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License to Live News-Gazette Article: GIBSON CITY - Red isn't just one of the school colors at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School, and winning isn't just for the football team this season. Students at GCMS were all sporting red ribbons and earning prizes in school colors during October's homecoming and Red Ribbon Week festivities, but their focus was on winning the battle to keep students safe from their number one killer - vehicle crashes. The kids have learned quite a few lessons about how to reach their peers, and they're putting it to good use in their most recent award-winning campaign for "License to Live," a teen safety program in which the GCMS program has already attained top-10 national recognition. They used the school's traditional parade and other events, including athletic events this month, to hand out imprinted items in familiar school colors, but with new driving safety slogans. This year, even the tradition of decorated lockers included magnetic safety messages. Using another form of media, students produced audio and visual messages and aired them in teen-friendly places like the local Harvest Moon Drive-In Theatre and on the YouTube Web site. Students also are thinking outside their own classroom audiences; they're asking Channel One to broadcast the messages in schools across the nation, and lobbying Secretary of State Jesse White to again play the messages in every driver's license facility. The messages focus on twin themes: "Never Tire of Safety" and "The Road to Safety is Always Under Construction." The students have self-identified their own riskiest behaviors, including driving distracted and driving drunk. The new graduated driving laws and why they are reducing Illinois teen auto accidents was one of the messages presented recently by Illinois State Police. Officers also "convinced" students with their crash and rollover simulators. Continuing the "show them, don't just tell them" theme, officers let drivers see first hand how distracted driving - trying to send a text message while maneuvering a golf cart - does not add up to good control of that vehicle, let alone a car at highway speed. The entire school became caught up in the excitement last week, according to sponsor Judy Weber-Jones, when "License to Live" finalist funding allowed the district's more than 800 students to decorate a T-shirt with their own safety message. Parents were involved in ironing on the designs, or discussing and then signing safety essays written by their students. GCMS High School is trying to repeat its 2006 feat of winning a national teen safety contest, as students finalize their submission this month to the National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS) which is coordinating the "License to Live" competition, part of a rural safety effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation. On the Web: www.licensetolive.com or www.noys.org/licensetolive. By JEAN NOELLSCH
Check out page 8 of our news letter News Gazette article.
Gibson City Courier • Wednesday, October 29, 2008 p.1 Gibson City Courier • Wednesday, October 29, 2008 p.2
FINAL REPORT “Drive Like Your Life Depends on It ... Because It Does!!
The students have been working very hard. Please view YouTube link for the Live Line presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAH_bLiM1JI An update on the commercials they are now playing at the Harvest Moon Drive In, Insight Cable, Channel 1/NBC News, Parkland College TV Station, and WFAL. Please listen to our safety audio PSA’s on the www.gcmslicensetolive.com website (they were played on WGCY Gibson City radio station & hopefully soon on WPXN in Paxton) and read the directions on how to download our safety video commercials on to your video ipod and share with friends to spread the safe driving message to more people. If you can’t get You Tube at your school because it’s blocked like our school. Don’t worry check out our website above and you can view the commercials right off our website. We are working with Mike Steiner Department of Driver Services from the Secretary of State Office to get the safety commercials in all the DMV’s in the State of Illinois. Mike works directly with Jesse White. Jesse White the Secretary of State has put our safety videos in the DMV’s before for us. That would mean all 130 Driver’s License Facilities. This all came about through a lady at the Rotary that stated after the students presented their commercials and thought they were very good she said these commercials should be in the DMV while your waiting and Mrs. Jones thought the same and made some phone calls and it happened. While people are waiting at the Driver’s License Facility they would be able to watch the safety video or DVD and learn safety tips to prevent crashes. We also are working with Mike to get the Distracted Driving DVD of the Wilhelm story to all Driver Education teachers in the State of Illinois since Distracted Driving is suppose to be implemented in to the Driver Education curriculum. We wanted all teachers in Illinois to have this important life saving DVD to share with their page1 about preparing to ride, tips & students not just the 40+ teachers in Region 7. Especially since distracted driving is such a BIG problem with teens. The students making bracelets and keychains.
