Lonely as a Cloud?

With the weather at its most changeable and, some might say, most romantic — moody days of gray and rain alternating with azure skies that cast sunshine on the new daffodils — it is probably fitting that April is National Poetry Month. At the Amagansett Library, on Tuesday afternoon at 2, kids ages 4 to 12 (probably starting to get a bit bored, alone at home over spring break) can get into the literary spirit by creating illustrations to accompany the poem of their choice from the bookshelves.

As ever, parents who would like to sign up their junior Whitmans and Dickinsons have been asked to contact the children’s librarian, Evan Harris, at 631-267-3810 or [email protected]. There is no charge.

Stingray Scientists

On Saturday morning at 10:30, the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center, on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton, will be the scene of an intriguing event for fearless budding biologists: a stingray-dissection workshop. There is a materials fee of $20, and reservations must be made in advance by calling SoFo at 631-537-9735.

Participants must be at least 8 years old to attend. The long-tailed, slightly spooky-looking stingray is common in Long Island Sound, but it is not often that kids get to see inside of one.

Calling All Young Birders

Looking ahead to next weekend, April 15 is an important date to remember for East End students who have an interest in birds. The first-ever meeting of the Young Birders Club will convene at SoFo from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The club is open to anyone between the ages of 8 and 18 who would like to meet fellow birders and get advice from the club’s advisers, Frank Quevedo, SoFo’s director, and Barbara Blaisdell, who is on its board of directors. Hannah Mirando, a student at East Hampton High School, will be the club’s leader.

After a meet-and-greet and orientation, the group will head into the field, binoculars in hand. Those who would like to join the club, or just check it out, have been asked to phone the museum ahead, and to take along a field guide to birds of the eastern United States and binoculars, if they have them (SoFo has a few to lend).

Henna Tattooing

The Montauk Library will host a lunch-and-lesson workshop for students who would prefer to get their hands dirty in a decorous and elegant manner — with red-earth-colored henna. Spring-breakers in fourth grade and above will be given a lesson in the ancient Indian body art of henna tattooing. Pizza will be served at the event, which starts at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Space is limited, and those interested have been asked to phone for a reservation at 631-668-3377.

Growing Green Thumbs

Hot, hazy summer days of ripe tomatoes and nodding dahlias are already on the minds of event organizers at the Children’s Museum of the East End, on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton. They are joining forces with the folks from Amagansett’s Amber Waves Farm to host a seed-planting party called “Let’s Get This Garden Started,” scheduled for April 15 from 10 to noon. The cost is $2 for CMEE members, $15 for nonmembers (including admission to the museum). All participants will go home with a plant to call their own.

Following a New York State mandate that schools test for lead contamination in the water they use, Richard Burns, the East Hampton School District superintendent, has announced in a letter that “the district is pleased to report that all drinking fountains were found to be within the guidelines” set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

J.C. Broderick and Associates, an environmental consulting firm, tested all 630 water sources at the three schools in the district. Of those, 83 were found to have levels above the guidelines. However, Mr. Burns pointed out that at the John M. Marshall Elementary School all were exterior hose outlets, while at the middle and high schools, they were outdoor hoses or faucets not used for drinking water.

Signs will be posted on all water sources with elevated levels of lead, indicating that the water must not be used for drinking. In addition, wrote Mr. Burns, “the district will develop a full remediation plan to replace or repair any part within the plumbing that is causing the elevated lead reading.”

In October 2016, the Bridgehampton and Amagansett Schools were found to have several faucets with lead levels above accepted E.P.A. guidelines. As part of their lead remediation plans, those schools have either shut off or replaced all contaminated water sources.

At Monday’s meeting of the Springs School Board, Barbara Dayton, its president, announced that the four-month-long search for a school superintendent had ended. The name of the school’s new top administrator will not be released until a contract is signed, probably next week.

The new superintendent will replace John J. Finello, who was due to retire in December 2016 but agreed to stay on until a successor was found. Mr. Finello has been receiving a $975 per day as part of his contract amendment.

