Dance, Dance, and More Dance

“Dancin’ Happy,” the spring recital for students at Dancehampton in East Hampton, will be staged tomorrow at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. at East Hampton High School. More than 100 students from prekindergarten through high school age will perform a variety of dance styles in the production — from ballet to tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, musical theater, and Irish step. Tickets cost $15 and are available through dancehampton.com or at the door.

Teen Oblivion Onstage

A lineup of up-and-coming musicians is set to take the stage tonight in “Teen Oblivion,” a concert at Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater. Among the performers are Supply Side, including Sage Gibbons, Jack Aldrich, Josh LeClerk, Jackson Clark, Gage Lynch, and Caiti Jo Fioriello. Also tuning up their instruments are the alternative band Shore Road and the singer-songwriters Skylar Day and Alyssa Scartozzi. The show begins at 7. Tickets cost $5.

Music Fair at CMEE

Kids can try out different instruments, make their own tin drums and rain sticks, help paint a mural, jam with professional musicians, and get their faces painted during a free music fair on Saturday at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. Lending a hand and providing the soundtrack for the fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will be Bob Crimi, an artist, Music Together by the Dunes, Katherine C.H.E., and Inda Eaton.

On Sunday, Sima will offer a free story time for kids of all ages from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Getting Into Sharks

Future marine scientists 8 and older take note: Frank Quevedo will lead a shark dissection class at the South Fork Natural History Museum on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. Kids will dissect a spiny dogfish and learn to identify the different parts of its anatomy. Tools, gloves, and eye protection will be supplied. There is a $20 fee for the program in addition to museum entry.

The sense of smell will be the subject of a workshop for kids 5 to 8 at 2 p.m. that day at the museum, which is in Bridgehampton. Participants will play games to test their sense of smell. The program carries a $4 materials fee. Reservations are required for both.

A draft was made public last week of a report, the first of its kind, detailing living conditions facing East End youth. It found high rates of poverty and chronic underemployment, among other challenges.

Though the beauty and rural character of the area make it a popular destination for tourists, second-home owners, and retirees, it can be a difficult place for young people — priced out of housing and unable to find year-round jobs — to gain an economic toehold.

“People don’t think of this area as a place where poverty is a big issue,” said Nancy Lynott, who directs the Southampton Youth Bureau and helped oversee the project. “But we’re really not any better off than a lot of communities in western Suffolk.”

The report found that half of Bridgehampton School students ages 14 to 19 qualified for free or reduced-price lunches, along with 25 percent of Southampton students, 24 percent of East Hampton-based students, and 24 percent of Springs students attending East Hampton High School. According to current Department of Agriculture income eligibility guidelines, households of four making below $24,000 a year qualify for free lunches.

Seventy-six percent of teens ages 16 to 19 are unemployed, according to the report. Though the South Fork in particular offers much in the way of seasonal and part-time work, there are few opportunities for year-round employment. Further, recent high school graduates report difficulty securing career-track jobs that pay a living wage.

“We all really struggle with a lack of services. There’s not anywhere near enough,” said Ms. Lynott, citing long waiting lists at available and difficult-to-access mental health clinics. “The East End communities also have a high percentage of people who are uninsured, yet another barrier to accessing services.”

Seven East End hamlets were included within the top 15 communities on Long Island whose residents lack health insurance coverage.

Public transportation was cited as an additional hurdle for local youth. Only one bus line runs from Orient Point to East Hampton. Its service is unreliable, it said, and the ride from Orient can stretch over three hours.

The report, prepared by the Suffolk County Youth Board in Hauppauge, covered all five East End towns: East Hampton, Southampton, Southold, Riverhead, and Shelter Island. Representatives from the offices of County Legislators Jay Schneiderman and Al Krupski also participated.

It included a sample of 2,000 young people, with data last collected in 2011. According to 2010 U.S. Census figures, nearly 30,000 people under the age of 21 call the East End home. About 4,500 of them live in East Hampton.

