Mrs. Danforth

2nd Grade

Expeditionary Learning at AXL

AXL Academy believes Expeditionary Learning is the process to engage scholars’ curiosity by empowering their potential while expanding their skills and knowledge to imagine a better world and work towards achieving it.


  • Engage – active learning approach

  • Empower –social equity and character development

  • Achieve – high quality work and mastery of skills and knowledge


Believing all scholars can achieve, AXL embodies the growth mindset to present authentic and real experiences to scholars using Expeditionary Learning. We do this with integrated curriculum, intentional character development, and expeditions that are uniquely designed to bolster a love of learning and empower each scholar to find their place within their crew and within their community. Everyone belongs at AXL and diversity is celebrated.

About Michele Danforth

Why AXL: The AXL community is inclusive, diverse, committed to academic growth, committed to social and emotional growth, and provides young people with an environment where they can develop in so many different and beautiful ways.


What I Love: I love the opportunity to join young AXL learners as their crew member and not just as a pilot. As the scholars grow, I grow as well. We start the year with all these challenges, and then in May we realize that all of our hard work has brought us success.


Resources

FAQs


  1. Where can I access my scholar’s schedule with links?

The bi-weekly planner is sent every other week via ClassDojo and in an email to your scholar.


  1. How can I communicate with my scholars’ crew leaders?

The most efficient means of communicating with your child’s teacher is ClassDojo. Request the ClassDojo invite, then you may communicate with your child’s teacher directly and privately. Also, you will receive general information

about school events, school closures, curriculum highlights, and shares about your child.


  1. How do I submit assignments?

You may contact the teacher to drop off weekly packets, take a snapshot of individual pages and submit them on ClassDojo, or upload electronic copies on ClassDojo. You may also submit a video of your child displaying and discussing their work.


  1. How can we access my scholar’s grades throughout the Trimester?

Hard copies of student work are sent home weekly. Grades with a percentage (ratio) of correct answers to the total number of answers is at the top, right corner of math pages in color pencil or crayon. Students use pencils for work; any color pencil or crayon notes or answers indicate the level of difficulty the child had in completing the assignment.


Reading and writing assignments will include notes to the student about what skills they should work on. The notes will be throughout the work and will indicate the level of difficulty the child had in completing the assignment.


  1. When are office hours?

You may contact Mrs. Danforth anytime via ClassDojo and you should receive a response within a few hours. ClassDojo is frequently checked and offers teachers the opportunity to view messages and resolve questions with one response.


For more critical matters, send a ClassDojo message to confirm a phone or Zoom call appointment. Usually, I can meet with a parent within 24 hours for significant issues.


  1. What platforms does my scholar need access to? Where are these links? If my scholar has forgotten a username or password, how can I get that information?

During remote learning, your child needs access to Zoom for homeroom instruction, art, and P.E. It is critical that your child knows how to bring up a google web browser, how to access Google applications; how to access the Zoom rooms for homeroom, art, and P.E. independently. Your child should also know how to access Google Meets. Other platforms may include Brainpop jr.; Seesaw; iReady, and Edcite.


The class will visit and learn how to navigate these platforms as part of classroom instruction and learning.


The links are subject to change due to security or upgrades, so links are always written within the weekly planner.


Children often forget their passwords or links, that is normal. It is normal for parents and teachers to forget them as well. The best means for ensuring access to the platforms and links is to create or ask for cue cards. Mrs. Danforth creates brightly colored index cards for each student with their various logins. If your child loses the card, please send a ClassDojo message and Mrs. Danforth will make another cue card and arrange for a pickup or dropoff. Also, you may send a message and request a login or password and it will be sent in a reply message.