We are doing many activities for Red Ribbon week. At the High School we had an all school assembly with an Operation Snowball presentation by a Lake County representative Ron Jakubisin. All the students received bookmarks and we tied MADD ribbons numbered on all the car antennas. They also had to sign the SADD contract. If they rode the bus or walked we also had stickers that they sign to pledge to be drug free. At the end of the week we had a drawing and handed out prizes cash and Casey gift cards. During lunch we made key chains or bracelets with initials of the people that loved them that they wanted to drive safe for. page 2
We showed them how to safely fasten a seat belt in the Driver Education car and gave them a sticker if they did it properly. We also gave them a pencil “Don’t Monkey Around Buckle Up”. We also gave them Click it or Ticket pencil sharpener and rulers. Winners of the coloring contest got free McDonald’s gift certificates. Everyone received a Safe Falcon for Buckling Up certificate (in school colors). We have done the egg drop for the past 15 years at Busy Hands because we feel this is the age that good safety habits page 3 the teens actions. Also, there is the GCMS License Plate frame that reminds everyone around town to Buckle Up and Drive Safe.
Essay contest winners were announced from the Families Against Chronic Excessive Speed that Bob and Dee Ann Brant presented in which they lost their son due to a driver going 90 M.P.H. in a 45 M.P.H. zone. It was great to read how it changed the students driving attitude and educated their parents when they went home and talked about it. We had safety bags at the local stores to remind the community to wear their safety belt and Don’t Drink & Drive. We have done random seat belt checks throughout the competition and I am please to report that we have gone from 90 % seat belt compliance to 98 % and that covers teens and adults. We are still not satisfied until we get 100%. We also did surveys to find out the four biggest problems at GCMS 1) Text messaging and cell phones (Talking & Texting) 2) Eating and Driving 3) Drowsy Driving 4) Friends Distracting the Driver We are please to report all areas improved through the campaign. That is why we focused on these problem areas. The Wilhelm’s the students signed a Don’t Talk Just Drive Pledge which ¾ of our school signed. The other ¼ the students don’t drive yet. Since that was our # 1 problem. Eating and driving we gave them tips to eat in the restaurant, eat at home, or wait until you stop to eat your food. The 3rd problem drowsy driving that is why we did the drowsy driving video to raise awareness about this problem. Then our 4th area of concern was Distracted Driving and that is why we did the distracted driving video with all the friends in the car and avoiding head on collision video to prevent a head on crash. Showing them how important it is for the driver to stay focused because it only takes a second for a crash to occur. Gibson City Courier and The Pantograph (Bloomington) placed articles about our projects. Also, Ted Gregory reporter from the Chicago Tribune who did the year long series Teens at the Wheel to raise awareness about this # 1 killer of teens motor vehicle crashes. I have contacted Ted and we are hoping he will be able to help us again to promote safe driving by spreading the word about the 2008 Rural Youth Traffic Safety Message Campaign. The school Talon, School Newsletter that gets sent to all the parents in the district will also have articles and also the Ford County Press and Paxton Record. page 4 Here are pictures of Bill Meade Operation Lifesavers (Railroad Safety) talking to the Elementary School students.
The new sign for Gibson City has the picture of a seat belt being fastened with the safety message Buckle Up. The whole community is aware of our campaign and they want to help get the message out to everyone. page 5
We also worked with local florists and had flower boxes with the safety message on them for Homecoming.
We placed MADD red ribbons on the car antennas. The magnet on the lockers before Homecoming with Safety Lanyards Don’t Drive Buzzed, Stress Construction Cones with GCMS License to Live “The Road to Safe Driving is Always Under Construction ” and around the cone was the Click It or Ticket colored bracelets. page 6
The window cling with “Don’t Talk Just Drive” if a person has it on their vehicle window Jim Miller who owns the Harvest . A few more safety slogans the students came up with are listed below.
“Buckle Up or Be Shut Up” “Drive While Eating Lunch and Go Crunch” page 7
“Buckle yourself down or be 6 feet underground”
“Buckle the safety restraint or eat the other cars paint”
“Got Seat Belt ?
“Signs of Life (traffic signs) Please Obey them Your Life Depends on It” “Driving is a Full Time Job…. And the TOUGHEST Job You Will Ever Have” page 8
Please continue this life saving campaign and thanks for making a difference. Together we can eliminate this # 1 killer of teens motor vehicle crashes.