The report also showed an overall increase in the number of senior citizens and second-home owners on the East End, a decrease in the number of school-age children, an increase in the Latino population, a decrease in childcare subsidies, an increase in food stamp applications, and an increase in domestic violence incidents.

The schools will distribute follow-up surveys to students in December.

The East Hampton School Board meeting on June 3 took on a celebratory note, with the district riding high on its recent budget vote victory. East Hampton was the only school district on Long Island to override the state-imposed tax cap after securing the support of 73 percent of its voters.

Later in the meeting, the board announced a decision to retain Frazer and Feldman, a Garden City law firm that works with several school districts, as East Hampton’s general, labor, and special education counsel for a one-year term beginning July 1. Kevin Seaman, the district’s outgoing counsel, has held the position for the last four years.

“I’m hoping they’ll steer us right,” Richard Burns, the district’s superintendent, said of the switch. “We’re still in a bit of litigation in certain areas,” he continued, presumably referring to the district’s ongoing lawsuit with Sandpebble Builders over a school expansion project. Over the past decade, Mr. Burns estimated, the district has spent nearly $3 million on legal fees. “And we’re hoping they can move things forward in an expedient manner.”

Jackie Lowey, a board member, updated those in attendance concerning the district’s lunch program. Called NutriKids, it’s a swipe-card system that allows parents to prepay for lunches. Implemented earlier this year, NutriKids does not distinguish between students paying full and reduced prices for their meals. Recently, however, the district has discovered that some parents aren’t paying their bills in a timely manner — with the district owed nearly $30,000 as a result.

“Our overarching policy should not be embarrassing children,” urged Ms. Lowey, adding that the district will ensure that all kids are fed and, when appropriate, help those families who qualify apply for free and reduced-price lunches.

Ms. Lowey proposed sending a letter home to the families still owing money, followed by a phone call stipulating a deadline to pay up. If the deadline is not met, students would not receive their class assignments for next year, and report cards would be withheld.

“Holding a child’s grades or promotion hurts the child, particularly one from a chaotic home,” said Patricia Hope, the board president. She suggested a social worker be tasked to intervene. “It’s not always an unwillingness to pay.”

In other news, the district granted tenure to six of its employees: Robert Tymann, Taryn Brennan, Joshua Odom, Jessica Zimmerman, Trevor Gregory, and Katelyn Pryal.

At the start of the meeting, Stephanie Tepan and Karla Cabrera, two East Hampton High School seniors, were each honored after receiving Angelo del Toro scholarships, which aim to foster leadership skills among Latino youth. Come September, Stephanie is headed to Hunter College. Karla will enroll at New York University.

Joe Vas, the district’s athletic director, acknowledged the Kendall Madison Foundation, a local nonprofit, after $15,000 worth of supplies and equipment were donated to help upgrade the high school’s fitness center earlier this year.

Also that night, the board voted to spend $8,000 to set up two classrooms as part of the district’s new career technology education program. Starting in September, East Hampton students can take courses in law enforcement and personal training. At present, such students take similar classes at the nearest Board of Cooperative Educational Services facility, in Riverhead.

During the final opportunity for public comments, Claude Beudert, who teaches at the East Hampton Middle School, thanked residents for their support during last month’s budget vote. “We have a nice product and people supported it,” said Mr. Beudert. “It takes a village, and it really was a positive thing that we got it through.”

“Thank you for being stewards with us as we did that very difficult task,” Ms. Hope said, before adjourning the meeting, after which slices of cake were served in honor of those faculty members receiving tenure and those retiring from the district.

The final meeting of the 2013-14 school year is planned for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Fiesta of the Arts

Guild Hall will host a Fiesta of the Arts Saturday to celebrate Latin American culture on the East End. There will be food, music, arts and crafts, and a pinata for kids. The free event runs from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Goat Reopens

The Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor reopens this week with Tot Art for kids 2 to 4 on Mondays, puppet play groups on Mondays and Fridays, creative movement on Wednesdays, and the first puppet show of the summer.

