburg overnight field trip.  And our 11th graders have had the privilege of serving at various local ministries including Siloam, Living Free, Hospice, and Habitat for Humanity.  We pray that these opportunities will open their eyes to the immense need and immense privilege of serving our God in the local community.

 

A note from Austerfield:  Thanks to all who sent in donations for the Austerfield Coin Drive.  We sent donations for $555.00 to “A Heart’s Cry” in Burlington, a pregnancy support ministry, as well as to “Passion for the Poor International”, the ministry that Jesse Hamilton’s parents are working with in Myanmar.  It is thrilling that Bradford families have been so generous over the years and that what began as an idea several years ago (with the hope that we might raise $75) has turned into such a great tradition.

 

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Monday, 4/1
    • CHESS CLUB: 1st – 3rd grades in the foyer.  2:45 – 4:00 **Please tell your child if they are to go to chess club.  At 4:00, you must enter the building to sign your child out.
    • TENNIS CLUB:  8th – 11th grades
    • Tuesday, 4/2
    • Spring XC Training
  • Thursday, 4/4
    • Advanced Art field trip:  NC Museum of Art
    • RUNNING CLUB: K – 5th grades (Must turn in permission slip)
    • Spring XC Training
  • Friday, 4/5
    • Upper school Mentor lunch
    • TENNIS CLUB:  6th – 7th grades

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Luther)

Bible
  • This week TK students reviewed recent Bible stories.  
  • Next week we begin studying The Last Supper of Jesus Christ and examine how well he loved and served others.  
Theme Adventure
  • This week students began to learn about the change in seasons.   In science, TK created a rainstorm in a jar.
Literacy
  • TK continues to study and learn how to write lowercase letters.  They played various games that matched lowercase letters to their capital letters.  
  • TK students are developing comprehension skills through listening to stories, acting them out, and sharing remembered details.  They were challenged this week to add a character to the story or to change the setting and retell the story.
Math
  • TK continues to practice counting by fives. This week they applied this knowledge to nickels and counting money.  
  • TK was challenged with pattern development.  They built ABC patterns through sounds, motion, and with blocks.
Arts and Sciences
  • TK painted a spring tree during centers this week.  They recalled budding leaves and flowers that are blooming now.
  • With the theme of spring in mind, TK created rainstorms in a jar.  The students counted as we added drops of rain to a cloud until it was too heavy to contain the new drops.  As we counted we watched for blue raindrops to drip down. The students felt they added much water for it to work.  We added over 100 drops and it was an exciting sight to see the blue drops cascade down the jar!

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

Language Arts
  • We introduced the letter Q and learned the proper strokes for letter formation. Our scholars colored a reproduction of Anne of Cleaves to add to our phonics museum. After decoding the words in sentences, they had fun illustrating them. We reviewed the letters: p/b, t/d, k/g, and s/z to reinforce the difference between their sounds.  
  • Please continue to review special exhibit words at home. Try finding them while you are out doing errands or in books and magazines at home.
  • Special Exhibit words: give, eye, love, visit my, I
Math
  • Subtraction facts: subtracting a number from 10; identifying dozen and half dozen; estimating and measuring distances using feet; creating a measuring tool; identifying one-, five-, ten-, and twenty- dollar bills; writing money amounts using a dollar sign; written assessment 20; addition facts: adding 9; fact assessment 15.
History
  • The United States was formed from the thirteen British colonies in 1776. The colonies were made up of settlers from all over Europe. We discussed what daily  life was like in the colonies. Colonist had to grow their own food. They also needed to store enough during the summer months so they would have something to eat during the winter months.  Clothing could not be bought in stores. People had to make their own cloth from flax and wool. Flax was turned into linen thread and wool into yarn. Children gathered flowers and berries to dye the thread and yarn bright hues of red (pokeberry), yellow (goldenrod and birchbark), purple (iris), and blue (logwood).
Science
  • We finished up our mammal scavenger hunt outside. Students had to locate the correct mammal fact card and then record their answers to the questions about mammals.  Did you know that there are skunks that are black with white spots? Elephants have the largest brain of any land animal, but they have very poor eyesight. The giraffe sleeps less than two hours a day! We have enjoyed our study of mammals and next week we will begin our unit on body systems.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and had our video music lesson about the composer, Beethoven. We warmed up our voices and practiced, “Be Thou My Vision,” one of our songs for the Patriotic Program. Finally, we enjoyed coloring and listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa.
Art
  • Norman Rockwell chronicled American life for sixty years. His attention to detail, humor, and treatment of personalities and situations has made him one of the best known artists in America. We studied several of his illustrations and imagined the story behind the image. One of his most famous illustrations is his own self portrait. Students learned the basics behind a self portrait, such as placing the eyes in the middle of their head, adding details such as eyelashes, eyebrows or even a missing tooth, before drawing their own self portrait.  
P.E.
  • Dribbling is the first fundamental basketball skill. Our students are learning to control the ball using their fingers, not their palms. We had fun practicing our dribbling while doing a relay race. In the near future, we may see these students on the court playing for Bradford. Go Archers!  
Memory Work:
  • Matthew 6:9-13 and review

