Stone Garden Mosaics

As thoughts turn to gardening now that the May flowers are here, the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton will have children 3 to 6 make their own stone garden mosaics on Saturday at 10 a.m. Families can take their projects home or add them to CMEE’s garden plot. The cost is $20 including museum admission, $7 for museum members. Advance registration has been suggested.

Meet Bear, the Therapy Dog

Scratch art, bugs, desserts, and a therapy dog are among the special attractions at local libraries this week. At the Montauk Library on Saturday at 2 p.m., kids of all ages will make sweet treats with fun outdoor themes: worms in dirt, fruit and chocolate ladybugs, and flower and rainbow cookies.

Bear, a therapy dog, will make an appearance at the Amagansett Library on Saturday at 3 p.m., when a teen volunteer will talk about training Bear and the volunteer work they do together. All ages will be welcomed, but kids under 12 should be accompanied by an adult. A drawing club for kids in fifth through eighth grade will gather at the library on Sunday at 2 p.m.

At the East Hampton Library, high school students can play giant Jenga in the young-adult room on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4. Scratch-art bookmarks will be the project during a Tuesday session at 4 p.m. for grades six through eight. On Wednesday, there’s a bug story time and craft for ages 4 to 6 at 4 p.m.

The Hampton Library will once again begin its Monday story times at the Madoo Conservancy in Sagaponack. Weather permitting, visitors can enjoy a book and the gardens at 10 a.m. each week.

Pony Rides at Stony Hill

Stony Hill Stables, at 268 Town Lane in Amagansett, will offer pony rides for children on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A $20 suggested donation will go to the Stony Hill Stables Foundation, which supports equine sports by providing riding education and competitive opportunities for children and young adults.

Beach Exploration

The South Fork Natural History Museum will lead a beach exploration for children 3 to 5 on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Rocks will be the focus, and kids will learn about what makes each one special and then play a game of bingo. Participants should take along a bag to carry their finds in. There is a $3 materials fee. The location can be learned by calling the museum to reserve a spot.

Springs residents and officials reviewed the latest proposals for the long-sought expansion of the district’s school on Monday, hearing that taxpayers might be asked to approve between $14.7 million and $15.2 million next year in order for building to begin in 2019 and be completed by 2021.

 At the meeting of the Springs Board of Education, Kevin Walsh of B.B.S Architects and Engineering presented multiple expansion options, each resulting in approximately 23,500 square feet of additional space, a new gymnasium with bleachers, five new classrooms, several other rooms, and massive reconfiguration of existing spaces and exterior entrances and walkways.

The most expensive option would cost $16.9 million and the least expensive, $16.4 million. At various points in the planning process, construction had been estimated as high as $23 million and as low as $15.6 million. The figures that taxpayers might be asked to approve are based on possible reductions, one of which could come from applying the district’s $5 million capital reserve fund to the project. Doing so would also allow the district to add back certain improvements, including new roofing and windows, extended driveways, a new playing field, and a baseball pitch. Carl Fraser, the interim business administrator, pointed out that additional reductions might be found by applying for New York State assistance.

Another expense the district expects to face is upgrading the school’s septic system, which dates to the 1970s. According to Dan Newman, the  chief custodian, problems with the system were investigated about two weeks ago, after a smell near one of the driveways was reported. It was determined, he said, that the outdated system is “functioning but not drawing,” that the problem was “all about flow and pitch.”

Residents at the meeting voiced concern about the polluting effects of the system and urged officials to look into upgrading it to a nitrogen-mitigating system, such as those being discussed by the Suffolk County Legislature.

Tim Frazier, the board’s vice president, agreed wholeheartedly, saying, “We must look into the best system possible here to protect our environment.” Ira Barocas, a Springs resident, added, “It would be shortsighted of the community not to approve a state-of-the-art system that will protect the water around us.” Mr. Newman suggested the district use a stop-gap measure while long-term solutions are explored.