Monday’s announcement elicited frustration and disappointment from several members of the public. Dina Scalia, a mother of three Springs students, said the lengthy search had been a waste of money when the school principal, Eric Casale, was widely considered by both parents and staff to be the perfect candidate for the job.

“I am not alone in saying that I am very disappointed Eric will not be this school’s next superintendent. No one knows the school better than he does, and for us to have gone on a long and expensive search to bring in an outsider  is really a shame,” she said. Ms. Scalia, who works at the school as a hall monitor, added that Mr. Casale had promised a budget that would save the school approximately $200,000.

“He’s the only one who roams the halls and actually knows what this school needs‚” she said.

School needs were also discussed later in the meeting when Ms. Dayton offered an update of the building expansion plans. “We asked [the architects] to scale back from their previous proposal,” she said, adding that the firm continues to focus only on the school’s most pressing needs, such as a new gym and the right amount of art and music space. Ms. Dayton said the board felt positive about the progress, and that a public hearing on the developments will take place within the month.

During a budget workshop session, Carl Fraser, the interim school business administrator, had little to report since last month’s session. The proposed budget for 2017-18 is $28.113 million, an increase of 1.75 percent over last year. The budget, he said, will not pierce the state-imposed cap of tax levy increases, remaining below it by $20,758.

The high school edition of “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses, will be screened at the East Hampton Library on Monday at 6:30 p.m. in a program for students 15 and older, their families, and educators.

After the screening a panel of professionals from the Retreat, the East Hampton Town Police Department, the Family Service League, and the Campus Sexual Assault Victims Unit of the New York State police will discuss the issue with the audience.

The film focuses on two former students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who filed Title IX complaints against the university after they were raped while enrolled there. Title IX is a federal law that, among other things, prohibits sexual discrimination in education institutions.

Kirby Dick directed the documentary, which was nominated for two Emmy Awards. It includes an original song by Lady Gaga, “Til It Happens to You,” recorded for the film.

The Retreat, the East Hampton domestic violence agency that is among the sponsors of the screening, is billing it as a chance “to begin a meaningful conversation” about sexual assault in teenage communities, the importance of consent, the relationship between sexual assault and drug and alcohol use, and preventive measures. Equally important, it is hoped that the film will inspire “bystander intervention should a student witness a potential sexual assault.”

According to the Retreat, one in five women are sexually assaulted in college, and 5 percent of men say they, too, have experienced sexual assault. Statistically, it is most common in the freshman and sophomore years.

Students who attend the screening and discussion will receive two hours of community service credit from the Retreat.

Jen Wilson was watching “60 Minutes” at home in East Hampton last fall and heard high school students on the show say they were not aware of all the details of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks, either because they were too young at the time or had not yet been born. Ms. Wilson, whose daughter is a junior at East Hampton High School and was a year old at the time of the attack, immediately decided she had to do something.

“The tragedy and heroism of that day should never be forgotten and our students need to learn about it so that they too will never forget,” said Ms. Wilson, an alumnus of East Hampton High School. “Especially since they’re studying U.S. history in high school, and the events of 9/11 are being taught in the classroom.”

Ms. Wilson, who had visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Lower Manhattan, decided that she had to find a way to get East Hampton students to visit it, too, especially given the East End’s proximity to the city.

Because she expected funding to be the biggest challenge, she approached Adam Fine, the East Hampton High School principal, and Bill Barbour, a United States history teacher, for permission to contact potential donors and grants organizations.

“We said yes without a moment’s hesitation,” said Mr. Fine, who recalled a moment seven years ago when he first joined the district and realized that many high school parents had moved to the East End from the city after Sept. 11.

“The 9/11 Museum and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., are two institutions that should be seen by everyone, especially young people,” he said.

As soon as Mr. Fine got the green light from Richard Burns, the district superintendent, Ms. Wilson began writing letters.

