For the Birds

    Kids and their families can give the birds a holiday treat on Saturday at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. Museum staff will work with visitors to make bird-friendly decorations for a holiday tree using seeds, suet, and dried fruit. Children have been asked to take a shoe box so that they can safely carry their decorations home for their own yards.

    The program begins at 10 a.m. and costs $4 per child. Reservations are required.

Little Red in Sag

    The Barefoot Puppets will wrap two tales into one when they present “Little Red and the Gingerbread Man” on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. In this production, with a cameo by the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red chases a troublesome gingerbread cookie through the woods to Grandma’s house.

    Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3. The theater is on East Union Street.

Snowmen, Cupcakes, Puppets

    Kids (and parents) looking to get out of the house after Christmas will find a number of workshops to keep them busy at the East Hampton Library next week. Children will use recycled materials to make their own “bottle-body snowmen” on Wednesday. A workshop for kids 5 to 7 with an adult will run from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. Children 8 and older will get started at 3:30 p.m.

    Next Thursday, kids can put their creativity to work in cupcake-decorating workshops. The session for 5 to 7-year-olds runs from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. The 8-and-over session begins at 3:30 p.m. Children 4 and older with an adult can make festive puppets on Friday, Dec. 28, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Reservations have been requested for all programs.

Art at the Parrish

    Young artists can find an outlet for their talents at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill next week. Painting will be the focus of workshops on Wednesday, and collage will rule the day on Friday, Dec. 28. Sessions for kids 4 and 5 run from 10 a.m. to noon. Those for kids 6 and up run from 1 to 3 p.m. Space is limited and advance registration is required for all workshops.

Father Doesn’t Know Best

    When Mother Goose takes the day off, Father Goose has to step in to fill her shoes, but his version of popular stories isn’t quite right in Nappy’s Puppets’ production “Father Goose’s Tales,” coming to the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets for the show cost $10, $9 for grandparents and theater members, and $5 for children under 3. The theater is on East Union Street.

Making Tracks

    Kids curious about footprints they may have spotted in the recent snow can learn more about animal tracks and tracking on Saturday at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. Crystal Possehl, a nature educator, and her puppet Lodo the River Otter will share a story about some mysterious tracks in the snow, then make their own “tracks” inside at the museum before heading outside to see whose footprints they can find.

    The program, which begins at 10 a.m., is for children 4 to 6. Advance registration is required.

After-School Theater Classes

    Do you suffer from “Glee” envy? Do you dream of being a Broadway star or one day standing onstage to accept a best actor or best screenplay Oscar? After-school singing or theater arts classes at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor might be a good first step.

    The theater will offer eight-week classes for kids 8 to 12 and teenagers starting on Jan. 16 and 17, both taught by Susan Galardi, a professional actor and singer. A theater arts class and showcase on Wednesdays will guide students as they develop, rehearse, and perform original theatrical pieces for the stage. Participants can focus on acting, playwriting, or both. In a vocal performance class on Thursdays called Sing the Song! young singers at all levels will work on songs of their choosing with a professional vocal coach and live accompaniment by Karen Hochstedler, a pianist.

    “The goal,” Ms. Galardi said in a release, “is to take songs the kids love to the highest performance level.” Every student will sing in every class, and at the end they’ll showcase their talents in a concert. The course will cover vocal warm-ups, basic singing exercises, choosing the right song, finding the right key, and various vocal techniques.

    The theater class and the vocal class will run from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. for kids 8 to 12, and from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. for teenagers. The cost is $275 per person. Class size is limited and registration is required in advance through the theater.

Bugly Bugs

    Talking Hands Theatre will spin a tale of insects and what makes each one unique in “The Bugaboo Revue” on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. The show is geared to children between the ages of 2 and 7. Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3.

Anybody Hungry?

    Children will learn about the feeding habits of creatures of a different sort on Saturday at 10 a.m. during feeding time at the South Fork Natural History Museum. Kids have been invited to help the museum staff in their duties, while also getting a lesson on strategies the museum’s animals have developed to survive. Advance registration with the museum, which is on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton, has been requested.

Move Baby, Move

    Music Together by the Dunes is bringing early-childhood music and movement programs to the East Hampton Methodist Church and the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton.

