Education

Every year students in third through eighth grade sit down for New York State assessments. While the tests can be challenging for students, they also provide an opportunity for school districts to do some assessing of their own curriculums.

The youth sports training facility Hub 44, on Tan Bark Trail in East Hampton, will host a glow dodgeball session for children 8 to 12 on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. Plus: board games, trivia, book buddies, and a new fort-building club at the East Hampton Library.

The auto repair classes housed at the East Hampton School District's new bus depot are the talk of the district, and with good reason — dozens of students are engaged in meaningful work that merges traditional academics and career-oriented training for which they don’t have to go very far.

Springs School recently had its annual Winter Spirit Week. Every year, the school celebrates by giving students a fun week to dress up and be creative with their holiday outfits.

This installation of the column for teens and tweens focuses on a selection of favorite books from the mystery, fantasy, and dystopian genres.

Studio 3's annual Mixed Nuts production happens tomorrow and Saturday at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. Plus: Lots of holiday cheer, winter-themed fun, community service opportunities, New Year's celebrations, stargazing, and more for kids and teens.

Cory Strain, a teacher of sixth and eighth grade social studies at Springs School, has been engaging students with unique history lessons in the roughly two years he's been teaching at the school.

Hayground School students are bringing the Bard to the Bridgehampton School this week, with two performances of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” on Thursday. Members of Shakespeare and Company, from Lennox, Mass., have returned for their 27th year to work with the students to stage a production.

The next session of the Arts and Eats program for teens happens tomorrow afternoon from 2:45 to 4:30 at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. Also coming up for kids and teens: Sewing Club, custom trucker hats, the science of flying, an escape room, and more.

The Montauk School Board has a self-imposed deadline of its first meeting in January to decide whether to proceed with the latest draft of its proposed building renovation, a $37 million plan that would include a new gymnasium.

Lego Robotics at Springs School started its new season and like last year there are two teams: the Lightning Bots coached by Laura Foti and Erik Schwab and the Thunder Bots, coached by Danielle Hamilton and Tracey Frazier.

The Hampton Ballet Theatre School’s annual production of “The Nutcracker” is returning to Guild Hall for four shows that start Friday night in the newly renovated theater.

With its new production, “Our Fabulous Chrismukkah Carol: A Holiday Rewrite,” coming to Guild Hall this weekend, Our Fabulous Variety Show flips the script on the story of Scrooge as originally told by Charles Dickens.

Technology is essential for a student’s learning experience in schools today. This is why Springs School provides students with Chromebooks, which are used to complete activities and administer tests at both the classroom and state levels. Teachers are also able to connect with students using the Chromebooks by creating personal lessons for those who need help.

The South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton has a lineup of family-friendly events for its fall open house on Saturday. Plus: Project Most's gingerbread house competition is coming up, the Sag Harbor Cinema will have three days of kids' movie matinees, and Goat on a Boat will be at CMEE for a Minkie the Monkey puppet show.

In partnership with the East Hampton Town Police Department, East Hampton High School will host a workshop for parents next week at the East Hampton Library to address trends in youth drug use. There will be a presentation in English on Wednesday at 6 p.m., with an equivalent Spanish-language program next Thursday at the same time.

Springs School does a lot of things to make learning fun. One thing in particular is Pick a Reading Partner, called PARP, an annual program that makes kids want to read with their friends and family members. The idea is for students to read with people in their lives as a way to celebrate reading and literacy. Having a partner makes reading more fun and intriguing.

“Regionalization,” a New York State Education Department project that asks schools to consider partnering up to achieve savings and efficiencies, has garnered considerable controversy in UpIsland communities that view the initiative as the early stages of forced consolidation. But according to school officials here, the South Fork is ahead of the game. Individual districts are already sharing services extensively, they say, and the regionalization initiative is getting far less pushback locally.

The Amagansett School principal, who has been on paid leave since January after being accused of taking a $25 Amazon gift card meant for another staff member, denied the charges as a disciplinary hearing investigating the matter came to its conclusion last week.

The Sag Harbor School Board on Monday officially approved a Latin honors system to replace the current practice of ranking students, adopting a policy that is to begin next school year with the graduating class of 2026. The vote was 6-0 with one board member, Alex Kriegsman, abstaining.

The Friday Preteen Project returns tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. through Project Most. Plus: a Wiffle ball tournament, Origami Club, kids' movies, board games, and anime.

The Surfrider Club at East Hampton Middle School helped restore eelgrass to waters in Three Mile Harbor last month. “In recent years, our native eelgrass population has been diminished by pollution and non-native invasive species,” said Natalie Petykowski. “Sadly, there is barely any eelgrass left in East Hampton waters.”

Springs School is full of talent, and Lucy Fagerland is one example of that.

This month’s column is all about mysteries, one of my favorite book genres. I love the suspenseful race of trying to figure out whodunit or what happened before the characters do. I love jaw dropping plot twists. 

Part of a Further Lane house that an anonymous donor gifted to Project Most to be used in a hub for its children's programs on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton has been demolished and discarded, having been exposed to weather conditions that allowed it to deteriorate. 

A course for prospective babysitters, a visit with a fairy tale princess, and another from a Native American storyteller from the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery are just a few of the offerings for kids and teens this week.

The Montauk School Board was presented with a multitude of renovation options at its meeting Tuesday afternoon. After looking at what could be done to improve the school, the board sent Kevin Walsh of BBS Architects back to the drawing board to fine-tune the plans with a preliminary budget of $37 million.

At a Springs School assembly for Veterans Day on Nov. 7, 22 members of different branches of service visited the school to be recognized for their service. Eight were from the Army, three from the Navy, two from the Marine Corps, five from the Coast Guard, and four from the Air Force.

On Saturday at LTV Studios in Wainscott, the 22 students from South Fork Performing Arts who acted and sang their hearts out in “The Prom” got a special treat after the show: The musical’s lyricist and book co-author, Chad Beguelin, was in the audience for that night’s production.

Samone Johnson, Jessica Neal, and Bridget Ehmann served in the military, learning formative lessons in discipline, readiness, and sacrifice that would forever shape their lives outside the service. They’ve also found themselves in the employment of the East Hampton School District, where they each draw meaning in their interactions with students, parents, and colleagues.