The Amagansett School Board, which took a water fountain in the gymnasium and six sinks out of service two weeks ago after lead was found in the water, took another step on Tuesday toward solving the problem. 

The board resolved to spend $5,000 on water filters for six fountains, including the one in question and five others. Those five had not tested high for lead content.

“We would like to try those out, and send and retest the water. Then we could go back to using the fountain,” Eleanor Tritt, the school superintendent, said. “Not only that one, but five other locations as well, even though it’s not required. . . . It seems pretty straightforward.”

Sandra Nuzzi, an administrative clerk who researched the filters, said they would have to be changed every three to six months. “I’ll just add that as a procedure for the plumber to do quarterly, to make sure we are on top of it,” she said.

The four school board members in attendance all approved of the expense. “Better safe than sorry,” Kristen Peterson said.

Also on Tuesday, the board approved $11,000 for the purchase of materials for a new schoolwide program called Reading and Writing Fundamentals. The program was tried out earlier this year in the sixth grade and will be expanded after teachers reported positive results almost immediately. Maria Dorr, the school principal, said its mini-lessons helped students fine-tune their writing abilities and boosted their reading skills.

“Teachers are seeing the follow-through,” Ms. Dorr said before the board approved the expense. “Everybody would really love to bring the program into their classrooms.”

East Hampton High School will host a forum addressing drug and alcohol abuse and addiction on Wednesday night, beginning at 5:45 in the school auditorium and open to students, parents, and the community at large.

It will be the second such event at the high school. The first, held in March, drew more than 150 people.

Wednesday’s discussion will again feature remarks by Steve Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. Nick Kardaras, executive director of the Dunes of East Hampton, a rehabilitation facility, will also speak, as will a representative from the office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.

Those who attend will be able to network with professionals from organizations that can assist people who are coping with addiction, including Narcotics Anonymous, the Family Service League, the East Hampton Town Department of Human Services, and others. The high school is at 2 Long Lane.

Celebrating Diversity Through Art

Guild Hall will bring together visual and performing artists, poets, and dancers for an afternoon of creative activities for families on Sunday. Called the artXchange, the event will celebrate the cultural diversity of the South Fork community.

The afternoon will begin at 1 with poetry readings by Tyler Armstrong, Lukas Ortiz, Heidi Rain Oleszczuk, and Tom Oleszczuk. At 2, the Shinnecock Youth Council, the East Hampton High School Dance Team, and the Dan Bailey Tribe with the Sag Harbor Methodist Church Dancers will perform. Georgette Grier-Key of the Eastville Historical Society will give a presentation, and families can explore the museum’s exhibitions. There will be free bites to eat by Island Empanada in the parking lot at 2:30, and inside from 2:30 to 4, Kate Mueth, Aurelio Torres, and Amy Pilkington will lead collaborative workshops. All events are free.

Cooking, 19th-Century Style

Kids 6 to 12 who like to cook might enjoy a program on 19th-century cooking and kitchens on Saturday at the Southampton Historical Museum’s Rogers Mansion. Participants will learn what was different in the kitchen two centuries ago and take a turn making butter and lemonade the old-fashioned way. The program starts at 11 a.m. and costs $5. A second cooking workshop on Nov. 12 will have kids making their own applesauce. Reservations have been requested for the sessions, which will be led by Gerri MacWhinnie.

All About Bird Nests

Bird nests, a mushroom farm, and a story time and walk focusing on trees are on the schedule this weekend at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.

On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., families will learn about the wide variety of nests that birds build here and then scour the museum property to find old ones and see what they are made of. Back at the museum, they will make their own nests out of similar materials.

At 11 that morning, David Falkowski and his wife, Ashley, will lead a tour of their Open Minded Organics farm, where they grow mushrooms, vegetables, and herbs. There is a $5 fee.

Who lives in a tree? Melanie Meade, a nature educator, will answer that question for kids 3 to 5 on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. After listening to a poem, kids will head outside to study different trees and see what makes them such good homes for some creatures. Advance registration has been requested for all programs.

Electronics for Kids

Kids 7 and older can learn the basics of electronics in a Snap Circuits workshop at the East Hampton Library on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Working in groups of two, participants will build circuits that will “light up, sound off, and power an accessory,” according to the library. There will be additional Snap Circuits sessions on Nov. 30 and Dec. 8; kids can take part in just one or all three.

