Sullivan East High School in Bluff City, Tenn. has been awarded the top prize in Tennessee's first-ever "Battle of the Belt" competition. The Tennessee Department of Health Injury Prevention Program, in partnership with the Tennessee Trauma Centers, sponsors this statewide competition for Tennessee high schools designed to increase seat belt usage.

"We are very proud of the creative work our Tennessee high school teams put into this competition to help educate their peers and their communities about saving lives with seat belts," said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. "Young leaders like these impact their peers and communities so we can feel sure their actions will help prevent a car crash tragedy for someone in our state."

Schools participating in the Battle of the Belt held unannounced safety belt checks during the 2012-2013 school year to record the number of students wearing seat belts and created educational campaigns striving to achieve 100 percent seat belt use. Teams were judged on the percentage of increase of seat belt use at their school and on their campaigns.

Teams participating in the Battle of the Belt and completing all requirements this year include Campbell County High School in Jacksboro; Cookeville High School; Fred J. Page High School in Franklin; Midway High School in Kingston; Pigeon Forge High School; Sullivan East High School and Sullivan South High School in Kingsport.

Data show the need for improvement in seat belt usage in Tennessee. More than 624,000 Tennessee licensed drivers aged 15 to 24 were involved in traffic crashes in 2012, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The 2011 Child Fatality Review team report found deaths related to motor vehicle incidents represent the highest number of fatalities among all external causes of death for Tennessee children and youth aged 17 and under. The State Child Fatality Review Team has recommended incorporating safety programs such as Battle of the Belt into high schools as a strategy for reducing these deaths.

The Tennessee Trauma Centers act as site coordinators to implement the Battle of the Belt program in high schools throughout Tennessee. Collaborative partners also include AAA East Tennessee, the Tennessee

Department of Education and the Health Occupational Students of America organization.

The Battle of the Belt program was created by the Missouri Emergency Nurses Association and St. John's Hospital, and was taken statewide in Missouri by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety in conjunction with American Family Insurance. It has since been implemented by several other states and has been proven effective as an evidence-based program for increasing safety belt usage.

For more information on Battle of the Belt or to enroll your school for the 2013-2014 contest period, go to www.battleofthebelttn.org/.

 Tennessee's 1st District held it's 16th annual Congressional Art Show.   The theme for this show was "An Artistic Discovery".   This event was held on April 29th at the Rose Center in Morristown.     Several students from Sullivan North participating in Ms. McGlothlin's advanced Art III and IV participated in this prestigious art cont  est.

Ms. Monique Hall - a Sullivan North junior and student in Ms. McGlothlin's Art (III class was the runner up in the show.   She was the recipient of a $50.00 gift award for her charcoal drawing.     This drawing will hang in the capitol office of Congressman Phil Roe's office in Washington for the coming year.   Congratulations to Monique.

On Tuesday, May 14, Colonel Bill Powley of the Sullivan South ROTC department rewarded two Colonial Heights Middle School students, Mackenzie Sanders and Meghan Pierce, for good attendance with a flight over the South zone. Band director Eddie Dalton also went along for the ride.

We would like to thank Colonel Powley for his continual efforts on behalf of students at Colonial Heights Middle School!

    

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has selected Matthew Fuchs, a 7th Grade Sullivan County Student at Innovation Academy, as a finalist in its 2013 EngineerGirl essay contest. Matthew's essay, entitled "Biomedical Advances for Strokes", was one of fifteen essays nationwide chosen to advance to the next round of competition from the approximately 300 middle-school essays submitted.

First, second, and third prizes--in addition to awards for honorable mention--will be chosen at the end of this May, reports contest spokesperson Dr. Simil Raghavan, with the winners being announced in mid-June. First-place winners will be awarded $500, second-place entries will be awarded $250, and third-place entries will be awarded $100. Honorable mention finalists will not receive cash prizes but will have their names posted on the contest website at www.engineergirl.org.

The EngineerGirl website is sponsored by the NAE and serves to bring national attention to opportunities in engineering that are available to girls and women. Each year, the organization sponsors an essay contest centered on engineering and its impact on our world. The contest is open to both males and females.

Innovation Academy is a Platform School of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network (TSIN), a public-private collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Education and Battelle Memorial Institute. The TSIN is designed to promote and expand the teaching and learning of STEM education in K-12 public schools across Tennessee.

For more information on Innovation Academy, visit  http://www.ianetn.org/ or call (423) 354.1730.