 

1st Grade (Mrs. Campbell)

Language Arts
  • Phonics target sound: AW/AU/AL (saw, pause, tall); Silent consonants (KN-kneel, GN-gnat, WR-write, GH-sigh, MB-lamb, LK-walk, LF-calf, TLE-castle)
  • Phonics primer: Serving in the Shadow of Death
  • 5 rules of a complete sentence
Math
  • This week we practiced adding three two-digit numbers, reading a thermometer to the nearest two degrees Fahrenheit, and using the problem-solving method guess and check.  Students also completed their fact and written assessments.
History
  • First graders began writing their first independent report this week!  After doing research on George Washington, they submitted 3-5 neatly written sentences about our first president.  Next week we will work on editing their sentences and completing a final draft. We also began reading 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. We enjoyed some time coloring and drawing while listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa. Our music theory lesson was about time signatures, and we spent the rest of class warming up our voices and singing our quarterly hymns.
Art
  • Students imitated the colors used by Van Gogh in his famous work “Starry Night.”
P.E.
  • This week we learned how to pull flags in flag football by playing “Flag-Tag.”
Memory Work:  
  • Psalm 67:1

 

2nd Grade (Mrs. Jones)

Language Arts
  • Reading: We continued reading Baby Island, where we finally got to see a softer side to Mr. Peterkin.  Ask your child which baby is Mr. Peterkin’s favorite!
  • Cursive: Uppercase O, H and K
  • Grammar: Prepositions, Prepositional phrases
    • The next 10 states and capitals
Math
  • Adding money amounts (decimals)
  • Reading and showing temperature using Celsius scale
  • Roman Numerals
  • Commutative property of multiplication
  • Multiplication (x 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10)
History
  • The students continued reading about the life of Moses in Exodus. We learned about what happened immediately after the tenth plague, what the Passover means and how the Hebrews were finally set free.
Latin
  • We moved on from simple commands to learning animal names in Latin. This week we focused on pets: dog, cat, fish and horse.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. We enjoyed some time coloring and drawing while listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa. Our music theory lesson was about time signatures, and we spent the rest of class warming up our voices and singing our quarterly hymns.

 

Art
  • We combined art and literature this week by looking at illustrated poems. Specifically, we focused on some of the poems Robert Louis Stevenson wrote for children. Each student chose one of these poems to copy and then illustrate in the margins.
Science

We began our study of rocks and minerals this week. First, we watched several short videos  explaining the rock cycle and the three types of rocks. Then, the students got to examine some beautiful rocks like quartz crystal, feldspar, amethyst and calcite. Ask your student which one was their favorite.

