BB 2020-09-25

 BRADFORD BULLETIN

VOLUME XIII , ISSUE 6

September 25, 2020

 

FROM THE OFFICE

Please read this note about uniforms:  

For extra warmth in the classrooms students may wear:  Bradford dress uniform sweaters and the Bradford black ¼ zip sweatshirt.   (***Jackets, hoodies, non-Bradford sweatshirts are not allowed in the classroom.)

Dress uniform sweaters are required in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.  If you have not ordered your child’s sweater, please do so ASAP!  October 16th is the first day it is required.  With embroidery and COVID slow downs, ordering today would be ideal.

Thank you for all the generous red envelope donations for teachers!  We would love to have as many as possible returned by the end of September since there are a number of upcoming staff birthdays.  However, you may turn them in at any point in the year.  You can send contributions marked as “Class Gift – Teacher Name” if you no longer have the envelope.  

A note regarding soccer game spectators:  We have another home soccer game on Monday.  We are restricted to 50 spectators total, therefore we are having to ask that children do not attend in order to allow for parents from both teams to be present.      

UPCOMING

NEXT WEEK:

  • Monday, 9/28:  Soccer game
  • Wednesday, 9/30:  XC Meet at Forsyth Country Day School
  • Friday, 10/2:  Last day of the 1st quarter!  Report cards to be posted on EDUCATE.  Do you have your EDUCATE account set up?
  • Saturday, 10/3….Mr. Johnston’s xxth birthday!!!  

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

  • FALL BREAK:  10/5 – 10/9  No School!
  • School pictures:  10/22 and 10/23  (more details to come)
  • Oct. 30 all day: Greek Olympics – Lower School

 

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

 

Transitional Kindergarten (Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Grubb)

Bible
  •   This week TK learned about the story of Noah.  We focused on God’s goodness and providence for his people.  
Theme Adventure
  •  TK continues to study apples.  This week we began studying the legacy of Johnny Appleseed.  
Literacy
  •  Students have been identifying rhyming words when hearing them in poems and stories. 
  • TK has continued to work on letter identification and learning each other’s names. 
  • TK students have been working on identifying familiar signs they see around the school and town.  We used shapes, letters, colors and numbers to identify what direction the signs are giving. 
Math
  •  Students continued to work on creating graphs with data and reading the graphs to interpret the data collected.  TK students enjoyed a lesson identifying shapes where they  ate rectangle and circle shaped crackers! 
Arts and Sciences
  • TK created animal face masks and pretended to make a journey to Noah’s Ark.  Show and Tell this week revolved around animals and the faithfulness God provided for the animals on the earth, to preserve them on the ark during the flood. 

 

Lower School P.E. (Mr. Davis)

K – 5th
  • This week the students worked on strength training and running. 

 

Kindergarten (Mrs. Rivera & Mrs. McDorman)

This Week
  • The Lord has been so gracious to allow us to finish our seventh week of instruction at Bradford Academy. Our young scholars have been busy memorizing : The Pledge of Allegiance, Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Preamble to the US Constitution, two poems by Christina Rossetti, The BC History Fact Song, The Creation Song, The Books of the Bible Song, The Continent Song, and our hymn of the quarter “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  This week we learned how to write addition number sentences for story problems. We have also mastered the addition facts for doubles up to the number nine. Our students enjoyed combining frozen red, yellow, and blue ice cubes to make the secondary colors of green, purple, and orange. In Science we had fun predicting what jelly beans would taste good and which ones might not be so tasty.  The way we perceive flavour results in a combination of smell, taste, and touch. We use our tongues to distinguish between five basic tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory.
Memory Work:
  • Exodus 15:2

 

1st Grade (Mrs. Morgan & Mr. Law)

This Week
  • We are grateful to the Lord for progress from our hard-working students! Our first graders have been forging ahead on their math, being introduced to some basic fractions, identifying different geometric shapes,  and even telling time by half-past the hour! We also had some assessments on the phonograms (phonics) this week and were pleased to see the students remembering all the basic sounds they will need to know to become speedy readers. In grammar, we have been continuing to go over the use of nouns in speech. Turning to history, ask the students when Columbus sailed the ocean blue and they will tell you, “1492!” We have closed the chapter on Christopher Columbus and have moved right along to the story of Pocahontas. In science, we have been familiarizing ourselves with the classifications of different kinds of living things. It has been great fun for the students to try to figure out which animals are vertebrates and which ones are invertebrates! 
Memory Work:  
  • 2 Peter 1:20-21
Upcoming:
  • Science test on classification coming up Tuesday, September 29th.