“First, I wrote to all the fire departments in the area,” she said. Peter Grimes, the Springs Fire Department chief,  was one of the first people to support the field trip and commit to a yearly donation. The East Hampton and Montauk Fire Departments responded soon after with promises of reoccurring donations.

“In order to set a reasonable target” for herself, Ms. Wilson said, her initial plan was to take only the 11th-grade advanced placement United States history class to visit the museum. “But then I contacted the Greater East Hampton Education Foundation,” she said. “Laura Molinari, who was directly affected by 9/11, and Theresa Talmage  — they’re both on the board — told me the foundation would be happy to award the project a reoccurring donation of $5,000, but on the condition that the entire 11th grade could participate. They wanted this to benefit as many students as possible.”

As a result, all 233 11th-grade students will travel to Manhattan in May to visit the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. East Hampton High School will cover the cost of admission for students and chaperones, while donated funds will pay for the necessary buses. The total cost will be approximately $10,000 to $12,000, she said.

“Next year,” Ms. Wilson pointed out, “the 11th-grade class is bigger, more like 270 kids, and we might have to do some additional fund raising.”

The museum’s website states that “The National September 11 Memorial and Museum is the country’s principal institution for documenting and examining the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the events that preceded them, including the first attack on the World Trade Center on Feb. 26, 1993, and exploring the continuing significance of Sept. 11, 2001.”

“When I read that, I knew this field trip is a must for our students, and I am so happy to know that it will start this year,” Ms. Wilson said.

Next week, third through eighth graders in public schools will find fewer questions on their New York State standardized tests. However, the big question for parents still remains: Opt out or opt in?

From Tuesday through next Thursday, New York State will administer its Common Core English Language Arts tests. Over the last four years, the tests have instigated a widespread “opt-out” movement in reaction to government policies that pushed for test scores to be used to penalize underperforming teachers and struggling schools. They were also unpopular among some parents and educators who felt students were already taking enough tests each year.

Education activists and parents around the country joined in an opt-out movement that was strongest in New York State, where, in 2016, some 20 percent of students refused to take the state test.

This year, in an effort to stem the tide of anxious parents, New York State has implemented several changes to the test. Most notably, the three-part test, which includes E.L.A., mathematics, and science components, will be spaced out. The E.L.A. portion will take place next week, math on May 2 through 5, and science at the end of May. There will also be fewer questions in each section, and, as was the case last year, the tests will not be timed.

In an email to parents, Charles Soriano, the East Hampton Middle School principal wrote, “The state has (finally) listened to schools and incorporated several positive changes to the testing program. I firmly believe that these tests are responsible gauges of our students’ efforts in learning to become readers, writers, and critical thinkers.” Dr. Soriano urged parents to help quell unnecessary anxiety about the tests, emphasizing that it is “not worth it,” since they take up less than 1 perent of the time teachers spend with their students.

The Springs School held two informational workshops for parents on the English and math tests and posted a resource booklet for parents on its website detailing the goals of the tests and explaining this year’s changes. The online booklet also noted the state’s expectation that “all public school students in grades three through eight are required to take all state tests administered for their grade level.”

Beth Doyle, the John M. Marshall Elementary School principal in East Hampton, said she has not sensed the same level of resistance to the tests as she did last year, when the school had 31 out of 310 students opt out in third through fifth grade. To date, said Ms. Doyle, “we have only received two letters opting out.”

At the Montauk school, Brigid Collins, the assistant principal, said she did not notify parents of changes to the tests, as she felt there had been a lot of press coverage on the topic already. Ms. Collins echoed Ms. Doyle’s sentiment, pointing out that the number of parents who have sent letters to have their kids opt out was much lower this year.

“Last year we had 52 out of 212 students in third to eighth grade opt out. This year, I’ve only received a few letters opting out. But,” she added, “we’ll have to wait and see what happens next week.”

Jeffrey Mansfield, a parent of three elementary students at the Bridgehampton School, knows exactly where his kids will be on Tuesday. “Taking the test,” said Mr. Mansfield. “However, I want to stress that I completely respect every parent’s decision when it comes to the education of their child. As far as my kids are concerned, I believe that they do need to learn to take tests. And also a bigger lesson that when you’re faced with a tough hurdle in life, you can’t just opt out.”