Safety Slogan design "Act Your Age Cut the Road Rage
Red Ribbon Week Assembly together over 800 students counting Elementary, Middle School, Special Needs, and High School students Elementary School Red Ribbon Week GCMS License to Live "I Elect to be Safe and Drug Free” with a picture that each student used fabric crayons on and page 9 THE GCMS LICENSE TO LIVE TEAM
page 10
Watch our Video's
October 15th update. Report # 3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School We showed the 3 safety commercials we made during advisory throughout homecoming week. To check out the commercials go to the following You Tube links. The Drowsy Driving link www.youtube.com/watch?v=840iqW3_nqA We are in the process of getting these3safetycommercials on Channel 1 so all the schools across the country can see them. There is also a link to get to them on our website www.gcmslicensetolive.com We also handed out red bags with the “Obey the GDL Laws” safety message. We also had the students go home and talk about the speeding stat sheet we gave them and the assembly. The students then had to have their parents sign the essay they wrote to make sure the topic was discussed. The winning essays in each advisory got a gift card from Casey’s for gas or food. When Danny Hicks presented he gave the students Think First keychains as reminders to drive safely. If a student asked a question or answered a question they received a Think First stress brain or Think First hacky sack. There have been 3 different newspapers that have already covered our project and the Channel 3 news. We are making a copy of the Channel 3 news interview with student leader Eric Sommer this came about after the GREAT coverage and article by the Champaign News Gazette. The PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) we revised and took out the music so you can hear Eric Sommer better. Also, all the safety pamphlets that were handed out during the safety day when the Illinois State Police were at our school all day are enclosed. Besides all the Elementary, Middle School students coloring their own t-shirt also our special needs students at the High School will also be making them. The High School t-shirts are the designs I sent earlier. So everyone in our school district will be promoting the safe driving message.
Billboard sign Photo GalleryPictures in the Photo Gallery are of Danny Hicks from Think First who is confined to a wheelchair due to a drunk driver. Danny talked to all the Driver Education classes on September 29th. Then on September 30th Dee Ann and Bob Brant did a presentation on Families Against Chronic excessive Speed. They lost their son due to a driving going 90 M.P.H. in a 45 M.P.H. zone. This was an all school assembly. Other pictures are from October 1st. The Illinois State Police 5 officers and one Rantoul Police officer were at our school all day exhibiting with the Convincer (seat belt safety), Fatal Vision Goggles/Text Messaging golf cart/obstacle course (alcohol/distracted driving), Rollover (making students aware of what would happen if you don't wear your seat belt in a rollover crash), Field Sobriety tests were administered with fatal vision goggles (alcohol) and the 5th station the ISP talked about all the new GDL laws. On October 2nd Angie Kinstner from the Illinois State Police talked to all the Driver Education classes about everything from seat belts, GDL laws, alcohol and all the dangers of rural driving for teens. We showed all 3 of our safety commercials today to the whole school during advisory. The students did a GREAT job!!!! One is on avoiding a head on collision, drowsy driving, and distracted driving. We are working on getting them on You Tube. Homecoming week has been pretty hectic with all the safety things we are doing.
 Through the efforts of GCMS students License to Live Organization/SADD is moving full steam ahead. We just had a Live Line demonstration on September 10th sponsored by EIEC (Eastern Illini Electric Coop.) at our GCMS High School Open House. This raised awareness that if a person is in a crash and hits a pole how to not get electrocuted by staying in your vehicle. Kyle Finley who did the demonstration also showed them if they were in danger and the car caught fire how to get out safely and not get electrocuted. We also videotaped the car crash portion of their demonstration to show any students that might have been gone and showed it during advisory to the whole school. "Don't Drive and Text or you might not be here for the next" We had Bill Meade an engineer from Norfolk Southern do a presentation on Operation Lifesaver (Railroad Crossing Safety at the Elementary, Middle School, and High School. Railroad crossing safety is another big cause of crashes in rural areas. The designs of the t-shirts we have created are below, and these shirts are being used to raise awareness about our project among the school and community. Along with the t-shirts, we have also created banners used to spread the word to many more people. Another important item we are using for License to Live are towels that are in the school colors of each Ford County School. These towels spread the word about our new website www.drunkstopper.com, which is to prevent underage drinking parties and drunk driving. To distribute this information, these towels are launched to fans at GCMS and PBL football games, especially during homecoming. Another creative way to get our message across is the use of Click It or Ticket seat cushions that encourage teens to buckle up every time. Thanks to Monsanto in Farmer City, IL, our program has been able to distribute bags we had made with the website www.drunkstopper.com at volleyball/golf/soccer/tennis events. They also have safety reflective tape on them to be seen better. This website is used in partnerships with Tazewell, Ford, Iroquois, Peoria, and