A busy summer for the Boys & Girls Club

The sale of Devlin School to the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line might not be official, yet, but the club has begun adapting the extra space to accommodate more members with more activities.

The four classrooms and office space that Highland Park Early Primary School North teachers vacated to move to an expanded Highland Park south campus are being converted into activity centers.

A new music and media center, arts and crafts center, and a Wal-mart Bright Spot For Reading will be added, said Tim Brurud, director of the club.

"So we're looking forward to having a lot more space to do a lot more activities," he added.

Some things, like work to patch the roof and to redo boiler valves also is being planned for, he said.

"And we would always welcome donations if people would like to help out with that," he said.

Brurud said he expects the enrollment cap that had to be put in place to be removed because there will be more space for members, but how high the enrollment will be will depend on adequate staffing. Several grants have been applied for to help pay for additional staff, but nothing is final, yet, he said.

The club already is experiencing high summer enrollment numbers, he said, with slightly more than 150 children attending Tuesday. That number has been typical so far for the summer, he added.

A new bus route through North Central Montana Transit has helped transport roughly 25 to 30 children to and from the club daily, he said.

"The bus has been a great help, I think, to a lot of parents," especially since no school buses transport children during the summer months, he said.

"We've actually had very few issues," he added.

Once children are at the club, they enjoy a variety of activities. Each week has a different theme, ranging from dinosaurs to insects to fitness to water parks, to let the children have fun while learning. At the end of the summer, the big toy day will be held and inflatable toys will be brought to the club.

"We just wanted to be all about fun," Brurud said. "So when we came up with those things, we tried to think what do the kids really like to do?"

Also, the 21st annual HELP Camp kicks off this coming week.

During it, campers will learn about making healthy decisions in the face of peer pressure. Community members will see campers around town, too, Wednesday, June 30, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. during the community service project that will raise money for charities of the campers' choice.

The club is still accepting members for the summer, Brurud said, but regardless of membership, any child age 6 to 18 can come to the club between noon and 1 p.m. for a free lunch.

"I think that's a great service for the kids, too," he said.

For more information about the club and activities, call 265-6206.