Christine Scuilli, whose son is at East Hampton Middle School, agrees that tests are part of life.

“It’s in society’s best interest to raise its children to learn how to try their best and take risks without feeling demoralized when family or personal expectations are not met,” she wrote in an email this week. “The ability to take assessments with clarity and focus, and without drama, even when the material is not entirely familiar, is a life skill. It is fantastic that the tests will be spaced apart this year to avoid the brain drain of all-day testing and ‘test-week’ panic. I believe if the tests are given they should be mandatory, as each opt-out undermines their value.” She added that test scores are most useful to New York State and national assessments of Common Core standards.

Opponents of the tests, including many teachers, focus less on the stress that testing causes students and more on the stress teachers and educators face due to the nature of high-stakes testing.

“While there have been changes [this year], the reality is as follows: The test-and-punish agenda continues and the best way to demand change is to continue to opt out of the flawed system,” Opt Out CNY, an affiliate of New York State Allies for Public Education, posted on its website.

Reinforcement for those who canvass against standardized testing is the growing number of colleges and universities around the country that have joined a “test-optional” list, meaning that perspective candidates can choose to not submit their scores on college entrance tests such as the ACT and SAT as part of their application. A 2015 U.S. News article lists prestigious liberal arts institutions such as Wesleyan University, Bowdoin College, Mid­dlebury College, Wake Forest Uni­versity, Colorado College, and George Washington University among those on that list.

Sue deLara, whose daughters attend the Amagansett School and East Hampton Middle School, said she took a different tactic regarding state tests.

“Last year, both my girls did not want to take the tests. However, it was not okay with me for them to have a few days off to do nothing,” Ms. deLara said. “I told them that if they felt so strongly about not taking the tests then they each had to write an in-depth report about the subject.”

Both girls completed their projects last spring, and this year, Ms. deLara posed the same challenge to her daughters. The younger of the two said she had already spoken to her teacher about not taking the test and would use the time instead to write her own episode of the television show “Cutthroat Kitchen.”

Ms. deLara’s older daughter, who is in seventh grade in East Hampton, considered her options for a while and finally announced this week, “I’ll just do the tests.”

Busy Saturdays at the Y

The Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter is offering a variety of free Saturday programs for kids starting this week and running through June 17, with sports, arts, and science, technology, engineering, and math on the agenda.

The day will start with soccer skills and drills development for ages 4 to 6 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. A similar basketball program for the same age group will run from 9:45 to 10:30. For kids 7 to 11, the schedule is flipped: basketball from 8:30 to 9:30 and soccer from 9:45 to 10:30. Children can sign up for both programs. “It’s a progressive program, with multiple age-specific levels,” the Y says on a flier.

More heady offerings follow. A science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (commonly called STEAM these days) program runs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 4 to 6 and from 11:30 to 12:30 for ages 7 to 11. Creative arts sessions, focusing on painting, drawing, writing, or acting, will run from 11:30 to 12:30 for ages 4 to 6 and from 12:30 to 1:30 for ages 7 to 11. Kids (and their parents) could make a whole morning of it.

On Saturday afternoons, a sports academy for kids 9 to 16 will focus on character and education development from 1 to 2, strength, speed, endurance, and agility from 2 to 3, and sports training and game play from 3 to 4.

Registration can be done on Saturday morning, but advance registration at the RECenter has been strongly suggested.

Crazy Hair and a MakerBot

Crazy Hair Day, a dance party, and 3-D printing workshops are on the agenda at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton this week. Tomorrow afternoon at 4, there will be a Just Dance party using the Dance Dance Revolution video game for ages 4 and up. Next week at the same time, the same age group can listen to some bad-hair-day stories and make some crazy hair art. MakerBot 3-D printing workshops will take place on Tuesday afternoon. There’s one at 4 for ages 7 to 12 and one at 5 for kids 13 and up.

