A theater arts class will be held at the Bay Street Theatre starting on Wednesday and continuing Wednesdays through Nov. 28 from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. for 8-12 year olds; 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. for teenagers. The cost is $275 per person for the eight-week course, in which students will develop, rehearse, and perform original works for the stage. The course will culminate with a live performance of an original work created and acted by students. There will be no class on Oct. 24, Oct. 31, and Nov. 21.

    A vocal performance class will be held on Thursdays starting next week through Nov. 15, from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. for 8 to 12-year-olds and 6:15-7:45 p.m. for teenagers. The cost is $275 per person for the eight-week session, in which young singers at all levels work on songs of their choice with a professional vocal coach and a live accompanist. The final class is a live concert at Bay Street, where students will perform the songs they have worked on. There will be no class on Oct. 25.

    Both classes will be taught by Susan Galardi, a professional actor and singer and a classically trained vocal coach and songwriter who has performed in musicals, operas, rock bands, and cabarets. Several notables will make surprise guest appearances.

    Bay Street will hold a pair of one-day musical theater workshops on Monday and Sept. 26, days kids have off from school. Sessions will be geared toward 8 to 12 year-olds, who may select either or both days. Half-day sessions will be held from 9 a.m. till noon for $65, or from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $85. At both workshops, students will choose a scene from a musical and perform songs and dance, in addition to improv games, physical warm-ups, and more. Both day-long workshops will be taught by Ms. Galardi and Bethany Dellapolla.

CMEE’s Fall Doings

    Children will have an opportunity this weekend to make abstract art, using only their voices, with a digital technology software called VoicePainter (at-home version: voicepainter.com), starting today. Copies of the art will be exhibited at the museum and sent to pediatric patients at Long Island’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center and the Nassau University Medical Center. The museum has requested advance registration.

    CMEE will host a pizza-and-pajama night with storytime, called “Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli,” tomorrow at 6. Children will be given odds and ends from the craft cupboard as well as a wooden spoon, so they may design their own monster puppet. The cost is $18 for nonmembers, $10 for members. Prior registration is necessary.

    On Saturday at 11 a.m., kids 4 and older will enjoy crafting origami. According to the museum, they will not only be fascinated by their paper models, they will also get practice in following instructions and increasing their manual dexterity. The cost is $10 for members, $23 for nonmembers, with advance registration.

    The Amagansett School had “a very smooth and successful opening of the school year,” its superintendent, Eleanor Tritt, said at a school board meeting on Tuesday morning.

    A representative from the Board of Cooperative Educational Services had attended the first day of classes on Sept. 5, Ms. Tritt said, and “commented that she’d never seen a school opening this smooth. Everybody had a great procedure. The teachers used the new data systems very well, and new students were acclimated very easily. We’re off to a great start.”

    At the meeting Tuesday, the board approved a plan for screening students and providing early intervention in their regular classrooms and by their regular teachers, as opposed to after a student has fallen behind the class, as had been standard procedure, a requirement this school year. The intent is for teachers and administrators to identify areas of need, particularly in the younger grades, as early as possible so that these needs are addressed within the general education setting. The resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote.

    The board also agreed unanimously to appoint Sophie Lewin and Moira Muthig to two after-school positions that had already been budgeted for. Ms. Lewin will spend two hours a week helping children produce and edit the student newscast, which the entire school watches each week in their classrooms. “The program helps our children develop planning, researching, and presentation skills and is very popular with our students,” Ms. Tritt wrote in an e-mail.     

    Ms. Muthig will spend two hours a week supervising recreational activities. She and Ms. Lewin will be paid $51 an hour.

    Heavy rain and overcast skies greeted teachers and students returning to school this week. Overnight, there was an abrupt change from the idyllic days of summer to the new demands, and earlier bedtimes, of the oncoming fall. At the South Fork’s public schools, where teachers reported for duty on Tuesday and students returned yesterday, new faces and high expectations ruled the day.

    During a breakfast Tuesday morning for teachers and administrators, Richard Burns, the East Hampton School District’s superintendent, waxed philosophical. 