A beloved Springs School fund-raiser, the annual Seedlings Project Plant Sale, will be back on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A bounty of fruit and vegetable plants, from zucchini to watermelon, tomatoes, cantaloupes, peas, and carrots, as well as a variety of flowering plants and herbs, all grown from seeds planted by Springs students, will be on sale at the greenhouse, which can be found behind the school. All plants are 100 percent organic and are priced between $3 and $6. Proceeds will benefit the Springs Seedlings Project.

The greenhouse is the epicenter of the project, which is part of Project Most’s after-school gardening initiative. Following the model of the Edible Schoolyard, established by Alice Waters of the Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., this “garden classroom” aims to teach students from kindergarten to eighth grade the importance of tapping into sustainable food sources, even on a small scale.

Throughout the year, parents, members of the community, and farmers from EECO Farm, Balsam Farms, and other farms volunteer at the outdoor learning space, helping to oversee the plantings and providing technical assistance to the future green thumbs.

Hailey London, the Springs School’s garden educator and greenhouse manager, said, “The sale is not as much a money-maker as it is about giving kids hands-on gardening experience, and for the community to come see what a beautiful job they do.”

There will also be a bake sale this year, organized by parents, featuring produce-inspired goods including zucchini bread, banana loaf, strawberry muffins, and lots more.

LongHouse Family Day Postponed

Faced with a dismal forecast for Saturday, the LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton has postponed a planned family day, a free event featuring music, tours, and art projects. Instead, family day will be held on May 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mentions of it elsewhere in today’s paper may be incorrect because those sections went to the printer before the announcement.

All for Moms

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and don’t dare forget it! Local institutions will provide plenty of reminders and opportunities to make something special for Mom, in addition to their other programs for children this week.

The Amagansett Library has a bilingual, Spanish-English Mother’s Day celebration planned for Saturday at 3 p.m. in partnership with Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island and LTV. There will be a bilingual story time, prize raffles, arts and crafts, and cookies for all. On Sunday at the library, kids who may not have thought ahead can drop by at 1 p.m. to do special projects for the most important women in their lives.

Children 4 and older can make canvas art for their moms tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton. Also in Bridgehampton, at the Children’s Museum of the East End, kids 3 to 6 and their parents can join in a family cooking workshop at 10 a.m. The recipe will be chocolate zucchini cupcakes. The cost is $20, including museum admission, $7 for museum members. Advance registration has been requested.

High school students will have a chance to make their moms Mason jar herb gardens on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the East Hampton Library. High school students have also been invited to stop by the library to study for Advanced Placement exams today and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. The new young-adult room has a study area, whiteboard, and LCD screen, and there will be snacks to keep the brainpower up. Younger children age 4 and up can join in a piñata-making session tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. at the library.

Reptile Rewards

Reptiles and amphibians native to Long Island will visit the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor on Wednesday during a program with the South Fork Natural History Museum. It runs from 4 to 5 p.m. and is open to children in kindergarten through sixth grade.

Young literary types may want to mark their calendars for Friday, May 19, at 4 p.m., when John Jermain will hold a Battle of the Books kickoff party. The countywide reading trivia program is for students entering sixth through ninth grade. Details will be discussed at the party, and parents have been invited, too.

Charlie Goldsmith of Amagansett, a student at the East Hampton Middle School, performed on the viola on Saturday in a concert at Lincoln Center in Manhattan with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra. He was also the first student from the Amagansett School ever to qualify and play with the Long Island String Festival Association, in 2014, when he was in the fifth grade.

For Charlie, being a member of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra requires two hours a week of mandatory practice, which means an almost three-to-four-hour round-trip commute on a school night once a week. He has not missed a practice all year, his family said, while maintaining a 93 average, joining the National Honor Society, making the high school’s varsity golf team as an eighth grader, and taking part in both the junior firefighting and the junior lifeguard programs.

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots for the 2017-18 school district budgets and to elect school board members in races that are largely uncontested on the South Fork.

Incumbents are running unopposed in East Hampton and Montauk and there are no contests in Amagansett or Bridgehampton. In Springs, where one candidate’s name is on the ballot with two seats available, three more people have thrown their hats in the ring as write-in candidates. In Sag Harbor, three incumbents and two newcomers are running for three available seats.

