Education

In the East Hampton School District, the prekindergarten classes may be shrinking in size but the kids are coming in with more educational needs than ever, administrators said last week. Now, the district is getting ready to explore adding a program for 3-year-olds.

The Church in Sag Harbor will host Mai Le Ho, a French-Vietnamese performance artist and educator, who will lead a diverse cast of performers at an all-ages dance jam called LayeRhythm on Saturday evening from 6:30 to 9. Plus: winter blues fun at the East Hampton Library, children's movies, arts and crafts, and more coming up for kids and teens.

Rob Schumacher, a science teacher at Sag Harbor’s Pierson Middle and High School, presented a proposal Monday for a new science classroom: a “wet lab” that would bring marine environments to life in a real-life, hands-on way, going beyond textbooks and simulations.

Springs School District officials reported disappointing scores this week from standardized math and English tests given last spring to students in grades three through eight. “We can improve,” said Erik Kelt, the new school principal, in announcing strategies for boosting students' proficiency in these subjects.

The Springs School fourth-grade opera, “Learning to S.W.I.M.,” took the stage last Thursday, and it might just be the best one yet, the school's Journalism Club writes.

Before the pandemic, several East Hampton seniors and juniors had started a campaign called Breathe for Change, at one point even testifying before a congressional committee about the evils of vaping. Then Covid-19 happened, they graduated, and their momentum was lost. Now, East Hampton students are again taking action to combat it.

When Guild Hall’s Student Art Festival returns this weekend after taking a hiatus in 2023 while gallery renovations were underway, students and their families will have lots to celebrate beyond simply seeing their work hanging on the walls of a prestigious venue.

The curtain rises tomorrow on the latest South Fork Performing Arts youth musical theater production, “Godspell,” at LTV Studios in Wainscott. Plus: stories, arts and crafts, cookies and cinnamon rolls, book clubs, dinosaurs, and a reading therapy dog, all coming up in the next week for kids and teens.

Ahead of dropping temperatures expected to freeze the rain and slush left by Tuesday's inclement weather, a majority of schools in East Hampton and Southampton Towns have announced delayed openings for Wednesday. East Hampton Town government offices will open two hours later on Wednesday.

For toddlers and their caregivers, several opportunities exist for group play in fun and educational settings nearly every day of the week. Plus: Pajama story time, kids' movies, science-themed activities, Lego Club, and more.

The East Hampton and Amagansett School Districts have signed an agreement allowing Amagansett to buy lunches prepared by East Hampton for its own students.

In exclusive interviews with the Springs School Journalism Club, the school’s administrators reveal their New Year's resolutions for 2024.

Nancy Carney is set to return to the Springs School. After fast-tracking its search for a new superintendent late in 2023, the Springs School Board is poised to hire her as its new chief school administrator on Wednesday.

The community at large has been asked to pitch in to stock the new Little Free Food Pantry boxes that have been installed at the John M. Marshall Elementary School and East Hampton Middle School as well as one that will soon go up at East Hampton High School.

After fast-tracking its search for a new superintendent late in 2023, the Springs School Board is poised to hire Nancy Carney as the new chief school administrator.

Kailey Eberhart of Springs, 14, has kicked off a passion project: starting a local chapter of Whiskey Bravo, a national organization of youth who support military personnel through service projects.

Project Most has a new lineup of fresh, fun activities starting this week. Plus: games, movies, arts and crafts, and more coming up this week for kids and teens.

The National Weather Service is seeking college students who are interested in weather-related careers, offering them an up-close volunteer experience at its office in Upton, on the campus of Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The East Hampton Education Foundation and the Tyler Project have awarded more than $31,000 awarded to school districts in East Hampton Town, supporting programs in science, physical education, special education, wellness, and more.

Each year, only about 220 students from across New York State schools are selected for the New York State School Music Association’s all-state choir to take part in the festival, which culminates in a performance at the historic Eastman Theater in Rochester. To achieve it once is a capital-A Achievement. East Hampton's Nick Cooper did it twice.

All but two of the 20 students contacted said the pressures of the college application process this year have weighed more heavily than what they experienced as students during the Covid-19 pandemic, describing their state of being as“ Stressed,” “100 percent the most stressful year of my life,” and “So stressed my hair is falling out.”

The next children’s theater workshop at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor is an adapation of the classic Disney musical “101 Dalmatians,” kicking off Jan. 20 with a culminating performance on March 16. Plus: kids' movies, video games, sewing club, and more coming up this week.

Harper Davidson, an 11-year-old Springs School student, won first place in the vault event at a recent gymnastics competition.

More than half of the Springs School’s students are receiving Medicaid or SNAP benefits, allowing the district to qualify for federal financial assistance to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students as well as other grant opportunities for the cash-strapped school district.

For kids in need of winter vacation activities, the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton has a lineup of all-ages, nature-oriented programs between Tuesday and Friday, Dec. 29, that promises active, educational fun in Vineyard Field, behind the museum. Plus: arts and crafts, holiday movies, and more for kids and teens.

A unique collaboration among students, teachers, and parents at the John M. Marshall Elementary School and the Springs School resulted in the sending of 430 handmade holiday cards to active service members of the United States Armed Forces.

After working with teaching artists from Shakespeare & Company over the past several weeks, the students of the Hayground School will present the fruits of their labor, a production of “Romeo and Juliet,” today at 1 and 6 p.m. in the Bridgehampton School auditorium. Plus lots more in store for kids and teens.

Springs School’s seventh and eighth-grade students took a field trip to Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor for the Hamptons Doc Fest recently, and word on the street was that this was one of the best field trips yet.

Coming up this week for kids and teens: Anime club, holiday arts-and-crafts, book clubs, community service opportunities, and more.

Many students from Springs School marched in the East Hampton Village holiday parade on Saturday. The seventh and eighth graders in band played their instruments in the parade while other students marched with different organizations.