    The program is for newborns through 5-year-olds with a parent or caregiver and includes singing, dancing, rhythmic chants, and instrument play, with a songbook, CDs, and a parent guide DVD included with tuition, which is $195 for a 10-week session, $140 for an extra sibling, plus a $15 registration fee.

    The East Hampton classes, which began on Tuesday and yesterday, will continue on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. The Bridgehampton classes start tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. for babies and at 10:30 a.m. for a mixed-age group. Registration is online at mtbythedunes.com or by e-mail to Ina Ferrara at [email protected].

Tennis, Anyone?

    The Ross School Tennis Center will give kids 6 to 9 a chance to learn or improve tennis, soccer, and basketball skills during Saturday sports clinics starting this week from 4 to 6 p.m. Joao Casagrande will coach the sessions, which will run for 10 weeks and include clinics and games.

    Participants must be members of the Ross Tennis Center. The cost is $75 for drop-ins, $500 for all 10 weeks. Registration is at [email protected].

    An East Hampton School Board vote to approve a medical leave extension through Friday, Jan. 18, for Charles Soriano, the middle school principal, got people talking at a board meeting Tuesday night.

    Rumored to have contracted Lyme disease, Dr. Soriano has been away from his post since early fall. A former principal, Thomas Lamorgese, has served as interim principal at the school since mid-November.

    Claude Beudert, a special education teacher at the middle school, thanked the board for allowing Mr. Lamorgese to step in. “Thank you for providing us some leadership. We couldn’t have done it without him,” said Mr. Beudert, reading from prepared remarks. “I don’t know whose idea it was but it was a terrific one and it has helped get us through a very difficult time.”

    While many were hoping Dr. Soriano, who had been the district’s assistant superintendent until this school year, might return before the holiday break, his continued absence provoked discussion. Near the end of the meeting, Brian Anderson questioned the basis for his extended medical leave, asking for more information related to his health. Mr. Anderson’s wife, Alison Anderson, is a board member.

    The superintendent, Richard Burns, said he was unable to comment further because it is a personnel matter.

    After much go-round at last month’s meeting, the highly disputed girls varsity softball team’s annual spring training trip to the ESPN Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Kissimmee, Fla., was finally approved Tuesday night, once the team arranged to take a later flight — enabling the girls to miss just two days of instruction versus the three that had originally been planned.

    Going forward, Jackie Lowey, a board member, asked that it be communicated to all sports teams “that they should come to the board before any tickets are purchased.”

    In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting, Mr. Burns said the district was in the process of upgrading its security. So far, two meetings have been convened with the district’s principals and custodians to specifically address concerns related to building safety, he said.

    The board also updated those in attendance about the ongoing lawsuit between the district and Sandpebble Builders over a multimillion-dollar school construction contract that dates back to April 2002. According to George Aman, the board’s president, witnesses from the district are still being deposed, a process expected to last until sometime next month.

    Also on Tuesday, Joseph Vasile-Cozzo, known as Joe Vas, East Hampton High School’s athletic director, announced that the school had been recognized first in Suffolk County for its sportsmanship.

    With the New Year comes an earlier meeting time for the East Hampton School Board. The meetings, which routinely last upward of three hours, are normally held at 7:30 p.m. on alternating Tuesday nights. Going forward, they will now convene at 6:30 p.m. in the hopes of making it more convenient for people to attend them.

    Later this winter, beginning on Jan. 29, the board will convene regular work sessions related to the 2013-14 budget — with additional meetings scheduled for Feb. 12 and 26, March 12, and April 9. During these work sessions, board members will review the budget on a line-by-line basis. The public may attend, but there will be no public comment periods.

    On April 16, the board is scheduled to adopt the budget proposal, with the public hearing scheduled for May 7. The annual budget vote and election of East Hampton School Board members will take place on May 21.

    The Amagansett School Board voted unanimously to hire a consultant to develop a new math curriculum that will best prepare students for state tests.

    At its first meeting of 2013, on Tuesday evening, the board agreed to enter into an agreement with the Great Neck Math Enrichment Center. A consultant will analyze existing curriculums for all grades and identify strengths and weaknesses in mathematics; identify areas that require further staff development; collaborate with the superintendent, principal, and teachers to understand existing curriculum alignment as well as integration of current regulations; integrate topics in newly designed curriculum guides for grades three to six; examine existing resources and make recommendations regarding their integration in the newly designed guides, and deliver newly designed guides to the district and make adjustments based on feedback received.

