Mixed-Up Cheer

The dancers of Bridgehampton’s Studio 3 will present their holiday production, “Mixed Nuts,” tomorrow through Sunday at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. Billed as “The Nutcracker” with a twist, the program includes a variety of dance forms, from ballet to hip-hop, jazz to contemporary. This year, the holiday romp will take “a detour to Neverland,” according to the studio. Show times are tomorrow and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for adults, $20 for children and people 65 and over. 

Christmas Spectacular

Camp SoulGrow’s Christmas Spectacular promises to wow the kids on Saturday afternoon at Gurney’s Resort in Montauk with delights including a hot chocolate bar and cookie decorating. From 2 to 4 p.m., kids will enjoy karaoke, gift making, and games, in addition to the already mentioned treats courtesy of Camp SoulGrow and the Candied Anchor. Santa will be on hand to hear last-minute wishes and pose for photographs. The event is free, but donations will help support the nonprofit camp, which offers free and low-cost workshops and adventures to children 7 and up. 

Camp SoulGrow is also enlisting kids to help spread holiday cheer at the Montauk Senior Center tomorrow afternoon. Participants will be picked up at the Montauk School in the Camp SoulGrow bus at 1:30 p.m. and will need to send in a signed note to that effect to school. 

Gingerbread Village

At the Montauk Library on Saturday, families can build and decorate gingerbread houses from 2 to 3:30 p.m. There are just 15 house kits available, so advance registration is a must. The holiday fun will continue on Tuesday, when the library screens “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” for kids 3 and up at 4 p.m. and is followed by a craft. Registration is required for this one, too. 

Solstice Celebration

Nature walks, a winter craft, and a solstice celebration are on the schedule this week at the South Fork Natural History Museum. On Saturday, the day begins with a 10 a.m. winter beach walk at Ditch Plain in Montauk for families with children 5 and older. 

Back at the museum in Bridgehampton at 10:30, children 3 to 5 will learn about woodland animals as they listen to a reading of “Over in the Forest: Take a Peek” and then create their own counting craft. There is a $3 materials fee for the workshop, in addition to the cost of museum admission. At 2 p.m. that day, kids 6 to 8 will get a lesson on how animals prepare for winter and learn about the ones that stay out and about during the cold months. They will follow that up by drawing images of themselves as they appear in winter. This one has a $2 materials fee. 

On Sunday morning at 10:30, in anticipation of the winter solstice, children 6 to 9 will listen to a reading of Wendy Pfeffer’s “The Shortest Day,” talk about why the solstice is special, and draw night scenes. There is a $3 materials fee for the workshop. Advance registration has been requested for all programs. 

Cinnamon-Scented Ornaments

After an interactive reading of Wong Herbert Yee’s “Tracks in the Snow” at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday, families will make cinnamon dough ornaments. A workshop leader will help families with children 4 to 8 measure, pour, mix, knead, and roll out the dough, which they will then take home to bake or air-dry. The workshop starts at 10 a.m. and costs $20 including museum admission, $7 for museum members. Advance sign-up has been suggested.

A Camp for the Break

Even with new toys to play with, kids might get a little stir-crazy at some point during the upcoming 10-day school break, and not every parent gets a similar break from work. Enter the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter. From Monday through Friday, Dec. 30, and again on Jan. 2, the Y.M.C.A. will run a school break camp for kids ages 4 to 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, with the chance to extend the day by an hour in the morning and evening. The camp will include swimming, cultural arts classes, sports, and maybe even a field trip. The cost is $32 per day per child, and an additional $10 for the extended-day option. Advance registration is with Sondra Vecchio by phone or at [email protected].

Budding Chefs and Ball Drops

Budding chefs ages 4 to 7 will be right at home at the Children’s Museum of the East End’s daily Kids Club cooking program next week. The program, which runs Monday through Friday, Dec. 30, from 9:30 to 11:45 a.m., will have kids making a different dish each day. Pasta is on the menu Monday, Tuesday it’s quiche, Wednesday sushi, next Thursday deviled eggs, and Friday, Dec. 30, samosas. The cost is $400 for the week, $325 for museum members, and advance registration is required.