 

2nd Grade (Mrs. Jones & Mrs. Batten)

This Week
  • This week second grade continued reading their first chapter book called Tornado.  We are continuing to work on sounding out multisyllabic words, and students are doing very well at sounding out the phonogram sounds they have learned.  In history, we began studying our first card focused on Ancient Egypt and learned all about the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Pharaoh Menes. Ask your child if they remember another name for this Pharaoh! In grammar we have been practicing with nouns and learned all about verbs by acting them out. Students loved getting up and making their classmates guess what verb they were acting out. We have also introduced lots of new words in Latin, so ask your student if they remember how to say man, woman, boy, and girl this week. 
Memory Work: 
  • Proverbs 26:17
  • Philippians 2:14-15
  • Classification Song, Parts of an Insect song
  • Audubon song
Upcoming:
  • Please continue sending in magazines for an upcoming project. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

 

3rd Grade (Mrs. Garner)

This Week
  • We have enjoyed marvelling at God’s handiwork in our study of the six major biomes of our world this week. It was an exciting new task to complete our biome books, while developing our listening and notetaking skills.  Our class also made connections with the Greek myths and legends that  try to explain the world and its wonders. What peace we find in knowing that nothing in this world has come about without God being entirely aware and entirely in control! As a class, we are all working on putting this mindset into practice in our daily lives. Whenever a task before us  proves challenging, we continually remind ourselves to take a deep breath and tell ourselves that God only asks us to do our best. Third grade has offered us opportunities to  practice this  in math and in reading. Our timed math fact practices and new math tools, like a compass,  are points in which we need to breathe, think, and act. Even in reading, we are learning how to persevere through sounding out unfamiliar words or to look for keywords in the text to answer the questions. In all things, we are reminded to give ourselves grace and to use each moment as a reflective learning experience. Did I do my best? Did I give up? Did I work hard in class? Did I study  at home? What can I do better next time? Am I talking positively about myself and this task? Please continue to encourage your child with these types of questions at home. 
Memory Work:
  • 1 Peter 3:8-9
Upcoming:
  • 9/30- Biome Test
  • 10/1- Math Test (Written and Fact)
  • 10/2- Spelling List M-4, Latin Ch. 6, History: “Olympics” 

4th Grade (Mrs. Burtram) 

This Week
  •  We have had a wonderful week in fourth grade!  We are parsing and translating sentences in our Latin class, creating advanced cylinders in art, and traveling across Europe in geography.  We are reviewing our multiplication facts in math along with new learning, studying geometry vocabulary, division word problems, and finding many ways to make half.  We are enjoying a new book in literature, Rolf and the Viking Bow and reading a tale from Beowulf for our writing topics.  I am looking forward to hearing their original version of the tale.  We have learned about Justinian the Great this week in History and how he constructed the Hagia Sophia.  We ended our week learning about Byzantine architecture.
Science
  •  We are finishing up our study of plants and learned about photosynthesis this week.  We analyzed our experiment and studied how light is needed to help our specimens grow.
Memory Work:
  • 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a
Upcoming:
  • We will be making frescos with our third and fifth grade friends next week as we end our study of Michelangelo and his art work in the Sistine Chapel.  

 

5th Grade (Ms. Vogus) 

This Week
  • This week has been an awesome week! In Math, we have started discussing how to add and subtract fractions. We also talked about rate and ratio. In writing, we read through some of Anne Broadstreet’s poetry. Throughout both of these classes we talked about how God is a God of order and not of chaos. In History, we talked about Sir Walter Raleigh and the mystery of the Roanoke Colony. The kids really enjoyed this week’s history! In Latin we have been reviewing our declensions and vocabulary from past lessons to strengthen what we have learned in the past. We’ve read through chapters 5 and 6 in The Hobbit. We had a fantastic discussion about hospitality. I’m looking forward to another great week next week! 
Memory Work:
  • Romans 12:11-13
Upcoming:
  • Romans 12: 14-15
  • Friday: Literature, History, Spelling, and Math Test
  • Friday: We will be working on creating our own Fresco painting with the 4th and 3rd grade! 

 

LOGIC & RHETORIC SCHOOL

Mr. Batten

Language Arts
  • We held a round robin poetry tournament to find the best poet in the class. The 8 rounds included haikus, limericks, concrete poems, and free verse poems. In addition, we began an essay on the theme of friendship throughout the Jungle Book, comparing and contrasting it to biblical friendship. 
History
  • We learned about the Battle of the Alamo, and its importance in the beginnings of Texas. Students created and acted out skits of David Crockett, Jim Bowie, and Santa Anna.
Science
  • We closed out our Nature of Science unit by reviewing for, and taking a quiz on the scientific method, scientific enterprise, and truth. 
6th Logic
  • We reviewed for, and took a quiz on everything we have learned so far! This included the importance of logic, and all of the “Avoiding the Questions” fallacies we have talked about thus far. Students wrote statements which used said fallacies, and the rest of the class identified which fallacy was being used. 
7th Logic
  • We continued our discussion on the appeal to emotion fallacies by looking at the appeal to fear. We again discussed how this is a great time to be a logic student as we can see this fallacy rampant in election season. 
8th Logic
  • We finished a unit on statements by learning how to turn sentences into standard form by using the verbs of being. In addition, we began a class debate on what happens to those who never hear the gospel. 
Upcoming:
  • We will continue to memorize 1 John chapter 2, learn about the westward expansion of the United States, being a unit in science on cells, and work to improve our writing by writing more essays. 