    For this, the consultant will be paid $1,500 per day for a total of 21 days. The consultant, said Eleanor Tritt, the district superintendent, has proposed meeting with teachers to see what resources they are using at present and develop a coherent kindergarten through sixth-grade math curriculum. The consultant’s expertise in the state’s direction with regard to math curriculums will be valuable, Ms. Tritt said. “This will also contribute to staff development,” she added.

    “I think we would benefit from bringing in someone from outside,” Mary Lownes, a board member, said.

    Ms. Tritt also discussed with the board a number of changes made to the school’s security protocol. “A great deal of attention has been paid to what we need to do, what would be best for us,” she said. These changes include nametags for family members when they are onsite, and placement of a cart in the vestibule on which things to be delivered to students, faculty, or administrators will be left in order to limit visitors to the school. Everyone will be required to enter through the front door, Ms. Tritt said, and the door handles will be changed to allow doors to be locked from the inside while still allowing security personnel to enter.

    School officials will be meeting with a security company today, Ms. Tritt said, that will provide a preliminary assessment of the school’s security. A lockdown practice will be held next Thursday. Police officers will attend, and no one will be allowed to enter or leave during the lockdown. Parents will be notified of the drill, said the superintendent.

    In other news, the sixth grade is doing an excellent job interviewing alumni for the school’s “Then and Now” project, Ms. Tritt reported. Hugh King, East Hampton’s town crier, was due to visit the school this week as part of the project, and the board has set a tentative date of May 8 to present it. “Kids and alumni are loving it,” Ms. Tritt said.

    The search for the next superintendent of the Springs School has begun. But finding a replacement for Dominic Mucci, who has been the district’s interim, three-day-a-week superintendent this year, may not be necessary should he resubmit his application. That outcome seems all but certain.

    At the Springs School Board meeting on Monday night,  Kathee Burke Gonzalez, the board president, spoke in glowing terms of Mr. Mucci’s tenure. Mr. Mucci, 60,  was brought in back in July, ostensibly as a cost-savings measure. As an active retiree in the New York State Teachers Retirement System, he is working under a one-year waiver granted by the Education Department. His term is to expire on June 30.

    “We’re hoping that Dom is going to apply for the position again,” Ms. Gonzalez said. She explained that Springs can apply for a second, and final, waiver for Mr. Mucci to stay on if the board can prove that his hire is in the “best educational interest of the district.”

    “We’re very happy with the way the model has worked out,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “There’s a lot we’ve accomplished in the last six months: a new Web site, we ratified the teachers’ contract, initiated a parent Google group, and next up, the 2013-14 budget.” A budget workshop is scheduled for Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m.

    Prior to retiring, Mr. Mucci was the full-time superintendent in Springs from 1999 to 2002. Among other positions, he later oversaw the North Bellmore School District. In 2008, according to state records compiled by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a project of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, that district paid him a salary of nearly $225,000.

    Nevertheless, although many remain hopeful that Mr. Mucci will carry out another term, the district’s attorney, Neil Block of Ingerman Smith, will coordinate a search to replace him. Applications are due in late February, with the first round of interviews scheduled for March. If necessary, a “meet the candidates” forum for parents, community, and staff will be held in April. 

    Also at the meeting, it was confirmed at the meeting that Eric Casale and Katherine Byrnes would stay on in their roles as principal and assistant principal, respectively. Both are full-time positions. Mr. Casale, reached by telephone, said he was hopeful that Mr. Mucci  would reapply. “It’s been a great learning experience working under him.”

    As for the man himself, Mr. Mucci expressed delight at the possibility of continuing his work. “I would certainly love to come back,” he said, following a 14-hour workday. “There’s really no place I’d rather be.”

    Charles R. Soriano’s three-month absence from his post as principal of the East Hampton Middle School reached a crescendo in the last week, with anticipation  that he would return to work on Tuesday, following the district’s observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on Monday, and, at the same time, with kind words for Thomas Lamorgese, the interim principal.

    Since Dr. Soriano began an extended medical leave early last fall, purportedly for Lyme disease, Dr. Lamorgese, who is well known in the district, has filled the position. Before retiring in 2011 at the age of 58, he had overseen the middle school and before that was principal of the John M. Marshall Elementary School.