Also at the libraries this week, a teen trivia contest will be held at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. Kids in 7th through 12th grades can form teams of three to five players or join up with a group at the library for this monthly contest. Pizza is included.

Ceramic animal pots will be the craft of the hour on Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Montauk Library. Kids 6 and up can design a pot or make an edible jellybean bracelet.

Book-Spine Poems

April is National Poetry Month, and the East Hampton Library has invited young adults to use the books in its Y.A. collection to create “book-spine poems” throughout the month. The aim is to take from three to six books and set them on their sides to make an original poem using the words on the spine. When the perfect combination is found, participants snap a photo of it and email it to [email protected] by April 29. Make it a good one, though — the library will accept only one submission per poet.

The library will offer an overview of the ACTs and SATs for high school students and their families on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Those who attend will learn the difference between the tests and get some tips on taking them.

A workshop on nocturnal creatures for ages 5 and up will be held next Thursday at 4 p.m.

Youth Soccer Time

Registration for East Hampton Town’s youth soccer program for first through sixth graders will be on Saturday and April 8 from 10 a.m. to noon at the fields on Stephen Hand’s Path in East Hampton or on April 15 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the youth park on Abraham’s Path. The cost is $45. Players are divided into a younger league for grades one to three and an older one for fourth through sixth graders. Games run from April 22 to June 17.

For Vacation Week

Looking ahead to the April vacation week, parents may want to reserve space now for programs that often fill up early. Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor will run a musical theater camp for ages 8 to 12 from April 10 through 14. The cost for the program, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is $385 for the week.

At the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, there will be art workshops each day of the break from 10 a.m. to noon for kids 4 and up and from 1 to 3 p.m. for kids 7 and over. The cost per session is $40, $30 for museum members.

On Saturday at the Parrish, kids 11 to 18 can make pop-up cards with Pam Collins, a teaching artist, during a free teen studio program from 10 a.m. to noon. Advance registration is required.

“It’s hard to have a discussion on the same evening about more recess and more homework,” Lois Favre, the Bridgehampton School superintendent, said in an email to The Star. Dr. Favre, who has announced that she will retire in January 2018 after seven years at the helm, was responding to questions posed by Jeffrey Mansfield, a parent and school board member, during a board meeting on March 15.

Mr. Mansfield’s first question was about free time for elementary school students. “Are kindergarten through fifth-grade students getting enough recess time during the school day?” asked Mr. Mansfield, who has children in the first, fourth, and fifth grades at the school. The issue, he reminded administrators, had been raised by the board last year in the middle of the academic year, at which point Dr. Favre had said it was too late to alter the schedule.

Dr. Favre responded to Mr. Mansfield at the March 15 meeting, saying significant changes had been made in the elementary school schedule for the year ahead. Lunch breaks will increase from 40 minutes each day to an hour, she said, allowing younger students at least 30 or 40 minutes after lunch to play outdoors or in the gym during bad weather.  “In addition,” Dr. Favre said, “kids will still have two ‘brain breaks’ per day, each for about 10 to 20 minutes.”

In her email, Dr. Favre confirmed the school’s commitment to free time. “We were supportive of the idea, as research does show the value of play breaks in the school day, as well as the value of play as a form of learning social skills,” she said.

Mr. Mansfield, during a phone interview, applauded what he said was a healthy relationship between the administration and the board, as well as “the beauty of a small school where the administration can follow up on issues and deliver answers quickly.”

Later, during the meeting, Mr. Mansfield shifted his focus to middle graders. “Are we challenging our middle schoolers enough in preparation for high school?” he asked. “Are they getting enough homework? Are we raising the bar high enough, or are we dumbing down education?” Dr. Favre answered these questions at the meeting and expanded on them in her email.

“The administrative team and teachers at Bridgehampton are not delivering a curriculum that is dumbed-down. In fact, we go above and beyond‚ and we are small enough to assure individualization and attention. Clearly we need to do a better job of sharing that with parents and the board (most of whom happen to be parents of elementary students).”

