Editor’s note: This is the final of a weekly series of activities happening at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula in 2016. For more information, see posi- tiveplaceforkids.net or call 683-8095. — MD

And that’s a wrap …

Our kids poured into the Club in shorts and T-shirts with tanned skin and a sweaty glow as they try to beat the heat this last week of summer break. They chatted about upcoming teachers and swapped stories of what they did here this summer. For many families, summer presents obstacles barring them from travel or special activities due to budgetary or time off work issues. The Club fills that gap for its members and they are certainly talking about the good times they had.

Our Junior Rangers explored the Olympic National Park hiking trails next to rivers, lakes and up in the mountains; they took a dip in the pools at Sol Duc and paddled canoes across Lake Crescent.

Our morning campers traveled to Seattle to tour The Chocolate Factory, a Medieval Village, Boeing Flight Museum, and the Lamay Car Museum.

Summer in the Spotlight members were able to attend a 5th Avenue theater production and Running Club participants watched nationally ranked high school students race, jump and throw to break records.

Our teens made weekly swimming trips to the lake and some enjoyed their first overnight camping trip.

Our members experienced the thrill of attending a MLB baseball game to root for the Mariners, and saw a Seattle Sounders Soccer match.

It’s great to be a kid in the Pacific Northwest and our members were offered the opportunity to engage in many activities not only inside the club, but our surrounding area.

These enriching activities coupled with the club’s Learning Loss prevention program, Summer Brain Gain, did their part to keep the members engaged and learning while enjoying the summer.

Morning Camp

It was a wild and wet week at the Club and that timed out perfect with the heat we have had. Members suited up for fun on the slip-n-slide, with the sprinklers and of course water balloons. They engaged in relay races carrying water as they ran and had a great time outside getting wet.

The summer concluded with a trip to Lake Sutherland with our middle school age students where they swam, boated and made memories for a lifetime.

Jacob Savage

Hearts were full as we watched members redirect their sadness into a kind gesture for their fellow club member. Jacob Savage, a 12-year-old Sequim boy, is battling lymphoma and currently residing at the Ronald McDonald House near Children’s Hospital in Seattle.

Our members know that this is his new home and will be for a while. They gathered together with two club moms and volunteers and made 61 cards to send over to Jacob, wishing him well, sending cheer and to brighten up his room.

Junior Rangers

Rangers from our Port Angeles and Sequim Club gathered together in a year end party celebrating and retelling stories from their visits to the seven Olympic National Park sites. The rangers needed to attend at least four prior trips to attend and partook in a certificate of completion ceremony and a barbecue lunch with a chance to socialize with their favorite rangers.

Members were in encouraged to invite their family members along to the Lake Crescent location for the festivities. While celebrating participants boarded kayaks for refreshing paddle on the lake.

It has been another successful summer exploring our great backyard made possible by funding from the National Parks Foundation.

Computer Lab

Stephen Silliman, Sequim High School graduate and club alum, spends his days at the Boys & Girls Club running the computer lab for our members. He brings to the position a deep knowledge of computer science. Since he began in the position he has reviewed each workstation to make sure they are running at optimum speed and made repairs and adjustments to those not working properly. He runs not only Stride Academy (featured last week) but a Computer Science Club and hosts the Robotics Club in the lab. Additionally, Stephen spends time with the Robotics club members building robots and programming them.

Our computer Science Club participants learn basic computer vocabulary, parts of the machine, and gain basic programs and software knowledge.

When the bell rings

As the Sequim and Port Angeles children prepare to go back to school, “after school” must be part of the conversation. Every day, nearly 15 million kids leave school with no place to go, putting them at risk of being unsupervised, unguided and unsafe. When the bell rings, our clubs open their doors to give kids a safe and enriching place to be providing after-school programs that help kids achieve academic success.

This Saturday, Sequim families visited the Back to School Fair to gather information and supplies for successful year.

Our members we haven’t seen this summer will be returning to us after school next week and we couldn’t be more delighted. We are anxious to open our doors to the 400 children we who attend daily and are even more excited about the programs we have scheduled to enhance their club experience.

Starting this fall, members will participate in cooking, gardening and nutrition programs coupled with recreational activities like football, basketball and tumbling promoting healthy lifestyles.

Members will have computer lab access for web based homework assignments and individual paced academic work. They will receive homework assistance and tutoring as well as science and robotics club opportunities to keep them on target academically.

Our mentoring programs like L5, Inspire Her and Boys II Men will kick off a new year with new members and mentors coaching youth through challenging issues they face.