Looking ahead to New Year’s Eve, the museum will host ball drops for families, complete with the excitement of a countdown, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Kids will make noisemakers, share resolutions for 2017, and revel in a confetti-filled grand finale. The cost is $14 per person; members get in free. Advance registration is a must as this event often sells out.

Movies and Night Scenes

While school is out, the East Hampton Library will offer a number of extra programs to keep kids busy. On the free family movies front, today’s is “The BFG,” based on the novel by Roald Dahl, at 2 p.m. “The Secret Life of Pets,” an animated feature about what pets do when their owners leave the house, will be shown on Monday at 1:30. Next Thursday’s flick is “Pete’s Dragon” at 2, and on Jan. 2, the library will show “Storks” on the big screen at 1:30.

In an art program on Tuesday, kids will explore the night scenes of van Gogh, Magritte, and other artists and then create scenes of their own. “Winter wonderland” is the theme of another art program on Wednesday. Both begin at 2:30 p.m. and are for kids 4 and older.

In the library’s young-adult room, high school students can make New Year’s crafts on Wednesday and next Thursday from 2 to 5 p.m. Advance registration has been requested for most programs.

Art Workshops Galore

Children’s art workshops Monday through next Thursday at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill will have a different focus each day: abstract wooden sculpture inspired by the work of Louise Nevelson on Monday, landscape painting on Tuesday, Alfonso Ossorio-style assemblage on Wednesday, and watercolor portraits of friends and family next Thursday.

Classes will run from 10 a.m. to noon for 4 to 6-year-olds and from 1 to 3 p.m. for ages 7 and up. The cost is $40 per day or $30 for museum members; advance sign-up is required.

On Friday, Dec. 30, the museum will screen award-winning short films from the New York International Children’s Film Festival in an hourlong program that begins at 6 p.m. The 12 films are geared to children 3 to 7 but are appropriate for all ages. They include one live-action short and 11 animated films from Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The program costs $10, but is free for members, children, and students.

Animals in Winter

The South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton will present nature programs for children each morning from 10:30 to 11:30 next week. On Monday, they will explore evidence of animals in winter. On Tuesday, winter trees and plants are the focus. Kids can make an orange birdfeeder on Wednesday, look at how animals adapt to winter next Thursday, and talk about winter birds of the field on Friday, Dec. 30. Advance registration has been requested. The cost is $7.50 for children 12 and under.

Henna Tattoos, Anyone?

Henna, Lego, an animated movie, and a New Year’s craft are on the agenda at the Montauk Library next week. On Tuesday at 3 p.m., kids will work to make an abstract “painting” using Lego. “The Secret Life of Pets” will be shown on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Next Thursday, kids in grades four and up will learn about the art of henna and choose a temporary henna tattoo of their own in a program that runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

New Year’s party hats will be the craft of the hour on Friday, Dec. 30, at 3 p.m. This one is for those in kindergarten and above. Advance sign-up has been requested for most programs.

East Hampton High School will soon play a part in collecting and disseminating local and statewide weather data. The East Hampton School District and the State University of New York at Albany have signed an agreement for the installation of an enhanced Early Warning Weather Detection System on the high school roof. The project, known as New York Statewide Mesonet, places equipment that collects weather data at schools, fire stations, and municipal buildings.

“From a regional perspective, the East Hampton location is excellent for providing a far eastern site in the state,” Chris Thorncroft, co-director of Mesonet and chair of SUNY Albany’s department of atmospheric and environmental science, said in an email. “Locally, the East Hampton High School site was excellent in that it had power and Ethernet readily available, as well as plenty of roof space with few obstructions. The sensors need a 360-degree unobstructed view, which the rooftop site is able to provide.”

Improved real-time weather analyses and forecasts are “expected to provide significant cost savings for transportation, aviation, energy, and agriculture,” Dr. Thorncroft said. Other partners were “exploring how to use the data to improve efficiency and lower operating costs,” he said.

Paul Rabito, who heads East Hampton High School’s science research program, said that students will be able to access data from the weather station that could be related to the study of algal blooms and fish die-offs, and that will help them hone the analytical skills they will need later in life.