    He first spoke about the impermanence of life. “It also holds true for students in our classes,” said Mr. Burns. “The time we have with them is so brief.” Time and again, he emphasized the power of the classroom to transform young minds. “Let’s all agree that we can make a difference in the lives of students,” Mr. Burns said. “Let’s all unite with a promise that we will give our best to our children every day.”

    At that evening’s East Hampton School Board meeting, Mr. Burns ticked off the numbers of enrolled students to date; more will trickle in over the coming days and weeks. Between the elementary, middle, and high school, the district will accommodate nearly 1,900 students. The high school, as of Tuesday night, had registered 919 students, an increase of 22 over the previous year.

    At the East Hampton Middle School, 347 students were registered for the first day of classes, 8 more than last year. At John M. Marshall Elementary School, on the other hand, enrollment was down by four, with 622 students set to begin.

    In addition to announcing Robert Tymann as the district’s new assistant superintendent, Mr. Burns introduced each of the three principals to highlight staffing changes that had occurred over the summer.

    Gina Kraus, in her first full year as principal of John M. Marshall, expressed excitement that Keith Malsky, formerly the middle school principal, was now associate principal. While Daniel Hartnett will return to his former post as the district’s bilingual social worker, he will now work out of the elementary school for ease of access to parents and students in need of his services.

    In other staffing news, Diane Curtin will work full-time at the elementary school, Kristina Rozzi is back to teaching kindergarten, and Taryn Brennan will now teach second grade. Amy Christensen and Jonathan Bowe have joined the staff as leave replacements in the first and fourth grade, respectively. Finally, Barbara Bock and Barbara Murray will work as paraprofessionals.

    Ms. Kraus said her building was at capacity, with five classes in each grade. Kindergarten classes range in size from 18 to 20 students, but the fifth grade has swelled to around 24 to 25 students per class. In addition to implementing a new math curriculum, her teachers are simultaneously transitioning to a new “balanced literacy” program.

    Charles Soriano, the principal of the Middle School, announced that John Ryan would return as a sixth-grade teacher and Christine Sullivan as a paraprofessional. Sherri Ross, he said, will now report to the main office. Dr. Soriano was enthusiastic about the appointment of Phillip Pratt, who will serve as assistant principal for both the high school and middle school.

    Finally, after praising the hard-working custodial staff of East Hampton High School, its principal, Adam Fine, announced two new appointments: Heather Dodge to the foreign language department and Sheila Batiste to the art department. Bridget LeRoy will be the district’s new public relations consultant and Anthony Hayes the district-wide nighttime custodian.

    Mr. Fine described his core academic classes as “bursting at the seams,” with up to 27 students per class. While AP Statistics attracted just a handful of students and is therefore being canceled, 31 students are set to begin AP Calculus. Among his goals for the year, Mr. Fine said he aimed to make every student “college- and career-ready.”

    Eric Casale, principal of the Springs School, similarly expressed excitement and optimism about the upcoming year.

    “We want every child to leave here in June at a much higher level than when they entered,” he said. “We want our kids to leave here as critical leaders.”

    Enrollment at Springs is 629 to date, about a dozen more students than were enrolled at this time last year. But with several others still finalizing their registration, Mr. Casale predicted the number might eventually top 640.

    Mr. Casale, who is in his eighth year at Springs, described a shifting demographic in recent years as more Spanish-speaking students have enrolled. “It was 36 percent when I got here and now it’s at 49 percent, with the younger grades a little bit higher,” he said. As in East Hampton, the average class size has increased.

    Because of budget constraints, only three new staff members will join the school this year. Besides Dominic Mucci as its new superintendent and Katherine Byrnes as its new assistant principal, Springs added one teaching assistant, and only to fill an existing vacancy.

    Back in East Hampton, overseeing a smaller district is partly what attracted Mr. Tymann to his new role as assistant superintendent. For the past three years, he was the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Lindenhurst School District, which has nearly 7,000 students. He pointed to the new common-core curriculum and a new state-mandated evaluation system for teachers and administrators as challenges in the year ahead.