In Springs, Timothy Frazier, an incumbent who is the school board vice president, is hoping to keep his seat for a third three-year term. While he is the only candidate to have delivered his petition to the district clerk in time to be on Tuesday’s ballot, this week Donna Sutton, Patrick Brabant, and Ivonne Tovar-Morales announced write-in campaigns. The top two vote-getters will win seats.

Mr. Frazier, who is the principal of the Southampton Intermediate School, was first elected to the school board in 2011 and was elected to a second term in 2014. He began his career as a teacher more than 30 years ago and became an administrator in the 1980s. His wife, Tracey Frazier, is a fifth-grade teacher at the Springs School.

Ms. Sutton has a background in public health, having worked as a program coordinator for the North Carolina Division of Public Health. After moving to Springs, she served as the director of public relations and marketing for Southampton Hospital and as assistant manager for education at the American Institute for Cancer Research. She is an insurance adviser for Amaden-Gay Agencies and has an 11-year-old son at the Springs School. “I believe my varied job responsibilities, from crafting well-considered budgets to coordinating community outreach initiatives, provide me with a solid base of experience to draw from and build upon should I be elected trustee,” she said.

Mr. Brabant is a longtime resident of Springs and the owner of a construction firm. “I did not plan to run but with the open ballot I felt this was a sign. It was time for me to step up to the plate,” he said. Mr. Brabant has two children at the Springs School, another one about to graduate from East Hampton High School, and a fourth who is in college. He is a member of the Springs Citizens Advisory Committee and, having had four children go through the Springs School, said he has attended school board meetings every month for the last 14 years.

Ms. Tovar-Morales was raised in Montauk and later in Springs. She is fluent in English and Spanish and works at  East Hampton High School in the English as a new language and bilingual programs. She is also enrolled in Long Island University’s social work program and hopes to pursue a career as a social worker. Ms. Morales believes that her bicultural background gives her the unique ability to help the ever-growing diverse population of the district, and she said, being bilingual “offers me the opportunity to communicate with all community members and bridge the gap between the two factions.”

The Springs School’s proposed budget is just over $28.1 million, a 2.15-percent increase over this year. It is under the state’s mandated cap on tax-rate increases. 

East Hampton

In East Hampton, Jacqueline Lowey and John J. Ryan Sr. are running unopposed to keep their seats on the school board. The board has seven members who serve three-year terms.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished these past six years and would like one final term to continue working for the families of East Hampton,” Ms. Lowey wrote in an email. “I’ve worked with our strong and committed team of administrators, teachers, and my colleagues on the board to implement major improvements to the district.”

Before returning to the board two years ago, Mr. Ryan had served six earlier terms. Now retired, he taught math and computer skills in East Hampton schools for 24 years. He could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

East Hampton voters will also weigh in on a $68.3 million budget for the 2017-18 school year, an increase of 2.38 percent over this year. It, too, remains under the tax cap.

A proposition on the ballot in East Hampton would authorize the district to establish a capital reserve fund for future district-wide improvements related to growing enrollment, property acquisition, and the replacement of technology and telecommunications equipment, infrastructure, and software. Among the projects being discussed for the near future are the resurfacing of the tennis courts, replacement of the turf field at the high school, and renovation of the high school auditorium. Spending for specific projects in the future would be subject to voter approval.

Voting will take place at the school between 1 and 9 p.m.

Voting is scheduled from 1 to 8 p.m. and will take place in the district office, adjacent to the high school building. Voters must use the entryway to the district office, and not the main entrance to the high school.

Amagansett

Update: Amagansett Race Heats Up

In Amagansett, Anna Bernasek is the new name on the ballot, while Patrick Bistrian III and Dawn Rana-Brophy are running to keep their seats. There are five members on the board, and three open seats, two for three-year terms and one for one-year term. The candidates who receive the highest number of votes will win three-year terms and the third place vote-getter will get the one-year term.