    Since an East Hampton School Board meeting on Jan. 8, when the board unanimously voted to approve an extension of Dr. Soriano’s medical leave through Jan. 18, rumors  concerning his whereabouts have picked up steam.

    “He’s coming back on Tuesday. Friday will be my last day,” Dr. Lamorgese said yesterday morning. “This is his building, and I was only here temporarily.” During his absence, Dr. Lamorgese confirmed that the two have exchanged e-mails. “We’re happy that he’s returning, and we’re looking forward to his return,” said Richard Burns, the district superintendent.

    While Dr. Soriano declined to discuss his leave, he responded by e-mail to The East Hampton Star earlier in the week. Confirming his return on Jan. 22 “pending my doctor’s approval, which I think he will provide,” Dr. Soriano said, “I look very forward to getting back to work.”

    Given the duration of his absence and what some described as a mystery surrounding it, a handful of teachers and parents have speculated that Dr. Soriano may be in the process of filing a lawsuit against the district, which they surmise might be related to a decrease in his salary this year. No one at the district office would confirm or deny such speculation.

    Prior to being appointed principal last summer, Dr. Soriano had been the district’s assistant superintendent for nine years under Raymond Gualtieri, the previous superintendent. According to records compiled by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, Dr. Soriano received a salary of $205,369 from July 1, 2011, until June 30, 2012. From 2008, his salary had gone up by nearly $20,000.  But when Dr. Soriano went from being assistant superintendent to middle school principal, his compensation decreased to $180,000.

    By way of comparison, according to the same database, Dr. Lamorgese was paid $166,985 in 2011. Superintendent Burns’s salary last year was $172,827.

    Asked about Dr. Soriano’s contract, Robert Fullem, deputy general counsel at the School Administrators Association of New York State, said, “By taking a new position, the former assistant superintendent is agreeing to forego the rights he had under the prior contract. There’s nothing forbidding them from entering into a contract at lesser pay.”

    Dr. Soriano earned a doctorate in organizational leadership and education from the University of Pennsylvania. He has an M.A. from Middlebury College, a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross, and a second M.A. in educational leadership from Rutgers University.

    Keith Malsky, the assistant principal of John Marshall who is president of the district administrators union, declined to comment, refusing to say whether a lawsuit had been filed against the district on Dr. Soriano’s behalf. 

    Given Dr. Soriano’s prolonged absence, some expressed concern about the possible need for him to rely on the district’s sick leave bank. However, George Aman, the East Hampton School Board president, dismissed that, saying, “he had plenty of sick days — and could even be covered until the end of the school year if need be.”

    In Dr. Soriano’s absence, several people described his leadership style as cold and aloof, while, anticipating his return, numerous parents have expressed regret at the possibility of seeing Dr. Lamorgese go. Claude Beudert, a special education teacher at the middle school who is vice president of the teachers union, was cautiously optimistic about Dr. Soriano’s return. “If he does come back, it would be a positive thing, because it would mean that the man’s healthy,” he said. “But I hope that he uses the resources in the district to help him do his job — namely the faculty, staff, and the community. It’s really tough to go it alone.”

    “At this point, the parents don’t really know Dr. Soriano very well. We haven’t had the opportunity to work with him much,” Wendy Geehreng, president of the middle school PTA, said. She mentioned that many parents feel particularly comfortable with Dr. Lamorgese because he is a familiar face. 

    One of Dr. Lamorgese’s daily rituals has been to stand outside the school during drop off each morning. With a smile and a nod, he customarily greets every student by first name.

    “His being there has meant a lot, I can’t even begin to tell you,” said Jody Kalafut, a former vice president of the school’s PTA. “They feel so comfortable walking into school. He knows them, he knows their names, their strengths and their weaknesses.”

Hailing Student Art

    A reception for the first part of Guild Hall’s annual Student Art Festival, which opened over the weekend, will be held on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., giving students, families, and the public a chance to see work in the galleries and on the John Drew Theater stage by children in kindergarten through eighth grade from schools across the South Fork.

    The exhibit will be open through Feb. 24. While it is up, there will be free open studio workshops for kids 5 and older on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays, except this week, from noon to 5 p.m. Materials will be supplied.

Celtic Rock for Kids

    Darlene Graham will visit the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to perform music with pop-country and Celtic-rock roots for kids. Ms. Graham grew up in Newfoundland and performed widely in Canada and the United States before moving to New York City. Her shows on Saturday will cost $10, $9 for theater members and grandparents, and $5 for children under 3.