“The research classes may see the most benefits, as they require an in-depth, three-year study of the student’s chosen topic, hands-on scientific research, and Ph.D. mentoring,” he said. “The wealth of relatively unstudied data available will be priceless to those students who study it, enhancing their scientific literacy, and the authenticity of their project.”

The setup requires a 20-foot-square area capable of supporting 500 pounds; school officials said the high school roof would provide it.

The equipment features a light detection and ranging sensor, called a LiDAR, which emits short pulses of laser light into the atmosphere and measures their scattering in order to observe radial wind speed and other variables. The station also includes a microwave radiometer, which collects data on temperature, humidity, and clouds, and a sun photometer, which tracks the path of the sun during the day to measure its direct radiance.

The state will pay for the utilities needed for the weather station, so no money will come from the school district.

With Sag Harbor voters having delivered a definitive “no” on Dec. 14 on whether to use artificial turf for the athletic field at Pierson Middle and High School — the vote was 1,016 to 135 — the school district is developing a proposal for a natural grass field and set Feb. 15 for a new vote.

The proposal rejected last week was to use $365,000 from the district’s capital reserve fund to supplement the $1.62 million approved in November 2013 for the athletic field. A new vote is necessary because the money approved at the time specified the use of artificial turf. Using money for grass instead also required special legislation from New York State.

“The board has always been united in our desire to have a safe playing field for the students at Pierson,” Diana Kolhoff, the school board president, said in an email Tuesday. “Now that we know the community was not in favor of using capital reserve funds to fund a reduced-scope synthetic turf project, we can move forward with the natural grass alternative.”

The district now has $1.45 million available to work on the Pierson Middle and High School field, an architect’s fee having been deducted from the original amount. Included in the new proposal is the installation of a natural grass practice field at the Sag Harbor Elementary School, which could be used by the community for youth sports events as well as the school’s students. A hard-surface multipurpose court, intended for games and other activities for  elementary school students, is also in the plans.

A handful of community members in attendance to hear the results of the vote last week were satisfied with the outcome. “This is a great victory for the health of our children and the environment,” said Helen Roussel, a parent of three children in the Sag Harbor schools. Health concerns, which were not alleged in 2013, had caused controversy at school board meetings in recent months.

In a statement following the vote, the Pierson Parent Teacher Student Association, which, along with the Sag Harbor Elementary PTA, had come out against synthetic turf, said, “It’s incredible to see the community come together this way. This shows the power of communication and the power of openly sharing information. This also shows how much this community cares about its kids and their long-term health, and how important preserving our beautiful town and its resources really is.”

While the school board has now unanimously agreed to put the natural grass proposal to a community vote, individual board members disagreed on the options during the discussion leading up to that decision at Monday’s board meeting. A two-lane walking track once included as part of the synthetic field emerged as a sticking point.

“A lot of ‘no’ votes came from a tremendous disappointment that it was a scaled-down version of what they approved,” Stephanie Bitis, a board member, said. “They were upset because a lot of those components were removed. Every single part of the project around it, from scoreboards to bleachers to concrete to staircases, can we now put it back in?”

“I do think that this is a big deal and if we do it, we should do it right,” Chris Tice, another board member, said. “We’ve got to put out the right proposition. I think it does warrant the conversation of should we have a track.”

After Jennifer Buscemi, the business administrator, said adjusting the proposal for the track would delay the possibility of holding the vote in February, Susan Lamontagne, a board member, suggested the track “could potentially be done at a later date so we can get this field in. We can add a track later.”

An estimate of $415,000 for a new grass, or sod, field at Pierson, had come from the district’s architectural firm, BBS Architects. That figure does not include additional work, such as perimeter fencing, concrete stairs leading to the middle school gym, and new rolling bleachers.

However, Gregg Stanley, the certified golf course superintendent at the Bridge Golf Club, which has donated tens of thousands of dollars in labor and materials to help the district with the field at Pierson, told the school board a natural grass field could be cultivated for about $185,000. “I really just want to say thank you for allowing us to help with the fields last fall and last summer. Going forward, the district should know we are squarely behind the school. . . . We’re happy to help in any way that we can,” Mr. Stanley said.