Ms. Bernasek has two daughters — one in Amagansett and the other at East Hampton High School. A full-time resident of Amagansett for the last eight years, she is a journalist and author who writes about economics and business. Her work has appeared in Fortune, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Australian Financial Review, and The Sydney Morning Herald. She is also a regular commentator on radio and television, and an author of two books on economics. She holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan and a master’s in public policy from Princeton University and is a senior editor with a global economic think tank.

Amagansett’s budget is up by 1.96 percent this year to just under $10.7 million. Voting will be in the school gym from 2 to 8 p.m. 

Bridgehampton

The seven-member Bridgehampton School Board has two, three-year seats available. Kathleen McCleland, an incumbent, is seeking re-election and Markanthony Verzosa is running uncontested for the other seat.

Mr. Verzosa is the owner of a Bridgehampton design and construction company. He has served as vice president of the Bridgehampton Parent Teacher Organization and worked as an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, as well as a design mentor at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. He has two children attending the school.

The proposed 2017-18 budget for Bridgehampton is just under $14.36 million, an increase of $578,024 over this year. Also on the ballot is a proposition to allow the district to redistribute the balance of an already approved 2013 capital reserve fund to install and maintain a geothermal heating and cooling system as part of a planned school addition. There is no additional cost to taxpayers. The expense will not exceed $1.275 million and will be endowed by transferring just under $1.1 million from the district’s capital reserve fund as well as from unassigned, unappropriated fund balance and unexpected appropriations.

Voting will be in the school gym from 2 to 8 p.m.

Montauk

In Montauk, Kelly White is running unopposed for a third five-year term on the board. The proposed district budget for 2017-18 is just over $18.8 million, a decrease of more than $155,000 from this year. 

Voting will be held between 2 and 8 p.m. at the school.

Sag Harbor

Sag Harbor voters will cast ballots on a $39.9 million budget for next year, an increase of $1.13 million. The tax levy will increase by 3.49 percent but will remain under the state-mandated cap.

Five people are vying for three spots on the board. Three incumbents — Sandi Kruel, Theresa Samot, and Diana Kolhoff, the school board president — are running to keep their seats. Two newcomers, Alex Kriegsman, an attorney, and January Kerr, an attorney and writer, are also seeking spots on the board.

Ms. Kolhoff is seeking her second term, while Ms. Kruel and Ms. Samot are both seeking their fifth terms.

The district is also seeking voter approval for a new transportation fleet capital reserve fund. Capped at $2 million, with a life of 15 years, this reserve would not cost the taxpayers any additional money, as it would be funded from a previously established bus fleet replacement reserve fund. In a separate proposition, the district seeks permission to spend $1.2 million from its capital reserve fund to replace windows at Pierson Middle and High School and the Sag Harbor Elementary School.

The vote will be held in the Pierson gym from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

At a meeting on April 19, Bridgehampton School Board officials said state-mandated instructional changes, such as requiring a certified co-teacher in every classroom with non-English-speaking students, as well as a growing need for academic interventions, were mostly responsible for a 4.20-percent expenditure increase in the budget for the upcoming academic year.

To offset costs for the increase in staff for students who do not speak English, fewer assistant teachers will be hired next year, according to Lois Favre, the district superintendent.

The school board adopted a proposed $14,356,463 budget for 2017-2018, which is $578,024 higher than last year, at the meeting. The projected rate of school taxes per dollar of property value is $1.67 per $1,000, or, for a property valued at $1 million, taxes would be $1,670.

The budget’s proposed tax levy increase is 5.54 percent, which is below the allowed tax cap.

A public budget hearing is scheduled for Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. The statewide budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 16, between 2 and 8 p.m.

Bridgehampton voters will be asked to cast ballots on two propositions. The first is on the above budget. The second will ask voters permission to distribute the balance in the 2013 approved capital reserve fund to a new fund that will be called the Geothermal System and Five Year Plan Reserve Capital Reserve Fund. The purpose of the fund, at no cost to the taxpayer, will be for the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of a geothermal heating and cooling system as part of the school’s expansion plan. The fund will not exceed $1,275,000, and will be endowed by transferring the $1,097,777 from the capital reserve fund as well as from an unassigned, unappropriated fund balance and unexpected appropriations.