The library will show family movies tomorrow and next Thursday at 4 p.m. This week’s movie will be “Ice Age 5: Collision Course.” Next week, it’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”

Readers may have seen mention here that the library is on the lookout for photographs by high school students to hang in a new young-adult room opening later this month. The news this week is that a $100 prize will be awarded for the best photo, with the winner to be announced at the opening celebration for the room. Photographs must be submitted by Nov. 14 via email to [email protected].

Algebra Help

High school students who need some extra help with algebra can find it at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor on Mondays starting next week. Chase Mallia, a tutor and teacher at Pierson Middle-High School, will assist students in either English or Spanish each week from 4:45 to 6 p.m. Students have been asked to take two No. 2 pencils with erasers, a notebook, and a calculator.

On Saturday at 2:30 p.m., kids in 7th through 12th grades can get to know the library’s new button maker, which allows you to turn drawings, collages, or computer designs into pinback buttons. The button maker will be available outside of the workshop’s hours, but attendance at a workshop is a prerequisite for using it.

Pancakes and Pajamas

At the Montauk Library, Saturday morning will bring a pancakes and pajamas story time for ages 2 to 5 at 10:30. Kids have been invited to wear their pajamas while they listen to a story and enjoy a tasty breakfast.

Later that day, at 3 p.m., kids 10 and up will turn old T-shirts into custom creations. Kids should take a T-shirt. Scissors, glue, and instruction will be provided.

CMEE’s Halloween Bash

Get out your Superman capes and Batgirl tights, your mermaid tails and pirate patches, the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton will celebrate Halloween with a big bash tomorrow afternoon for children of all ages. There will be games, treats, crafts, and a costume parade from 4 to 6. Advance sign-up is a must, as this annual affair usually sells out. The cost is $12. Museum members will get in free.

Parade of Ragamuffins

In Sag Harbor, Sunday is the day for the chamber of commerce’s big Ragamuffin Parade. Starting at 1 p.m., costumed families will walk down Main Street from Nassau Street to the Custom House lawn, where there will be games and other activities, a bake sale, and a pumpkin hunt. D.J. Carlos Lama will be playing dance music to set the tone.

About Applying for College

High school students and their parents who are looking ahead to the next step — applying for college — can get the scoop on what to do when and how in a program at the East Hampton Library on Saturday at 10 a.m. Presented by Dawn Christian of Strategies for Success, it will cover such topics as standardized test preparation, the application process, and financial aid, while also laying out a timeline to guide families through the lead-up to the application starting in ninth grade.

Also this week at the library, there will be a story, music, and movement session with bubbles on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. for babies up to age 3. That afternoon at 4, kids 4 to 6 can stop by for a Halloween story and craft. On Wednesday at 4, kids in sixth through eighth grade can decorate sugar skulls, a traditional craft associated with the Day of the Dead.

The library will screen a horror film for high school students on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. Advance registration has been requested for all library events.

The Science Wizard Alights

Professor Anthony Abbate, a.k.a. the Science Wizard, will be on hand at the Montauk Library on Saturday to teach kids 6 and older about things that glow in the dark while working with them to decorate T-shirts that glow under black lights. The professor will discuss the difference between luminescence, phosphorescence, and fluorescence. Participants have been asked to take a white T-shirt to paint. Space is limited, and advance sign-up is required.

Over at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, kids 4 to 10 can make creepy treats like spider doughnuts and candy corn fruit cups on Saturday at 2 p.m. Registration ahead of time is required.

Pumpkin and gourd painting will be happening at the Amagansett Library on Saturday at 2 p.m.

High school students from the East End and New York City have been invited to apply for a five-day script-writing retreat, the Young Artists and Writers Project, which is based at Stony Brook Southampton.

The retreat, planned for Nov. 14 through Nov. 18, is aimed at creative students who want to interact with college faculty in honing their skills writing plays and scripts. “The students attending will have a chance to find their creative voices in script writing in a supportive environment; generate valuable new material for transcripts; improve writing and communications skills; build confidence, and make new friends while forging lasting connections,” the program announcement reads.

In addition to the individual writing and development workshops, time is designated for students to study and complete their regular schoolwork, as well as for recreation. They will be chaperoned at all times.