Play groups for kids 3 and under are at 9 a.m. Tot Art is at 10:15. Kate Mueth will teach creative movement to kids 5 to 7 at 10 a.m. Each costs $25, or $18 for theater members. “Little Red Riding Hood” will open the summer season with shows at 11 a.m. next Thursday through June 28. Tickets costs $12, $10 for members and grandparents, and $8 for second kids and those under 3.

Also at the theater, Peaceful Planet will teach Girl Power yoga for ages 10 to 14 on Tuesdays through Aug. 12. Registration is at peacefulplanet.com.

For Young Naturalists

Budding young naturalists ages 5 to 7 will explore the life of a dying tree at a Nature Conservancy preserve in a South Fork Natural History Museum program on Saturday at 10 a.m. Crystal Possehl will have participants using magnifiers, binoculars, compasses, sample bottles, and sketchbooks to observe and record what they see.

On Sunday at 10 a.m., 3 to 5-year-olds will look closely at the shapes and colors of nature with Lindsey Rohrbach, and then mix colors to make a color wheel inspired by what they see. Reservations are required for each program.

From Crafts to Crab Cakes

In a workshop at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday at 10 a.m., children can head to the sewing table, explore hydraulics, even make their own race cars, working independently or guided by a member of the museum’s staff. The workshop, for kids 4 to 10, is free with museum admission.

Also on Saturday, crab cakes will be the recipe of the day during a cooking class for families with kids 2 to 6. Starting at 10:30 a.m., young cooks will prepare the patties and make a mango salsa to go with them. The cost is $15 plus museum admission.

Design Your Own Book Cover

After a breezy story on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Amagansett Library, kids will make a pinwheel to take home. On Sunday at 2 p.m., fourth through sixth graders can design new covers for some of the children’s books in the library’s collection. The workshop, which will be repeated on June 29, is a preview for a summerlong book cover session that will meet on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and Mondays at 3:30 in July and August.

With the last days of school approaching, the East Hampton Town Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for a summer full of activities for young people, from sailing and swimming lessons to games and crafts programs and tennis, soccer, volleyball, and basketball clinics. Most begin the week of June 30, and advance sign-up is required, as space is limited.

As an alternative to day camp, the town will offer games and crafts for kids 5 to 12 from Mondays through Fridays in full or half-day sessions at the Springs Youth building or the Montauk School. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $85 per two-week session for half days, $135 for two children, or $185 for three. Double that for full days. The program continues through Aug. 22. Children should be registered in advance at the Parks and Recreation Department, behind Town Hall on Pantigo Road. Proof of age will be required for 5-year-olds.

The department also offers free swimming instruction in two-week sessions throughout the summer at various public bay beaches for children 4 and up at all skill levels. The first will be at Havens Beach in Sag Harbor, starting on June 30. Registration will be at the beach at 10 a.m. on the first day of class. Children will be separated by ability level and should bring along goggles and water shoes. Also planned, for later in the summer, are sessions at Maidstone Park in East Hampton from July 14 through July 25, East Lake Beach in Montauk from July 28 through Aug. 8, and Albert’s Landing in Amagansett from Aug. 11 through Aug. 22.

The first of the town’s summer sailing classes, for children 12 and up and adults, will start June 30 and run through July 10 at Fresh Pond in Amagansett. Instruction for beginning to advanced students will be from 9 a.m. to noon or 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $200 per person; class size is limited to 15. There will be additional sessions from July 14 through July 24, July 28 through Aug. 7, and Aug. 11 through Aug. 21 at the same times. Registration is at the recreation department.

Also beginning June 30 are soccer clinics for kids entering first through sixth grades, to be offered Mondays and Tuesdays at the Stephen Hand’s Path field in East Hampton and Wednesdays and Thursdays at Lions Field in Montauk. Clinics on those days run from 6 to 7 p.m. for first through third grade and 7 to 8 p.m. for fourth through sixth grade.