Commenting on construction plans, Dr. Favre said, “We have responded to the community’s request that we assure geothermal in the new addition and we have found a way to make it happen without asking taxpayers for more money.”

The Springs School Board has officially adopted a $28,113,085 budget for the 2017-2018 academic year, representing a 1.75-percent increase over last year, with an anticipated increase in the tax levy of 2.15 percent, which is below the state cap on increases in tax levies by 0.08 percent.

Carl Fraser, the school district’s interim business administrator, presented the figures at a board meeting on April 19, breaking them down  to reflect how the anticipated tax increase would affect taxpayers.

“For a home assessed at $400,000,” Mr. Fraser said, “the increase in taxes would be $71 a year. For homes valued at $600,000 the increase would be $107 per year, and owners of homes assessed at $800,000 would see an increase of $142 a year.”

Timothy Frazier, the vice president of the board, congratulated the school administrators for their efforts, while Barbara Dayton, the board president, declared, “We have an adopted budget.”

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m. at the school. The budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 16, from 1 to 9 p.m.

The Montauk School Board has adopted a proposed $18,823,358 budget for 2017-2018, down from last year’s $18,978,163. A budget hearing on the budget is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m., following a regular board of education meeting at 5:30 p.m.

A school board meeting scheduled for Tuesday at the Amagansett School was cancelled and has been rescheduled for May 9 at 6:30p.m., when a budget hearing will take place. The school’s adopted budget for 2017-18 is $10,678,819, which represents a 1.96-percent increase over last year’s over-the-tax-cap final mumber.

The tax levy increase is below the cap, confirmed Eleanor Tritt, the district superintendent.

In Sag Harbor, a final budget presentation is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m., followed by a Meet the Candidates program. A budget hearing will take place on May 8 at 7:30 pm.

“Cinderella” at Guild Hall

The dancers of the Hampton Ballet Theatre School will take the stage at Guild Hall tomorrow through Sunday for their spring production of “Cinderella.” It will be the final ballet with the school for three dancers who will graduate from high school this year. Rose Kelly will dance the role of Cinderella, Caitlin Hubbell will dance as the fairy godmother, and Abigail Hubbell will appear as the spring fairy and in the grand waltz.

The ballet is set to a score by Sergei Prokofiev and is choreographed by the school’s director, Sara Jo Strickland. Adam and Gail Baranello of the A&G Dance Company will appear as the father and evil stepmother, and Nicholas Sipes, a guest artist, will dance as Prince Charming.

Show times will be tomorrow at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2. Orchestra tickets cost $25, $20 for children under 12 in advance, or $30 and $25 the day of the show. Tickets can be reserved at 888-933-4287 or online at hamptonballettheatreschool.com.

Block Party Weekend

The Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter will hold a free two-day block party for kids of all ages from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The party will include sports clinics, food and drink, a bounce castle and slide, pony rides, outdoor fitness classes, a mac-and-cheese competition, and face painting. The rock wall will be set up and there will be a petting zoo, too.

Science Minds

Children 3 to 5 years old can think like seed scientists during a story time and planting session on Saturday at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. The program will include a reading of Jean Richards’s “A Fruit Is a Suitcase for a Seed.” There is a $3 materials fee for the program, which begins at 10:30 a.m. That afternoon at 2, kids 6 and up will meet some of the museum’s diamondback terrapins and also learn the difference between a turtle, a terrapin, and a tortoise. Advance registration is requested for all programs.

CMEE’s Feria

The Children’s Museum of the East End will celebrate the many Latin American cultures represented in this area during the CMEE Feria on Saturday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. There will be traditional music and performances, art projects for kids, and the opportunity to sample cuisines from a number of countries. The fair is free, but the cost for tastings is $5.