At the conclusion of the program, each student’s script is presented in a staged reading, and some are chosen for a formal production at the college’s Avram Theater in December. Scripts are also published in the YAWP e-zine.

The cost is $500 per student, and the deadline to apply is Nov. 1. More information can be found online at stonybrook.edu/yawp, or by sending an email to Will Chandler, the program’s director, at [email protected].

Haunted Lighthouse

It is hard to think of a better spot for a haunted house than the Montauk Lighthouse, and on Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. the Montauk Lighthouse Museum and Camp SoulGrow will convert the historic landmark into a place just spooky enough to be fun, but not so scary that the kids will have nightmares. There will be games and treats. Costumes have been suggested and will also be for sale during the event for those who really enjoy a good game of dress-up or have yet to settle on their persona for Monday’s Halloween fun. The $5 admission fee will benefit Camp SoulGrow and the Lighthouse Museum. 

Halloween at the L.V.I.S.

There will be games, ghosts, treats, and tricks at the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society’s Halloween party for kids on Saturday. The fun will happen from 2 to 4 p.m. And of course costumes have been encouraged. 

Spectacular Spooksnackular

Halloween will not pass without notice at the local libraries. Tomorrow, kids 4 and older can join in the Hampton Library’s Spectacular Spooksnackular at 4 p.m., learning to make a snack in keeping with the holiday. On Saturday at 10 a.m., after listening to a Halloween tale at the library, costumed kids will parade through Bridgehampton’s downtown. On Tuesday afternoon at 4 at the library, a workshop for kids 12 and up will have them creating their own games using robots and computers. 

In Sag Harbor, the John Jermain Memorial Library’s Halloween party will be on Saturday at 3 p.m. There will be music, games, and treats for all. The Amagansett Library will host a flying ghost Halloween story time and related craft for ages 4 to 8 on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Those still working on their costumes or inspired to make new ones have been invited to stop in on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Materials will be provided, or you can take some to use or share. The library will welcome trick-or-treaters from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. A pumpkin-decorating session at the Montauk Library on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. will include Halloween refreshments. Pumpkins will be provided. 

Treats for Animals

Kids 3 to 5 will illustrate a Halloween story read by Eleni Nikolopoulos on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., children of all ages can join in a trick-or-treat game in which they’ll try to guess what the museum’s animals want for a treat. Those 5 and up can learn to make spooky slime stuff in a 10:30 a.m. workshop on Sunday that is part science experiment and all hands-on fun. There is a $3 materials fee. Reservations have been requested for all museum programs. 

New Young-Adult Room

The East Hampton Library has put out the call for photographs taken by local high school students to decorate the walls of a new young-adult room opening at the library next month. The wall space will be given over to rotating exhibits throughout the year. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 7. Tomorrow at 4 p.m., the library will host a pizza party for high school students. Kids in sixth through eighth grades have been invited to a pizza and game night of their own on Wednesday at 5. 

Design Your Own Candy Bag

Kids who visit the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday will be able to design and decorate a Halloween bag to carry their trick-or-treat haul. The materials will be on hand in the museum’s lobby throughout the day; participation is free with museum admission.

A Music Together Reminder

Space is still available in a Music Together by the Dunes music and movement class for children up to age 5, offered on Wednesdays in East Hampton. The class, which will run each week from 10:15 to 11 a.m. through early December, began on Oct. 19. The full cost for eight sessions, plus two classes in any other Music Together by the Dunes location, was $235 plus a one-time registration fee of $15 for new families, but that will be prorated for those who begin the class next week, said Ina Ferrara, who runs the program. The East Hampton classes will meet at the Dancehampton studio on Lumber Lane. Registration is online at mtbythedunes.com.

Night Songs and Lavender

An herb farm tour, a story time and nature walk, an evening search for nocturnal insects, a full moon hike, and a vegan potluck. There’s a lot for families to do this week at the South Fork Natural History Museum. 

On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Ashley Oliver will lead families on a visit to the Peconic River Herb Farm in Calverton. The cost is $5. At the same time back at the museum’s Bridgehampton property, Eleni Nikolopoulos will read a story about the sounds of nature before taking young and old on a walk in the Vineyard Field to listen to the music of the outdoors. 