Clinics will continue through Aug. 21. The cost per summer is $40 and participants can attend as many age-appropriate clinics per week as they wish. Registration is at the department or the Montauk Playhouse.

The town will hold tennis and basketball clinics at the Youth Park on Abraham’s Path in Amagansett, from June 30 to Aug. 14. Tennis clinics will be held Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. for second and third grade and from 7 to 8 p.m. for sixth grade and up. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, kindergarten and first-grade clinics are from 6 to 7 p.m. and clinics for fourth and fifth grades are from 7 to 8.

Basketball clinics will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 6 for kindergarten and first and from 6 to 8 for fourth and fifth. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, clinics are from 5 to 6 for second and third grade and from 6 to 8 for sixth grade and up. The cost for one summer-long clinic is $40 per child; the cost for both is $55. Registration is at the recreation department or the Playhouse.

The town’s junior tennis program for children in kindergarten and up will be held at Montauk Tennis in two sessions, from June 30 to July 24 or from July 28 through Aug. 21. Classes are Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:15 to 5 for kindergarten and first and from 5 to 6 for second and third; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5 for third and fourth and from 5 to 6 for fifth and sixth grades. The cost for two days a week is $125, and advance registration is required at Montauk Tennis on South Fulton Drive.

Finally, the town will run a girls volleyball clinic at the Montauk Playhouse on Wednesdays from July 9 through Aug. 13. Sessions will be from 5 to 7 p.m. for fifth through eighth grades and from 7 to 9 for high schoolers. Registration is at the recreation department or the Playhouse.

Will Collins, a Montauk School physical education teacher, took part in the Ride to Montauk on May 31 and exceeded his $500 goal, raising $1,400 for Katy’s Courage.

Mr. Collins said he was working at the Lobster Roll restaurant on Napeague the night after he was hired by the school on May 31 of last year and learned about the Ride to Montauk from a group of bicyclists he was waiting on.

“I quickly tried to decide how I could tie the event to the kids at the Montauk School,” he said by email.

While he was placing platters of fish and chips on the bicyclists’ table, it came to him that he would get the students involved by letting them decide by vote from which point he would start, knowing that they would choose the farthest point.

“What student deep down inside doesn’t want to punish their teacher?”

He asked Rick White, the school’s computer resource teacher, to make a map of the route for him. Mr. White suggested he donate any money he raised to Katy’s Courage, an idea that Mr. Collins quickly agreed to, as he had previously participated in the Katy’s Courage 5K in Sag Harbor and found it to be one his favorite days of the year for the overwhelming feeling of community it inspired.

He also had a soft spot in his heart for Katy Stewart, who died at 12 of a rare pediatric cancer, because she was one of his students when he was a student-teacher at the Sag Harbor Elementary School.

When a plan was set for him to start in Babylon, students began donating coins from their pockets, and staff members and teachers pledged $1 per mile that he rode. Mr. Collins wanted to do the full run from Penn Station in New York City, but Ride to Montauk organizers talked him out of covering that distance on his first try — a good point, especially since the wind that day was against the riders.

“I never knew I could regard the wind with such disdain,” he said.

After stopping at his house in Southampton for a quick nap, Mr. Collins went on to bike a total of 108 miles. Feeling energized, he was able to ride from Water Mill to Camp Hero in Montauk without stopping, a feat he found challenging but ultimately rewarding.

Mr. Collins is not related to Katy's mother Brigid Collins, an assistant principal at the Montauk School.

Kids at the Mill

On Mondays and Thursdays through Aug. 7, the Water Mill Museum will give children 5 and up a glimpse of the colonial era as they help with a task that was important to daily life then — milling corn into grits, flour, and more. The hands-on milling sessions will be a lesson in engineering and water power, according to the museum. They are free, but advance registration is required by calling 726-4625. Donations will be accepted for the historic mill, which is at 41 Old Mill Road.