Kankakee counties. Because these counties all have schools in our sports’ conference, it allows us to make each school aware of the life-saving website. Also, we have implemented the use of a billboard to promote not speeding and not driving drunk with our website. We have also been handing out food prize coupons to students wearing their seat belt thanks to donations from Subway, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Monical’s. Also, IDOT and the Illinois State Police have given us prizes to distribute from safety message lanyards, ice scrapers, keychains, pencils, and more. We also handed out Never Tire of Safety tire gauges and Don’t Talk Just Drive window clings. Their name also gets put in for the big drawing later. If they are caught doing an unsafe driving maneuver like eating, speeding, etc. Their name will come out of the big drawing. Our goal is to be doing more positive driving skills so their name is still in the big drawing through GCMS License to Live team members and their best friend we tell them how much we care about them and don’t want anything to happen to them. This will clear up the bad driving so they don’t repeat the action. We always present it in a positive way to them and then they will change their bad driving habits. A best friend doesn’t want to lose their best friend. The next day in advisory students will write about what they have learned. The boy and girl with the best essay will win prizes. As the week continues, on October 1st, Angie Kinstner from the Illinois State Police will have students participate in the Convincer for seat belt safety and a fatal vision goggles/text messaging (covers alcohol impairment and distracted driving) obstacle course during Physical Education classes. Other officers will help her rotate students between three stations, including the Rollover, which demonstrates the importance of seat belts and staying in the car so you don’t get injured or killed. Angie Kinstner will also speak to Driver Education classes about rural driving hazards and dangers for beginning drivers on October 2nd. October 3 Gloria and Chuck Wilhelm will share their story, “Don’t Talk Just Drive,” about their son riding a bike and being killed by a girl who was changing her ringtone. We have helped them get their message out through a DVD that we will distribute to Driver Education teachers to over 40 Driver Education teachers to put in their curriculum about the dangers of distracted driving at the Region 7 IHSCDEA workshop on October 10th. Also, we handed out bumper stickers and window clings with the same message Don’t Talk Just Drive. Finally, on October 9th, the Tazewell County Sheriff Department will administer the Driving Skills for Life to our students. Lastly, the students have been making PSA safety announcements that are airing on the radio stations and at the Harvest Moon Drive In. The students are also making lawn signs with safety messages. Students continue to come up with ideas for more safety commercials as well. Dangerous rural intersections have been made safer by students cutting corn and tall weeds at these intersections. Please visit our website at www.gcmslicensetolive.com to find out what we have started and done so far on this project. We are working on a big fatal problem on rural roadways and that is how to prevent a head on collision. Our kids are working on a prevention video for avoid head on collisions.
Operation Lifesaver (Railroad Safety)
Towel Design:
"Act Your Age Cut the Road Rage" We made safety message labels to put on all the flower boxes for homecoming. This covers more than just our students Fisher and P-B-L as well. We also put safety message magnets on the junior and senior lockers as reminder to drive safely this homecoming. Some of additional safety slogans include. “Honk & Flash to Prevent a Crash”/ “Act Your Age Cut the Road Rage”/ “Is Your Turn Signal Broke ? You Ought to Use It ! FYI Signal it’s the Law ! We have had some bad flooding and have warned students about how the whole road could be washed away so don’t go through the water. This happened to a P-B-L student last year and he drowned. That is why we are also handing out as a prize a flashlight, seat belt cutter, hammer to knock the window out, and emergency light. The Live Line Demo is on DVD and we showed that during advisory for any students that didn’t attend the Open House on September 10th. We are also planning to put it on You Tube. Also, during Homecoming week we watched during advisory the Motivational Media Assemblies DVD it’s the new preview of the 2009 show that is coming out soon with the Arends (twins from our school and one died and the other survived) crash in it. This was very powerful connecting popular movie clips with popular teen songs. Another thing we did during advisory that homecoming week was watch the safety videos the students had made. We are working with the local cable channel to get them aired during homecoming week. That would cover Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, and Vermilion counties. The newpapers have been giving us great coverage and the TV stations plan to cover our events during homecoming week. Another huge project we are starting to tackle is all Elementary and Middle School students (768) are going to make and color with crayola fabric crayons their own t-shirt Elect to be Safe and Drug Free and it will have a picture of them in a seat belt. This is part of our Red Ribbon Week activities for next month. But, we have to start early to get it done with little kids. This should help us in getting the message out to even more people in the community and beyond. Plus, it will make for a GREAT picture of all the students promoting a safe message on their t-shirts. We are very excited about it.
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