Education

A family day at the Parrish Art Museum, decorating a tree for the birds at the South Fork Natural History Museum, and lots of winter and holiday-themed crafts are on tap for kids this week.

With Covid-19 again putting off the East Hampton Masonic Lodge’s community pot roast dinner, which raises money for scholarships, sports teams, and other activities for kids here, Brian Lester recently wondered to himself what could possibly be done to replace it, for now at least.

Then a proverbial light went off in his brain, inspired by the holiday light shows he took his family to see in Riverhead and at Smith Point County Park in Shirley last year. Why not do something similar in East Hampton?

The Hampton Ballet Theatre School will present a magical rendition of “The Nutcracker,” a traditional harbinger of holiday cheer, on Friday, Dec. 17, Dec. 18, and Dec. 19. The studio’s 12th production of the beloved ballet is in person, marking a return to live theater after a long hiatus caused by Covid-19.

What had been an anticipated dip in high school graduation rates brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic across the United States largely did not come to pass in school districts on the eastern end of the South Fork, data from the last two school years show.

East Hampton School District officials wanted their affordable housing forum on Tuesday to be a brainstorming session focused on solutions and proposals, and from innovative financing and land use ideas to promises of partnership from elected officials to participation by community members, that’s just what they got.

Programs for kids this week offer a big dose of holiday fun and a chance to move, create, and connect.

For teens this week through local libraries, there are community service opportunities, a chance to unwind with art, and a suicide awareness training session to help students recognize when someone is in distress and offer support.

The Bridgehampton School's auditorium, which was to be completed by late November or early December, may not be fully finished until after then, the district's superintendent, Mary Kelly, told the school board on Nov. 17.

To be moderated by Jackie Lowey, a school board member, the forum will explore topics such as residential zoning changes, mortgage assistance, and purchasing or building housing units. Experts in the housing industry are expected to take part, though community members will also be able to share opinions and ideas.

The Springs School's eighth-grade class will benefit from a pancake breakfast fund-raiser at the Springs Fire Department headquarters on Dec. 5 from 7 to 11 a.m. Menu items include eggs, French toast, pancakes, sausage, bacon, toast, hash browns, and juice, coffee, and tea.

The coming week's activities for kids include a marionette show at the East Hampton Library, an open house at the South Fork Natural History Museum, and art and science activities.

Starting Monday, Montauk School students will have a chance to shop for books and gifts during a weeklong holiday fair at the school. Browsing and shopping will take place during regularly scheduled library and computer classes, and parents, guardians, and families can take advantage of the sale after school from 3 to 6 p.m. from Monday to next Thursday.

As a response to the growing concern about the lasting impact of the pandemic on children's well-being, I-Tri, the East Hampton organization whose goal is to empower middle school girls through fitness, and the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport, a national organization, offered a free trauma-informed coaching session.

The East Hampton School Board on Tuesday introduced the idea of setting up a new reserve account dedicated to paying for critical repairs of an emergency nature.

Liz Joyce, the founder of the nonprofit Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre, is getting ready to launch new programs in the spring. With help from fellow puppeteers, she’ll be able to take the show on the road to bring the art of puppetry to a wider audience.

Sewing, textile printing, and rope jumping are among the fun activities on tap this week with Project Most at the Neighborhood House in East Hampton.

"When a child doesn't know how to read, we teach them how to read," Christine Cleary, the Springs School principal, said during Tuesday's school board meeting. "When a child doesn't know how to multiply, we teach them how to multiply. When a child doesn't know how to behave, we punish them. We have to teach them how to behave."

Children on the autism spectrum or who have sensory processing disorders will get a special welcome at the Children's Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday morning.

Now that children 5 to 11 are eligible to receive Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine — the first that has been approved for pediatric administration in the United States — medical professionals and government officials here and across Long Island are quickly putting plans in place to meet families' needs.

At a Nov. 3 school board meeting, Adam Fine, the district superintendent, announced that student enrollment numbers were up in all three of the schools.

Middle schoolers interested in taking on some babysitting work can learn about the job and the skills needed to do it responsibly during a three-hour course at the East Hampton Library on Saturday.

Cullen and Danowski, an accounting firm that reviews finances for many school districts in New York State, has given the Sag Harbor School District the highest possible rating — called an "unmodified opinion" — on its audit of last year's operations.

With pandemic restrictions easing up for schools, students have begun taking field trips once again. For Springs School kids, that meant trips to Louse Point and Landing Lane for A Day in the Life of the Peconic Estuary on Oct. 22 with the Peconic Estuary Partnership. The annual outing returned after a Covid-19 hiatus last year. Students took part in various water quality testing activities. They measured environmental data such as wind speed and categorized marine life they found in the shallows.

Having previously raised questions over changes to a nearly $23 million renovation and expansion project, the Springs School Board heard some good news on Tuesday night.

A project at least two years in the works, further delayed by Covid-19, the brand-new library media center has finally come to fruition.

For more than 30 years, children at the Sag Harbor Elementary School have started their days with "morning program" — a spirited schoolwide assembly featuring music, birthday shout-outs, presentations, and news of their peers' achievements. The daily tradition fell by the wayside during the pandemic, but it has now returned in a modified format.

Halloween is two days away. From traditional trick-or-treating to library events and festivals, kids and teens have plenty of fun things to do.

The Springs School Board has moved its monthly meetings and work sessions from Monday nights to Tuesday nights. The first meeting reflecting the change will be this week.

Russell Huber, who has refereed scholastic athletic contests in New York State since 1969, has always preferred that the players, not he, get the attention. But at the Springs School on Sept. 27, it was the other way around.

East Hampton High School's athletics program has been recognized by the Aspen Institute's Reimagining School Sports Initiative as the winner of the small suburban schools category. The award comes with a $20,000 grant, the district announced.