 

Mrs. Byrd

Physics
  • We are nearly finished with our introduction to vectors.  Following a brief trig review, we are learning how to resolve a vector into its components and also how to add vectors by adding components.
Precalculus
  • This week we started considering various properties of polynomial functions.  We spent one class doing a CSI style crime solving project that applied our knowledge of polynomials.
Geometry 
  • The class is hard at work constructing their 100 popsicle stick bridges.  There are some innovative designs.  We are planning to weight-test bridges on Monday to see which one is the strongest.

Dr. Byrd

10th Bible Survey
  • We have finished this week the books of Joshua and Judges. We have seen that Joshua meditated on the Book of the Law and he also was careful to obey it. Furthermore, we learned that everything that God had promised through Moses came to pass. In other words, God fulfills His promises. This is a great encouragement for us as Christians. 
  • Scripture Memory: Joshua 8:35

 

Mr. Davis

6th-7th PE
  • This week the students worked on flexibility, strength training and running. 
8th PE
  • Due to rain, the students stayed inside and learned proper running technique and the importance of running. 
10th Advanced P.E.
  • This week the students worked on flexibility, strength training, running and speed drills. 

Mrs. Fairchild

9th Grade Advanced Art
  • The students finished copying their first watercolor monochromatic painting and have started their own original monochromatic landscape.  They are applying what they learned through imitation to their own creative ideas.

 

Mrs. Frueh

7th Grade Science:
  • We wrapped up our unit on the Theory of Plate Tectonics this week by looking at the 3 different types of plate boundaries and the 3 different faults that result at each of these boundaries. We also learned about the 4 types of mountains. Part of our study was a discussion of the conflicting views of uniformitarianism and catastrophism. The students learned that there is more than one perspective taken by geologists who study plate tectonics and that the global Genesis Flood can explain many of the features that we see on Earth’s surface today.
  • We will take a Unit Exam on Tuesday.
8th Grade Science:
  • We wrapped up our unit on Solids, Liquids, and Gases with a closer look at the unique properties of liquids. We observed how water’s polarity causes it to behave differently than ethanol when sprayed on surfaces covered in soap or oil. We also learned about the Christian physicist, Blaise Pascal, and how Pascal’s Principle can be used to magnify force in a hydraulic system, such as a pallet jack or salon chair. The students are becoming proficient in algebraically manipulating the various forms of the pressure formula to solve for pressure, area, or force.
  • We will take a Unit Exam on Tuesday.

 

Mr. Hamilton

9th Logic
  • We wrapped up quarter one with a look at using truth tables to test for equivalence and contradiction. Students are doing a good job learning the material so far!
9th Historic Theology
  • Our final unit of the quarter focused on the Nicene Creed, which emerged as a result of debates over the person of Jesus.
10th History
  • We’ve had a great time this quarter learning about the rise and fall of various empires in the world of Ancient Mesopotamia.
10th Literature
  • Plato’s Republic has caused some fascinating discussion among our students, as we have begun our study of this well-known work by taking a look at Socrates’ view of the ideal state. This led students to try to recreate their own ideal state, which produced some intriguing (and bewildering) results.
11th Philosophy/Apologetics
  • We ended quarter one with Anselm’s ontological argument and Plantinga’s modal version of it. 
12th History
  • Our focus this week was on the Enlightenment and its impact across Europe.
12th Literature
  • Our study of Hamlet has been rich and rewarding. Among other things, we have sought to deal with the critical reaction to the play, which has centered on Hamlet’s refusal to act as well as the overall lack of “objective correlatives” in the play.

 

Mrs. Hamilton

Logic School Music
  • In performance and theory, after carefully choosing the repertoire, students began working on reading and playing their piano ensemble pieces. After several more classes of individual practice, students will begin playing together. In music history, after listening to the gripping finale of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, we discussed the power of musical expression. Next week, we will go back to our chronological study of music history, learning about the music and innovations of Antonio Vivaldi. 
Music Elective (Music History II: Baroque to Modern)
  • After completing our study of Mozart with his operas The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, students did a fantastic job on their first exam, which included a music vocabulary section, a listening exam, as well as an essay.