Fleece Scarves Craft

    If this week’s cold snap puts you in mind for something a little more snuggly than the winter wear we’ve been getting away with until now, the East Hampton Library could help. Next Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m., the library will have kids 9 and older making their own fleece scarves. Advance registration has been requested.

    The accolades keep coming for Christopher Merkert, who heads the science department at the East Hampton Middle School.

    Mr. Merkert was recently nominated for a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science. It’s the federal government’s highest honor for kindergarten through 12th-grade math and science teachers.

    According to Mr. Merkert, 40, who has taught at the middle school since 1994, it’s the first time a teacher at his school has been nominated for the prestigious award. Though Mr. Merkert received word of his nomination in last week’s mail, the person who nominated him remains a mystery.

    “I’ll definitely give it a shot,” he said. The application is due on May 1, with winners announced later in the spring.

    He went on to say that innovative teaching doesn’t exist in silos but is part of a shared culture where individuals are given the freedom to pursue their varied interests.

    “Over the years, I’ve received such great support from administrators and parents,” said Mr. Merkert, a resident of East Hampton. “If you encourage a student, you’ll be amazed at what a kid will do. And the same thing goes for teachers.”

    In October, Mr. Merkert was one of 50 educators chosen to attend Google’s Teacher Academy in New York City. In May, the Science Teachers Association of New York State named him Suffolk County’s science teacher of the year for his use of “flipped teaching,” where students can watch short, instructional videos at home rather than using valuable class time.

    Mr. Merkert, who teaches eighth-grade science, is an advocate of bringing technology into the classroom whenever possible. He routinely posts questions related to his teaching on Twitter — allowing him to instantaneously interact with educators from around the country and improve upon his lesson plans accordingly.

    For the Presidential Teaching Award, applicants must demonstrate mastery of content, the use of instructional methods and strategies to track student achievement, and leadership outside the classroom, among several other factors.

    Since 1993, more than 4,200 teachers have received the award, with more than 100 educators from around the country chosen every year.

    In addition to receiving a signed certificate from President Obama, honorees will receive a $10,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and a trip to Washington, D.C., this summer.

    When Marilyn Van Scoyoc, a music teacher at East Hampton High School, thinks of her former student Gregg Rickards, she recalls a young man playing his beloved bass.

    Mr. Rickards, who grew up in Amagansett, died in August after a recurrence of cancer. He was 23.

    A member of the high school’s orchestra and jazz band, Mr. Rickards graduated in 2006. He then attended the State University at Oneonta, receiving a degree in music in 2010.

    On Friday, Feb. 1, a memorial concert will take place at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. While admission is free, donations at the concert will help establish the Gregg Rickards Memorial Scholarship Fund. Following an audition, a $500 scholarship will be awarded each spring to a college-bound East Hampton High School senior planning to major or minor in music.

    “Music was a real joy in his life,” his mother, Teresa Rickards, said. “That’s really what Gregg was about — his love and his passion for music.”

    Crossroads Music in Amagansett is sponsoring the event and supplying sound equipment. It has also donated a practice amp and a custom-designed Tom Bono guitar, both of which will be raffled off at the concert. Dell Cullum, a photographer, has donated a framed photograph, and organizers are soliciting donations from other businesses.

    “He was a good customer and that’s why I asked to be involved,” said Michael Clark, the owner of Crossroads. His eldest son graduated from high school the same year as Mr. Rickards. “I would see him on a weekly basis, coming in for strings and buying several guitars.”

    Besides Mr. Clark, Mr. Rickards’s aunt, Patty Collins Sales, Ms. Van Scoyoc, and Liz Pucci, an East Hampton School Board member, are among the organizers.

    The East Hampton High School’s jazz band, which Ms. Van Scoyoc directs, will open the concert, joined by other student bands. Later, local professionals will play, including Peter Martin Weiss and Jane Hastay, the Jet Set Renegades, Casanova Frankenstein, Little Head Thinks, Third Estate, Steven and Jackson Clark, and Mama Lee and Friends, among several others.

    Anyone wishing to make a donation can also write a check to the Greater East Hampton Education Foundation,  noting that the money is to be designated for the Gregg Rickards Memorial Scholarship. The address of the foundation is P.O. Box 4175, East Hampton 11937.