Education

Bonac Lights, a fund-raising initiative launched last year by the East Hampton Masons that incorporates holiday light displays, is back again and bigger than before.

When the federal government doles out dollars to schools, those that receive grants of at least $750,000 find themselves facing an audit at the close of the fiscal year. The Springs School District, one of many across the country in that position during the Covid-19 pandemic, has passed its first such “single audit” with flying colors, according to the district’s auditing firm, EFPR Group.

An ice maker that produces sludge, desks in disrepair, nonworking generators, chipping paint, an ‘unreliable’ gymnasium partition, worn-out carpeting and wood flooring — these are just a few items on a long list of facilities issues identified by the East Hampton School District this week as urgently in need of attention.

Wildlife explorations with the South Fork Natural History Museum, candle-making and Thanksgiving crafts at local libraries, and a screening of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Sag Harbor Cinema are just a few of the things happening this week for kids and teens.

In the heart of the Shinnecock Indian Nation reservation, a newly renovated clubhouse for kids and teens has been bustling with activity since it opened its doors in April.

The Sag Harbor School District’s bid to buy five wooded lots on Marsden Street for the purpose of creating new athletic fields passed on Thursday by a vote of 638 to 521. 

Parents who flocked to a meeting about an innovative dual-language program at East Hampton’s John M. Marshall Elementary School, in which children of all language backgrounds spend half their time learning subjects in English and half in Spanish, feared the district was preparing to stop the program after third grade. Instead, the superintendent recommended continuing it.

Kids' movie matinees at the Sag Harbor Cinema, school break programs with Project Most, craft projects for kids of all ages, and more in this week's Kids Culture lineup.

Two serious safety incidents involving students continued this week to concern the community as officials in the Springs and East Hampton School Districts addressed the issues with parents.

Registered voters in the Sag Harbor School District can cast their ballots Thursday on a proposal allowing the district to spend $3.325 million from its reserve on a land deal that would also involve a separate contribution from Southampton Town’s community preservation fund.

The nonprofit South Fork Performing Arts theater company is putting an emphasis on its performers’ triple-threat talents for the first time, with a production of the musical “Chicago: Teen Edition” that opens Friday at LTV Studios in Wainscott.

The Hayground School’s senior learners spent the last two months as oyster-farming apprentices at the Shinnecock Tribal Hatchery, learning all facets of growing and caring for the bivalves that play a critical role in cleaning South Fork waters and feeding the local economy.

Jack Perna, the longtime district superintendent and principal of the Montauk School, has announced that he will retire in June after more than 40 years of service to the district.

John King, the Springs School District’s athletic director, pitched a plan on Tuesday to have all of the district’s seventh and eighth graders undergo baseline cognitive testing for the management of potential concussions during school sports, gym class, or other school activities.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

“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.

“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.

Montauk Field Day

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.

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.

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.”