Education

She’s been playing middle school softball for only a year, but 12-year-old Ann Peterson is already hitting it out of the park. The Springs School pitcher competed in the All-American Select Games in Panama City Beach, Fla., this month, where she won the All-American Ace Award and was named tournament M.V.P.

Big things are on tap in several South Fork school districts in 2026. From capital improvements to bond referendums, here’s a look at the year ahead.

An indoor pool, a new turf field, an indoor athletic facility with an auxiliary gym, lights for football and tennis — East Hampton High School could see all of these upgrades if three bond propositions pass in May.

For anyone tracking the East End’s next famed artist, the search may be over. A seventh grader from East Hampton Middle School is off to a great start. Lily Limonius won the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons annual holiday card contest this month, and it’s not the first time her work has been spotlighted by a local nonprofit.

Springs School educates approximately 700 students from prekindergarten all the way to eighth grade, and around 200 of them are English language learners. Some kids are more advanced in their English vocabulary, while others are just learning the language.

Three of East Hampton Library's young-adult librarians share some of their favorite books and series for teens.

The Springs School Diversity Club went on a field trip to the Springs Presbyterian Church’s food pantry to assemble food bags for families in need.

Montauk residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a 20-year, $34.8 million bond that will fund an extensive renovation of the Montauk School.

The Sag Harbor School District will host its first community forum on the $40 million Pierson Capital Improvement Project on Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym.

Montauk School officials seek to reassure voters about a $34 million bond for upgrades as well as the matter of superintendent housing at the Fisher house in the hamlet.

When twinkling Christmas lights brighten Ashawagh Hall and the holiday spirit fills the air, excitement will become real for this year’s Lights of Love festival, which is being held on Sunday at 4 p.m.

A trivia night at the Point Bar and Grill in Montauk on Wednesday from 6 to 9 will raise money for an East Hampton High School service-learning trip in February to Malawi, where students will work with a rural community to construct a school.

Gingerbread houses with the Children's Musem of the East End and Project Most, a South Fork Natural History Museum Open House, and sweet treats at the East Hampton Library for kids and teens.

The future looked bright at East Hampton High School’s annual Career Cafe as an array of local professionals visited the school cafeteria for a few hours to teach the juniors about their jobs. 

The biggest issue at all of the community forums on the proposed bond thus far is the Fisher house, a residence on South Dewitt Place donated by a former superintendent, Robert Fisher, and his wife, and intended to house the district superintendent. The prevailing gripe? Plans to use part of the house for district storage. 

Students step in to help those in need with a Thanksgiving food drive.

The Springs School Board approved the use of just over $1.5 million from its more than $4 million repair reserve fund for five exterior projects.

On a gorgeous Saturday earlier this month, six East Hampton Middle School students gathered at the town’s shellfish hatchery on Three Mile Harbor to do some good — gluing eelgrass seeds to clams. It’s the latest project the Do Good Be Good Club has taken on this year.

Superintendent Adam Fine presented the district’s latest list of needs last week. The proposed work totals about $35 million, leaving just under $30 million for items the community might want to add.

At community forums this month, the Montauk School Board made the case for a revised renovation bond that residents will vote on Dec. 9. “Realistically, this school building is the only institution in Montauk that only serves the year-round residents. . . . That feels like a really worthwhile investment,” said Joshua Odom, the superintendent and principal.

The Springs School held a pep rally recently to celebrate the middle schoolers’ accomplishments and boost school spirit. 

Stony Hill Stables in Amagansett opened its fall-winter scholarship program this month, an opportunity for young people with a passion for horses to learn how to ride.

Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade,” from 2018, and “Honey Bee,” a 2017 short film by Jack Kendrick, will be shown on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Sag Harbor Cinema, followed by a panel discussion on adolescent anxiety and social media.

For kids and teens this week, there's a morning of artmaking inspired by peace at the Children's Museum of the East End, the Young Birders Club at the South Fork Natural History Museum, and a therapy dog at the East Hampton Library.

In Montauk this fall, the girls field hockey team put on quite a show, finishing the season 9-0-1 to go undefeated for the first time since 2018.

The Springs School held its annual Idiom Contest in the big gym for students in sixth through eighth grades recently.

As one gallery at Guild Hall opens an exhibition Saturday of works by the pioneering artist Robert Rauschenberg, who would have turned 100 this year, the other will be filled with student work inspired by Rauschenberg’s innovation. 

The Sag Harbor School Board has officially adopted a $40 million capital improvement bond that residents will vote on in January.

The Montauk School’s People as Reading Partners program kicked off on Oct. 22 with a day featuring a roster of readers including school administrators, surfers, authors, farmers, fishermen, retired teachers, and a police officer.

Springs School students participated in Red Ribbon Week recently. This event is a way to remind students of the dangers of drug use and the importance of staying away from them.