Then on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Crystal Possehl will be the guide as families listen for the last of the season’s nocturnal insects and trap and release a variety of them as they learn about their diversity. A full moon hike on Saturday will set out from the museum at 7:30 p.m. 

On Wednesday, the museum will team up with the Wellness Foundation for a family potluck at 6 p.m. that will include plant-based food demonstration. People have been asked to take a vegan dish — that means no meat, dairy, or eggs — and can share in a vegan dessert prepared by the foundation’s Maude Muto. A $5 donation will support the museum and the Wellness Foundation’s W Kids program. Advance sign-up has been requested for all museum programs. 

Spooktacular!

Families with young children will want to head to the Southampton Arts Center’s Spooktacular Haunted House on the early side, when the frights are of the tamer variety. The haunted house, which opens on Friday, Oct. 21, will feature “seven rooms of horror” for ages 8 and up, but the lights will be kept on for the first hour each day for families with young children. 

Starting next week and through Halloween, the haunted house will be open on Friday and Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m., from 3 to 7 on Oct. 23, 5 to 8 on Oct. 27, 4 to 9 on Oct. 30, and 4 to 7 on Oct. 31. The center is also looking to scare up volunteers to help with setup and to play spooky characters. Those interested have been asked to email [email protected]. Admission is $5. 

A Sweet Treat

At the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday, Nounos Creamery of Southampton will be giving out fresh fruit and yogurt parfaits for free to museum-goers. Admission is $12; members get in free. 

Pumpkins and Paper

Paper sculptures and pumpkin pillows are on the schedule this week at the East Hampton Library. Tomorrow, kids will learn special paper-folding techniques and then make a three-dimensional work of art at 3:30 p.m. On Wednesday, they will make and decorate huggable pumpkin sculptures at 4 p.m. Both programs are for children 4 and older; advance registration has been requested. 

Cupcakes Gone Batty

Cupcakes will be on the menu on Saturday afternoon at the Montauk Library, which will have Halloween cupcake decorating sessions at 2 for kids 4 to 9 and at 3 for kids 10 and up. Supplies are limited and advance registration is a must. 

’Tis the Season

Looking ahead to the winter holidays, members of the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons will be at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor on Wednesday at 4 p.m. to plant amaryllis bulbs with children 5 and older. They will share tips on caring for the bulbs as they grow and send each child home with a plant of his or her own.

East Hampton High School students aced some new Regents exams and made gains on others taken at the end of the 2015-16 school year, according to data released this month by the school district. Students did fall behind or stay level in a few Regents subjects, however, while separate Advanced Placement test results were lower than national averages.

Students showed improvement in algebra, physics, chemistry, and United States history when compared to similar tests taken the previous year. For tests that were not comparable to those in previous years, due to changes made by the New York State Education Department, passing rates were well received by administrators. 

Students had a 79-percent passing rate on the Common Core algebra test last year, compared to 58 percent the previous year. In chemistry, the passing rate went from 72 percent in 2014-15 to 80 percent in 2015-16. The passing rate in physics went from 84 percent to 100 percent. Students went from 94 percent to 95 percent in U.S. history.

On the English Regents exam, which was new in 2015-16, 95 percent of students passed. On the new algebra 2 test, which incorporates trigonometry, 94 percent of students passed.

“To achieve at that level in English was impressive for us. That’s a brand new exam; we never gave it to our kids here,” Adam Fine, the high school principal, said in an interview. “We have also been ahead of the curve in algebra and trigonometry.”

Among the areas in which students fell behind was global studies, in which the passing rate dropped from 87 percent to 81 percent. The earth science passing rate dropped from 80 percent to 71 percent. Students stayed level in geometry, at 89 percent, and in living environment, which is a biology course, at 91 percent.

High school students must pass a certain number of Regents exams to be able to graduate. In many cases, exam results count as 4 percent of the  final grade.

“I don’t put an incredible huge emphasis on end-of-the-year scores, but it is a good barometer to see how your kids are doing in certain areas,” Mr. Fine said.

The district also released the results of last year’s Advanced Placement courses, which Mr. Fine said were lower than national averages. He attributed this to East Hampton’s  open-enrollment policy, which allow students to take AP courses regardless of their previous grades. He said enrollment is limited in many other districts to honors students who are screened based on high grades.

