• Weekly Choral classes for students in grades K-5th.
• Creation of the Select Girls Choir at AJLA in partnership with The United Girls’ Choir of New Haven. This elite choir program rehearses right at AJLA and admission will be by invitation or audition only and is open to all girls in kindergarten through 6th grade.
• Suzuki Music is a critical partner in our music curriculum. The Suzuki Method creates an environment in which students learn music in a similar manner to acquiring a foreign language. Students learn through listening to music  and using their bodies as well as using manipulatives to understand and engage with  music.
  • In our early childhood program, music occurs twice a week and builds musical  literacy through nursery rhymes, fine and gross motor practice, and simple melodies.
  • In our  elementary program, students are given small-group lessons in violin instruction with the  Suzuki School of Music.

Research in a recent USC study finds that music instruction accelerates brain development in young children, specifically in the areas of processing sound, language development, speech perception, and reading skills.

At AJLA our physical education program focuses on participation in a variety of  activities that are enjoyable, promote skill development, require teamwork and enhance  physical fitness. Teaching students about spatial awareness is one of the first skills that  AJLA students work on developing. Additionally, students focus on developing their  locomotor skills by walking, jogging, skipping, hopping, shuffling, galloping and running  during every class. After our locomotor warm up exercises each class, AJLA students  participate in many games and activities that help introduce and develop skills such as  throwing, catching, balancing and kicking while also helping students improve upon their  hand-eye and foot-eye coordination as well as their overall body control. 

In addition to  helping students grow and develop physically, our physical education program helps  students learn how to persevere through challenges, work together with teammates to  achieve a common goal and learn how to show respect to themselves and their opponents  regardless of the outcome of a game. This focus on the importance of teamwork is consistent with the social skills that are an integral part of the School’s program and culture.