Gallagher HSM Secure Hastings Christian School Gym.
Gallagher HSM Secure Hastings Christian School – Gallagher and integrator HSM Group are assisting Hastings Christian School in Hawkes Bay NZ, securely manage gym facilities in a way that allows community sharing.
Hastings Christian School (HCS), a non-denominational special character school serving years 1-13, has a problem many small schools dream of – it’s growing. The school opened in 1987 with 16 children and 1 teacher. In 2023, the roll sits at 340 but with that growth has come challenges for its facilities.
“Over the years we’ve expanded our buildings, but one sticking point has been the absence of a gymnasium,” says HCS Principal, Gavin Clark.
Without a gym, HCS has been forced to rent an off-site facility for student sports and school events. But in recent years, HCS began working towards building a gym to improve student experience, serve as a community hub, and generate an additional source of income for the growing school.
To achieve its goal, HSC needed a security solution that could help safely share their gym with the community while still protecting the rest of the school.
“The whole process started with a conversation about security,” said Eric Meinsma, who sits on both the HCS Board of Proprietor and Board of Trustees and is the brains behind the gym’s construction.
“We worked with Gallagher certified channel partner, HSM Group, which gave us 2 proposals – one was the Gallagher system, and I can’t even recall the other brand, as Gallagher quickly became the preferred option because the technology was more advanced.”
Gallagher HSM Secure Hastings Christian School
HSC found Gallagher’s variety of integrations gave options for locks that came within its budget, while the Command Centre Mobile App enabled the school to control access remotely, making it easier for staff to manage the gym at night and on weekends.
Command Centre Mobile App also gave teachers the ability to specify which doors visitors could access, automation of day-to-day activities, and easier tracking of facility schedules. With that flexibility, opportunities to open the school’s gym doors to the community grew, making the project more economical.
As plans for the gym kicked off, Hastings Christian School quickly realised the potential Gallagher’s solutions had to benefit the school as a whole.
“Command Centre is very, very powerful, and in particular we saw its value for lockdown situations where there is a serious or active threat that requires a rapid, efficient response,” Meinsma said.
“We want to protect our children and teachers,” Gavin explains, “and we realised a holistic security solution is the direction we need to take moving forward, especially in all our new builds as our school continues to expand.”
After 10 years in planning, Hastings Christian School’s gym is preparing to open its doors to the Hawke’s Bay community in the winter of 2023 with the confidence that managing access will be simple, smooth, and effective.
“We’ve had this dream for a long time,” says Gavin. “Now that it’s finally becoming a reality, we’re all very excited.”
You can find out more about HSM Group here, read more about Gallagher here or see more SEN news here.
“Gallagher HSM Secure Hastings Christian School Gym.”
