Brain Gain

The Brain Gain group has been a very fluid group as participating members changed day to day and week to week. Over the course of nine weeks, 140 members tried Brain Gain at least once, and after averaging out the members that attended more than three times, they came roughly 10 times this summer close to once a week. We had 12 kids who accumulated 20 days of attendance over the summer and will be rewarded with a special field trip this September.

For our last Brain Gain activity of the summer, we asked each participant to make a “quilt piece” that represented their Brain Gain experience this summer which were “stitched” together and hung on the wall. Poems, pictures and lots of “Brain Gain Rocks” squares were produced but fourth-grader Briauna Saghafi’s square said it all: “I have a brain and so do you!”

The kids exercised their brains this summer — reading and working together was valuable and we hope beneficial as they head back to school very soon. We are hopeful that with each summer we will engage more and more kids and continue to help those students needing to maintain their grade-level progression.

Morning Camp – Clean Green Machine

Our young members each took a look at their own impact on the environment. Members began by getting a feel for what kinds of daily activities contribute to their carbon footprint. The morning campers were given the opportunity to calculate their footprint using an online tool by PBS Kids. They answered questions about their own daily life.

After the survey and viewing a short video about how they could make a difference, they brainstormed their own ideas on decreasing the amount of energy they consume. The campers participated in a science experiment that demonstrated the effects of contaminants and surface tension. The members placed milk inside a small tray and added food coloring drops. The coloring stayed where dropped because it was less dense than the milk. The members placed a dab of dish soap in their tray reducing the surface tensions by dissolving some of the fat in the milk. The food coloring instantly would spread away from the soap to the higher tension edges.

The kids enjoyed repeating the experiment over and over making colorful patterns in their milk.

Lunch launch

We met a lot of new kids this summer by serving lunch in our community. We were very pleased to offer sack lunches to kids available in nine locations across Sequim and Port Angeles — especially to those kids that need it most.

With 50 percent of children receiving free and reduced lunches at school, it was imperative that meals still were available for the under-resourced families.

The lunch program was run by our nutrition coordinator and her summer staff of college-bound young ladies and a wonderful group of volunteers from the community. Each week we had a new batch of volunteers — all willing to play their part in feeding young children in need.

In addition to the breakfast, snacks and teen dinners we served in the club, we rolled out about 13,000 lunches this summer.

Back to the classroom for B&G club staff

As part of our commitment to our members, we aim to deliver a great club experience in a safe environment. We closed both clubhouses Friday of Labor Day weekend to train our youth development professionals and to gear up for the new school year.

On the agenda for the staff was to analyze the data collected from an online survey administered by Boys & Girls Clubs of America giving specific outcome measures related to the members of our two clubhouses.

Our staff discovered that 35 percent of our members say we are “doing great” at giving them a sense of belonging while compared to 18 percent that say we have “room to grow.”

Staff was given the opportunity to study the reports and determine areas of strengths or weakness and be a part of the solutions. In addition to sharing the survey outcomes, leadership staff was able to tailor the training to better suit the needs of the members.

Together the team reviewed the members’ perceptions and practice of academics, healthy lifestyle habits and their character and citizenship. Ideas were generated for the fall to help members achieve in the areas of self-reported weakness.

Staff was back on Tuesday for a transition day to finalize the plans and prepare the club for the return of our students.

‘Great Futures Start Here’

The kids are back in school and today we are pleased to see the return of several members that didn’t visit over the summer. As our members settle into their new classrooms, one thing is for certain when they come to the club after school —  they will be greeted by the same staff and familiar programs.

We will be open every day after school until 6 p.m. Members can attend for a mere $30 per year. The membership runs with the calendar year and most members can return to us with their back to school routine with no additional paperwork (until January). We welcome kids interested in trying the club for the first time.

We offer anyone interested in sampling the club experience a free five-day pass to come test our programs, meet our staff and engage with other members.

Membership applications can be found online at www.bgc-op.org.

“Great Futures Start Here.”