 

Ms. Hutchison

7th Grade Omnibus:  History
  • We landed in ancient Egypt this week on a “virtual” plane-landing in the exotic, desert land that is the setting for our next unit of study in history.  7th grade students began mapping the geographical features and places in ancient Egypt, a land that grew and thrived along the narrow Nile River Flood Plain.  Our history studies pick up in around the year 1500 BC, with the birth of a special Hebrew baby, Moses.  We are learning that our covenantal God preserved His people while they lived for years as slaves in Egypt, and brought them out of bondage into freedom….in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula!
7th Grade Omnibus: Literature
  • This week marked the end of our exciting study of The Epic of Gilgamesh.  Students took a final test on this book, and began reading the book of Exodus in the Bible.  We are examining the authorship of the book of Exodus, and the providential design of Moses’s education, experience and upbringing, which placed him in just the right time and place for the big job which God gave him to do.  Students are learning that this book, as well as the other four books of the Pentateuch, were written in Hebrew, the spoken and written language of the Israelites, which remains to this day.
7th Grade Omnibus: Bible
  • Bible Memory:  2 Timothy 1:8-9  Final recitation of these verses was administered this week.
  • Hymn:  We finished up learning the hymn, It Is Well With My Soul and began learning an old favorite, What A Friend We Have in Jesus, written by Joseph Scriven in the year 1855.
9th Grade Biology
  • Biology students completed their study of Kingdom Monera, and took a Module Test this week.  We have begun our study of single-celled eukaryotic organisms in the fascinating Kingdom Protista.  Our Teams, Games and Tournaments winners for the week were Tyler, Ben and Max!!  Way to go, team 🙂

 

Dr. James

10th Chemistry
  • This week we finished our discussions of atomic structure, the students took their third test of Q1, and we reviewed for the cumulative final exam.
  • Next week the student will take their final exam and participate in the IST course.

 

Miss Oldham

9th Grade Literature
  • We wrapped up The Pilgrim’s Progress and began to look at the Puritan settlement in Of Plymouth Plantation. (Go Scrooby!)
9th Grade History
  • We finished our powerpoint covering the absolute monarchies in the 17th century. 
11th Grade Literature
  • We are almost done traveling with Dante in his Divine Comedy. Next up, Shakespeare! 
11th Grade History
  • We wrote an essay in class comparing the 14th and 20th centuries. 
10th Rhetoric I
  • We continued work on finding ethos and pathos in speeches as well as practicing a college entrance essay. 
12th Rhetoric II
  • Students finalized their topics for theses and sent them to be reviewed. Next week is IST focusing on research methods on those topics. 

 

Mrs. Palmer 

6th Art
  • This week we worked on our charcoal still life shoe drawings. They are finishing them up and working on final details.
7th Art
  • This week we worked on finishing our comic strips.  Many are working on final details, matting and creating illustrated titles for their comics.
8th Art
  • This week we continued to work on pen and ink historical figure portraits.  Many have finished and did an amazing job!
9th Spanish 
  •  This week we started learning about -AR ending verb conjugation.  We learned a lot of new vocabulary as well as a ton of -AR ending verbs.  We also talked about the verb “gustar” and how it is used in Spanish.  These concepts will be put to practice repeatedly as we go on throughout the year.
10th Spanish
  • This week students took a test on preterite and present tense verb conjugations.   We also started on a new chapter in our Descubre 2 books.  We learned new vocabulary and took notes on the imperfect tense in Spanish. 

Mr. Palmer

6th Math
  • This week we took a test, made test corrections, and then learned about prime and composite numbers.
7th Pre-Algebra
  • This week we learned about the metric system, reviewed for a test, and took a test.
8th Algebra I
  • This week we learned how to solve basic algebraic equations, reviewed for a test, and took a test.
10th Algebra II
  • This week we worked on test corrections and then learned how to find the equation of a parallel line and how to work with radicals and scientific notation.
11th / 12th NT Greek
  • This week we took a Quiz on chapters 1-7 and then began working with prepositions.

 

Miss Windes

8th Grade Omnibus
  • History: In history this week,  we jumped ahead to the Anglo-Saxon period in England from 400-1066, studying the cultural backdrop for the epic poem of Beowulf. 
  • Literature: We began Beowulf this week, reading of Beowulf’s heroic rescue of the mead-hall Heorot from the monster Grendel’s constant cruelties. We have discussed heroes and their journey in epic poetry, the values exemplified in the poem, how evil is portrayed in the poem, and more. 
  • Composition: We began a unit on poetry and how to read it well. Students are also learning this week how to revise and edit their essays.
6th Grade LATIN
  • Sixth graders continue to practice using the accusative case for direct objects; we translated sentences from both English to Latin and Latin to English.
7th Grade LATIN
  • In seventh grade Latin, we are learning about all the uses of the genitive case and practicing identifying and using it in sentences. 
8th Grade LATIN
  • Eighth graders learned future perfect and pluperfect endings for verbs, and practiced using them in translation.