    Early Tuesday morning, Mr. Tymann jotted down a remark that his boss, Mr. Burns, had made to teachers and administrators, saying he hoped it might provide inspiration. It was an excerpted quote from John Maynard Keynes: “The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.”

    “It really sums up where education is at today,” reflected Mr. Tymann. “We have a ton of work to do and a lot of change that the state is requiring. But if we do it right, it will be a very good thing for the students.”

    With a new school year under way, the Child Development Center of the Hamptons has appointed a new leader. Patricia A. Loewe, who has more than 20 years of combined classroom and administrative experience, replaces Maria A. Taliercio as the school’s education leader. For the past eight years, Mrs. Loewe worked for the Montauk School District, where she was the director for pupil personnel services. She lives in Springs.

    Dawn Zimmerman founded the school in 1997 after her son was diagnosed with autism. For many East Hampton Town residents, the school’s Wainscott location is a welcome alternative to daily bus rides west to the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

    A charter school, C.D.C.H. now enrolls 130 children from preschool through grade five. Besides children with autism, the school also provides services to special education students and gifted students.

    “I am very excited to have joined C.D.C.H. and look forward to working closely with the students and teachers to enrich the educational experience for each child,” Mrs. Loewe said in an e-mailed statement. “I am so impressed by the academic excellence that C.D.C.H. has achieved over the years, and I am committed to implementing teaching strategies that continue to result in successful outcomes for every student at C.D.C.H.”

    The Ross School will start this year’s Adult Learning @ Ross program on Wednesday. Residents can enroll in a variety of courses — painting and drawing, bridge, ceramics, creative writing, sewing, jewelry design, journal writing, poetry, foreign languages, media, defensive driving, feng shui, belly dancing, and hypnosis, among other offerings. The courses cost from $35 to $750.

    The adult classes will be held on weekday evenings or Saturday mornings at the Upper School campus in East Hampton this fall — with some sessions continuing into January and February.

    The school will begin another of its programs, Afternoons @ Ross, on Sept. 17. Students ages 5 and up can enroll in classes that include art, dance, gymnastics, noncompetitive athletics, theater, robotics, and more. Under the direction of the school’s faculty and other instructors, the courses will convene during after-school hours at the Lower School campus in Bridgehampton as well as the Upper School. Many of the classes, which range in cost from $240 to $725, can be taken in the fall or the winter.

    More information can be had by calling 907-5555 or visiting ross.org/community.

    Gallery Valentine, a contemporary art gallery with space in East Hampton and Bridgehampton, will have a silent auction Saturday for Project Rousseau at its East Hampton location at 63 Main Street.

    Project Rousseau is a nonprofit organization that pairs college students with talented but underprivileged high school students in order to optimize their educational development and best prepare them for college. The nonprofit provides scholarships as well as other mentoring programs, which include S.A.T. preparation, job shadowing and pen pal programs, and enrichment electives to give “students the opportunity to reach their full educational potential.”

    Alexandra Fairweather, who is a serving mentor for the project, is Gallery Valentine’s director and also sits on Project Rousseau’s board, allowing her to help create the partnership. Ms. Fairweather spoke of a student she mentors who got essay, résumé, and S.A.T. help that enabled him to score “several hundred points higher than was his previous score” on the S.A.T. and was accepted into New York University.

    Auction items for the event will include a $500 gift certificate and a personal styling session from Saks Fifth Avenue, a $250 gift certificate and personal styling session from Intermix, a three-month membership to Equinox Gym, and a weekend stay for two at the Lowell Hotel in New York City, among other inviting items. The silent auction will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Those planning to attend have been asked to R.S.V.P. by today to [email protected] or by calling the gallery in East Hampton.    M.S.

    With school about to start on Sept. 5, and just days to go before a fund-raising deadline, seventh and eighth grade student-athletes at the Springs School and their parents are breathing easier. The Springs Athletic Booster Club announced this week that it had raised nearly $35,000 to ensure that the sports program Springs has shared in the past with the East Hampton Middle School will continue.

