Education

A new round of coed inline skating and girls volleyball clinics will begin on Tuesday at the Sportime Arena in Amagansett. The skating clinic, for ages 4 to 9, will happen from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The New York State Education Department has signed off on the Springs School’s construction plans earlier than anticipated, putting the project about a month ahead of schedule, the district announced Monday.

The Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton promises a “smashing good time” on Saturday at its first-ever pumpkin fling, in which gourds will go flying from a working catapult.

The equipment, including pull-up bars and parallel bars, was donated by a local nonprofit in honor of Mike Semkus, a Sag Harbor native, coach, and teacher who died of an overdose in 2016, but its installation has been mired in controversy for several weeks.

Public schools in East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, Montauk, Sagaponack, Springs, and Wainscott will be closed for students on Tuesday. Classes will be in session at the Amagansett School. Some districts will hold superintendent conferences for faculty and staff that day, and the East Hampton School Board will still hold its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the district office conference room.

Springs School officials put families on guard this week about a website called Omegle, which connects internet users to strangers for the purpose of anonymous chatting.

Instead of buying more plastic Halloween decorations, how about making them from recycled materials? Families can do just that at a workshop on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. Advance registration is required.

A former Sag Harbor school business official told the school board on Monday that the district superintendent, business staff, and the board itself all knew the former Stella Maris Regional School construction project was going to be millions over budget even before residents voted to approve the project.

Students at the Sagaponack and Wainscott Schools learned last week that when two small schoolhouses go on one field trip together, it adds up to tons of fun.

What started as Helene Leonard’s tribute to her late father, and her family’s legacy of love of the arts, has grown into a tradition on the East End.

It’s a toss-up who got more out of Kathleen Mulcahy’s visit to the Sag Harbor Elementary School fifth-grade science classes last week — the kids, or the Sag Harbor mayor herself.

An Amagansett School Board member who won her seat in a write-in campaign during a hotly contested election in 2017 has resigned, and on Tuesday the school board appointed a new member to fill the empty seat.

October often means pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween costumes, and baseball playoffs, but for high school seniors navigating the college admissions process, this month isn’t all fun and games.

Between filling out applications, answering multiple essay questions, building their résumés, taking tests, and just being normal kids, college application season is tough for many.

The East Hampton School Board on Tuesday began prioritizing capital projects the district will likely take on in the near future, identifying the high school’s artificial turf athletic field, auditorium, and commercial kitchen as possibilities.

The East End Birth Network, a nonprofit that offers support and advocacy on pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting, will hold a “homegrown family health fair” on Saturday at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton.

"Be as vocal as possible in asking for help,” said Anabel Graff, a college essay coach.

As Halloween approaches, the Amagansett Library is inviting kids to help decorate the library on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. High school students can earn community service hours for helping out.

On Sunday at 2:30 p.m., the library will host a story time with cookies for all ages. Spooky slime will be the project of the day for kids in sixth grade and up on Tuesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and pumpkin decorating is in store during a family activity on Friday, Oct. 18, at 4 p.m.

Last year while working for his parents’ pool company, Egan Barzilay noticed that there were vegetables and fruit hanging from branches in the gardens at the houses where he worked, seemingly abandoned or forgotten by homeowners who had left for the season.

The research spoke so loudly that Beth Doyle and Russell Morgan heard it as a mandate: More recess time is better for students, even if it means sacrificing a bit of classroom time to make it happen.

With the retirement of its superintendent about three months away, the Sag Harbor School Board agreed Monday, on the recommendation of the recruitment firm leading the search process, that it would seek an interim superintendent until a permanent successor can be found.

Teen vaping addiction extends beyond the South Fork to school hallways, bathrooms, and buses across the nation, but a group of students and administrators here decided that East Hampton and Southampton would be good places to start tackling the issue.

Apple pie will be on the menu for some families on Saturday evening after a family pie-making workshop at the Montauk Library with the Baking Coach that afternoon from 2 to 4. Participants need only a rolling pin; everything else will be provided. They will take prepared pies home to bake.

A cheerful, new seaside-theme mural in the front hallway of the school has added yet another educational element for the children, an Amagansett educator said this week.

Teen Arts Council

Applications for Guild Hall’s Teen Arts Council are being accepted through Oct. 11. The council is open to teens ages 14 and up who are interested in the arts.

The Teen Arts Council, founded in 2017, is “a collective of young creatives representing and celebrating a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives,” Guild Hall said in its announcement. Members “work within the institution to curate public programming, advance their own creativity, and progress Guild Hall’s outreach and relationship to our local teen community.”

The Springs School has begun promoting family togetherness over homework for students.

Eric Casale, the longtime Springs principal, announced on Sept. 16 that teachers have agreed to refrain from assigning homework on the first Friday of each month so that students and their parents or guardians can enjoy a “family fun Friday” free of school obligations.

Robyn Mott knows she has big shoes to fill — kind, caring shoes that were once worn by Maureen Wikane, the late longtime administrative director of the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center in East Hampton.

High school rape culture is the subject of “Roll Red Roll,” which will be screened on Tuesday at the East Hampton Library at 5:30 p.m., followed by a discussion. The film has been described as “a cautionary tale about what can happen when teenage social media bullying runs rampant and adults look the other way.”

The screening is free for parents, guardians, and high school students, but registration is required and viewer discretion has been advised. Those who are interested can R.S.V.P. by calling the library at 631-324-0222 or visiting easthamptonlibrary.org.

The Suffolk County Board of Elections agreed to a request from the East Hampton School District to move a polling site from the John M. Marshall Elementary School to the district office at the high school.

School administrators have announced two town hall-style meetings about the dangers of vaping. The first is on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at East Hampton High School, followed by a Southampton High School session next Thursday, also at 7 p.m.