RMHS Implements ‘Every 15 Minutes’ Program
Apr 20, 2010 10:55 - 3 Comments
This from Kate Savage, chair of the Every 15 Minutes effort for RMHS:
Richard Montgomery High School wants to extend the idea of education beyond the classroom and facilitate in creating learning experiences that are applicable to real life situations. The possible ramifications of drinking alcohol, unsafe driving, and the impact it has on our students, their friends, and families are unfathomable to most young teenagers.
On April 21, 2009 and April 22, 2009 Richard Montgomery High School will be implementing the “Every 15 Minutes” program here at our school. This two-day program focuses on high school juniors and seniors in challenging them to think about drinking, personal safety, driving habits and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved. The name of this nationally recognized program was conceived from the fact that every 15 minutes, someone in the United States dies in an alcohol-related traffic collision. Since these programs began, those statistics have actually decreased proving the awareness helps in the prevention. With this program, we wish to involve as many organizations and members of our community as possible.
The first day of this event involves pre-selected students being sought out by the Grim Reaper as a teenage statistic to later represent someone who has died in an alcohol-related crash. A lunchtime event involves the re-creation of an auto accident as it would occur first hand. The City of Rockville has partnered with the school in assisting with this process for students to be able to recognize what would occur when losing one of their classmates.
The second day of this event is an assembly for the 11th and 12th graders. A video summary of day 1 is presented in addition to the student participation reflections. Guest speakers share personal experiences they have had with alcohol-related or unsafe driving incidents that have affected their lives forever. Since these events sometimes evoke emotional reactions from students the school has arranged for additional counseling services to be provided. We feel it is important to present the awareness of these issues to hopefully prevent future tragedies. Student participants, their parents, event volunteers and VIPs have a luncheon after the assembly.
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Why do you drink?
Really Why?
(thoughts of audience)
Boring
Bla Bla Bla
Hey I got 2 bars
When are we done?
presentation
In 1953 when I was 4 yrs I woke up to see flashing lights on my ceiling
a drunk hit my parents car.
Father was thrown from car and knocked unconscious
Mom was knocked unconscious and thrown into the back
The car was on fire when the rescue squad got there
For some unknown reason 1 person went to the burning car and pulled my mom out just before it exploded in a ball of fire, giving me back the 53 years the drunk had almost taken
1957-1962 every spring teenagers would be picked bits and pieces out of the trees
Young, dumb, stupid, beautiful and immortal, till they were not
1965 drunk t-boned friends parents car. She died instantly, he took 5 months
1974 Nick was run down by a drunk
1992, Mary t-boned by drunk running a light
A number more
March 22, 2010 11pm
“nite mom, nite daddy”
“drive safely sweetheart”
“I will”
6 hours later
5am march 23rd, phone
SCREAMs thru phone “
DADDY, I’M SORRY ( I scream as loud as possible during presentation)
Is this the last thing I will ever hear from my baby
My soul being ripped from my chest
(audience)
Bla Bla Bla
Boring
(me again)
Young dumb stupid and beautiful
Til you are not
Really,
Why do you drink?
why is the assembly only for the upper grades? freshmen and sophomores also drink. i told my kids to expect the assembly and now they won’t be seeing it (they’re in 10 th).
thanks for all your many years of service, kate…you’ve saved many lives in countless ways.
At the invitation of Kate Savage, I attended both parts of the Every 15 Minutes program. On April 21, I witnessed the staged accident scene in the parking lot. The next day, I attended the assembly where we heard testimonials from students who participated. We also heard real-life testimonials. From Chief Treschuk we heard about his 3rd day as a rookie police officer who was assigned to a drunk-driving accident where a 14-year old girl died. We also heard from Robert Winfield (1st comment on this post) and then his daughter who was in a drunk driving accident in the past year (within a year of graduating from RM). Then we heard from a mother who’s spent the last 30 years in a wheel chair due to another drunk driving accident just after high school.
The speakers were often in tears, even those students who were ‘just’ role playing in the program. It was a very well done program, and it was at times emotionally wrenching. One hopes that it will have an effect. (The thing is, you only know when it doesn’t work for an individual.)
This program takes an incredible amount of effort to pull off. Numerous professionals, volunteers, and sponsors contribute to this program. These include police, fire and other emergency personnel, doctors, private sponsors (e.g., Allstate Insurance and Pumphrey’s funeral home), too numerous to name. To them, thanks very much.
To answer Theresa’s question, this program is run every 2 years. Next year it will be at Rockville High School, then back to Richard Montgomery.
Mark Pierzchala