Artistic expression facilitates discovery and allows your child to communicate individual thoughts and ideas. It increases their sense of worth and nurtures their talent and artistic sensibilities.

Every Lower School student attends weekly art classes allowing them exposure to artwork by many different artists, as well as a variety of types and styles of art from different cultures and historical periods. Your child will gain new skills through the JA art program and focus on practicing and improving those skills.

The result is increased confidence in handling tools, materials and media.

Young Raiders learn about the Bible and Biblical stories that supply loving guidance for their lives and their relationships with others.

In first and second grades, your child will experience music through listening, singing, playing instruments, and movement activities. Styles, periods, and composers are studied. Lecture presentation is a part of each lesson, but student involvement is the primary source of learning.

In third, fourth, and fifth grades, music selections include a variety of styles, different periods of time, music from other countries, composers and instrument study. Your child will learn to sing on pitch, read a musical score and move to the beat. Music vocabulary is ongoing both through reading and verbal usage, and cooperative learning skills are ongoing through music games and activities.

Each grade presents a musical program each year.

In conjunction with the overall mission statement of Jackson Academy, the Lower School Physical Education department operates with six basic tenants:

• Contribute to the total educational experience of each child.
• Provide opportunities to be active.
• Expose each child to a variety of activities.
• Encourage each child to develop healthy lifestyle habits through participation and education.
• Gain knowledge of motor performance, sports skills, health, and fitness.
• Teach concomitant values and character education.

Health and fitness components and evaluation provide opportunities to measure progress in the area of fitness, as well as give guidance toward a healthy lifestyle. Special activities and programs that dovetail with classroom curriculum and Field Day add to the variety of the curriculum.

Your child will experience Spanish in the Lower School, with a curriculum that covers the basic elements of conversation, foundational vocabulary, and verbal response. We create an environment where students can explore elements of language and culture through crafts, projects, and videos.