AUGUST EDITION

What's new this month

Kia ora koutou,

August has been another busy month as we spring closer to summer (see what I did there)!

SAFER September is just about here and the Delivery team have been busy visiting schools and supporting SADD groups across the country with their awesome plans. Team Taranaki have been especially busy with preparations.

We have a dedicated section below on how you can get involved this September. If your school doesn’t have anything planned yet you can get inspiration here:

Activities & Resource Hub — Students Against Dangerous Driving

Share your plans for SAFER September with us to go into the draw to win fabulous prizes! See below for details on how to enter.

We played our part in making Rail Safety Week a success with a number of schools engaging with their communities, scroll down to read all about it!

As ever, the Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD team are here to help so reach out if there is anything you want to discuss, we love hearing from you and we love seeing your pics and reading your stories.

— Sophie, Team Administrator, Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD

Monthly theme:
Peer Pressure

Young people are overrepresented in road crash statistics and are also more likely to face peer pressure when navigating driving. Stand up for your own choices and use your voice to keep yourself and others safe.

Is peer pressure always negative? Of course not! It can also be positive such as encouraging a person to stop smoking or supporting a person to overcome a fear by pushing them outside their comfort zones. It can, however, have a negative effect on our driving. We can be in charge of making our own choices and we can allow others to make their own choices too.

When we feel pressured to act in a certain way, there are things we can do to help ourselves:

• lighten the moment

• change the subject 

• remember what your values are

• choose friends wisely

• ask a trusted person for help

• find new friends

Some teens submit to peer pressure because they want to fit in, be liked, or even avoid others making fun of them. As teens begin to find themselves and form their own identities, they may be persuaded to listen to their peers, even if they may not have the safest advice about driving.

Read more about Peer Pressure and teen driving:
www.sadd.org.nz/sadd-blog/measure-before-pressure
www.drivesafer.com/blog/peer-pressure-and-teen-driving-2

Team Taranaki are ready for September

Team Taranaki are at it again! Bobbi travelled over for another successful Term 3 workshop with the Taranaki crew. The workshop was all about prepping for SAFER September as well as working on a few of the National Leaders' projects. Taranaki has always been a solid region for SADD.

Many of the same students continually attend workshops and their schools have been represented each time, in some cases for years. A result of this commitment is that they have a real comradery going on.

This SAFER September they are looking at joining forces to collectively work on a fundraising event which is super exciting! Stay tuned for our next newsletter to see what they get up to. We also had our first dog SADD member George, attend the workshop!

SAFER September

SAFER September is almost here!

This month is an opportunity to get behind a national awareness campaign and join us in encouraging all Kiwis to make safe choices on the road.

SAFER is an acronym and represents who we are - Student Advocates For Everyone’s Road-safety. We’re striving for an Aotearoa where everyone makes safe choices and empowers others to do the same.

Getting involved with SAFER September is easy and can be adapted to suit any school or community environment. From sharing inspiring content online to running a road safety expo at your school - there is an activity to suit anyone.

Check out our website for over 40 activity ideas, video inspiration, planning tools and resources to support your campaign. We will be sharing loads of content on our social media pages over the month and there are spot prizes to be won for schools and individuals who share with us what they get up to for SAFER September.

Head to www.sadd.org.nz/safer-september and let us know what you plan to do!

SADD groups contribute to Rail Safety Week 2024

Dates for your calendar

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori: 14th – 21st of September 2024

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims - 17th November

We took a little break from our acknowledgements last month so we have a bumper list of contributors to get through.

This edition we send a huge thank-you to to those who pushed our donation button to send funds zooming our way:

WT from Auckland, JJ in Tauranga, along with DO of Hamilton, MS in Hastings, HC from Napier, AB of Mātangi and OT from Ngāruawāhia. Then to JM in Taranaki, KC of Palmerston North, SK a little further down in Porirua, AP, TMN and TA in Wellington and lastly JM in Wanaka. Phew!

Once again, a big thanks to those above from all at Kaitiaki o Ara for thinking of us, visiting our donation option and pressing the button. Stay safe!

Kerry Campbell (Upper North Island) email or call 022 319 6101
Renee Leabourn (Central North Island) email or call 027 239 6610
Bobbi Hutchinson (Lower North Island) email or call 021 761 649
Mark McCallum-Unwin (Lower South Island) email or call 027 451 1253