On the morning of April 23rd, 2012 Divide Action Club( DAC) members launched a campaign called Casey’s Pledge. Casey’s Pledge is a drunk driving awareness campaign. On Monday students were given presentations about Casey’s story, a girl who worked her entire life to fight drunk driving and was coincidentally killed by a drunk driver on her way home to celebrate her mother’s birthday. Students were also asked to sign a pledge, in the shape of a star, with the following promise “Casey Goodwin’s story of how she was killed by a drinking driver made me realize that there are real consequences to making unhealthy choices. I am choosing to help stop Casey’s #1 concern in life. I pledge to not drink or get in the car with someone who has been drinking, and to make the healthiest choices I can because I want to live my life to the fullest & have a successful future.”

DAC collected pledges each day at lunch, providing students with a yellow ribbon to remember their promise and symbolize Casey’s life. DAC also added some educational pieces to the awareness week. For instance, on Tuesday DAC brought CHP Officer Dan Stark and his explorer to the campus to lead a lunch time activity with drunk driving goggles. On Friday, to conclude the week, DAC had Mother’s Against Drunk Driving on campus the entire day. MADD brought goodie bags filled with MADD swag for students after they signed Casey’s Pledge. MADD also brought to GSHS a vehicle, that was impacted by drunk driving, enclosed in a trailer which remained on campus the entire day before prom.

In just one week, DAC collected a total of 258 pledges from students, staff and community members. DAC wants to thank all those who took the pledge. Together, we can make our world a better place!

For more on this project, visit our website at www.divideaction.org. You can learn more about Casey’s story by visiting, www.caseygoodwin.org.

How Marijuana Affects Learning

As your teens go through high school and prepare for college they are at an increased risk for drug use and drinking. However, high school is the critical point in building the academic foundation for the rest of their lives. Be sure your teens remain drug-free during these critical learning years.

Marijuana is riskier than you think. It can limit your teen’s achievement in the classroom, on standardized tests and in the future.

• Marijuana can hinder a teen’s ability to learn. Heavy marijuana use impairs young people’s ability to concentrate and retain information.¹ This can be especially problematic during peak learning years.
• Marijuana use is linked to poorer grades. A teen with a “D” average is four times more likely to have used marijuana than a teen with an “A” average. ²
• Marijuana and underage drinking are linked to higher dropout rates. Students who drink or use drugs frequently are up to five times more likely than their peers to drop out of high school.³ A teenage marijuana user’s odds of dropping out are more than twice that of a non-user.

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