P.E.
  • This week we learned how to pull flags in flag football by playing “Flag-Tag.”
Memory Work:
  • Hebrews 11:11-22

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Mitchell)

Language Arts
  • Reading:  Archimedes and the Door of Science:  This is an animated look into the life of an old Greek geek.  We will tie this book to our science objectives and overlap reading and reading comprehension with our growing understanding of physics.
    • This week we also spent a lot of time reading the Biblical accounts of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ, tying reading and history together.
  • Writing:  Demonstration speeches – We wrote out all the elements of a good demonstration speech, following the model which I presented at the end of last quarter.
  • Grammar:  Chapter 15 focuses on the kinds of sentences that make for more interesting reading and writing, as well as one that we want to avoid!  F -fragment, S – simple sentence, SCS – simple sentence/compound subject, SCV – simple sentence/compound verb and CD – compound sentence (2 complete sentences joined by a comma and a conjunction).
Math
  • Naming and drawing quadrilaterals; solving 2-dimensional spatial problems using tangrams; dividing a 3-digit number by a 1-digit number; writing common and decimal fractions for tenths; measuring to a tenth of a centimeter; identifying & drawing  translations, rotations & reflections.
History
  • Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ – As we read through the scriptures, students compiled a timeline of the events of the last week of Christ’s life, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Resurrection Sunday.  We also briefly reviewed the 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection as well as the ascension account.
Science
  • Quarter 4 brings us to the study of physics.  As mentioned above, we tie much of our science to our study of Archimedes, one of the greatest scientists of all time.  This week we learned the 3 Laws of Motion and demonstrated each of them using various objects from home and from school.
Latin
  • Chapter 25 introduces the final 11 prepositions that take the accusative case.
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. We enjoyed some time coloring and drawing while listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa. Our music theory lesson was about time signatures, and we spent the rest of class warming up our voices and singing our quarterly hymns.

 

Art
  • We revisited the first concept of the year, drawing and shading spheres but added details to show texture for wood, fur and bubbles.
P.E.
  • This week we worked on learning the football route tree.
Memory Work:
  • Proverbs 24:27

 

4th Grade (Mrs. Hamilton)

Language Arts
  • Reading: Thunderstorm in Church–we continued reading the fictional account of Hans–Martin Luther’s son –about his great father, and the pressure befalling him in following in his footsteps.
  • Writing: Students took a little time off from their research papers in order to focus on their History presentations. In lieu of their papers, students focused on writing clear, well-structured and interesting 5-7 sentence paragraphs on given subjects.
Math
  • Students learned to reduce fractions, to divide by two-digit numbers, to work with comparative graphs, to perform probability experiments, and to simplify improper fractions. They also have successfully completed the unit assessment.
History
  • Renaissance–thank you so much for helping your children with their amazing Renaissance projects!
Science
  • Introduction to Physics: The Three Laws of Newton.
Latin
  • In Latin, we continued working on demonstrative pronouns, this week memorizing and working with the demonstrative pronoun “that” (iste–that which is closer).
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. We spent the beginning of class working on our recorders. We learned the fingering for B flat, and we learned the notes for, “My Country “Tis of Thee,” the song we will be performing for the Patriotic Program. Our music theory lesson was about time signatures, and we enjoyed some time coloring and drawing while listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa.  

 

Art

  • As we begin watercolors, we are reviewing the color wheel and practicing mixing primary colors to create secondary and tertiary colors.
P.E.
  • This week we worked on learning the football route tree.
Memory Work:
  • John 10: 27-28

 

5th Grade (Ms. Windes)

Language Arts
  • Reading: We read this week about how our characters reacted to the king’s threat to remove the colony of Connecticut’s charter with England.
  • Writing: We are preparing to write our research papers by discussing how to find sources and how to find information within our sources.
  • Grammar:  The class continued to work on classification of predicate adjectives and possessive pronoun adjectives.
Math
  • The students learned about measuring turns, experimental probability, and geometric formulas.
History
  • We had an amazing trip to Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg! Thanks for all your support on both long days of travel and learning! We also began learning about the Constitutional Convention.
Science:
  • Physics–The Electromagnetic Spectrum: Students experimented with the microwaves, using remotes, phones, cameras, and the school microwave (with the turntable removed); students also had a chance to observe infrared waves and ultraviolet rays in action. Students also looked at X-rays, and watched representation videos of cancer cells being destroyed by Gamma rays.
Latin
  • Learning about personal pronouns in Latin, we reviewed the cases of English and Latin 1st and 2nd person pronouns and practiced translating sentences that use personal pronouns. Students are doing a superb job at parsing, classifying, and translating these sentences!  
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. We enjoyed some time coloring and drawing while listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa. Our music theory lesson was about time signatures, and we spent the rest of class warming up our voices and singing our quarterly hymns.

