JANUARY/FEBRUARY EDITION

Welcome to 2025!

Kia ora SADD whānau,

Welcome back to school for 2025! We hope you all had an amazing summer break, filled with sunshine, adventure, and good times with friends and whānau. As we settle back into the school routine, let’s not forget that road safety matters all year round—whether you're heading to class, sports practice, or catching up with mates, staying alert and making safe choices on the road is just as important now as it was over the holidays.

SADD will be 40 this year! We have several exciting activities and celebrations planned throughout the year to mark this achievement. Keep an eye on future newsletters for more information.

In this edition of our newsletter, we’re excited to share details about our Term 1 workshops, our upcoming conferences, and a brand-new youth road safety survey! We want to hear from young people about the biggest influences on your road safety choices—complete the survey and you’ll go in the draw to win some awesome prizes!

Check out all the details below, and as always—take care and stay safe on the roads. 🚗💙

Ngā mihi,
Victoria Domigan
Operations Manager, Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD

Monthly theme: Distractions

Distractions behind the wheel can be deadly, and your phone is one of the biggest culprits. Stay in control and keep your focus on the road—because every ride deserves your full attention.

Delivery Team Spotlight!

Looking ahead, we’ve got some exciting times coming up! Lauren is gearing up for her first-ever trip down south to deliver SADD workshops—we can’t wait for her to put all her mahi into action! If you’re attending one of her sessions, be sure to give her a massive high five. Bobbi will also be in Taranaki this week, while Mark is visiting Christchurch schools alongside the epic “Crash Bash” show, delivered by the Court Theatre in partnership with Christchurch City Council.

2025 is shaping up to be an incredible year, and we’re stoked to keep empowering young people to build a strong, safe driving culture in their communities. Want to see where we’re headed next? Check out our workshop webpage at Workshops — Students Against Dangerous Driving to book your spot—we can’t wait to see you there!

Tell us your thoughts & win!

At Kaitiaki o Ara we are on a mission to empower young people to lead the charge in road safety, making our roads safer for all Kiwis. But to do that, we need YOUR help!

We’ve put together a survey to better understand what influences you, what digital platforms you love, and how you feel about road safety. Your answers will help us:

• Ensure our programmes are fun, engaging, and impactful, and actually resonate with young people.

• Share insights with decision-makers to shape a safer future for everyone on the road.

Why take the survey?

• Your opinion matters, and this is your chance to shape how road safety programmes work for people your age.

• Every respondent goes in the draw to win epic prizes, including a $100 voucher and free driving lessons!

Important: All responses are anonymous, so you can share your thoughts honestly and openly.

Ready to share your thoughts? Your views on road safety campaigns and driving

Thank you for being part of the change. Together, we can make a real difference.

P.S. Not 13 -18 years old? We would LOVE if you could share this opportunity with your networks to help reach more young people! We appreciate your support!

Introducing Olivia Adie SADD's new Deputy Youth Rep!

We are excited to introduce our new Deputy Youth Representative on the SADD board. Welcome Olivia Adie, we are really looking forward to continuing to work with you in 2025/2026.

Hi, my name is Olivia Adie, and I am honoured and excited to be your Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD Deputy Youth Representative for 2025.

For me, SADD has been my area of joy and focus as a national leader in 2023 & 2024 and I am grateful to be continuing into this next phase of my journey with the organisation. This role is going to be filled with new challenges and opportunities to continue reaching those who are using our roads.

I have been born and raised in Dunedin, Otago where I will be continuing as I study both Law and Health science degrees. I adore music and have played a variety of instruments with my double bass being the favourite. I play on our church worship team. I am also a keen hockey goalie, playing for the women’s club division here since I was 12! As a keen busy gal, I spread myself between many volunteering projects, leading on camps, debating, enterprise, stock pitching and mentoring younger girls.

I am excited to be working with Jordan in the coming year on some projects. We are aiming to continue to make the connection between the National & Regional leaders and ourselves to generate a more collaborative discussion across our organisation. I also get the privilege of continuing my project on habit formation, breaking and how we can target youth with road safety messaging.

I look forward to hearing from you all and seeing more of what is to come during my time as the deputy board representative for 2025.

Have you registered?

Our much loved annual conference season is back for 2025 and this year we are ready to celebrate! SADD is turning 40 in 2025 so we are heading back to the 80s to acknowledge the legacy of thousands of SADD students who paved the way before us, as well as looking ahead to our current and future road safety goals.

Registration is open for both Christchurch and Cambridge events, check out all the details and register here: www.sadd.org.nz/conference

You won’t want to miss it!

Mark your calendar with these key dates!

Term 1 Workshops - these are kicking off all across the country this month - you can find out if there is an event near you by checking out www.sadd.org.nz/workshops or by contacting your Programme Delivery Lead.

Conference is just around the corner:
- Christchurch - 13th to 15th April
- Cambridge - 22nd to 24th April
Registration for both events will close in early April so get in quick!

We have a long list of generous people to thank for donations made over the last two months.

CK, DF & CD from Auckland, HS from Hamilton, LE from Mount Maunganui, TF from Waikato, CG from Upper Hutt, KM from Nelson, DP from Marlborough, GC from Christchurch, HL from Canterbury and HB from Lake Hāwea.

A massive thank-you to you all who think of us or donate to SADD/Kaitiaki o Ara!

Kerry Campbell (Upper North Island) email or call 022 319 6101
Melanie Wallace (Central North Island) email or call 027 239 6610
Bobbi Hutchinson (Lower North Island) email or call 021 761 649
Mark McCallum-Unwin (Christchurch Area) email or call 027 451 1253 Lauren Robinson (South Island) email or call 021 624 198