Teen driver-education campaign, Celebrate My Drive, is back this year with a new turn to the competition.

An audition in the form of a 30-second video, or a photograph, is needed to portray how the school raises awareness to the harms of texting while driving.

DHS, which won $100,000 two years ago in the State Farm Insurance competition and $25,000 last year, is eligible for pursuing the top award again this year.

In addition to the $100,000, the school could also earn a concert by the indie band, Echosmith, known for the popular hit, “Cool Kids.”

Echosmith will then choose a school out of the top 11 small schools and top 11 big schools, to perform before.

Celebrate My Drive is a nationwide campaign that encourages high school students, and participating schools’  communities, to practise safe driving.

The slogan for this year’s campaign is “#Drive2N2,” which translates to “2 eyes on the road, and 2 hands on the wheel.”

DECA and the Board of Governors produced the video entry for Celebrate My Drive on Oct. 8, which took two weeks to produce.

Four BOG officers said that the video made the competition even more challenging this year.

Specifically BOG secretary, Caroline Messuri says, “They added a new element to the entire contest that makes it more difficult to actually be in the contest.”

BOG President Sophia Pompilio said, “the video portion was like a marketing class project … It was a lot of work to do in such a little amount of time.”

The video shows two students about to text each other while driving, but then change their minds and say, “We don’t do that at DHS.”

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton makes an appearance in the clip, and the entire freshman class shouting “Drive 2N2 pick me” is included.

The video is expected to be added onto Youtube at a later date.

On top of the video, several survey questions had to be answered by Principal Gary Bocaccio.

These questions included details about safe driving, the school’s diversity, and why the school should get the grant.

BOG Vice President Han Duong said,  “Getting the principal involved unites the schools because anyone could easily use emails to vote and not even involve teachers, whereas this year the entire school has to be involved.”

With the competition going into its third year, Danbury High School has won both times and is striving to keep the winning streak going for the third year running.

Business teacher Carmela Calafiore, who has been instrumental in directing the school’s efforts to win the grants, says, “Our track record sets us apart from other schools”.

Over the past two years, DECA and BOG students have put up ads in the Danbury Fair Mall, presented four assemblies to pupils, and have even displayed a scene of a car crash outside the school to bring light to the gruesome reality dangerous driving can cause.

Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in America, and Calafiore says that “this is why Celebrate My Drive is important, it helps to save lives.”

Text messaging makes a crash up to 23 times more likely and approximately 11 teenagers die everyday because of this, according to national figures.

BOG treasurer Renee Cunningham says that “texting is a huge problem because everyone texts at all times.”

She also stated that sometimes she herself gets the urge to glance at an incoming text while on the road.

However, being involved with the Celebrate My Drive campaign has made a lasting impact on Cunningham, who now leaves her phone far from reach while driving.

“Celebrate My Drive really does inform people of the dangers not paying attention while driving can do. Accidents can happen,” Cunningham said.

Video clips of fatally injured teenagers in car accidents have been shown in club meetings, so that the group can know of the harsh realities of unsafe driving.

Notable changes made last year to the school through the grants include: the electronic sign engaging the community of the school’s current events, the cafeteria picnic benches, the direction signs to the main entrance and school gym on nearby roads, a filtered-water system and mirrors in the girls’ restrooms.

Cunningham suggests that this year if the prize is won, as BOG treasurer she would lobby for the money to go toward sports programs and clubs, bathroom improvements, and possibly air-conditioning units in some classrooms, such a rooms with computers.

To win, however, will take a lot of work.

As Messuri said,  “People really have to come together as a whole to win this year.”

Link to Celebrate my Drive video: https://drive.google.com/a/danbury.k12.ct.us/file/d/0B89pyTv4MQ-HNnRaRTZ4T2xHZEE/view?usp=sharing