An after-school party at the museum next Thursday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. will celebrate all things Star Wars. There will be a Lego workshop, Wookie cookies, and Jedi crafts. The cost is $18 including museum admission; members will pay $5. Advance sign-up has been requested.

Library Happenings

There’s a lot going on at the East Hampton Library this week, especially for teens. Tomorrow from 5 to 7, high school students can take part in a library Escape Room game. The library sets the tone like this: “It’s the American Revolution and you are a spy! Use the same techniques employed by George Washington’s Culper spy ring to decipher the puzzles and guarantee your escape before the known Loyalists return.” Participants will compete in groups, and pizza will be served. This afternoon at 4 p.m. the library will host a bilingual celebration of books and literacy, with reading, crafts, and refreshments for kids 4 and older.  Tomorrow, that same age group will look at the geometric shapes that make up the places people live in around the world, in an art program from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Teens can use clay, discarded metal, and wire to make their own futuristic insects in a steampunk entomology art program on Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. On Sunday at 3, there will be a screening of “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” a comedy-drama directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Jesse Andrews, who also wrote the 2012 book by that name. Another round of Snap Circuits programs beginning on Tuesday at 4 p.m. will teach kids 7 and older the basics of electronics. Additional programs will be offered on May 16, May 30, June 7, and June 28. Kids can take part in any or all of the programs and need not sign up for the full set. The chickens will come home to roost during a story and craft time for kids 4 to 6 on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Advance registration has been requested for all programs.

Camp SoulGrow

Camp SoulGrow will take a busload of helpers from Montauk to the Kids Joining Hands fund-raiser for famine relief on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. in Bridgehampton. Those who wish to participate have been asked to email [email protected]. Pickup and drop-off will be at SoulGrow’s downtown Montauk studio.

Stony Hill Stables Benefit

Pony rides on Sunday and again May 21 at Stony Hill Stables in Amagansett will raise money for the stables’ related nonprofit, which promotes equine sports by offering riding education and competitive opportunities for kids and young adults. Rides will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon both days for a $20 suggested donation. The Stony Hill Stables Foundation is accepting scholarship applications for the 2017 season. A full description and applications are available online at stonyhillstables.com/shsfoundation.

For the first time in 16 years, Debra Winter, the new superintendent of the Springs School District, will turn left on Route 27 to get to work.

Since 2001, when she moved to Quogue, she has been the assistant superintendent for student and community services at the Longwood Central School District, in Middle Island. The district encompasses 52 square miles, 11 towns, and seven school sites, befitting her somewhat unusual title.

Ms. Winter prevailed after a closed door, four-month search, in which she did not meet with the staff or community members. She will replace the school’s interim superintendent, John J. Finello, on July 1, but has been spotted at recent school functions, including the April 21 World’s Fair, which she found “an inspiring celebration of diversity.”

Ms. Winter’s résumé includes a background in special education, which is not always associated with a superintendent’s career, although Richard Burns, the East Hampton superintendent, also began as a special education teacher.

“My special education background made me appreciate that everyone is different,” she said during a recent interview. “I believe in a ‘one child at a time’ approach. I’ve been trained to find ways around problems, to troubleshoot, to find solutions for every struggling student.”

Ms. Winter’s enthusiasm was apparent during her introduction at a school board meeting last week.

“I am excited to get to know the students. I will listen. I will learn. I will continue to support. I will raise expectations. I will always be respectful. I look forward to making Springs my new family,” she told those at the meeting.

 Ms. Winter said she had learned the importance of family firsthand when her husband died in 1997 and their son was a year and a half old. At the time, she was the director of pupil personnel services of the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District, although she moved to the same position at the Jericho School District two weeks after her husband’s death.

In 2001, Ms. Winter and her second husband, Joseph Vasso, and her son moved to Quogue. Mr. Vasso is retired, after 37 years as an art teacher. Her son, now 21, is about to graduate from college. He had co-founded the robotics program at Westhampton Beach High School, with which he still very involved.