Timing was another factor in the board’s decision to call for a vote in February. A sod field would take about six weeks to take root, according to Larry Salveson of BBS Architects, meaning that students would be able to use it by next fall. Mr. Stanley, however, said cultivating the field naturally would take about 12 weeks so that students might not be able to play on it that quickly.

 Ms. Buscemi said the February vote would give the district barely enough time to get a sod field project approved by the state, request bids from interested contractors, and get the work completed.

“I think with the money that we have, and adding the additional work over at the elementary school, I really like that,” Tommy John Schiavoni, the school board vice president, said. “I don’t want to delay this any longer.”

Members of the Sag Harbor Elementary School PTA and Pierson Middle and High School Parent Teacher Student Association voted last Thursday to take a formal stance against the school district's artificial turf field project.

The groups' decision to publicly oppose the project comes about two weeks before the school administration is to hold a district-wide vote asking residents to approve using $365,000 from its capital reserve fund to supplement money that has already been set aside for the turf field. Bids for the project, which was approved by a fairly narrow margin in 2013, came in higher than expected; additional money cannot be used without voter approval. The public vote on the artificial turf field will be held on Dec. 14 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The PTA and P.T.S.A. held a forum last Thursday on the turf field. It featured presentations by Katy Graves and Jennifer Buscemi, Sag Harbor's superintendent and business administrator, respectively, and by Patti Wood, the founder of the Port Washington organization Grassroots Environmental Education, who has spoken out against artificial turf fields.

• RELATED EDITORIAL: Two School Districts Go to Voters Next Week

The Dec. 14 vote "has a lot of people talking, a lot of people asking questions and wanting answers," Aura Winarick, the Pierson P.T.S.A. president, said at last week's forum. "We quickly learned that the PTA has actually a much larger role in this than we thought. . . . The PTA is the nation's oldest and largest child advocacy organization. There are seven million of us. What that means is we can and we should be much more than bake sales and black-light volleyball. All that is really fun and important and we should continue to do that by all means. However, at the heart of that is advocacy, and that means doing whatever we can as one voice and one body to make every child's experience a happy, healthy, and safe one."

The two groups "realized it is our duty to provide this forum and take a position," Ms. Winarick said. The forum was open to everyone in the community, but only members could vote on the groups' positions. The finally tally of 32 to 3 against the artificial turf included ballots cast by 13 new members who signed up at that night's meeting.

The presentation by Ms. Graves and Ms. Buscemi was straightforward, focusing on the facts of the project. The money in the capital reserve fund already exists for district use, and a simple majority vote is needed to give the district permission to use it. No additional taxes will be levied for the immediate project at hand. The turf field project has been scaled back from its initial scope, with pieces such as a two-lane walking track and landing spot for movable bleachers having been removed to make it more affordable, but the initial $1.62 million that voters approved still fell short. If the voters approve the use of $365,000 for the field, the capital reserve fund will still have $1.77 million left for other uses. The total cost of the new field is expected to be just under $2 million.

The synthetic turf field project was initially approved in 2013 by a vote of 585 to 507, but the New York State Education Department took more than two years to approve the plans. In the interim, projected costs rose, and when the district finally received bids from companies interested in building the field, those bids were hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget.

The turf field would be used by all grades at Pierson for gym classes and recess and by the field hockey, soccer, junior varsity and middle school baseball and softball teams, and for other student activities and off-season programs. Built into the $365,000 request, the school board asked for funding for an option called CoolFill, a coating for the crumb rubber pieces that reflects rather than absorbs heat, which is said to moderate the temperature on artificial turf fields.

"We can't tell you how to vote, we can just encourage the community to vote on a very spirited topic," Ms. Graves said. "At the end of the day, we are still a community."

Addressing the question of the safety of the artificial turf with an infill made from rubber from recycled tires — the primary sticking point among the project's opposition — Ms. Graves cited the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which has said that "limited studies have not shown an elevated health risk from playing on fields with tire crumb, but the existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns about health risks from exposure to tire crumb." The E.P.A., in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and other federal consumer protection agencies, launched a research plan on the crumb rubber infill products used on artificial turf fields.