 

Art
  • No art because of field trip.
P.E.
  • This week we did not meet due to the field trip.

 

Memory Work:

  • 1 Samuel 2:1-2

 

6th Grade (Mrs. Garrett)

New Testament Survey
  • The class continued to work on memorizing I John. Due to the field trip to Williamsburg the class was not able to work on the other New Testament books.
Literature
  • The class focused on research and citing works for the upcoming Bradford Wax Museum
Math
  • The class focused on converting measurements,  fractional part of a number, percent of a number and classifying quadrilaterals.
History
  • The class continued to look into the Spanish-American War and President Roosevelt’s life.
  • The 5th and 6th grade travelled to Virginia to get a close up view of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. After two days of touring, reenactments and playing games from the 18th century, the students returned to Bradford full of new memories of these historic areas.
Science
  • Due to the field trip to Williamsburg this week, the class was unable to work on their science review of the Bouncing Ball Experiment.
Writing/Grammar
  • The students studied the context of the vocabulary words surrounding the Spanish-American War, and defined each.
  • The class created their own sentences using the vocabulary as well as Cause and Effect wording.
  • Students began researching their Bradford Wax Museum person.
  • A study of antecedents and pronouns continued this week, as well as a review of prepositions.
Latin
  • Review Game
Music
  • This week we began class with prayer and read our weekly praise verse together. We enjoyed some time coloring and drawing while listening to the music of our new 4th quarter composer, John Phillip Sousa. Our music theory lesson was about time signatures, and we spent the rest of class warming up our voices and singing our quarterly hymns.
Art
  • The class explored Norman Rockwell, the artist of this quarter. His commentary on American life as depicted through his art, as well as his strong talent in recreating unusual expressions shaped the attitude and sentiment of our culture in many respects.  The students worked on mimicking the expressions, drawing their own Saturday Evening Post cover.
Logic
  • Proof by Lack of Evidence and Propaganda were explored this week as the students continue to note the many fallacies that are common in our everyday experiences.
P.E.
  • This week we did not meet due to the field trip.
Memory Work:
  • I John 1-2:20,  In Flander’s Fields

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • Our class is back to ray tracing – now with various types of lenses.  We will conclude our study of optics with a test next week. Our next topic will be electrostatics.
Precalculus
  • Our friendly March Madness Bracket competition is underway with Veronica Newsome currently leading the class.  We used historical data to predict the probability of various brackets being “perfect”. Next week we will resume our study of solving trig equations.
Geometry
  • We currently studying volume – learning various formulas and how they were derived.  We plan to have a test on Monday.

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • This week we began the New Testament. Matthew portrays the Lord Jesus as the Messiah. We thought about how the Lord called Matthew the tax collector to make him into a disciple and even writer of one book of the New Testament. We also reviewed the book of Mark; he portrays Jesus as the servant. The book is fast paced. Next week we hope to examine Luke; and then move into Acts. Book analysis papers are due next week.

Mrs. Dovan

8th Omnibus
  • Students are re-writing one of their Quarter 3 exam essays in increments to slow down the writing process and produce thoughtful theses supported by excellent arguments.  

 

  • We began Dante’s Inferno this week.  Thus far, we have descended to the bottom of the seventh layer of hell: the holding place for blasphemers, usurers, and Sodomites.  Dante’s medieval imagination is highly organized, and he depends on classical allusions to color in his ideas. This presentation of condemnation is quite foreign to our modern conceptions which has produced good discussion in class. Can we learn from secular sources? Did Jesus really descend into Hell?

 

  • As we read, students are working to understand how each punishment fits the crime.  Why, for example, are the gluttons subject to a constant hail, rain, and snow? Ask the 8th graders!

