Heads bowed for a pule, Capt. Thomas “Sonny” Santos KSK’92 and his security staff welcomed a blessing in the newly christened Nāihe Campus Security Center. “It is important we acknowledge and mahalo Ke Akua for his guiding hand and in keeping our campus safe,” Santos says. “The purpose of the blessing is to bring in positive energy into this place, get rid of hana ‘ino, and give us the opportunity to reflect on how we can do better to improve the service we provide.”
The blessing took place during the observance of Safe Schools Week, and celebrated the work that went into implementing new safety equipment and protocols on campus. Santos appreciates the KSK administration’s advocacy of this safety mission. “Without their support and vision it would not be possible to implement safety programs, hire staff and enact safety protocols and plans for our many events on campus. It is a kākou thing, everyone is contributing to ensure an environment of safety on campus.”
Santos and his crew prefer to keep their work behind the scenes, acknowledging that when they are most effective, it should go unnoticed. Security cameras and online tools for reports and building checks are new additions to their operations. Relationships with first responders have created opportunities to train staff on incident management. “We are so fortunate to host training classes with HPD, EMS, HFD and State and Local emergency management here at KSK,” said Santos, himself a 26-year veteran with HPD.
Along with administration and staff, Santos believes the full community has a kuleana to keep campus safe. “If something doesn’t look right, report it to security or a campus staff member. Most times it’s a na‘au feeling, and that na‘au feeling is a combination of your upbringing, personal experiences, education and street smarts. And guess what, usually that na‘au feeling is 100% correct. If you see something, say something and report it to your security team!”
TAGS
kapalama,ks kapalama
CATEGORIES
Kaipuolono Article, Kapalama Newsroom, Kapalama High School, Kapalama Middle School, Kapalama Elementary School, Kapalama Home, Kapalama campus
Print with photos
Print text only