Should the proposition fail, Ms. Graves said, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo "has approved our moving toward a different option if this is not approved -- a natural grass option." School officials have said in the past, however, that a natural grass field could be more restrictive because of limitations connected to weather and overuse.

In her presentation, Ms. Wood focused on the alleged risks of the artificial turf fields. She said they include increased injuries for athletes, such as "turf toe," burns on hot turf, and joint trauma on fields that have not been maintained properly. She said athletes playing on turf fields are exposed to harmful chemicals via the crumb rubber infill most frequently used on the fields, including neurotoxins, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and carcinogens such as benzene that are present in the industrial rubber used to make the tires that are then broken down into the crumb rubber. That, she said, is accidentally ingested or inhaled by athletes who are breathing hard during games.

"This is why we're seeing a growing number of student athletes, mostly in high school and college, coming down with leukemia and lymphoma, particular soccer goalies," Ms. Wood said.

There is also the matter of exposure to bacteria on turf fields that are not disinfected regularly, she said. Artificial turf does not contain the microbes found in soil that naturally filter bacteria from natural grass fields after athletes sweat, spit, bleed, or vomit on the field, she said.

"We have a ton of science on this -- academic, peer-reviewed, independent studies," Ms. Wood said.

"This is what our organization does and does best. We put together digests of academic research on different issues, and none of it points to putting these fields down and taking a chance. At Grassroots, we embrace the cautionary principle. When an activity raises threats to human health or the environment, we take precautionary measures. It takes decades to establish scientific certainty."

In a spirited question-and-answer period following the presentations by Ms. Graves, Ms. Buscemi, and Ms. Wood, several residents spoke out against the project.

"I am not willing to risk my child's health or my neighbor's child's health or the children after us. I think we should wait," said Larry Baltz, a parent of a Pierson eighth grader.

Catherine Smith, another parent, said she objected to the turf field because "this is our only field" at Pierson.

"They're on it. We don't get to choose as parents to expose our children to this," she said. "We are sentencing them to cancer if we send our children to Sag Harbor schools. . . . Other schools have one field of many fields. It's not their only field. This is a death sentence and lawsuits up the wazoo for the school."

But Greg Burton, who has been a vocal supporter of the artificial turf field, said the fact that Pierson has just one playing field is exactly why it should be transformed into a turf field.

"The problem with having a natural field is that 60 people in the whole school will be able to be out there on the field, field hockey and soccer, and only for two months a year," he said. "So much for being in a rural or suburban area, because we don't have a field to play on. We have to be pragmatic."

Following the PTA and P.T.S.A. vote last Thursday, the two groups released an official joint statement over the weekend saying they "do not advocate for the proposition put forward by the district. We recommend a 'no' vote to the resolution being presented Dec. 14."

Magic and Magnets

The Amagansett Library has invited fifth through eighth graders to play or learn to play the game Magic the Gathering on Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m. 

Kids 8 to 12 who are looking for the right gift for a family member or friend could make it themselves during a magnet picture frame workshop on Monday from 3:30 to 4:30 at the library. Advance registration is requested for both programs. 

Sundaes on Sunday

Camp SoulGrow and John’s Drive-In in Montauk will team up on Sunday to offer an afternoon of window painting and ice cream sundaes for kids 7 and up. The fun is free, but registration is requested in advance by emailing [email protected]. 

“Water Princess”

The book “Water Princess” will come to life during story time with its author, Susan Verde, at BookHampton on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Ms. Verde’s picture book is based on the childhood story of Georgie Badiel, a supermodel, and tells of a young girl from an African village who walks a long way every day to bring water to her family.