    Due to budget cuts, the Springs School Board had eliminated the program in the spring. Besides the combined sports program, the board also eliminated two teaching-assistant positions, five teachers, and summer school.

    Last year, 39 students participated in the after-school program, which offereed football, cross-country, track and field, wrestling, and lacrosse.

    But the cost, just over $19,500, plus another $14,000 for transportation, was more than the school board thought the district could afford while complying with the state-imposed limit on tax increases, which led to cuts of almost $800,000 from the 2012-13 budget.

    Earlier this summer, seven parents formed the Springs Athletic Booster Club to help bridge the gap. But with a deadline of Sept. 1, many were skeptical that the necessary money could be raised in time.

    “I’m ecstatic. We finally reached our goal,” said Mark Lappin, a Springs parent who spearheaded the effort. “Sports are back for Springs School.”

    Mr. Lappin, whose son is entering seventh grade and hopes to play football, said that more than 100 donors had helped the club reach its goal. He said he had personally knocked on the doors of more than 200 local businesses. And, with a daughter going into fifth grade, Mr. Lappin said he is in it for the long haul.

    “It was a whole lot of hard work,” he said. “I’m going to work to ensure this never happens again.”

    Mr. Lappin said that the bookkeeper at Rumrunner Home, a furnishings store with branches in Wainscott and Southampton, where he works, kept track of the money raised. It will now be handed over to the Springs PTA, which will make the contribution.

    The coming of Labor Day also means the coming of a new school year, and in East Hampton Town, classes at most schools begin next week.

    The Wainscott School will be the first to open to students, on Tuesday. Classes at the John M. Marshall Elementary and East Hampton Middle and High Schools, as well as the Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs Schools, and the Ross Lower and Upper Schools will begin on Wednesday. East Hampton’s prekindergartners will have orientation next Thursday at the East Hampton Day Care Learning Center and will begin classes on Friday, Sept. 7. At the Amagansett School, prekindergarten classes will not start until Sept. 10.

    The Hayground School in Bridgehampton will have its first day of classes on Sept. 12.

Pony Up

    This year’s Kids Day at the Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton will be on Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., activities will include circus acts by the Bellini Family Circus and Friends, a magic show by the Amazing Zola, free pony rides, the music of the Laughing Pizza Family Band, face-painting, a petting zoo, a birds of prey demonstration, and more. Admission is free for kids under 12.

Go, Suzi!

    A reminder: Suzi Shelton, a Brooklyn singer-songwriter who has dubbed herself an “all-around children’s rock goddess,” will give the final performances of the season at the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor. Today, tomorrow, and Saturday at 11 a.m., Suzi and friends will treat audiences to interactive dance and music from the CDs “No Ordinary Day” and “Simply Suzi,” which have catchy tunes like “Scooter Boy” and “Gone on a Road Trip.”

Teen Esteem

    Starting next Thursday, a teen theater troupe, Act T.W.O., will perform short plays about problems adolescents face every day. The esteem-building performances aim to teach teenagers about social awareness, mental and physical health, positive relationships, and how and where to seek help when confronted with a difficult situation. Performances will be on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center. Registration will be ongoing. The troupe has requested that those interested get in touch with the Southampton Youth Bureau.

    Slow Food East End, thanks to the Joshua Levine Memorial Foundation, has been able to fund three interns who currently work as school garden coordinators in the area.

    In addition, grants are now available to fund specific needs, such as the purchase of garden tools, supplies, and materials. Those who wish to apply must be a non-profit school or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working in partnership with one or more schools; have an established school garden project, and be a member of the Edible School Garden Group and Slow Food East End Chapter.

    Applicants must also be able to manage grant funds responsibly, and must demonstrate that their garden project has strong participation from stakeholders within the school.

    Applications can be e-mailed to [email protected] before Sept. 15. Questions about the application process can be sent to jcfayyaz@ gmail.com. Questions about membership can be addressed to Anne Howard, Slow Food East End membership chairwoman, at [email protected].