Dr. Favre pointed out that two Bridgehampton students — a sophomore and a junior — were selected to present research on key global challenges this week at Cornell University as part of a New York Youth Institute conference, after which they will be considered Borlaug Scholars. (Norman Borlaug was the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner for his lifelong dedication to feed a hungry world.)

“This cannot happen with a dumbed-down curriculum,” Dr. Favre wrote. “In recent years all of our students go on to college, and many to very prestigious schools, indicating that we are definitely on the right track.”

Mr. Mansfield said he had raised the issue because of the vast spectrum of kids enrolled in the Bridgehampton School with varying learning needs and from different socio-economic backgrounds.

“We do so much to ensure kids don’t fall through the cracks that I just want to be sure the other kids — those with a good support system at home, and those who will go to college — are also getting what they need,” he said. “I want every child in every grade to get the very best from this school.”

Dr. Favre also shared her opinions on homework and a belief that education is not limited to the classroom in her email. 

“As an educator,” she wrote, “I believe in rigor and relevance, of course. I also believe that homework for homework’s sake is not the answer. Families reading together, researching together, and spending positive time together are equally important.”

In other news at the March 15 meeting, two teachers, Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz and Jeff Neubauer, presented an update on the Sprouts Project planned last year, in which students will grow specialty crops and flowers and sell what they grow on summer weekends at the school’s new farm stand on Montauk Highway. They plan to open the farm stand on Memorial Day weekend.

In addition, Ms. Carmack-Fayyaz and Mr. Neubauer, who are coordinators of the project, announced the hope that the project will expand, by offering a limited, income-based Community Supported Agriculture program to approximately 20 families and community members.

According to Ms. Carmack-Fayyaz, the East Hampton nonprofit organization Share the Harvest Farm, formerly the Food Pantry Farm, has agreed to support the endeavor by providing training for students as well as produce.

The teachers called the project agribusiness, and said it was in the final stage of fund-raising, thanks to the efforts of five students, Madi Koral, Rachel Hoyt, Jonny DeGroot, Nia Dawson, and Max Cheng.

To date, the project also has received grants from Paddlers for Humanity, the Department of Agriculture, Slow Food East End, and the Whole Kids Foundation. Furthermore, a Kickstarter campaign will be introduced in April, Ms. Carmack-Fayyaz said, with the goal that Sprouts will fund itself and won’t need district money.

A Singing Sloth

Goat on a Boat @ Bay Street will present “Aunt Irene’s Talk Show,” a puppet show for kids starring a lizard, a wizard, a singing sloth, and a flamenco dancer, on Saturday at 11 a.m. The show has a variety act format that includes songs in Spanish, English, Russian, and French, with live music by Matthew Ocone, a classically trained guitarist. Tickets cost $15 at the door or online at baystreet.org. 

Egg Drop Challenge

Feeling inventive? Ready to put your problem-solving skills to the test? If so, then the Children’s Museum of the East End’s annual Egg Drop Challenge on Saturday at 9:45 a.m. could be just the thing for you. Participants will use material provided by the museum to create protective containers that will help an egg survive a 10-foot drop from the top of CMEE’s pirate ship. The cost is $20, $5 for museum members. 

Looking ahead to Friday, March 24, it will be time to get out the dancing shoes when CMEE hosts a family disco party from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Family members of all ages have been invited and pizza will be served. Admission is $14. Members get in free. 

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Camp SoulGrow in Montauk is gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day. Kids 7 and up have been invited to a drop-off St. Paddy’s party tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. Those who would like to help with the camp’s float in the Montauk Friends of Erin St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 26 can join in float preparations on Friday, March 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is required for each program by emailing [email protected]. 

Talking Hands

Jaki Jackson will introduce kids ages 6 to 10 to sign language during an hourlong program at the Amagansett Library on Saturday at 3 p.m. 