Canio’s for Kids Storytime

Sigrid Meinel, a retired elementary school teacher, will read “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes during a story time at Canio’s Books in Sag Harbor on Saturday at 11 a.m. This will be the first of a series of monthly story times for children 4 and older, accompanied by an adult.

Beach Study for Teens

Teenagers will survey Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett on Saturday to collect scientific data on sand, water quality, salinity, and elevation and learn how each of these contribute to the creatures living there. With the South Fork Natural History Museum’s Crystal Possehl leading them, they will use soil test kits, refractometers, pH test kids, microscopes, and magnifiers to conduct their study, then record their findings in a journal. The program begins at 10 a.m.; reservations are required. Younger kids can do some science experiments of their own on Sunday at 10 a.m. when Melanie Meade leads an environmental science lab for 6 to 10-year-olds. Participants will design, build, and test a water filter at the natural history museum in Bridgehampton. Advance registration is required.

Fizz Boom Read!

With school out for summer, local libraries are kicking their summer reading programs into high gear this week. Fizz Boom Read is the theme at all Suffolk libraries, and, in keeping with this, the Montauk Library will present Mad Science’s “Fire and Ice” show on Saturday from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

At the Amagansett Library on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., kids will listen to a story about imagination and illusions and then make a twirling animation toy called a thaumatrope.  Also this week in Amagansett, there is a book cover design session for fourth through sixth graders on Sunday at 2 p.m. The sessions will continue on Sundays at 2:30 and Mondays at 3:30 p.m. throughout the summer. On Tuesdays, kids can practice their reading by reading to a licensed therapy dog. Parents should call the library to reserve a 15-minute time slot. The library offers events and crafts for families on Wednesdays at 3:30 in the summer. This week’s project: tiny robots. Films for families will be shown every Tuesday this summer at 3:30 p.m. Teen film nights will be Wednesdays at 6. Reservations have been requested for all.

Make Like Pollock

At the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, two artists and educators will lead family drip-painting workshops. Joyce Raimondo’s Saturday workshops from 10 to 11:30 a.m. start this week and run through Sept. 13. They include a tour. Reservations are required at imaginearted.com. Karyn Mannix’s Friday workshops, offered at the same times, will start July 12. Reservations are at [email protected]. The cost for Friday or Saturday workshops is $35 per person.

Free Tennis Lessons

For kids 3 to 12, the Amagansett Village Improvement Society is offering free tennis lessons. Yes, free. Those interested can show up, racket in hand, on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the John Day Jackson courts at Atlantic Avenue and Montauk Highway, beginning this week.

Graduation season is well under way, with the official start of summer but a few commencement ceremonies away.

In East Hampton, eighth graders at East Hampton Middle School were to participate in a graduation ceremony yesterday evening on the school’s front lawn. Fifth graders at the John M. Marshall Elementary School bid farewell to their elementary years at a moving-up assembly from 9 to 11 this morning. Kindergarteners will have a moving-up ceremony of their own tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the school. East Hampton’s prekindergarteners will graduate from the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.

East Hampton High School’s commencement is set to begin at 6 tomorrow evening on the school’s athletic field. Adam Fine, the principal, will speak, in addition to Carly Grossman, the valedictorian, and Mary Pizzo, the salutatorian.

Commencement ceremonies for the Bridgehampton School’s class of 2014 will be on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the school.

Pierson High School seniors will graduate at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

On Tuesday afternoon, prekindergarten students at the Montauk School participated in a “graduation” ceremony at 1 p.m. The commencement ceremony for the school’s eighth graders begins at 6 tonight.

Pre-K students at the Amagansett School participated in a ceremony yesterday morning, with kindergarten students graduating at 9 a.m. today. The sixth grade graduation is planned for 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.

On Tuesday evening, a graduation ceremony for Springs School’s eighth graders was held at East Hampton High School. Yesterday morning, the kindergarten class participated in a moving-up ceremony in the school’s gymnasium.

Students at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton graduated on June 13. Ross School seniors graduated on June 14.