Wreaths, Writing, Bath Bombs

Holidays go hand-in-hand with glitter, and kids ages 4 and up will have plenty of glittery materials to use in making festive wreaths at the East Hampton Library tomorrow from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. On Saturday teens will get crafty decorating coffee mugs with nail polish from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. For creative high school students, the library has planned a teen writing and drawing group on Sunday from 3 to 4 p.m., when they can exchange ideas and work from writing prompts. Teens have been invited to make origami ornaments for the first Christmas tree in the new young adult room on Monday from 4 to 5:30 p.m.  Students in grades six through eight can make their own fizzy bath bombs, perfect for holiday gifts or to keep for themselves, on Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. Next Thursday, the advanced dancers of the Creative Dance Center will perform the “Santa’s Workshop” ballet, from 4 to 5 p.m. The show is for ages 3 and up and is free.  The library will also host an all-ages reading of Billy Baldwin’s latest book, “The Cookie that Saved Christmas,” complete with a Christmas cookie decorating activity, on Friday, Dec. 16, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Later that day, high school students are invited to the library after hours to watch “Home Alone” at 5 p.m. 

Winter Basketball

The East Hampton Town Parks and Recreation Department is running Saturday basketball sessions for kids in kindergarten through eighth grades at the John M. Marshall Elementary and Amagansett Schools. 

At John Marshall third and fourth graders will play from 8:30 to 10 a.m., fifth and sixth graders play from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and seventh and eighth graders have the gym from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. At the Amagansett School kindergarten and first will play from 10 to 11 a.m., second graders play from 11 a.m. to noon, and a session for third through eighth grade girls will be held from noon to 1 p.m. The program runs Saturdays through March 4, with some days off during school holidays. The cost is $45 per child and registration can be done at the Parks and Recreation Department behind Town Hall or at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center.

Gifts and More

Children in kindergarten and up have been invited to the Montauk Library on Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m. to make handmade holiday gifts, including painted nutcrackers, gifts-in-a-jar, or a beach-themed holiday ornament. Registration is required because space is limited. The library will also screen the holiday movie “The Polar Express” on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Popcorn and other refreshments will be served.

For the Birds

At the South Fork Natural History Museum, families will use seeds, suet, and dried fruit, to make bird-friendly tree decorations on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Take a shoebox to transport the ornaments home. There is a $3 materials fee per child, and advance registration is requested. 

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced that a grant of about $95,000 has been awarded to the Southampton School District for the East End Farm-to-School Project, which will benefit more than 1,600 students specifically in the Southampton, Bridgehampton, and Tuckahoe School Districts.

“These farm-to-school programs are a win-win that supports New York farmers and helps ensure our children have access to healthy, locally grown produce,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “This is one more step toward a stronger, healthier New York for all.”

The money will be used to hire a farm-to-school program coordinator, train the schools’ food service staff, educate students on proper nutrition, and integrate more locally produced specialty crops into school breakfast and lunch programs. On the North Fork, the Greenport School District received a $69,000 grant for a similar program that supports six school districts.

“With the North Fork and the South Forks getting these sizable farm-to-school grants, the East End will again be able to lead the way in changing the face of school food,” said Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz, who teaches botany and nutrition at the Bridgehampton School and was named New York State’s Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year earlier this year. “Bridgehampton students will be able to eat more fresh produce and fruit as a result of this grant,” she said. “Ultimately, we would like to see a change in the school food menu, with a vigorous emphasis on plant-based offerings.”

Ms. Carmack-Fayyaz said the grant will connect schools and farms in a number of ways. She said it has the potential to increase farmers’ customer bases by allowing them to contract with schools, while also supplementing what individual schools’ gardens produce because those gardens usually do not grow enough to feed an entire school. 

“By linking farmers and schools, much more produce can be locally sourced. . . . This grant will help link students to their community and to the environment in which they live,” she said. “This last benefit is important as it provides a gateway to environmental awareness.”

With 55 percent voter approval, Bridgehampton residents turned out Tuesday to support the Bridgehampton School District's efforts to expand and renovate the 86-year-old building.

The final vote was 167 to 135 in favor of the $24.7 million bond. Preliminary plans by the district's architect, John A. Grillo of Port Jefferson, show a 35,440-square-foot addition and other renovations to modernize the building.

"Thank you to the community," Lois Favre, the school superintendent, said after the results were announced in the gym on Tuesday night. "This is something the students need and deserve and I'm glad the community recognized that."

