As we enter the final weeks of school, there are many opportunities for celebration, such as proms, the senior banquet and graduation parties. Though we want everyone to enjoy these festivities, we also care about their wellbeing. The SADD Club and Cultural Arts program is working hard to send messages to the student body to remind them of the dangers of distracted driving, driving under the influence, and using excessive speed when behind the wheel.
As you may have noticed, there is a car placed on the front lawn of the high school, provided to us by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office that was involved in an accident where individuals tragically did not survive. Though it is an upsetting sight, the message provided on the SADD sign next to the car, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk,” is an important one. It is critical that students take care of each other and make life-saving choices.
Parents, you are encouraged to review the Parent/Teen Contract link:
http://www.allstatefoundation.org/pdf/Parent-Teen-Agreement-NY.pdf
Additionally, on May 12th, Maureen McCormick, the Chief of the Nassau County District Attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, presented her powerful Choices and Consequences program to our senior class, which is designed to combat drunk, drugged and reckless driving. The program is based on a “reality TV” model that relies on real cases, real evidence, and real people in order to break through natural teenage invincibility and teach lifesaving lessons.
Also, this past Thursday the high school participated in a Grim Reaper program where, throughout the day, pre-selected students were pulled out of class by a Grim Reaper, and a sign was placed around their neck stating the following, along with a black tear painted on their face:
1. I would have seen that oncoming car if I wasn’t texting.
2. Thanks to that drunk driver, now I’m only a memory.
3. Maybe I should have called a cab instead of driving drunk.
4. I should have waited until I parked before I texted my friend.
5. Why didn’t I call someone to drive me home when I was drunk?
6. My life was more valuable than that beer.
7. A drink should not have been the reason why I lost my life in an accident.
8. I was so busy texting and driving that I didn’t realize I was driving through that red light.
Drinking and driving has received a lot of publicity over the last decade, but that is now eclipsed by distracted driving—specifically, texting while driving—as the nation’s number one killer of teens. At the end of the day all of the students that participated as 'victims' laid down in the PAC lobby to represent the lives lost throughout the day.
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