On Wednesday at the library, table manners will be on the menu for a 4 p.m. program with Heather Baris of Sribadoo and Mariah Bruehl of Playful Learning. Kids 8 to 12 will make a napkin to take on and learn some of the basics of good table behavior, then Jennifer Brew will teach them how to fold napkins into swan shapes. Advance registration is required. 

Library Looks to Spring

March feels more like February than February did, but soon the dandelions will be dotting the yard, and spring will arrive, on the calendar at least, in just a few days. 

A dandelion story and craft time for kids 4 and older today at 4 p.m. at the East Hampton Library will set a hopeful tone no matter the temperature. Tomorrow, there’s a St. Patrick’s Day art program for the same age group at 3:30 p.m. At 5 p.m., when the library closes to the public, high school students will have the place all to themselves for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration that lasts till 7. 

Teens can design a watercolor-inspired throw pillow in the young adult room on Saturday between 2 and 4 p.m. On Sunday at 3 p.m., the library will offer them an introduction to the video game and movie apps that can be played in the new young adult space on the lower level.

Next Thursday at 4 p.m., sixth through eighth graders can use colorful Japanese washi tape to decorate picture frames. There will be snacks to fuel the creativity. 

Nature Trivia

“Do whales have belly buttons?” That’s just one of the questions families might encounter in a nature trivia game they can play on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. The game is best for children 6 and over. 

On Sunday, children ages 3 to 5 can meet and learn about some of the museum’s salamanders and then do a salamander craft, starting at 10:30 a.m. There is a $3 materials fee, in addition to museum entry. Advance registration is required for all museum programs.

It was mostly good news for a standing-room-only crowd at the Springs School Board of Education meeting Monday evening.

Lisa Dragone, speaking for the Greater East Hampton Education Foundation, presented grants of $2,000 each to three faculty members. Lisa Self will use hers to purchase an iMac and an iPad, Colleen McGowan will buy cameras for her photography students to take home, allowing them to expand their studies outside school grounds, and Sean Knight and Bill Hallman plan to buy Dot and Dash robots, which teach students from kindergarten to fifth grade creative problem solving, coding, and digital literacy skills.

Barbara Dayton, president of the school board, announced that the list of candidates for school superintendent has been whittled down, and the board will begin interviewing candidates next week.

The board’s third budget workshop session followed, with more positive news. Because the East Hampton School District had reduced its high school tuition fees, Springs will save $391,716 next year, allowing the school to absorb a tax-cap gap of $91,312, reported at the Feb. 13 meeting. The board also plans to use the savings to cover the cost of two contingency teaching positions and to reduce the appropriated fund balance.

On Monday, Carl Fraser, the school’s interim business administrator, presented the board with add-backs as recommended by the administration. School officials have suggested adding $30,000 to professional development services. “The purpose is to continue to improve student learning by providing meaningful, focused, professional development opportunities for our teachers, administrators and support staff,” according to his PowerPoint presentation.

Mr. Fraser also recommended reducing the appropriated fund balance by $10,088 and the tax levy increase by $20,758. The recommended add-backs total $60,846.

The proposed 2017-18 budget for the Springs School is $28,113,085. The 2016-17 budget was $27,630,067, indicating an increase of $483,018, or 1.75 percent. 

The tax levy increase stands at 2.15 percent. The school remains under the tax cap levy allowed increase by $20,758, or 0.08 percent.

A breakdown of the budget into three categories — administration, capital, and K to 12 tuition, shows an increase in all three. According to Mr. Fraser, “higher costs projected for the 2017-18 budget are driven by increased high school enrollment, salaries and employee benefits, building maintenance, equipment, materials, and supplies.”

The evening’s only negative note was sounded near the end, when two community members addressed the board and voiced concern over Barbara Dayton’s remark that there was “nothing major to report” about the school’s expansion plans. Both speakers voiced frustration over the delay in planning. Ms. Dayton responded that while she understood their concern, the board’s priority remained to find the most cost-effective way to add more space to the school.

The school board will meet next on April 3 at 7 p.m. Its final budget hearing will take place on May 8, again at 7.