A new gym, locker rooms, fitness room, cafeteria, and science, technology, and music rooms are likely to be included in the plans, as are classrooms to accommodate the prekindergarten students, who are currently educated in one of three outdoor, modular classroom buildings that are at least 40 years old and have surpassed their life expectancies.

"I think [the final plans] will be fairly close to the draft, but I think we'll be open to input from all stakeholders as we move forward," Dr. Favre said.

The Bridgehampton School, in its current iteration, is the only local school that has not had a major capital improvement project since it was built in 1930.

The East Hampton Library is sponsoring free reading tests on Saturday, Dec. 3, for children in kindergarten through third grade who have difficulties reading.

Aimed at giving parents the tools to help their children improve their skills, the program will also include a presentation on library resources and adaptive technology for kids who are reluctant readers, book giveaways and refreshments, and information for teachers who are interested in receiving training to help such students.

It will begin at 10 a.m. with individual 15-minute sessions with a specialist who will identify children’s weaknesses with reading. Refreshments will be provided from 11:30 a.m. to noon, followed by an informational session covering dyslexia and other reading-related difficulties, with a question-and-answer period.

A separate session aimed at teachers and school psychologists, from 12:30 to 1 p.m., will introduce the Orton-Gillingham method and teaching reading using “multi-sensory approaches,” a term that refers to using a variety of strategies in the classroom to help children learn in alternative ways.

The presenter will be Evelyn Gross Whitebay, a teacher in Ulster County and an expert on dyslexia, who has partnered with the group Dyslexia on Long Island. Registration is required and can be accomplished by calling the East Hampton Library at 631-324-0222, extension 2.

So Fun at SoFo

There will be activities for the whole family at the South Fork Natural History Museum’s free open house on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but a few will be geared especially to children. From 10 a.m. to noon, kids of all ages can get their faces painted and make leaf “stained glass,” and kids 7 and older can create cornhusk dolls. 

A live animal and insect program from 2 to 3 p.m. is an add-on to the day of free activities and costs $15 for adults and teens and $8 for children, $10 and $5 for those who are members of the museum. Frogs, toads, rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs, mice hermit crabs, and reptiles are among the creatures that will be on hand. Advance reservations are a must for this portion of the day.

The museum has asked visitors for canned goods or nonperishable food items, which will be donated to the Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor Food Pantries.

Family Time at the Parrish

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill is offering family art activities tomorrow and Saturday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. In addition to gallery tours, there will be art projects inspired by the works in the galleries, a book signing tomorrow, and origami instruction on Saturday, all free with museum admission. 

Alex Beard, an artist and author of the children’s books “The Jungle Grapevine,” “Crocodile’s Tears,” and “Monkey See, Monkey Draw,” will be at the museum tomorrow at 1 p.m. to talk about and sign copies of his books. On Saturday, children and adults can learn to create folded paper origami art from 1 to 3 p.m. in the museum’s theater. 

The museum’s holiday gift market will take place tomorrow from noon to 5 and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Angelina at CMEE

Katharine Holabird, the creator of the Angelina Ballerina series of books about a young mouse with a passion for dance, will be at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday to bring her stories to life with the help of a local dancer. The program begins at 10 a.m. and costs $15, including museum admission. Members get in free. Registration ahead of time is required. 

Stinky and Brave

In Sag Harbor at the John Jermain Memorial Library, Kate and Jim McMullan will read selections from their children’s books for children 5 and under tomorrow. Among the many picture books to the couple’s credit are “I Stink!” and “I’m Brave!” The program begins at 10:30 a.m. 

Jester Jim in East Hampton

Jester Jim will be back at the East Hampton Library on Saturday at 2 p.m. with a comedy, juggling, and beatbox show for kids of all ages. 

Tomorrow, kids 4 and older can learn about the art of frottage, or crayon rubbings, using seashells, wood, coins, and other textured objects to create images they will cut and paste into works of art. The program starts at 2 p.m. 

A Snap Circuits workshop on Wednesday at 4 p.m. will have children 7 and older constructing electrical circuits that will light up, make sounds, or power an accessory. 

Next Thursday, “The Polar Express” will be shown at 4 p.m. on the library’s big screen. Advance registration has been requested for all but the Jester Jim show.