Project Most, a nonprofit after-school program for elementary students in East Hampton and Springs, has established a new scholarship committee that aims to “ ‘scale up’ the mission of Project Most so more and more kids can participate,” Lisa Rana, the president of the organization’s board, said in a release.

The committee is the brainchild of Kyle Lynch, an attorney with Bainton Lynch in East Hampton, who will serve as its chairman. Mr. Lynch approached the board after learning that the after-school program, which serves over 300 children at the John M. Marshall Elementary and Springs Schools, gives out more than $100,000 in scholarships each year. “Project Most cannot go away; it is vital to the future of East Hampton’s youth,” Mr. Lynch said in a release.

As its first project, the committee is planning a fund-raising dinner to be held on July 27 at the East Hampton studio of Roy Nicholson, an artist, with food prepared by Joe Realmuto, John Delucie, and Jim Botsacos. Details are still being finalized.

Students of the Strings

Student string musicians age 8 to 18 have been invited to join the virtuoso violinist Itzhak Perlman and the East End Arts Student Orchestra in an open rehearsal conducted by Mr. Perlman on July 31 at Southold High School.

While there are no auditions for the free program, which is a collaboration between the Perlman Music Program and East End Arts, advance registration is required by July 12. Violin, viola, cello, and double bass students can find registration forms at eastendarts.org, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 369-2171. Young musicians will play for the public on July 31, but will rehearse in Riverhead at the East End Arts School on July 14, 21, 28, and 30 from 4 to 6 p.m.

In the Children’s Studio

The Children’s Studio, a series of weeklong indoor and outdoor workshops at the Art Barge on Napeague, will focus on portraits from Monday through Friday, July 11. Classes are for young people 9 to 13 and run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. The cost is $500 per week or $475 for members of the Art Barge or the Museum of Modern Art.

Nature and landscape will be the subject from July 14 to 18 and Aug. 18 through 22, and abstraction is the theme for July 21 through 25 and Aug. 25 through 29. From Aug. 11 to 15, instructors will revisit portraiture. Advance registration is required.

Bubbling Potions, Special Effects

Mad Science Long Island will present fire and ice shows promising “spectacular chemical reactions, cinematic special effects, bubbling potions, and more” on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Hampton Library and at 3:30 at the Amagansett Library. Those who attend should come prepared to volunteer!

A Hampton Library story time on Monday morning at 10 has an added bonus for parents: It will be in the gardens at the Madoo Conservancy in Sagaponack! Today at 2 p.m., kids 12 and older can join in a sun-print art workshop.

At the Amagansett Library, weekly movies for families and teens continue today, Wednesday, and next Thursday. The family selections are “Mary Poppins” today at 3:30 p.m. and “Despicable Me 2” next Thursday. “The Book Thief” will be next week’s Wednesday night teen movie, starting at 6 p.m. Snacks are provided.

Kids 4 and older can listen to some classic stories by Richard Scarry, then take part in some learning activities that include reading and math skills on Monday from 11 a.m. to noon.

Reservations have been requested for the programs.

Memory Jars and Fish Prints

The South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton will have plenty to keep kids busy this week. Tomorrow in East Hampton, Nicole Cummings will lead kids in creating memory jars from things found at the beach. A session for 3 to 5-year-olds starts at 10 a.m. There’s another one for kids 6 to 8 at 2 p.m. The materials fee is $4.

A family workshop on Saturday at 10 a.m. will involve making fish-print T-shirts. The charge is $10 per person. The museum has suggested wearing a smock or old shirt.

Kids 6 to 9 will learn about aquatic plants in our local water ecosystem, then use some of them to make art on Sunday at 10 a.m.

Finally, on Wednesday at 10 a.m., Crystal Possehl will bring out her story-time puppet, Lodo the River Otter, to read Kathleen V. Kudlinski’s “What Do Roots Do?” Afterward, they’ll plant seeds and do a root craft. The materials fee for this one is $3. Reservations are required for all programs.