Advanced Placement tests are developed by the College Board, which also administers the SAT and PSAT. They are graded on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest grade. East Hampton’s highlights included average scores of 4 in macroeconomics and in drawing, 3.79 in studio art, 3.58 in Spanish, 2.8 in statistics, 2.7 in U.S. history, and 2.74 in physics. The district offers 20 different AP courses.

“The true marker is how many kids I have who are doing really high level, complex, rigorous work. I love it. It’s exactly what the College Board wants. They don’t want any barriers preventing kids from taking these exams. I could not be more proud of the district,” Mr. Fine said.

A social worker here is launching a support group for teens ages 14 to 18 who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

Amy Zachary, who practiced in New York City and London before moving to East Hampton full time in 2002, will begin holding sessions on Tuesday in the school building at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Buell Lane from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.

“They can come and kind of let their hair down and speak openly about their struggles or dilemmas with families and friends that might be specific to the L.G.B.T. community,” Ms. Zachary said. “Given the fact that adolescence can be such a dramatic time in one’s life as it is . . . that can be compounded when you identify with a group that is still marginalized by the larger society.”

She currently facilitates bereavement support groups for the palliative care unit at Southampton Hospital, and has counseled patients on substance abuse and those with post-traumatic stress disorder after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. She has worked with patients of all ages.

Ms. Zachary said the L.G.B.T. group is not associated with Most Holy Trinity. The church has generously offered to provide the space for the program, she said.

“I want to provide a forum for young people to feel comfortable to air what is troubling them or what is on their minds,” she said. “I want there to be input and a collaborative feeling to this. Generating questions of curiosity and interest, we will arrive at new understandings.”

Ms. Zachary recommended that those who are interested contact her ahead of time. She can be reached by phone at 917-327-6237 and by email at [email protected]. C.S.

Voters in the Sag Harbor School District will return to the polls on Dec. 14 to decide the fate of the district’s plan to build an artificial turf athletic field behind Pierson Middle and High School in 2017.

Residents will vote yes or no on giving the school district permission to tap its capital reserve fund for $365,000 to supplement the money that was initially approved by bond referendum in November 2013. That amount, $1.62 million, fell short of what was actually needed to finance the turf field, prompting the board to attempt to tap its reserve. The field has since become a controversial issue, with parents and some school board members asserting that the proposed artificial turf would carry serious health risks because of its crumb rubber composition, among other things. 

During a three-hour meeting on Tuesday, the school board voted to increase the amount it planned to withdraw from the capital reserve fund from $300,000 to $365,000 to be able to choose a turf field option called CoolFill, a material said to keep the temperature of such fields lower on very hot days. The school board then passed the resolution formally setting the Dec. 14 vote.

“I understand that the community, as well as the board, is split on this, so I would just encourage everybody to come out and vote,” Diana Kolhoff, the school board president, said after the resolution had passed 5 to 2.

Tommy John Schiavoni, the board’s vice president, and Susan Lamontagne, another board member, voted no on both upping the capital reserve amount and setting the Dec. 14 vote. “I do not support this on behalf of the parents who do not want to put their children on a turf field,” Mr. Schiavoni said.

Sandi Kruel, a board member who voted in favor of setting the Dec. 14 vote, said she did so because she was “in favor of putting up what the public has already approved. I want to make that really clear — this proposition was put up years ago. . . . It is not necessarily my opinion. I feel it is my due diligence to put back on the table what the voters have already approved.”

The vote drew mixed responses. 

“I’m a little shook up and horrified that we are going forward with this vote,” said Catherine Smith, a parent who earlier in the meeting had compared allowing children to play on a turf field to attitudes toward smoking cigarettes decades ago.

“Thank you for remembering the people who voted for the turf field and allowing us to vote again to extend it,” Chris Arbita, another parent, told the board.

Bethany Semlear, Pierson’s varsity field hockey coach, lauded the board’s plan to move ahead with the vote. “It’s detrimental to us to play on grass,” she said. “Having the turf would be a great thing for field hockey, starting from our youth all the way up to our seniors.”

Peter Solow, a Pierson teacher who also coaches soccer, called the artificial turf field “an imperfect solution” to what he said was a lack of adequate facilities at Pierson. “This problem is not going to go away,” he said.