Robotics has a role in Ms. Winter’s extracurricular world as well. She has been a volunteer with the School Business Partnership of Long Island, which helps students pursue careers in technology, engineering, and science. She will step down from the organization to dedicate more time to the Springs community, she said.

“One program I will absolutely bring to Springs is Blessings in a Backpack; we started it in Longwood,” she said. Ms. Winter described the program, which each weekend sends 50 backpacks full of food to families in need. “It is even more necessary in Springs, where we don’t have a school cafeteria.”

Looking ahead, Ms. Winter said, “I’m going to surround myself by experts; smart people who will one day be superintendents themselves. Imagine what we can accomplish if we all remember who we are here to serve — the students.”

Any extra advice, she hopes, will come from a book now on her bedside table: “Moving into the Superintendency: How to Succeed in Making the Transition.”

While Mr. Finello was often criticized for not being on hand, Ms. Winter said she will be a familiar face in the hallways and entirely transparent about her work.

“My door will always be open,” she promised. “To staff, to parents and, of course, to the students.”

Peconic Family Fun

Peconic Family Fun Day, a free children’s environmental carnival, will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. The morning will include activities to encourage recycling, sustainable agriculture, water management, and environmental stewardship. A range of groups, including the South Fork Natural History Museum, the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, Amber Waves Farm, the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, the Southampton Animal Shelter, and Group for the East End, are co-sponsoring the event and will help to celebrate the East End’s ecosystems, environments, and estuaries.

Tomorrow, CMEE’s monthly Pizza and Pajama Night from 6 to 7:30 will include a reading of Julie Fogliano’s “And Then It’s Spring.” The night is free for museum members, $12 for everyone else.

Across the street at the South Fork Natural History Museum, families can explore the field behind the museum on guided nature walks at 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.

May Fair in Sag

Our Sons and Daughters School will hold its annual May Fair on Saturday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the school grounds in Sag Harbor. Kids can build a fairy house, dig for crystals, hand-dye a silk cape, or make a flower crown during the fair, which will also include games, face painting and other crafts, healthy treats, and a puppet show. The cost is $20 for a family with one child, and $10 for each additional child. There will also be a bake sale and raffle.

Our Sons and Daughters, a Waldorf school, is at 11 Carroll Street. In case of rain, the fair will be held on Sunday.

Drawing and Painting

Paton Miller, an artist and educator who curated “East End Collected 3” at the Southampton Arts Center on Job’s Lane, will lead a children’s drawing and painting workshop there on Saturday. The cost is $20, which includes materials. The workshop runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is open to children 8 and older. Registration is online at southamptonartscenter.org.

Moms and Jobs

Job searches and Mother’s Day will get attention this week at the local libraries.

High school students considering entering the world of work can get some tips on putting together a résumé during a workshop on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the East Hampton Library. Even those without work experience will learn how to highlight their accomplishments to give them an extra boost as they search for summer jobs and internships. Those who already have résumés have been asked to take them. Laptops will be available.

On Tuesday at 4 at the library, sixth through eighth graders can use old magazine pages and comic strips to create bangle bracelets finished with a clear gloss. A Mother’s Day story and craft will be on the agenda for kids 4 to 6 on Wednesday at 4 p.m. On Friday, May 12, at 3:30, kids 4 and older can learn to make paper bag piñatas.

At the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a job fair for high school students on Monday from 6 to 7 p.m. The fair seeks to pair businesses with teens seeking summer or after-school work or internships.

The Montauk Library will celebrate Mother’s Day early with tea and cookies on Saturday at 3 p.m. Kids 4 and older will have a chance to decorate cookies and then enjoy their creations with lemonade or iced tea. On Tuesday, the library will hold a Mother’s Day card and craft session for ages 4 and up at 4 p.m.

At the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, kids that age can join in a printmaking workshop tomorrow at 4 p.m. A program on Friday, May 12, will have kids working on Mother’s Day canvas art.

The library will host a teen bus trip to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday, with the bus leaving Bridgehampton at 8 a.m. and returning at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $20.

Advance registration is required for all programs.