 

11th Elective – Intro to Drama
  • We spent time this week brainstorming some performative aspects for our class, which included choosing a short one-act play to memorize and act out.  As we piece together a small showcase for our class, we’re continuing to read plays – now moving into the 20th century. On Wednesday, we began Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • After having spent most of the 2nd and 3rd quarters in outer space, we’ll be spending the remainder of the year studying Planet Earth. We started the unit by discussing the myriad ways that Earth is uniquely designed and fine-tuned to allow life to flourish. Our first area of focus is Earth’s atmosphere. Students worked in groups to identify, describe, and order the five major layers of the atmosphere.
8th Grade Science:
  • Continuing in our study of mechanics, we used graphing to represent the motion of objects. The students have learned to calculate the slope of motion graphs in order to determine the speed and acceleration of moving objects. We all enjoyed following in the footsteps of Galileo and Newton by rolling various objects down ramps to calculate their speed. Next week, we’ll compile all of our data into our own motion graphs.

 

Mr. Hamilton

7th Grammar/Comp
  • We are already on track with our quarter four research papers, and students are working hard on their initial research!
9th History
  • This week we learned about the rise of modernism and how it impacted the 20th century.
9th Literature
  • We are reading The Great Gatsby this week, considered by many to be one of the very best American novels.
9th Theology
  • This week we are critiquing modernism from a Christian point of view.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • We learned about the moral argument for God this week.

 

Dr. James

9th/10th Biology
  • This week we began our introduction to microbiology, during which we will learn about protists and bacteria.  We also began discussing the elements of a professional lab report, which the students will use to write about the fruit fly experiment from last quarter.
  • Next week we will continue our discussion of microbiology, continue working on the lab report, and introduce our “Find a Protist” activity.

 

Mr. Miller

7th Latin
  • We began chapter 21 this week and talked about a special group of nine adjectives that have different endings in the genitive and dative singular.
8th Logic
  • This week we learned how to translate inclusive and exclusive sentences into categorical statements.
10th Literature
  • .We began reading the apostolic fathers this week, a collection of late 1st and 2nd century writings by Christian leaders. We started with the letters of Ignatius, in which we find him emphasizing the importance of unity in the church in the face of heresy.
10th History
  • We started our final historical account of the year, Tacitus’ Annals of Imperial Rome. We read a little about the reign of Augustus before moving onto Tiberius.
10th Rhetoric
  • We kicked off the new quarter with the boys’ favorite – impromptu speeches! We then began discussing the importance of elocution for rhetoric.
11th Literature
  • Our first book of the quarter is Edmund Spenser’s allegorical fantasy The Faerie Queene. The challenging thing about this work is that we are reading it in Spenser’s original 1596 English, which has many spelling and grammar differences that take some getting used to.
11th History
  • This week we studied Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpiece, St Matthew Passion, considered by many to be one of the greatest pieces of Western music. We had the privilege of having a guest, Dr. Ehsan Samei,  come give a talk on the piece in which he introduced us to its depth and complexity.
NT Greek
  • We started off the quarter by reviewing material from the previous quarter.

 

Mrs. Palmer

7th Art
  • This week we learned about Norman Rockwell and discussed his illustrations/painting method. We talked about realism and using the graphite scale.  Students will start a realistic drawing of the human eye next class!
8th Art
  • This week we learned about Norman Rockwell and discussed his illustrations/painting method.  We talked about realism and introduced our next medium, colored pencils. Students will start a realistic drawing of the human eye next class!
9th Spanish
  • We worked hard on our new vocabulary and put it to good use this week.  We learned the differences between the verbs “conocer” and “saber” (both meaning “to know”).  We also conjugated quite a few new verbs this week. Ask your students to tell you their two most recent Bible verses and see how they do!

 

Mr. Palmer

7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we learned how to use the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division properties of equality, how to solve equations with one variable, and how to write out algebraic phrases. Next week we will have a test on lessons 80-88.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we learned how to multiply radicals, how to create stem and leaf plots and histograms, and how to divide polynomials. Next week we will have a test on lessons 80-88.
7th/8th P.E.
  • This week we finished learning the football route tree. Next week we will play some flag football.
9th Intermediate Logic
  • This week we began learning how to use truth trees.