Education

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, local libraries are encouraging teens to express gratitude.

As they prepare for a Nov. 3 vote on the acquisition of five lots off Marsden Street for athletic fields, Sag Harbor School District officials have found themselves countering an onslaught of what they describe as inaccurate and misleading dialogue circulating on social media, on lawn signs, and in private emails among concerned residents.

A teen rendition of "Chicago" plus Project Most activities for preschoolers, arts and crafts, movies, and more.

Across Montauk, young people are rallying around Poppy Heart, a haven, they say, for all  things fun and creative. For some, it's even more than that — it's a safe space with a positive role model and mentor in the shop's owner, Tiffany LaBanca.

Beyond traditional trick-or-treating, kids and teens can take advantage of lots of Halloween events around town over the next few days.

East Hampton Town police on Wednesday arrested a 13-year-old Springs School student who allegedly doctored a photo of another student, turned it into a threat of violence, and posted it on social media. Officers were able to "swiftly" deem it noncredible, according to a press release.

A Springs School student is facing disciplinary consequences after firing a BB gun on an East Hampton Middle School bus returning from a football game at East Moriches on Thursday.

“Angelina’s Halloween”

The children’s book author Katharine Holabird, creator of the Angelina Ballerina series, will be the star of a spooky story hour at The Church in Sag Harbor on Friday, Oct. 28, when she reads “Angelina’s Halloween,” with a trained ballerina from the Hamptons Ballet Theatre School helping to bring the story to life.

“There is a bigger and bigger fury growing about this. We’re not just going away,” warned Janis Donnaud, a Sag Harbor resident, referring to mounting tensions within the community over the district’s plan to buy five residential lots along Marsden Street and turn them into athletic fields.

The popular Springs School Mystery Art Sale will return to Ashawagh Hall in the spring and in the coming weeks there are all sorts of fun and informative activities for students to look forward to

The Springs School and the John M. Marshall Elementary School have Project Most for supervised after-school activities and homework help. The Sag Harbor School District has partnered up with HUGS Inc. for a similar program. Now, the Bridgehampton School District has joined those neighboring schools in offering an enriching experience after the last bell rings.

Montauk Field Day

The Sag Harbor School Board on Monday night offered an update on the district’s plan to buy five residential lots along Marsden Street, using a combination of Southampton Town community preservation fund money and a portion of its facilities improvement capital reserve fund.

A parent-led environmental committee at the Ross School will host its first annual Climate Clapback Festival on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the school’s Goodfriend Drive campus in East Hampton. The event is free and open to the public.

Once again, the East Hampton School District passed its annual audit with flying colors. During a school board meeting on Monday, Jeffrey Jones of the EFPR Group, said the district had earned an “unmodified opinion, which is the highest level of opinion we can offer.” As was the case last year, he said, “there were no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies.”

Educators at the John M. Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton are revamping their English language arts curriculum, bringing in a fresh program with new workbooks, independent reading offerings, and more.

The return of pre-teen night at the Y.M.C.A., a celebration of LatinX culture at the Children's Museum of the East End, and Halloween-themed fun at the libraries, are just a few of the things on tap for kids and teens this week.

Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island announced on Monday the launch of Youth Connect, a bilingual and prevention-focused crisis-counseling program. The goal is to provide middle and high school-age young people access to immediate support and guidance in Spanish or English through an anonymous, confidential helpline that can be reached via text or phone call

By June 2029, the East Hampton School District will have finished making annual $4.9 million debt payments from the $79.2 million renovation and expansion plan approved by voters in 2006. The following year, with a $1 million payment, the district will be done paying it off altogether. Looking ahead, school officials said this has created an opportunity for the district, which is about to begin prioritizing future capital projects across its campuses.

In an effort to improve the health of underserved communities, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, a branch of Northwell Health, has recognized the Bridgehampton School District as a breastfeeding-friendly workplace.

Activities on the agenda for kids and teens this week include a celebration of LatinX culture at the Children's Museum of the East End, fun for would-be teenage sleuths, crafts, a salamander search, and opportunities to earn community service credits.

“My first impression of the school is that it was very deliberately designed from both the curriculum standpoint and physically, on campus,” Thomas Sturtevant, who in July started his new role as the Ross School’s head of school, said this week. “It’s thoughtful and innovative, so it’s an exciting place to work.”

Ketamine, an illegal hallucinogenic party drug, also known as Special K, might hold the key to treating 10-year-old Rowland Egerton-Warburton of Water Mill, who was diagnosed in 2016 with ADNP syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.

Big Truck Day returns Saturday to the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. Plus, pajama story time, leaf printing, and puppets at the Sag Harbor American Music Festival.

Born in the 2018-19 school year out of the desire for a more rigorous curriculum that also lined up with New York State’s changing academic requirements, Pierson Middle and High School’s PLANT program — Preparing Learners for a New Tomorrow — is finally blooming.

Working toward the goals of cleaner waters and stable shorelines, the South Fork Sea Farmers engaged students from the Springs School and East Hampton High School to help construct a new oyster reef in Accabonac Harbor this week.

Want to improve communications at the Springs School, or weigh in on topics like health and safety, school policy, or technology? The school is seeking parents and community members to volunteer for topic-based committees.

During a preliminary school board discussion on Sept. 6, East Hampton School District officials indicated they are looking into the idea of adding driver’s education — complete with on-the-road driving lessons — back into the school day.

The Bridgehampton School District is planning to reboot its social-emotional and equity task force, which it originally launched two years ago.

The basketball court at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center was redone Sunday — the first step in a much larger plan that’s to include a new gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool, a regulation-size tennis court, and soccer, baseball, and kickball fields on the five-acre Sag Harbor Turnpike property.